Babies

Norway values children.  They provide a generous maternity leave, monthly support for 18 years and free health and dental care.  Even children living outside of Norway get money from the government if one of their parents is a Norwegian citizen.  Norway goes overboard to see that children are well cared for and have every chance at a good life.  I guess that’s why no one throws a baby shower, because the government provides it all.

Babies born in Norway are not automatically citizens, like in America.  Babies can be born anywhere in the world but the only way they will ever get a Norwegian passport is if one of their parents was a citizen at the time of their birth.  Norway doesn’t otherwise allow dual-citizenship.

The strangest custom around the birth of babies is that they all get baptized soon after they are born.  A long held religious belief is that once a baby is baptized, it is considered a Child of God and guaranteed eternity in heaven, no matter how it lives it’s life.  

If the baby is born with problems and won’t live long, the King, who is the head of the State Church, has granted all doctors authorization to perform emergency baptisms, just in case. 

Norway uses a mid-wife system for delivering healthy babies in a birthing center.  It’s possible a woman would never even see a doctor, unless something went terribly wrong.  They allow babies to be born in water, on the floor, or using a chair – whatever the mother wants.  They also commonly use acupuncture to help relieve the pain, but epidurals are also in the realm of possibilities.  They rarely induce labor and C-sections are only done in a life-threatening situation.

All Norwegian hospitals have adjacent “hotels,” where mothers and babies stay at least four days.  These hotels free up hospital beds and keep patients close should the need arise for acute care. For new mothers, there are classes taught during those days so they don’t feel like I did heading home without the slightest idea of what I was doing.

One thing they teach every new mother is the value of her breast milk. Breast milk is full of antibiotics and is used as eye drops for goopy eyes or quick healing of little scratches. I learned this from a Norwegian cousin shortly after giving birth here in America.  She also told me if the baby gets congested for any reason, a few drops of breast milk up the nose is the best decongestant around.  We had a good laugh while testing that out on my husband’s stuffy nose, but discovered it was totally true.  I’m sure if that were common knowledge in America, someone would try to capitalize on it.