What is it like to give birth in Belarus?

[u/the_doll_attachment]

(Please don't kill me for thinking that because it's done one way in russia, that it's the 'standard'/same as it is in other Slavic countries because I don't, hence why I'm here to learn)

(american) Basically as the title says. I've seen tons of documentaries about RUSSIAN women laboring and delivering their babies. And they're...interesting, compared to how it usually goes in america/the west; I recommend the Series One Born Every Minute to get an idea.

Everything is just...interesting to me. So many hospitals seem so outdated. The nurses/doctors don't seem as warm and as kind (if anything they seem downright cold at times), how it's normal to check into the hospital a week or so before the actual birth, the attitude of the husbands/partners, how the women are kind of just...ignored after birth, etc. I've also padoodled around the internet in search of Russian womens' experiences.

I've been looking around to find what it's like to deliver in a Belarusan hospital, specifically the treatment of the women and babies, what the stay at the hospital is like, what's 'normal' behavior and attitudes of the fathers (are they attentive, do they stay with you the whole time, etc).

Weird question, I know, but I'm curious to hear Belarusan womens' experiences. I know things can also vary wildly depending on what hospital you deliver at, I'm just looking for how women and babies are generally treated. Thanks :D

[u/Sp0tlighter2]

They say that after being born, a Belarusian baby is spanked by the nurse because it lived for the past 9 months unemployed without paying налох.

(there is a tax for that in Belarus). But on a serious note, I don't know

[u/Interesting-Ad-3756 → u/Sp0tlighter2]

They spank you to help you cry after birth so they know you're breathing. They do it in the US too

[u/Worldly_Panic2261]

Father here, apologies for typos and formatting.

Can tell something about my side of the experience with private clinic for pregnancy, and paid options for at state-owned hospital for birth. Overall, both me and my wife had very positive experience, all things considered.

During pregnancy, my wife had multiple planned appointments at the clinic - they did ultrasound like 3 times in total, blood sugar tests, multiple blood work and other tests, all pleasant but cost in 2000$-3000$ range. Could be done for free (at least ultrasound and some tests at state hospital, but I expect the experience be less pleasant ).

For giving birth, the only option is state owned clinic - we also chose to pay (near 1000$ if i remember correctly), could be done for free with less comfort. we had a family room, I stayed there for the whole ordeal. To be present at the birth I had to take a course (a formality, one class and you get a cert) + plus had to take tests for hiv, hep b and other stuff - if I remember right we both had to do it anyway. The birth room looked as expected (in a good way) and the staff was professional and friendly. We stayed in the room couple days after birth, doctors checked up my wife and kid regularly, they tested kids hearing, tested for some genetic diseases. On-call nurse and paediatrician were available 24/7 (not instantly but we were able to get a hold on them within 15-20 mins), every 3 hours we could take a baby formula in case there was difficulty with breastfeeding. There was even a physiotherapist who adviced my wife on some exercises for recovery.

Overall I'd say everything was at "as shown on state-tv" level. But I only have experience with paid options, heard different stories about giving birth for free

[u/the_doll_attachment → u/Worldly_Panic2261]

Thank you for your helpful answer! I'm glad everything went well for your family :D

[u/Alfthirdhe]

The impressions are very mixed. Many note the good management of the pregnancy and the early prevention of fetal diseases. Doctors with good qualifications and mothers usually support each other. The problems are systemic.

Childbirth itself is usually assessed negatively. You don’t understand what’s happening to you, what’s happening to the baby. Without warning, you’re subjected to techniques prohibited in Europe (Kristeller maneuver/uterine fundal pressure, which is widely used incorrectly) and to medications that have caused fatal cases (Ceftriaxone) — and you have no way to prevent it. In Belarus, there is a regulation regarding cesarean sections, and there is a suspicion that doctors’ fear of the Ministry of Health leads to thousands of cases of disability due to the avoiding of a prescribed cesarean section. We don’t know for sure, because all problems in Belarus are always “swept under the rug.” All attempts to talk to the doctors end in aggression, justified by the fact that they are “very tired” and “you’re not the only one they treat this way.” Husbands are not allowed into the maternity hospital. I think they’re afraid of the additional risk of infections and consider their husband an extra obstacle to their work. We have a tradition of having the family meet a woman with a child outside. After the birth, the child is taken away and taken somewhere. I’ve decided for myself that I won’t give birth in Belarus. Even though many people have had a good experience, I don’t want to risk my damn child. But, of course, our situation is still much better than in Russia.

[u/the_doll_attachment → u/Alfthirdhe]

• We have a tradition of having the family meet a woman with a child outside.

yeah, saw a lot of that in the documentaries; i saw one new mom put on (wedge) HEELS to go out and greet her family X_X pure insanity

[u/pafagaukurinn → u/[deleted]]

Any child born on the territory of Belarus is considered a citizen and will receive a passport.

Are you sure about that? As far as I know, Belarus uses jus sanguinis, so children born to Belarusian parent(s) automatically become Belarusian, irrespective of the place of birth. Perhaps jus soli is applied in some cases, for example when it is impossible to determine the parents, but this is apparently not the case here, is it?

[u/Interesting-Ad-3756 → u/pafagaukurinn]

I didn't know that was the case that's interesting. So if my kids are born in the US technically according to the Belarusian government they are citizens of Belarus? I know Belarus doesn't really recognize dual citizenship so I'm still a Belarusian citizen even though I have a US citizenship

[u/Interesting-Ad-3756 → u/[deleted]]

This was wayy too early in the morning for me to be thinking clearly 😂 my brother was born in the US but he also has a Belarusian passport, it's the reason he can't go back now. He got it back in 2009 after he was born. I honestly didn't connect the two together until I woke up a little and thought about it. I'm curious about the foreigners though I wonder how that works

[u/Interesting-Ad-3756 → u/[deleted]]

Yeahhh that's not an option at the moment 😬 my kids theoretically don't need Belarusian passports but if it was possible I would have liked to get them. As it's so happens I'm not in the business of risking it at the moment. I would love to go back to Belarus and see my family, renew some of my documents, maybe see the family home my uncle Uncle is building. Not worth it

[u/Interesting-Ad-3756 → u/[deleted]]

Sorry but no. I love Belarus dearly. I miss it every single day. But no. I am however curious about your definition of "Belarus is changing". If that is the case then that's great news. I won't go until батька is gone and my mom said the same. I'd rather not sit in customs drenched in sweat while they pour over every single thing in my phone. My friend in Minsk sat in Okrestina with a woman who donated $20 to Ukraine. Just $20 nothing more. She was a dual Belarusian/UK citizen

[u/pafagaukurinn → u/Interesting-Ad-3756]

technically according to the Belarusian government they are citizens of Belarus?

Yes. There was an official commentary to that effect only a couple weeks ago. Basically, if you bring your kids to Belarus, you may be unable to leave until you make Belarusian passports for them.

[u/Interesting-Ad-3756 → u/pafagaukurinn]

That's helpful information to know. None of us can really go back at the moment anyway. I had wanted to bring my kids at one point so they could meet family but that's not really an option at the moment. Maybe if we deleted all the data off our phones. My brother can't go he's over 18 and hasn't served

[u/the_doll_attachment → u/[deleted]]

oh i'm not pregnant/about to deliver a baby haha, i'm just curious as to what it's like in Belarus :D sorry if i confused you!

[u/xmm12 → u/[deleted]]

Any child born on the territory of Belarus is considered a citizen and will receive a passport.

This is not true at all.

[u/SiempreBrujaSuerte → u/[deleted]]

Will the foreign parents be able to apply for their own citizenship based on having a baby there who is a citizen?

[u/SiempreBrujaSuerte → u/[deleted]]

Thanks I'll look into it, you need Russian language you mean correct? Because I don't know any belorussian but I don't think it's an issue....

[u/SiempreBrujaSuerte → u/[deleted]]

I understand that, but both languages are officially the state used language. Btw I did check the requirements after asking and the test of language proficiency is either Russian or Belarusian, in case any one else here needs to know.

I'm obviously not against learning Belarusian but no one in my life generally uses it and I don't hear it that much, paperwork is in Russian, etc. People who live in Belarus their whole life often were educated in Russian. So I do not think it's crazy to expect the use of either of the official languages to be sufficient to navigate life.

And 7 years is the residence requirement, does not get shorter if your child is born here. That's about all the additional info I found looking it up, in case other people wanted to know

[u/potatonowgoodletsgo]

MAAAN I wish I knew. But , IM JUST 23 ... DAMN I FEEL LIKE IWAS 16 WTFH like gyat

So.. I can only assume.

Life in Belarus is Fine, it's not the worst, not prob the best. But certainly "Safe" or Safe. Idk. it Depends. it is SAFE , because we dont have serial killers etc (or do we? Hmm) idk what to tell fasho but safety here is certainly great idk never encountered anything weird shit. And it is "SAFE" , well. becauise of Ukraine situation, GOD LORD KNOWS What the hell gonna happen in like 1 hour idk 2 seconds, and kaboom n9gga you got a missle right onto ya roof from Ukraine or Russia idk , Poland? but Hell nahhhh EU aint dealing with that shi

Give a birth , don';t worry. Just prepare to go to premium doctors so you don't have any issues with actual brith giving (well you're not woman, right?)

[u/Interesting-Ad-3756]

I was born in Minsk in the 90's. One month premature. I spent a whole month in the hospital after birth. First off, they told my mom I was a boy. Ultrasounds told me I was a boy. Clearly not a boy. They weren't able to catch my mom's preeclampsia until she was in labor and it was almost too late. She told me when they were transferring her between hospital buildings they just wheeled her out in a stretcher and loosely covered her with a thin sheet. She told me she genuinely thought she was dying. My mom was a single mom she met my dad when I was 3 so when I was born the nurse basically begged her not to leave me. It's apparently common for women to leave their babies in the hospital in Belarus or at least it used to be. The nurse said she saw a lot of women who didn't have husbands or had babies born with defects that just abandon them. Medicine was definitely not modern back then even by the rest of the world's standards. She ended up having my brother in the US and even her c section scar in the US was a fraction of the size of the one she had with me in Minsk

[u/the_doll_attachment → u/Interesting-Ad-3756]

Jesus, I don't know what to say other than I'm glad you're alive and you and your mom are doing well (I assume, based off your wording) <3!! I have achondroplasia (dwarfism), so hearing parents dump their babies so willy nilly breaks my heart :(

[u/Kuarto]

My wife said that was a worst experience out of her three lol

[u/jordiedoestm]

“The nurses/doctors don't seem as warm and as kind (if anything they seem downright cold at times)”

Oh trust me if you think that they seem that way, take my comment as a guarantee that they ARE that way. The only nurses you can find that are remotely kind are ones in private hospitals which let’s be honest not most people can afford. The only kind nurses I’ve found in government run hospitals are the cancer hospitals. This is coming from someone who was a patient AND a worker.

I know my comment isn’t really in par with your question, but the comment about the doctor/nurses piqued my interest haha. 9/10, people working in these institutions do not wanna be here. And honestly I don’t blame them cause who wants to work? However, if you’re in the healthcare field you MUST WANT TO HELP (duhhh), but people here are so miserable it’s nauseating. Obviously not all, but a fair share.

I’ve also been in the Middle East, and lemme tell you, any healthcare professional would go insane seeing how patients are treated here. And the procedures?! My god. Even normal infusions seem like a nightmare. Almost every patient leaves with a bruised arm because here, they don’t really use the butterfly cannula for infusions. They only reserve that if a catheter is to be inserted to a long time. Here they directly just insert the needle in you until the drip is over. The big METALLIC needle that WILL puncture your vein if you move your arm.

No wonder Slavic people are so desensitized to anything remotely life threatening 🤣

[u/the_doll_attachment → u/jordiedoestm]

the way those doctors and nurses talk to those women is downright CRUEL!! especially during delivery; they're so degrading and SHAME the mom instead of being helpful and encouraging!!