ME31: Learning to Trust Yourself Through Pregnancy & Birth Abroad

Today’s Mindful Expat Guest is Karen Wilmot!

Karen was born and grew up in South Africa. Growing up with a mother who was a midwife, Karen was exposed from an early age to inspiring stories of women giving birth. She followed in her mother’s footsteps and became a midwife herself. Karen’s love of travel led her to live in many different countries – including Saudi Arabia, Mauritius, and Mexico. For the past 13 years, she has been living in Oman, where she established the first private community services there supporting expat women during pregnancy and birth. More recently, Karen was inspired to take her work online to reach women around the world in search of support and guidance as they navigate the birth process while living abroad. She started the Virtual Midwife, an interactive online platform where she provides personalized care, information, and support for expat women around the world, many of whom who have limited or no access to quality prenatal advice and care. An advocate for a holistic approach to birth, Karen incorporates mindfulness, yoga, and other methods for working with the mind and the body to promote health and wellbeing for the women she works with.

What you’ll hear in this episode:

• Some of the cultural differences that women and families may encounter when navigating pregnancy and birth in a foreign medical system.
• The importance of being informed about the medical system in your host country and knowing the right questions to ask to make sure you get your needs met.
• The importance of mindset and expectations in our experiences of pregnancy and birth (whether in a foreign country or not).
• How to recognize the factors that are within your control and accept those thing that may be outside of your control as you navigate pregnancy and birth in a foreign country.
• The importance of self-awareness and mindfulness (the ability to remain truly present) in pregnancy and birth.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Karen mentioned Jack Canfield's book, Chicken Soup for the Soul.
• Karen also recommended Pam Grout's book, E-Squared: Nine Do-It-Yourself Energy Experiments That Prove Your Thoughts Create Your Reality (which I will be adding to my own reading list!).
• Karen recently released a Birth Breathing App to help women practice breathing techniques to prepare for birth. This app is currently a free download for either iPhone or iPad!

More about Karen and how to follow up with her:

To learn more about Karen's online program, including her online course, you can visit her website at www.thevirtualmidwife.com. There you can also find a blog and other helpful resources.

As mentioned above, you can find Karen's Birth Breathing App on iTunes. 

You can also find Karen on Facebook or Twitter, and you can email her directly through the contact page of her website.

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