What should you do first if the pregnancy test clearly shows two lines and you live in the northernmost place anybody ever has been from your family? Ildikó Hámos-Sohlo shares her thoughts about pre- and early maternity in Finland. 
Having a baby soon was getting more and more real starting from week 35, probably triggered by my body getting bigger by the day. A nap during the day became necessary since my night time rests were unsatisfying as I struggled with pillows and cushions to try to accommodate my tummy. A Sauna Birth? After the move had sucked out a lot of energy, my husband and I enjoyed a really relaxing weekend at a friend’s cabin near Taivalkoski. We just slept, ate and went to the sauna – and cracked jokes about how we would manage the delivery in the traditional Finnish setting of the sauna should labour come on all of a sudden. The cabin is situated on a peninsula, reachable only by boat or by wading through a swamp. Thus, the sauna birth would have been the safest alternative. Luckily, we didn’t have to avail ourselves of this option. The last doctor’s visit gave me a bloody show, as the cervix examination was quite challenging. I was also told that the baby was in breech position, facing upwards. As this is not a favourable position for delivery, I was referred to the hospital for tests after Midsummer to find out whether the baby could be delivered without a Caesarian section. But first I went on a trip to Turku to visit a friend who I hadn’t seen for four years and meet my parents who were travelling up to Northern Finland from Hungary. The night train ride to Turku was more pleasant than I had imagined, I slept better than at home, maybe due to the rhythmic movement of the train. It was nice to meet my friend after such a long time and since she had had two children in the meantime, our first and foremost topic was – you might guess it – delivery and child care. My parents arrived in Turku after 3000 kilometres of driving and it was a merry get-together. We drove up to Oulu together, a long trip that gave us the possibility to chat about what had happened since we last met in Vienna at the beginning of May. My husband expected us in Oulu with a beautifully laid table and night-time tea. My parents unpacked goodies from Hungary and a homely atmosphere. Two days later we left for the Midsummer festival which we spent in Ylikiiminki with my mother-in-law’s family at an aunt’s cabin. As my father indulged in fishing and sauna together with the Finnish men, my Mom and I did a long walk around the beautiful lake. I felt proud of little Peanut who braved the long walk as well as the cold waters of the lake. 'It won't turn' After Midsummer we all spent half a day at the University Hospital. I had my whole family along for support, which turned out to be good. First the baby’s heartbeat was checked and found normal. Then I had to wait for the doctor to do the ultrasound check. Right away she said that the baby is in breech position and probably couldn’t be turned around from outside, since she was small, under 3 kgs, didn’t have a lot of amniotic fluid around her and the placenta was in the front of the womb. After she had just said this, she pushed her left hand into my tummy and made a turning movement with the left. I was left gasping for air, as I didn’t expect anything like this to happen without previous warning. I just tried to breath deep to cope with the pain. After a minute, the doctor shrugged her shoulders and said: “Well, I said it, it won’t turn.” Cervix exam came next, followed by bleeding again. The doctor said the baby could still decide to want to turn around, but there was no way to persuade it from outside. Afterwards I was sent down to have a magnetic resonance scan of my pelvis to find out if the baby had a chance to fit out without Caesarian. The scanning machine is a large tube that makes very load noises. I was ok as I was given headphones with classical music, but the poor baby tried everything to get out of the loud environment, pushing and treading like crazy. I tried to talk to the poor little one and explain the situation, but I could not help but feel guilty about causing her discomfort. The verdict was good, though: should the baby not turn around anymore, I could still deliver her without a Caesarian. I spent the following days crawling around the living room floor with my behind high in the air and my cheeks close to the ground to try to persuade the baby to turn around. I also made an appointment at a local acupuncture centre, because I had heard about good experiences with acupuncture and breech positions. I became more impatient as the delivery date was drawing close. July 15th! The weeks before were all but very summery – the coldest and rainiest summer in many years, I was told. Going on trips didn’t make much sense, and sitting at home, waiting was somewhat nerve-racking. Acupuncture, moxing (a technique which uses hot smoke close to certain points of the body), sitting on all fours and in funny almost upside down positions didn’t do the job though: our baby decided to be born in breech position. When the delivery started, it was all very different from what I had imagined. But that’s another story. One for the next issue. Read in the next issue: Pregnant up North, Part IX: Delivery – the beginning of a new life
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