Giving Birth in Italia

So it's been almost 6 months since I have given birth and I have been meaning to write about my experience. As I have written before, I was really lucky to have a great OBGYN that I was comfortable with and to be giving birth in a private clinic 5 minutes from home but I wanted to fill you in on my actual hospital experience. So I was admitted and put into a room with 3 other females. I thought that was going to be bad, but given the fact that I was in the hospital for 6 days, it was really nice to have company, and I got along well with the girl next to me. The bad part about it was that when it came to visitors, it was like a madhouse in there and it would be impossible for you to get any rest. There is no control on how many visitors can come and even the visiting hours aren't really followed. So, there were times where there was like 20 people in the room. It was fine at first when I hadn't given birth yet and me and my family would just go downstairs to the lobby to get some air, but after I gave birth, it made it difficult for me or baby to get some peace and quiet.

One of the things that I found most unacceptable were the amenities and bathroom. The shower head was broken so water splattered everywhere, and to make it worse, there was no shower curtain or wall so you were pretty much washing down the entire bathroom. Moreover, they didn't supply toilet paper! We had to bring our own! On that note, we also had to bring our own water and drinks because beverages didn't come with the meal. We were to bring our own pjs or gowns because they don't wear hospital gowns there. And the machine to control baby's heart wasn't stationed next to each patient to control 24 hours, but you were brought to a room two times a day or a portable machine was brought to you to monitor for like 45 minutes. One of the worse things I remember the most, was that it was the middle of summer and beyond hot. The air conditioning wasn't that powerful and at night, the girls preferred to have the window open... which opening the window automatically turned off the air conditioning and also allowed all the mosquitoes come in! There was one morning I woke up with 7 bites... seriously unacceptable in a hospital. And beyond unacceptable to have bad A/C in the middle of summer with a pregnant woman!

Nonetheless, the one thing that bothered me the most is that everyone or almost everyone has C-sections. I think I was the only one who wanted to give birth naturally and there were women who were trying to talk me out of it. Saying it is so much easier with a c-section, this and that. To top it off, I have read articles that the majority of births in Italy are c-sections and doctors push for it so they can earn more money, and especially in the Campania Region where I am... shady right? Another thing that is corrupt with Italia...

So there was good and bad at the hospital I stayed at. Like I stated at the beginning, this was a private clinic, so I have no idea how bad the public hospitals are. Eeek... Of course in any where in the world, you will get the good and bad. The most important thing is that Antonio was born healthy and well.