25 Weeks

Here's my 25 week belly picture.

My pre-natal care, thus far, has been very similar to the care I had in the U.S., and in some ways even better. Thankfully, the private doctors here are affordable for us and we've been extremely pleased with the doctors we've seen (my OBGYN and Eli's pediatrician). We were given the email addresses and cell phone numbers of our doctors and it's not considered taboo at all to email them or call them after-hours. In fact, in a panic one night when Eli was really sick I emailed his doctor at 8:30pm. My email went to his blackberry and he called me back and asked if I wanted him to come and see Eli right then. How amazing is that?!?  Anyway, my doctor, Dr. Ebru (pronounced "Eh brew"), speaks fluent English and is a really sweet, soft spoken lady. I go to see her once a month as in the U.S., however, unlike the U.S., she does an ultrasound at every visit. It's no quick thing to just hear the heartbeat either. She does a good 10 minute ultrasound and then gives us pictures and a c.d. of video each visit. 

Then, last week, as part of standard Turkish pre-natal care, I had to go to a radiologist. He did a very

in-depth ultrasound (made sure the heart valves were connected correctly, etc.). Their reasoning for this kind of ultrasound was that the standard of hospitals and doctors in Turkey vary. If they suspected a problem prior to birth they could better plan which hospital to go to and which doctors would need to be on hand for the birth. It was a long procedure and about an hour into it they gave me a 15 minute break. They served me a piece of cake (not very sweet compared to American cakes) and a small tea (I know, I know, I try and steer clear of caffeine) because they needed the baby to move into a different position for the rest of the procedure. All in all it took two hours. 

I know that there will be differences in giving birth here vs. the U.S. That's why in May I'm meeting with my American doula friend who has given birth here. She'll help me prepare for the many differences I'll encounter.