Seeking Advice on Midwives and Home Birth in Florianopolis

01/25/24 @inplainview.  Welcome, Mary and Dan!  What you're planning, while not encouraged by Brazil, is  perfectly legal, so with a little discretion you should have no official problems.  Since the pandemic we've been seeing far fewer questions about birth tourism, as you can tell from the age of the posts in the threads.  I hope that you get some useful answers, but I'm sure that you're researching other sources as well, and that's wise.

Please be aware that Brazil is a monolingual Portuguese-speaking country, the most thoroughly monolingual country that I know.  Picking up even a little Portuguese before you arrive will be very helpful, particularly in a smaller capital like Florianópolis.

Both the Philippines and Romania are visa waiver countries, which means that you'll effectively receive a 90-day tourist visa on arrival, which you'll be able to extend for another 90 days at the Federal Police.  Both are also parties to the Apostille Convention, which is a big plus.  Since you're undoubtedly planning on requesting residency on the birth of your child, you should do everything you can to arrive with all of the documents you'll need for that process in hand, and with the proper apostilles.  We've posted the list of required documents in several threads; if you can't locate them, please post the question here and I can post it again.  Obtaining necessary documents from abroad while already in Brazil is very difficult, and embassies and consulates generally provide little help.  Starting the residency process before your visas expire will avoid a lot of complications.

Paperwork is enormously important in Brazil, and in a maternity hospital the crucial initial documents are generated pretty automatically.  With a home birth, you'll be depending on a private party to provide you with a Certificate of Live Birth, so in your preparatory discussions, make sure that they'll be doing this. You're going to have to go to a registry office, a "cartório" with the Certificate of Live Birth to generate and receive the actual Birth Certificate.  It's very important to get this done as soon as possible.

I'll leave advice on the healthcare situation in Florianópolis to those with firsthand knowledge, except to urge you to have an emergency plan in place, just in case.

All the best to you.  With the careful planning that you would do for any international move, you should be successful.  Please post any questions that may come up for you.

Hi Dan and Mary.  First I want to commend you for your adventurous spirit.  I'm a bit curious why Brazil seems so appealing to you in your situation.  I have been puzzzled by the seemingly popularity of homebirth in Floripa.  In Brazil almost 60% of women have C-sections which is crazy but I would be sceptical of having a homebirth with your first baby especially in Brazil with no tradition of homebirths.   I'm dutch (and a nurse) and homebirths are very common there but not for the first baby.  I had my first two children in a hospital in the US (natural births and home within 24 hours) and the last one at home in the Netherlands. For a third child it was great but by then you know what your birthing pattern is and of course you have had prenatal care by the midwives for 6 months who will deliver your baby at home.  Also the Netherlands is small so you are never far away from a hospital.  I find the medical system in Brazil overwhelming and intimidating (in part because I don't speak portugese well) and the bedside manor of physicians is very different from the US or the Netherlands.  Have you considered having your baby in the Philipines and moving after the baby is a bit older?  Don't underestimate being in a safe and familiar environment when you are having a baby.  I don't mean to be a "Debbie downer" but Brazil is not all roses.  Even in our fourth year here I don't feel completely comfortable.  I wish you all the best and enjoy your first baby!

Agreeing with the comment above, wouldn't it be easier to move after the baby is born? I can imagine how stressful it must be to navigate the system and sort out things during the last months. Is there any benefit for the baby to be born in BR?

@abthree Hello and a big thank you for your warm welcome and the invaluable insights!

We're grateful for the detailed information, especially regarding the legalities and paperwork intricacies of planning a birth in Brazil. Your advice on arriving with all necessary documents, complete with the appropriate apostilles, is very much welcome. We absolutely agree that being prepared is key, and we'll make sure to have everything in order before our arrival.

We've noticed the scarcity of current information on natural birth and home births in Florianopolis, and indeed, finding local contacts has been challenging. Google and Facebook haven't been very fruitful in this regard. That's why personal experiences and social proof from this community are so crucial to us. If anyone has personal references or can share their experiences with home births, natural birthing centers, or midwives in Florianopolis, we would be extremely grateful.

Language-wise, we're making steady progress! We use Duolingo and Mary is very advanced in Romanian and Portuguese, and I'm focusing on Spanish and Portuguese. We're excited to use our language skills to immerse ourselves further into the Brazilian culture once we arrive.

Lastly, it would be fantastic if you could PM us or post here the list of required documents for the adjustment of status process. We want to ensure we have everything correctly lined up for a smooth transition.

Thanks once again for your support and guidance. We're looking forward to becoming part of the community and sharing our journey with you all!

    01/25/24 @abthree Lastly, it would be fantastic if you could PM us or post here the list of required documents for the adjustment of status process. We want to ensure we have everything correctly lined up for a smooth transition.    -@inplainview

No problem.  I'll post as complete an up-to-date a list here as I can within the next 24 hours.

@Droplover Thank you so much for your thoughtful and informative response. It's always valuable to hear from someone with personal experience and professional expertise, especially in a field as sensitive as childbirth.

We completely agree with your concerns regarding homebirths, particularly for first-time parents. Safety is indeed our paramount concern, and while we are exploring the idea of a home birth, we are absolutely committed to ensuring that all necessary precautions are in place. This includes having a qualified doctor present who can swiftly transition to a hospital setting if the need arises.

You make a great point about the high rate of C-sections in Brazil and the lack of tradition in home birthing there. We are aware of this and are diligently researching to understand our options fully. We're also considering natural birth in a hospital as a viable alternative.

Your perspective on the medical system in Brazil being overwhelming and intimidating, especially due to the language barrier, is very much appreciated. This is something we are taking seriously in our planning. We are fortunate enough to have the financial means to access quality care and are exploring all avenues to ensure we find a supportive and comfortable environment for the birth.

Regarding having the baby in the Philippines, it's certainly a practical suggestion. However, we are keen on starting our new chapter in Brazil, and the health facilities in Manila, where we currently reside, are not up to the standards we would hope for a significant event like childbirth.

Mary's visa limitations in Romania make it impractical for us to consider having our baby there. We are looking for a degree of stability and continuity, especially in the first few months after the birth, which would be challenging given the visa constraints.

We greatly appreciate your advice and personal insights. It helps us to consider all angles and potential challenges. We're approaching this journey with an open mind and the flexibility to adapt our plans as needed. The well-being of Mary and our baby is, and will always be, our top priority.

Thanks again for your kind wishes and valuable advice. We're excited about this new adventure and are committed to making informed and safe choices for our family.

@martinsan Thank you for sharing your perspective. It's a fair point to consider the timing and logistics of our move in relation to the arrival of our baby. However, after weighing all our options, we feel that relocating to Brazil before the birth aligns best with our long-term plans and comfort.

We are quite adaptable when it comes to living in new places, and we're excited about the prospect of being in South America, particularly Brazil. From our research and understanding, Brazil, and South America in general, offer a promising and stable environment for the foreseeable future, especially when considering the current global political climate.

As for Romania, our recent experiences, particularly with the proximity to Ukraine and the associated security alerts, have been unsettling. While Romania is a country close to our hearts, the current geopolitical situation makes us yearn for a more peaceful and secure environment.

The Philippines, while incredibly beautiful and home to some of the kindest people we've ever met, has its challenges. The pollution levels and geopolitical tensions, particularly with China, have been a cause for concern for us. We're looking for a place that not only offers a serene and healthy environment for our child to grow up in but also a sense of security and stability.

That's why we're considering South America. We're also exploring other options like Medellin in Colombia, as well as Costa Rica and El Salvador. However, Southern Brazil, with its vibrant culture, beautiful landscapes, and promising economic prospects, seems to resonate most with our lifestyle and aspirations.

We understand and appreciate your concerns, and we want to reassure you that we're not making this decision lightly. We're committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of our family, and we believe that this move, though challenging, will be a positive step towards a fulfilling and secure future.

Thanks again for your input and for taking the time to share your thoughts. It's always helpful to consider different viewpoints, and we're grateful for this community's support as we embark on this exciting journey.

01/26/24 @inplainview.  As promised, I've posted information on registering a birth and documentation requirements for a residency application here:

Registering a birth:  https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=1058675

Residency documentation:  https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=1058676

I've asked to have them tacked to the top of the Forum, to make them easier for others  to find in the future.

I commend your language learning efforts.  I would recommend dropping the Spanish for now however, and picking it up again after you're settled in Brazil.  It will do you no good here and more importantly, it will interfere with your Portuguese learning, which is not in your best interests.

For technical reasons that probably don't interest you, Romanian will NOT interfere nearly as much with with Mary's Portuguese learning, and the family reasons for learning it are obvious.  Nevertheless, she may want to consider postponing it for a while, too, for bandwidth concerns.

@abthree Hello and a huge thank you for the invaluable information you've shared!

Your detailed insights into the legalities and practicalities surrounding our move are incredibly helpful. I'm particularly grateful for the clear guidance on the paperwork and the residency process. It's reassuring to know that the information you've provided is current and relevant to the state where Florianopolis is located.

I only wish we could find similarly comprehensive and current information specifically about home births and natural birthing options in Florianopolis. Such details would greatly ease our minds as we prepare for this significant life event in a new country.

I also appreciate your recommendations on language learning. It makes sense to focus on Portuguese to fully immerse ourselves in the Brazilian culture and ease our transition.

Thanks once more for your thoughtful response and the effort you put into gathering this information. It's a big relief and a great help for us during this exciting yet daunting journey. Looking forward to more interactions on this forum!

@inplainview

Unfortunately I think you will find great difficulty in discovering a good medically supervised option for home births and natural birthing anywhere in Brazil. Some friends tried to set up a similar business in a large city in Brazil, but there was simply no demand so in the end they had to close up shop... No demand = no supply.

@Peter Itamaraca

Thanks so much for sharing your insights Peter! That really helps to clarify things for us. We did notice a bit of a gap when searching Google and various social media platforms for information on home births and natural birthing centers in Brazil, and your explanation about the demand and supply situation makes a lot of sense. It's a bit of a bummer, but we're all about adapting!

We're definitely open to exploring good private clinics as an alternative. Our main hope is to find a place that respects and supports the natural birthing process and is patient enough to wait for natural labor before considering a c-section, unless medically necessary. If you or anyone in your network have recommendations for such clinics or doctors in Florianopolis, we'd be incredibly grateful to hear about them.

Thanks again for taking the time to respond. Your input is invaluable, and we're excited to keep learning and preparing for our new adventure!

Cool. I hope everything goes well on your new adventure in Brazil!

@inplainview

Well, I know a shamanic midwife from Florianopolis...and my wife has great experience with preparing women to give natural birth.

So drop us a line and we can help you out here.

Yes, this is a complex issue (not birth but surrounding legal issues) which need to be discussed...

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@inplainview Hi Dan and Mary, I've just joined this expat website.  I'm brazilian and my husband is British. We have moved from the UK to Florianopolis two years ago and are now expecting our second child who is due in September. I fully understand your concerns as I too have had to conduct a lot of research in relation to childbirth over here as our first was born in the UK.  Luckily I have connected with some wonderful professionals who are respectful and encouraging of natural births and doing so in a humanizing/supportive way. There are significant differences in how this care is provided though due to procedural medical restrictions. I have contacts that I'm more than happy to pass on to you, though I'm not sure how good their English will be.  Nevertheless, I provide services for the expat community who face cultural/language barriers and may need assistance in settling.  I'll contact you privately to pass on their contact.

Many thanks,

Laiane