I only became a mommy very late. To be exact, at 40. Somehow it has always just never worked out. I traveled the world and made some career and either the partner did not fit or the life phase just wasn’t right to become pregnant. And then suddenly all happened very fast. I was just one year together with my partner, when I received the bad news from my gynecologist that the number of my ova had shrunk considerably and a desire to have a baby, if I had any, should be tackled better immediately. Boom. There you are always thinking there is still time and suddenly, almost overnight you turn 40 and you are faced with one of the most consequential and biggest decision of your life. The circumstances were anything but ideal. But that did not really matter to my ova. And since my partner and I both did not want to imagine a life without a family, we decided to give nature a free rein. We kind of expected a longer start-up time anyway, given the news my gyn gave me. How much we should be wrong.
Two month later I was pregnant.
And what’s next? How is it possible to be pregnant that fast ?! Suddenly I had so many questions and no one to talk to about it, because until I knew everything was alright, I did not want to spread the news. My gynecologist advised me to look for a midwife after my first visit. But I just was not ready to deal with such things. It seemed silly to already think about birth and all at that stage of pregnancy. I would start dealing with it when the critical first trimester was over.
I should have followed my doctor’s advice, because when I finally started looking for a midwife I was shocked. My partner and I called over 40 midwives and not a single one had time to take us on. When did the other women book their midwife? Well obviously much earlier than us. Apparently they knew what I did not realize at that point, that there is an absolute shortage of midwives. And obviously, more and more women decided to have children in Germany. Thanks to Mrs. von der Leyen, who created a parental allowance up to 1800 euros per month, getting a child seemed suddenly way more attractive than before. That paired with some late mums from Generation X, to which I belong, created the biggest Baby boom since the 1960ies. This means cities like Hamburg are faced with a massively increasing demand for midvives, birth classes, delivery rooms and Baby classes. Of course you can survive without having a personal midwive or going to any preparation classes. But it makes this special and very stressful time a lot more pleasant. In addition, meeting other pregnant women are crucial for forming your vital mother network in the future. You will be so glad to be able to exchange experiences and tips later, believe me.
I created a list of 10 things to organize when you know you are pregnant, so that you can have a worry free and relaxing pregancy and first time with your Baby.
This time is so special and flies by so fast. It would be a pity to spend too much time finding the last available midwife or last place in the birth prepartion course. Let me know if I could help and also if you have any feedback or comment. I am happy to hear from you.
Click here for the list.
All the best
