Tatjana from Stuttgart, Germany, lives in Tbilisi with her daughter - we met during the weekly moms’ meetups in Saburtalo. Tatjana has a very rich experience of motherhood in Georgia - she was pregnant and gave birth here in October 2021.
I asked her about her impressions about prenatal and postpartum life in Tbilisi, and we both hope it will be useful for future moms who are planning to move here.
- I did give birth in Georgia, at Pineo clinic. I was very happy with my choice, also went there for all my prenatal check-ups, ultrasounds, etc.
The doctors at Pineo all seemed very competent, and the nurses were nice and motivated (for the most part). One thing that was tricky for me and will be tricky for most internationals, is language. The doctors all speak decent English, the majority of nurses however don't speak any.
That is also one of the reasons why I decided to hire a doula to support me during labor and birth. I highly recommend that to any non-Russian speaker planning to give birth here. My doula, Ekaterina (highly recommend her, by the way!), is a native Russian speaker who speaks great English (and also Spanish, if I'm not mistaken). She was helpful in so many other ways as well. Her presence really made all the difference and I am sure my whole birthing experience would have been very different without her.
Generally, I would recommend Pineo to others, but be prepared for it not to be the kind of experience you would expect in a hospital in central Europe. Especially the prenatal checkups are a bit of an adventure every time, especially if you don't speak Georgian (or Russian, I assume). It takes quite some time and effort until you make it into your doctors' offices... yes, plural.
You need to see (and wait in line for) a bunch of different specialists; ultrasound, laboratory, and last but not least your actual gynecologist (who is on a different floor). Oh, and you need to pay for all those separately as well, which means waiting in yet another line.
But don't expect the lines to be actual lines. It goes like this: you arrive near the door or counter, ask who's last in line (it will come in handy to learn that phrase in Georgian!), remember their face, and then, later on, fight for your right to be the one to go in after said person! And don't forget it will be your responsibility to let the next person arriving know, that you're last in line.
- What was your idea about being a mom? How did you see it working for you?
- I've always wanted to be a parent and my daughter will definitely not remain an only child. I am now and am planning to be, at least for the foreseeable future, a stay-at-home mom. I breastfeed and want to continue breastfeeding until my daughter is at least one year old.
So far, I was able to be the kind of parent I've wanted to be and have managed to adapt and adapt to my surroundings so everything works for me. I've wanted to use a stroller, so we bought one that can handle the mean streets of Tbilisi with all its potholes, cobblestones, ridiculously high curbs, stairs, etc.
And not to mention all the maneuvering around dog poop, trees, poles, gates, parked cars, bikes, scooters and other random objects on the sidewalks. So yes, the stroller was quite an investment! But one we have not regretted making; not a single dime of it, not for a single day!
Our apartment, or generally the building, is not ideal with a baby either, but we've found ways to make it all work.
Continuing on the topic of breastfeeding, because I personally find this to be an essential part of being a mother, and I know for most other moms it is too: I fully breastfed my daughter until she was about four and a half months old. That's when I slowly started the weaning process.
I am now (she is 9 months old) down to twice a day on most days; right after she gets up in the morning and right before she goes to sleep at night. Sometimes we would add a session during the day, if she clearly demands it or is super whiney (e.g. when teething).
I do breastfeed in public (now less often, since as I said, I rarely do anymore during the day). It really did take some getting used to, though.
In the beginning, I always used a loop scarf - it was actually a specific breastfeeding scarf, not that makes the scarf any different, just mentioning it, to inform that there is such a thing - to cover my breast and feeding the child.
I gradually stopped doing that. It just turned out to be inconvenient and time-consuming after a while. In some places, I would still use it, though. But I have just stopped going to those kinds of places...
The more traditional Georgian restaurants are usually visited by more conservative guests and are also run by more conservative people. There I would (and would also recommend to) use the scarf.
I was even once interrupted while preparing to feed in such an establishment and escorted out of the main hall of the restaurant and into the tiny wardrobe room. The lady who worked there to take guests' coats was asked to leave and wait in the hall. Very awkward, yet ironically funny experience, especially since I was half-expecting not to be "allowed" to feed in there.
- How do you describe the Georgian attitude to children in general?
- Most Georgians absolutely adore children! Sometimes even annoyingly so! I have very soon stopped counting the times a complete stranger just came up and touched my daughter (mostly the feet rather than the face, thanks to Covid, I assume) or clearly showed or voiced that they would like to pick her up.
The former I have chosen to accept, the latter to ignore. She is usually nicely buckled up in her stroller, so "just picking her up" would be quite a piece of work. If it's people I know (and trust), I let them. That of course was a little bit different during earlier Covid waves and before we ourselves had had it.
If there is one aspect of the average Georgian's love for babies I truly hate, it's the baby talk! I know they mean well and probably think they are being considerate (or don't even realize they're doing it habitually), but so obviously mispronouncing words that even I can tell (and my Georgian is really not that great!) and get annoyed by it, can't possibly be good for kids' language development!
This goes especially for expat kids who are not usually talked to in Georgian. Some examples would be "ko" (kho/ხო), "lao" (rao/რაო), and my favorite "sakvaleli" (saq'vareli/საყვარელი)...
I know people do the whole baby talk thing in other languages too and I know that generally using a higher pitch, often repeating the same words, keeping your sentences short and easy, etc. when speaking to babies and young toddlers are known to be helpful in language acquisition, but knowingly mispronouncing words and sounds are definitely not!
One thing I find very interesting, even amusing, is that also an average Georgian man really seems to love babies and will interact with them verbally, with facial expressions, etc. but most of them will not hold them! I have heard many saying that they are afraid to "break" them if they do, some even wouldn't hold their own baby for that same reason! I find that very curious.
- What's your favorite pastime with your daughter?
- I love walking with my baby (using the stroller). Of course, I love it even more if I can combine it with something useful, like grocery shopping, an errand, meeting a friend, etc. And I absolutely love the fact that (most) strollers have this nice basket on the bottom to transport ANYTHING! And I really do. Often the reality of how much I gathered throughout the day kicks in on the last 100 meters of the way home; uphill!
- What about your favorite places in Tbilisi to spend time?
- One of my favorite places in Tbilisi is Dedaena Park. I love how they have managed to really make it a park for the whole family. There is something for everyone! I am really looking forward to my daughter starting to walk, so we can spend a lot of time around the playground, the water fountain and later on maybe even the skate park.
I feel the same way about Mziuri Park and some of the other newly renovated parks around the city, but for us, they are just further away. However, I am really dreading the winter, when my daughter will be walking and having all this excess energy to get out of her system, but the parks not really being an option to do so (at least not in every type of weather). I guess, I'll have to find some favorite winter places and activities then!
There is one activity that we already do enjoy that will be just as lovely during the winter: a sort of movement class at the Jo.Ha.Ku family center called "baby gymnastics". Ever since my daughter turned 6 months old, we have been going there twice a week (once now in the summer heat) and find it very helpful, not only for her physical, but also for her social development (and in our case language as well, since the group communication is mostly in Russian, which I don't speak or understand even the slightest bit).
- Please finish the sentence: I wish Georgia had...
...more and better environmental awareness.
..."dm" (German drugstore chain), very popular in many European countries.
...good "Brezeln" (Pretzels) and "Döner" (shawarma-like kebab dish, just waaaay better!)
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