by Jennifer M
(Currents May 2002, Children's Corner Column)

AWC mothers respond to Jennifer's questionaire in time for mother's day.

Contractions every 20 minutes, that is how it started with you. I drank cup after cup of Bengal Spice tea (the cinnamon stimulates contractions). And I got out my Khaled (Aicha, Aischa, ecoute moi) and belly danced until I could hardly walk (and I would pay the price with leg cramps for the next two days). And the contractions continued on through the late afternoon and into the evening. We had our typical Sunday night meal in May, asparagus with a creamy onion sauce and potatoes. And the contractions continued on into the night. Sometime during the evening, a storm started brewing outside--gusty winds and driving rains. Finally at 10 p.m., I jumped into the bathtub; and at 11 p.m., with contractions coming every five minutes, we finally called the midwife.

She arrived, and slowly but surely, stop and go, the contractions, along with some help from accupuncture and homeopathy, began to do their work--first only 3 cm, then 4 cm, then 5 cm. Then at 6 cm we decided to head for the hosptial; it was 3 a.m. The streets were deserted. The wind was raging. Broken tree limbs lay scattered about the streets and sidewalks. The midwife predicted that just as my labor had been quite "stormy", my baby would probably be a "stormy" one too (man-o-man was she right).

You sure did not waste any time coming down the final stretch. After taking your time getting ready, you just could not wait to get out. The midwife was reprimanding me--slow down, try not to push, just let the baby make its own way out. I had no choice; you were coming, and I had no control. And then out you popped like a champagne cork. I saw you swirling around in the water, still anchored to me by the umbilical cord. The midwife fished you out of the water and laid you on my chest--and there you were!

Being a mother in Hamburg is not always as easy as it seems. There is the notoriously bad weather, the eternally long winters with very little sun, and often a sense of isolation from one's family and friends who might be far, far away. But being a mother in Hamburg also has its positive side: the chance to meet mothers of other cultures, the chance to raise your children in a different culture, etc. Many of you mothers out there were mothers long before you came to Hamburg; but many, like me, first became mothers after arriving here. Something we all have in common, however, is the wonderful fact that we have created life, expanded our presence in this universe through the simple and yet mysterious act of giving birth.

And just what is it like to be a mother in Hamburg?

Well, many thanks go out to those of you who responded to my questionnaire and this is what you had to say!

The average age of those responding is 41. All are U.S. citizens. Seven have German partners, one has a Canadian partner and one has an American partner. The length of time spent abroad ranges from just two years to an amazing 25 years. While the Midwest is strongly represented with hometowns of Indianapolis, Detroit, Waterloo/CederFalls (IA), St. Louis and Minneapolis; others listed Houston and Greenville (NC) as hometowns. And one mother has been away from home so long that she listed her hometown as being nowhere. The number of children is 2.4/person, with the largest family containing three children.

In response to the question: Describe one experience that you miss having had by living in Hamburg because it does not exist here or is not the same as it is in your home town, I received the following comments.

• Miss family and friends (5)



• Miss services offered by public libraries in the U.S.A. (2)



• Miss celebrating holidays (like Halloween, Thanksgiving) (2)



• Miss longer school days/lack of extracurricular activities (1)



• Regret that Europeans are not as conscious of the ill-effects smoking has (1)



• Regret that apartments are smaller/neighbors not so friendly (1)



• Wish that society were more child-friendly (1)

In response to the question: Describe one positive experience that you have had being a mother in Hamburg that you probably would not have had in your home town, I received the following responses.

• Excellence of the German health care/health insurance system (coverage of midwives, coverage of lenthy hospital stays when complications are involved, coverage of longer hosptial stay for a birth, etc.) (4)



• Global Diversity/Playgroups: having the opportunity to meet mothers from all over the world and to be involved in playgroups that both the children and the mothers benefit from (3)



• Being able to combine both career and family and/or being able to be a stay-at-home mom (3)



• Not needing a car for transportation (2)



• Having better-behaved children (1)



• Being able to travel around Europe (1)

May is for mothers! Celebrate the wonder of being a mother! And do not forget your own mother in the process!