Baby health care, Swiss style
Throughout my pregnancy, I was reminded of differences in health care here in Switzerland (as compared with the US). The two most notable differences: getting an ultrasound at every single doctor visit (which means I had at least 10 ultrasounds while pregnant, plus an ultrasound before getting pregnant because my doctor wanted to check out my ovaries, etc knowing I had a family history of cancer), and a standard 5 day hospital stay post-delivery (as opposed to 2 days in the US).
Now I'm learning about some of the differences in caring for babies. Actually, I can't really say that it's much different considering I don't have US baby experience, but my guess is that there are some things unique to this country. First of all, they like the herbal remedies. I can't imagine regular nurses and doctors at home suggesting herbal/natural remedies, but here, they do. For example, just a day or two after delivery, the nurses in the hospital gave Baby "baby tea" to soothe her. She was apparently really hungry and my milk hadn't come in yet so they gave her a sip of something to help her get by 'til I could provide for her fully. Just for the record, I never truly understood what was in the "baby tea", but I know it worked! It's called blind trust, which can be a bit scary, but at a time like that when your mind is not exactly clear, you've got to trust somebody to tell you what's best.
A couple days after that, when she was having tummy distress (or so they told me), they gave her fennel tea. It worked like a charm. I have never seen a quicker remedy for digestive problems. We even tried it at home during her earlier fussy streak (which we later learned was caused by me eating too many fruits with a pit). Just regular fennel tea from the store. Fabulous.
Now she's suffering from cradle cap, which is basically like really bad dandruff. I shouldn't even say "suffering", because supposedly it doesn't bother her, but it just doesn't look very nice. It seriously looks like she's shedding a whole layer of skin. What do they suggest? Olive oil, or almond oil. I picked up some almond oil cream at the pharmacy the other day, and although I think it helped, it also made her hair and head incredibly greasy, so I'm not sure I'll try it again.
Today we went to the pediatrician for her hip scan. I'm told it's standard here for all babies. I'm almost positive that this isn't done in the US. Or if it is, no one has ever told me about it! The doctor basically does an ultrasound of both of her hips, prints out the pictures, and measures the angles of the hips to make sure there are no abnormalities. I'm still not quite sure why they do this. Is there an abundance of children with hip problems in Switzerland?
So that's my report for today on new things I'm learning about caring for a baby in Switzerland. It's all a learning experience. And, in case you were wondering, her hips are fine.
Now I'm learning about some of the differences in caring for babies. Actually, I can't really say that it's much different considering I don't have US baby experience, but my guess is that there are some things unique to this country. First of all, they like the herbal remedies. I can't imagine regular nurses and doctors at home suggesting herbal/natural remedies, but here, they do. For example, just a day or two after delivery, the nurses in the hospital gave Baby "baby tea" to soothe her. She was apparently really hungry and my milk hadn't come in yet so they gave her a sip of something to help her get by 'til I could provide for her fully. Just for the record, I never truly understood what was in the "baby tea", but I know it worked! It's called blind trust, which can be a bit scary, but at a time like that when your mind is not exactly clear, you've got to trust somebody to tell you what's best.
A couple days after that, when she was having tummy distress (or so they told me), they gave her fennel tea. It worked like a charm. I have never seen a quicker remedy for digestive problems. We even tried it at home during her earlier fussy streak (which we later learned was caused by me eating too many fruits with a pit). Just regular fennel tea from the store. Fabulous.
Now she's suffering from cradle cap, which is basically like really bad dandruff. I shouldn't even say "suffering", because supposedly it doesn't bother her, but it just doesn't look very nice. It seriously looks like she's shedding a whole layer of skin. What do they suggest? Olive oil, or almond oil. I picked up some almond oil cream at the pharmacy the other day, and although I think it helped, it also made her hair and head incredibly greasy, so I'm not sure I'll try it again.
Today we went to the pediatrician for her hip scan. I'm told it's standard here for all babies. I'm almost positive that this isn't done in the US. Or if it is, no one has ever told me about it! The doctor basically does an ultrasound of both of her hips, prints out the pictures, and measures the angles of the hips to make sure there are no abnormalities. I'm still not quite sure why they do this. Is there an abundance of children with hip problems in Switzerland?
So that's my report for today on new things I'm learning about caring for a baby in Switzerland. It's all a learning experience. And, in case you were wondering, her hips are fine.
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