Our First Pregnancy Doctor Experience in Morocco

I had my first baby last year and currently expecting number 2. It was a confusing experience because I come from the UK which is a midwife based system.
I live in Rabat and I found my OB/GYN by asking on the English speak women of rabat group on facebook and asking friends. Overall it was a reasonable experience pregnancy through to birth.
I also had a scan to confirm pregnancy, I think they assume you already have done the tests so they confirm by doing a scan so they can date and rule out an ectopic pregnancy.
As soon as I discovered I was pregnant I started taking prenatal vitamins. My dr was happy with this but also added folic acid, B12, iron and the occasional course of magnesium. They follow the French method here, in France they don't take the broad spectrum of prenatal vitamins, just the folic acid and B12.
At every appointment they measured my blood pressure, checked my weight and I was examined. I usually had some type of blood test or urine test to do prior to the appointment and the laboratoire.
You tend to have a lot more scans, you can decline them but just check out which are considered standard practice in your country, like the anatomy scan for example.
I was annoyed that the appointment time was never respected at my last dr office, waiting 2 hrs to see your dr is pretty annoying, more so when you're 8 months pregnant. This seems to be common practice here, they give everyone the same time and it's first come first serve.
When it comes to delivery you will give birth in the clinic that your dr works in so you should also factor that in when you select your dr. Check out the clinics ask around for experiences.
They are very into c-sections here so don't let them push you into one unless it is medically necessary. It you are having a vaginal birth I was advised to labor at home for as long as possible. This is because they are less likely to intervene or make you lay in a bed, which not necessary the best position to labour in.
The best advice I can offer you is to 1. Find a dr you like. 2. Accept the fact that you are in a different country with different practices and go with the flow. Of course you should stand up for what you want or fight what you think is wrong, but if you are more accepting of circumstances the whole process will be much less stressful.
If you want to ask me anything please send me a private message. I can recommend some groups to you that will help you out.

Thank you for your response, Jemm. I also found some helpful tips from Facebook forums for English-speaking women in Tetouan and Tangier. Luckily, a woman reached out to me and recommended a doctor in Tangier that she worked with for her pregnancy and birth. I visited this doctor last week and she is fantastic, professional, and I feel very comfortable with her. I think finding doctors in the smaller cities of Morocco is a little more difficult than in the bigger cities and can feel a little overwhelming.
I'm happy to hear you had a positive birth experience in Rabat!

Alhamdulillah!

Zouhair and I have been fortunate enough to be introduced to a fantastic baby doctor, OB/GYN through the use of social media.

Expat.com is a website I registered with to speak with other expats and read forums to learn more about the country of Morocco through the experiences of other Morocco-based expats.

I came across a thread titled, “Rules for Birth in Morocco.” I proceeded to read every word within the post and followed the read with posting a question about OB/GYNs and if anyone had any recommendations for the Tetouan area.

Two lovely women replied with very thorough responses and I couldn't be more grateful for their input.

One woman recommended I search for the group “Positive Birth Morocco” as well as the group “American and English Speaking Women in Morocco” and suggested I search for a Tetouan-specific page for English-speakers, too.

Within seconds of reading her reply I searched the groups and asked to become a member of both groups and successfully found the page “English Speaking Ladies of the Tetouan-opolis” as well as “English Speaking Women in Tangier/Tetouan Region.”

I cannot express how much these groups have helped me in our pregnancy journey since being accepted into the pages.

The women within these pages will respond to your questions thoroughly and will offer more advice than you could have ever hoped for.

A woman specifically reached out to me from Tangier. She sent me a direct message through Facebook after seeing one of my posts on the group pages and offered to help me in any way she could and to not hesitate to come to her with any questions as she had just had a baby girl a few weeks prior in Tangier.

We spoke to each other quite often and one of the first things she suggested to me was her OB/GYN in Tangier. She raved about her experience with this doctor and that she felt very cared and even pampered by the staff during her birth.

Zouhair and I made an appointment, which even making an appointment made us feel optimistic, as the doctors we experienced in the past didn't take appointments.

The time came for our appointment and we couldn't be happier with our experience. The doctor in Tangier is professional, takes her time to get to know you (even with the language barrier), and it is obvious she takes pride in her work and takes each patient and case seriously.

Our appointment took around an hour, which most likely equated to the combined time of our past doctor appointments from weeks 6 to 25.  The office was very clean and the ultrasound machine recorded in 3D and 4D, which was a wonderful surprise for both Zouhair and I. There was even an HD TV on the wall facing adjacent from the ultrasound machine for the expectant mothers to watch the ultrasound process without cranking their neck around to watch on the ultrasound machine screen.

Zouhair and I watched our little guy on the screen and he translated to me anything the doctor said, which, Alhamdulillah, everything was fine. His organs, hands, feet, eyes, and little heartbeat are all developing great and how they should be!

Zouhair and I both are truly grateful for the support and advice we have received from everyone throughout our pregnancy.

Coming from America, I have different expectations about what sort of care I would like to receive and although my expectations do not always translate when I am in Morocco, I never forget that I am indeed in a different country. I'm in a different continent. Many things are going to be different and in many ways I like these differences.

The importance lies with comfort and trust with the physician, especially considering that pregnancy and birthing a baby is something that cannot be planned for 100%. The physician/patient relationship is important no matter the difference in language, the costs for care, or the location within this world.

It's absolutely beautiful how much people can help each other Mashallah. If you ever find yourself in a situation that seems there's no option that is good or enough for you, just keep looking. Keep searching, and most importantly ask for help! It seems simple, but sometimes I find myself forgetting that this world is full of people who have had their own unique experiences and some of these people are very willing and excited to share and help others as much as they can.

We're not alone in this world and helping each other as the family that we are will help make this life much easier. You will most likely have many new friends and relationships than you did before, too. <3