Having a baby as an expat in Tahiti

The good, the bad, the paperwork...

Plage de la Pointe Venus, where we had our ‘babymoon’.

Hello! I missed a newsletter the last two weeks as my life is now a crazy blur of feeding, burping, and trying to catch a few hours of sleep thanks to this little guy arriving:

Auguste is a tiny guy with a big appetite.

It’s been a wild rollercoaster going through the process of having a baby here. The medical system is excellent, but the paperwork and stress of the medical bureaucracy is pretty overwhelming.

Here are some hastily put down thoughts while baby is sleeping in the next room.

The paperwork is… a lot.

We decided we wanted to have the baby here in French Polynesia, which kicked off a whole host of requirements, the first of which was registering with the healthcare system (CPS).

Reams and reams of paperwork later, including 3 months of bank statements that were ruthlessly scrutinised, we were good.

Or were we? Nope, turns out our cover was getting cancelled until we could get everything translated and all the AUD values converted to XPF (the local currency).

Our cover was set to be cancelled on the 31st of January. Little guy arrived on the 2nd of February.

I left poor Martin to deal with everything, but we found out after the birth that apparently our cover was reinstated (?) or something, and we were covered for the birth. It was just that little bit of extra stress we didn’t need going into the labour.

There’s also registering the baby with CPS, registering him with the town hall, and god knows what else to deal with over the next few months. Hooray for French bureaucracy!

No births on our island

We had a monthly check-in with the midwives at Mo’orea Hospital every month during my pregnancy. You cycle through the different midwives who work there, so over the months I got to meet everyone at least once. Most of my appointments were in French with Martin translating when I didn’t understand.

The ER at Mo’orea Hospital (source)

Not all of the islands have hospitals that are equipped to handle births. While the Mo’orea Hospital used to have the ability, they’ve since shut down birthing there.

This means a trip to Tahiti for all the women who don’t want to give birth at home (which, while technically legal, is apparently discouraged).

It’s not just Mo’orea though; I met a fellow Australian living in Huahine who had to travel a full month ahead of her due date to give birth on Tahiti. Women have to come from all over the islands, sometimes having to leave their husbands and other children at home.

They recommended that we stay on Tahiti for a full month ahead of the due date, which felt ridiculous; we’re only a half an hour boat ride away. I wasn’t paying for accommodation for a full month.

True, if the baby decides to arrive in the middle of the night there are no boats. If something goes wrong in the middle of the night you’d need to be medevacked to Tahiti. There’s only one medevac helicopter, so if it’s 4 hours away in one of the outer islands you’re stuck until it gets back.

But we figured 10 days ahead would be sufficient and booked a little Air B’n’B in Pointe Venus. Luckily for us we could handle the expense; if you don’t have friends and family to host you, accommodation options seem pretty limited.

Tumu Ora versus Taaone

On Tahiti, you have a couple of options for where you give birth.

Taaone is the big, state-of-the-art hospital in Arue. Tumu Ora is the midwife-run birthing centre just across the carpark. You go to Taaone if you have a complicated birth, or if you want the drugs. You can go to Tumu Ora if everything is progressing as normal, and you’re happy to do it unmedicated.

Maison de Naissance Tumu Ora with Taaone visible behind (Source)

We chose to do it at Tumu Ora and the process was really wonderful. In advance of giving birth you have regular consultations and a series of 6 classes that cover everything from birth preparation, natural pain management, through to postpartum care. Some of the classes were in English when I had another English speaking mother with me, but most were in French with Martin translating when I got confused. We got to meet all of the midwives working there through the classes and consultations and it’s luck of the draw who you have on the day you go into labour.

The birth centre is a charming white house with a kitchenette, bedroom, and a big bath for water births. 22 hours of labour later, I ended up having Auguste in the water, more because I couldn’t exit the bath rather than by design.

Following the birth, you have a week of home visits to check everything from how the baby is latching, their weight, how you’re recovering. It was a lifesaver when we had no idea if the weird noises and movements our baby was making were normal. The midwives bought me nipple cream, a breast pump, homeopathic medications to increase milk production, and a lot of compassion on the days where I was struggling.

Marion, one of our midwives for the labour, with Auguste about an hour after birth.

Heading home with our 10 day old

I’m now on the Aremiti, writing this out while Auguste snoozes on his papa. It’s been a crazy first two weeks, everything’s a bit of a blur, but I feel pretty privileged that I got to have this experience as an expat in Tahiti.

Also, we were on Tahitian television talking about Tumu Ora - they dubbed me because I didn’t want to talk in my terrible French! Check out 16 minutes onwards.

February art download

To my lovely paid subscribers, your download for the month is an A4 print of this original artwork that I made when visiting Ahe.

If you’re a free subscriber (or not subscribed at all!) and you’d like access to the download, consider supporting my work by becoming a paid subscriber. You’ll get one free download per month along with the satisfaction of knowing that you’re helping me make more art!