1. Having A Baby in Hungary
Content: Prenatal care in Hungary, how to find and choose the right hospital/doctor/midwife for you, who is the védőnő and what is her function, what kinds of maternity benefits (if any) are you eligible for, how to register a baby’s birth in Hungary if one or both parents are foreign nationals, and how much you can expect to pay for a birth in Hungary
Handouts: list of English-speaking obstetricians in Budapest, list of hospitals and clinics with maternity wards, birth plan worksheet, list of registrars, registration and maternity benefits information sheet.
2. How Does Labor Start
Content: mother and baby at term, how does labor start, when to go into the hospital or call the midwife, inducing labor, what are the stages of labor, what to expect during them, what does it feel like at each stage, what can the helper do at each stage, the importance of positioning for mother and baby, natural and medicated pain management, how to avoid an episiotomy, what to expect at a Hungarian hospital, what to expect during a C-section, what to expect during a premature delivery, recovery from birth
Handouts: what to pack for the hospital, English-Hungarian shopping list of baby supplies, birth plan worksheet, What Is Labor Like article, What About the Pain in Childbirth article, C-section article
3. Stages of Labor
Stages of labor: Early labor, active labor, pushing, placenta, golden hour – what happens, what it feels like, what your helper can do
4. Pain Management & Labor Variations
Pain management options, pain medications. Labor variations: precipitous labor, average labor, long labor, ecstatic labor, premature labor, cesarean section.
5. Newborn care
Content: what is a just-born newborn like, what does the Apgar score mean, when to cut the umbilical cord, cord blood banking, what do newborn babies expect from the world, why is skin-to-skin contact important, why is early and frequent breastfeeding important, baby’s secretions: what’s normal and what’s not, feeding and expected weight gain, burping, sleeping, dressing, bathing, umbilical cord care, crying and comforting, types of babies, learning, playing, baby wearing, how to survive the first six weeks
Handouts: English-Hungarian shopping list of baby supplies, breastfeeding cheat sheet, registration and maternity benefits information sheet
6. Breastfeeding
Content: why is breastfeeding good for the baby, why is breastfeeding good for the mother, how to get off to a good start and avoid problems down the line, how does milk production work, how to ensure you have enough milk, how can you tell whether baby is getting enough milk, feeding on cue versus feeding on schedule, sore nipples and other breastfeeding complication, lots of pictures and videos about how to get the baby on the breast correctly (to avoid damage to the nipples and ensure proper milk flow), when to express milk, how to express milk, how to safely store milk, using artificial nipples (bottles and pacifiers), herbs and foods to increase supply, breastfeeding and illness, breastfeeding and medications
Handouts: breastfeeding cheat sheet