There are options for different types of support during pregnancy. The normal route is through your local MVC (mödravårdcentral) or midwife clinic (barnmorskamottagning) – you can find out who they are through your doctor. You don’t have to attend your local clinic – you are entitled to choose any clinic you like so if you have friends who recommend another clinic highly, feel free to contact that clinic directly. If you have specific medical needs, you may be directed to a specialist unit. Public pre-natal care is totally funded by the government so you will not have to pay for your visits or for any of the tests.

You can also opt for care that better meets your own requirements– there are a growing number of private clinics, particularly in the big cities. Personal recommendations are helpful, otherwise you could look under Mödravård in the Yellow Pages. Private pre-natal care is often but not always free, some of the larger companies do have charges. They will also ask you to sign a form stating that you have chosen to use their services.  They vary according to the services they offer and it is worth having a look around and comparing clinics.

Generally speaking, you will be cared for primarily by a midwife. You may see a doctor at some point during your pregnancy but, unless you have complications, this is likely to be only once – probably in the first trimester (and sometimes not even then if you have already had at least one problem free pregnancy). Do not be alarmed by the lack of doctor involvement – the midwives are well trained and Sweden has an excellent record of prenatal care. If you don’t speak Swedish, check in advance that the midwife you’re assigned to is a confident English speaker or that you can always have a translator available (preferably the former). It’s important you feel confident in understanding everything that is happening and they will understand this.  It is also important to know that the midwife you see during your pregnancy will not be at the hospital. So despite building a rapport and her knowing your history it is only her records that get passed on. She will most likely give these to you for you to take to the hospital with you.

You may also find the lack of early care disconcerting – most midwives will not routinely see you until somewhere between week 8 and week 12 – but the frequency of visits steps up throughout the pregnancy. If you do want to see somebody earlier, just ask – especially if you have concerns. The attitude to early stage miscarriage can also be a pragmatic ‘these things happen’ but, again, insist on more support and counselling if you need it.

At your first visit, you will be asked a number of questions about your own health and that of your partner. You will also be given guidelines on food and drink to avoid (alcohol is a no-no), tests available and an overview of your further visits. Most of the written information should be available in English and your partner will be encouraged to attend all appointments with the midwife

Thereafter if you have a trouble free pregnancy, visits should be brief with a quick check of weight gain, blood pressure, blood and urine tests and, at a later stage, uterus height and foetal heart rate. On the whole you may find that a lot fewer tests and checks are done than you might expect or be used to. Again, the Swedes have a pretty laid back attitude compared to many other systems.  An ultrasound is routinely done around weeks 16 to 18 and there tends to be a reluctance to do any more than one unless the midwife deems it necessary. If you will be over 35 when the baby is born, you are also entitled to a nuchal fold scan between weeks 10 and 14. It is, however, possible to do earlier or additional ultra-sounds if you’re prepared to pay for them, charges can vary but may just be the cost of an extra consultation. So if you have a feeling something is wrong, have had problems in the past or just want the security of knowing, do be prepared to insist on additional scans. Your midwife should provide you with a list of all the checks and scans available at your first meeting so that you can be sure you opt for those most appropriate for you. If you know of scans or tests that are not included on the list, ask – she may not have thought to mention anything you need to pay for.

If you have concerns and want to spend more time talking things through with your midwife, don’t feel guilty about taking up her time – as with so many Swedish situations, it is important to ask because information will probably not be volunteered unless you do.

Your MVC may also put you in a group of expected parents as part of a birth preparation course and it is a great chance to talk to those expecting around the same time. Some of these groups continue to meet after the babies are all born which can become really valuable both for company and to have others to share experiences with. However, most will be held in Swedish (unless the clinic has a big group of English speakers due at similar times) and the due dates of those in the group can vary enormously.

 

Curling is a term that seems to have evolved here, and for good reason. It comes from an analogy with the sport of curling, people rushing ahead of children, frantically sweeping the path clean of even the most minor obstructions.

I've wanted to write about this subject many times but I get so frustrated and angry that I end up putting it on the back-burner and leaving it for another time. I'm not so sure I'm going to be any more successful this time either - but here goes.

This is a bit of an education household - it is our past and our present; Ty is teaching in a school and in recent weeks I have been doing some supply teaching at a local school - because I was asked to, because I have gaps in my schedule, but mostly because our daughter will start at this school in the spring and I want some insight. I am also going to continue taking 4 lessons a week until the end of the term, for the same reasons. My other interest in education comes from my research. We have had many a discussion about methods, attitudes and the education systems in the four countries we have worked in.

Anyway, the stories that I hear from Ty make me wish he would start a blog - anonymously, and blow the system apart. Uuggghhh!!!! I don't even know where to start......... And all the time Skolverket (education department) put the blame on everyone but themselves - the teachers, the students, the parents, the independent schools - yet some of the stuff that they come up with makes me think they need their heads read!!!!

I've written before about Sweden's school system and curling and how the need to attract students has a major effect on the running of schools. But sadly that is not the end of it - the stories I hear of parents ever so eager to have their child succeed are very worrying - in their desire to protect their children they really screw things up - for themselves and for others.

There are a lot of really healthy attitudes towards bringing up children in this country - and there are a lot of really healthy attitudes towards education - in many ways they are much healthier than what I know and see in both our countries - Australia and Canada. But I have to say that on the whole the approach is pretty soft. Boundaries are neither set nor adhered to - I see it and I feel it all around me and it scares me. And sometimes it makes me really, really angry.

But I will leave it here for now, perhaps another time I will dare to delve through all the issues that have come to light in the last few years, all the points of frustration, contemplation and sheer wonder - and I don't mean that in a positive way. And I know systems are changing around the world as many countries struggle to get a grip of how to run education - but in discussions with teaching friends around the world they are usually left with a gaping mouth.....

Typically when the pendulum swings from one way of thinking it goes to the other extreme until it comes back to the middle, to a position of balance. The Swedish education system is going through a crisis - I just hope the time comes when we have balance in Sweden, otherwise how will these kids ever cope in the real world? Or will we just continue to see a growth in the numbers of people who are burnt out and more of the lost generation - a term used to describe those born in the 80s?