Pregnancy in Finland

[Shinlan2]

Hello there,

I am expecting my first baby in Finland (10+2 atm) and I was trying to search an active thread where pregnant women or fresh moms are sharing there experiences with each other in English. But I couldn't really find anything. My midwife in Neuvola doesnt speak English and I would have so many questions about the Finnish system and pregnancy in general.
Anybody here is in the same situation? Is there some forums where I could chat with others about this?

Thanks for your help,

Shinlan

[EP]

http://www.google.com/cse?cx=0040796601 ... 6t%3D45971

[Shinlan2]

All of these topics are from 2009 or earlier... I am searching for some ACTIVE conversation

[ajl]

gee, when I clicked on those topics, at least two were from April, maybe there is no April 2010, does Hank remember anything?
One topic has a last entry of Dec 2009, so I think your request for current topics might need to be in some other forum where
people are *just* pregnancy focused, since those of us with children seem to have a longer view for Families in Finland...
Most of the info is as useful today as written in 2009, or 2008, or even earlier...

[Shinlan2]

Yeah, I meant not just in Finland Forum. There are lots of baby forums in Finland but they are all in Finnish... naturally. I have questions like what fish is harmful in Finland to eat while pregnant? What can you do against morning sickness (suggested a lot of places ginger tea but I havent seen any in Finland)? What snacks are you eating between meals? When are they checking for pregnancy diabetes? How much does it cost to deliver? What vitamins are suggested and so on.

[EP]

what fish is harmful in Finland to eat while pregnant

Raw fish (gravad, salted), it does not matter what fish it is. If it is cooked it is safe.

[ajl]

Looks likes you've started asking specific questions.... as in, you probably have to initiate
new dialog, although I think some things are probably covered in those OLD topics. You may
need to adapt yourself, since Finns have no need to have their online pregnancy centered
conversations using english....

In the past I used ginger for ginger tea when I made it for my brother, do people make it
using something else? Ginger root is not hard to find in even some small stores I've been
to, but I live in Helsinki.

[EP]

What can you do against morning sickness (suggested a lot of places ginger tea but I havent seen any in Finland)?

It is called inkivääritee. If you don´t find it from your store you can order for example from here:
http://www.nettiukko.fi/hyvanolonkauppa ... ritee.html

[ajl]

So do any fish here have interesting mercury levels? I'm not sure I'd want to eat much from
the Baltic after my teenager did a report on it last year. I think heavy metals are what most
Americans are asking about when they talk about safe fish to eat during pregnancy....

[EP]

So do any fish here have interesting mercury levels

Herring.

[EP]

And big pike.

[EP]

OK, I checked what Finnish Food Safety Authority has to say about it. They say pike.

[Shinlan2]

You may
need to adapt yourself, since Finns have no need to have their online pregnancy centered
conversations using english....

That s why I am looking for non-Finns living in Finland who might be interested having that type of conversation. And I guess for them this is the best place to look for?

http://www.evira.fi/portal/en/food/diet ... nsumption/
I should be eating fish once or twice per week, as fish is my main protein source. (because I dont eat other type of meat)
But in this article salmon, trout, herring and pike and predatory fish are not suggested more than once or twice per months.
I would really love to find a list of fish which are SAFE to eat rather than a list what are not .
My midwife said i shouldnt eat salmon, pike and kalavalmisteet. But what fish is kalavalmisteet from?! that helped a lot.

[EP]

But what fish is kalavalmisteet from?!

Herring, most of them. Sometimes salmon and trout.

[RA]

I suppose your midwife meant that you shouldn't eat gravad, cold-smoked or hot-smoked fish that has been vaccum-packed because of the risk of listeriosis. Salmon or rainbow trout is okay as pikeperch or vendace or any other lake fish. I'd steer away from fish from the Baltic sea. I make ginger tea using either fresh ginger or powered ginger, which you can get at any big supermarket.