Daily Life in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Because You Asked: The Cost of Having A Baby in Brazil

Let me preface this post (which has been requested over and over again by MANY readers) by saying that these are prices for private healthcare in the Zona Sul of Rio. In other words, yes there are other options available, not all doctors are this expensive nor are all hospitals. However, this is the information that I have on what it cost for the particular birth experience I had in Rio. The Canadoca was delivered at Perinatal in Laranjeiras by an English speaking well renown OB/GYN who practices in Gavea. These prices are from a friend who had her baby in the past year, so should be still current.

Two night's stay at Perinatal:                        BR$4,302*
OB/GYN Birth fees:                                      BR$8,000
Support staff (anaesthesiologist + 4 others)  BR$7,500
                                                                 BR $19,802  

Pre-pregnancy costs:

9 OB/GYN Appointments (BR$340 x 9)   BR$3,060
Ultrasounds (R$180 x 7)                       BR$1,260
Bloodwork (Can depend but approx)      BR$3,000
                                                         BR $7,320

For the birth experience I outlined for you in many posts, you are looking at BR$27,122 or US$16,400.

*In our case, insurance took care of this part on the spot, and so we did not have to personally pay for it.

 

Oh that Peanut Allergy.

It's a pesky one, that peanut allergy of mine. Always getting in the way of my fun. I thought that with spending Christmas in the south this year I'd avoid any temptation or mishap, not surrounded by boxes of chocolates and nuts and bolts. Wrong!

At the Freddo (aka the best icecream ever) counter in Buenos Aires, I was indecisive. Who could blame me, right? The English-speaking girl behind the counter offered me a sample of "Mantecol" flavour, and assured me it did not contain nuts.

My throat was instantly itchy and swollen and I told her that whatever she'd given me most certainly had to have contained nuts. She insisted it didn't... we went to a corner store and bought a "Mantecol" bar, its main ingredient is "pasta de mani" - peanut paste.... nice.

On another occasion a few months back I ordered a stirfry dish while out for lunch, and asked the waiter if it contained nuts. He said no, then yes, so I informed him of my allergy. He brought out the dish with nuts on top of it, then while serving it Brazilian family style assured me he would pick around the nuts (they were tiny and everywhere) when plating mine. When I explained this wouldn't work he still insisted on plating me some rice, using the spoon that was still covered in nuts from the other dish...

The bottom line: be very careful eating out in this part of the world if you have serious allergies. Waitstaff are NOT educated on the seriousness of allergies and brush it off, and are not always well informed of food ingredients, either.

I must say it would be nice to find a happy medium. Back in Canada + the states, many restaurants have over the top paranoid policies on allergies in fear of being sued. In many cases when I've informed a server of my allergy it's either led to me not being able to order what I want (because they can't 100% guarantee it hasn't come into contact with nuts - which by the way I'm fine with, as basically everything "may contain" or have had contact with nuts, but they weren't okay with it and didn't let me) or having a lengthy conversation with some restaurant manager .

 

Frango Bem Passado

On countless occasions in a variety of restaurants in Rio, I or my dining companions have been served chicken that's more than just a little pink on the inside. Not quite done! The frequency in which this happens leads me to believe that Brazilians might like their chicken a little more on the rare side than we're accustomed to in North America. "Bem Passado" is the key word for well done in case you want to avoid this!

The Baby Gender Blood Test

Here in Brazil, once determined pregnant, one can take a blood test to determine the sex of the fetus. From what I've been told, Brazil is one of the only countries in the world offering this sneak-peek. Ultrasound testing does not reveal the baby's sex conclusively as early on - generally this is done at 20 weeks, sometimes a smidge sooner (and sometimes inconclusively or WRONG), whereas this blood test is accurate, and can be performed as early as 6 weeks in. Early! To put this in perspective, when I was 6 weeks pregnant, I didn't know I was pregnant! I'd suspected I might be, and taken tests both in Argentina and Brazil, which were false-negatives.But I didn't even get conclusive tests to determine pregnancy until I was 7 weeks along.

Anyway! It costs R$400. It can be done. It is particularly handy if you are an expat, pregnant, planning a trip home in your first or second trimesters to shop.

Alternatively, if you are like I was and don't want to find out, prepare to be met with sympathy from Brazilians... what am I talking about? In my case more than one person assumed I was having a transgender baby when I told them I didn't know the sex of the baby. "You mean they couldn't tell? Nossa!"

Naming the baby after it's born? Unheard of! Most Brazilian babies are named before they're conceived, so it seems. Okay, maybe that's an exaggeration. Upon receiving the results of the baby gender blood test ;)

 

New Carseat Law in Brazil

As of September 1st, in Brazil it is now mandatory for babies and children up to 7 years old traveling in private passenger vehicles to be strapped into carseats.  Previously use of carseats was simply a recommendation. It seems that taxis and buses are exempt.

Police in Rio began issuing fines on September 8th.

Those who disobey the rules will receive a fine of R $ 191.54 and seven points in the driver's license, plus the seizure of the vehicle until the deficiency is remedied. The new rule was initially to begin to be enforced in June, but was postponed because the seats themselves were in short supply. As it is, there are currently 3 month waiting lists at some stores to buy the seats. So, I am guessing that you could probably sell a carseat for a pretty penny here in Brazil these days! Especially considering they are about 4 x the price of the ones back home as it is!

One article I read estimated that previously just 32% of mothers in Brazil were using carseats to transport babies.

 

 

 

Free Gym with a View!

We just went through the painful-on-the-pocketbook renewal of our fees for our gym/club this past month. As I was running on the beach the other day (and -cough- NOT on the treadmill at the club... which I never do by the way, only run on the lagoa or at the beach. Which begs the question as to why we belong but really it is mostly to take the Canadoca to the pool! Ok, it is also really nice to have the option of working out indoors when it is pouring buckets or steaming hot.) when it occurred to me that we are suckers! You can work out for free in Rio, and like at the gym or academia as they are called here, you can even spot novella stars if you are lucky. Some of Rio's free outdoor exercise equipment has been recently revamped. Check it out!

 

 

I Went to See The Foot Whisperer

Recently, upon the recommendation of my yoga teacher, I went to see reflexologist Sally Teixara on my "mom's day out" for a very relaxing and fulfilling treatment. Sally calls herself the foot whisperer and has an amazing energy about her. Her vision is to empower people worldwide toward self discovery through the subtle messages held within their feet and body and inspire them on their healing journey towards great health, inner peace and fulfilment. In addition to offering reflexology treatments, she facilitates workshops on a variety of topics associated with reflexology, reiki and healing, and also writes an international blog, website and newsletter.

Here is Sally's information if you are interested in giving your feet a treat:

www.universallyrio.com

www.reflexologyrio.com

Don't forget to tell her DRL sent you ;)

 

 

Paging Doctor...

There are many aspects of life in Rio that are awesome. It occurred to me that I really should share something I just did a second ago - texted my doctor, to ask if she received my test results, and asking her to call me back when it's a good time for her (because I hardly want to CALL her and interrupt her doing something more important. I mean, come on, she's a doctor!). This would NEVER happen back home. A doctor give out a cell phone number? Um, no. Never. Not in a million years.

Yay ten points for Rio!

Around the Web

• Recently I did a little piece on what the expat wives of Rio do to occupy themselves. Here's another article I found about expat wives, complete with a poem at the end.
• Oh great, now everyone in other countries will not only think that Canadians don't lock their doors and have a great healthcare system, but also that we live in little teeny tiny houses like this one for sale in Toronto. But maybe at least it will raise some awareness that we don't actually live in igloos?
• Apparently there is a movement to reduce the number of plastic bags consumed in Brazil. The environment minister is aiming to reduce by over a billion and a half bags per year. I figure this is totally do-able! My action plan? Inform all baggers at all grocery stores that it is possible to put more than one item in each bag. It's news to all of them, I assure you.
• Finally, a piece on how working abroad could be good for your health. I believe it! Mr. DRL works more hours than ever here, has 5 times longer of a commute (on a good day) and yet is WAAAYYYYY healthier here than he was back home. Seriously never gets sick, and back home I thought he had chronic fatigue syndrome or worse.  I think he and I are just both allergic to Calgary. Anyway, here's the article.

Quick Note on Healthcare in Brazil

I should preface this post by saying that I realize how incredibly lucky I am to have health insurance and access to health care at all. But for those who think Canada has the perfect health care system and that other countries should model themselves after it, think again. It's waaaaay better here.

We took the Canadoca to busy hospital ER over the weekend - nothing serious, just extreme irritability which we thought was due to teething and after she'd had a fever for a few days she suddenly erupted in a rash so we thought we'd better get her in to see someone. We called our pediatrician and he asked us to take her to Copa D'or.

I figured we'd be there all day. She wasn't showing many symptoms and surely there would be others who needed more urgent care.

We were in and out of that hospital within one hour in which time two doctors examined the Canadoca, who is just fine (and actually cut a tooth while we were at the hospital). The paperwork was minimal. The longest we waited at any point was for our car from the valet!

The Bundchen Baby

Although many people come to Brazil thinking that they will find 100 million clones of Gisele Bundchen, there are even more reasons than ever to assure you that this is not at all the case. 

In fact, after reading this article in People, I am starting to wonder if she is Brazilian at all! She did not use any painkillers during the birth of her son (this is pretty much unheard of according to my OB, who also tells her expat clients regularly that they should give Brazilians lessons on "how to behave during childbirth"), opted for a natural birth (again, Brazil has one of the highest C-section rates...), and didn't NAME her child for several days after his birth (most Brazilians I have met who are pregnant find out the sex of the baby as soon as possible via blood test - before the ultrasound results are possible - then promptly name their child and start referring to them by their name from that point on!) 

Are we sure she is Brazilian?

2009 Expat Survey Results: Activity Levels

So we covered food, and now that it's January, it's on everyone's mind... being active! I asked the survey participants a few questions about keeping active in Rio.

Specifically...

Do you participate in more physical activity and sport than you did before moving to Rio?

47% responded "YES"

12% responded "NO"

41% responded "Same as Before"

I then asked what the scale had to say.

The majority of respondents, 56%, report that they've maintained the same weight as they were before moving to Rio.

26% of respondents reported gaining weight, while 18% have lost weight since moving here.

My comment: there are a TON of not-so-healthy temptations here in Rio (mostly fried stuff and desserts) and it is all readily available on the street. That said, the food is generally not as processed here, and it is just as easy to eat healthy foods especially with the wide variety of amazing fruits and vegetables. Being active is easy here too, with so many places to walk and such a variety of fun activities. Also- obviously as I've disclosed a lot of my respondents are trailing spouses or expat wives - both of which have a lot of time to eat or exercise. Personally I do a lot of both!!! Mr. DRL definitely exercises more here in Brazil, but has apparently put on a few kilos since moving here...

Brazilian Diet Secrets

These are all diet tips I have been told/friends of mine have been told by Brazilians. You be the judge...

1) The crust of bread is good for you but the middle, soft part is fattening.

2) Mangoes and acai should be avoided because they are too high in calories (this was told to me by someone with a plate full of deep fried salgados in front of them...)

3) When you are on a diet you should eat minas cheese and processed turkey breast with bread for breakfast. 

Celebrating Sacred Femininity

On Saturday November 14th, one of my readers is hosting a workshop in Copacabana, celebrating Sacred Femininity, featuring yoga and creative writing.

14/11/2009
9:00 `as 17:00
R$95,00
Coparampa. Rua Sá Ferreira, 202.
Contact: [email protected]  Frida 21 9974 5946

Click here for more details

Let them have CAKE?

I would like to preface this post by saying that when the incident I am about to write about occurred, I had NO intention of writing about it. However, in the few days since it occurred, in talking with other people, it occurred to me that this is anything but an isolated incident, so I think it's worth mentioning!

Last week a well-meaning acquaintance fed Canadoca some cake when she was being held by another friend. She is not quite 6 months old now, and hadn't previously been given anything other than breastmilk. Put it this way - according to the books I'm reading (and my pediatrician) there are a few foods recommended for babies this age, and cake is not one of them. Not to mention that I am a bit anal about these things (food) despite being a pretty relaxed mom about other things, like, you know, traveling. For example, the night before, my mom and I were analyzing what would be the best foods to first introduce to Canadoca based on what her blood type is. Silly us, cake is the obvious choice.

Suffice it to say I didn't anticipate her first food being CAKE, and I had kind of looked forward to being around when she first tried solids, to see her reaction, you know... I figure I've earned that you know with all the late night feedings, giving birth, gear schlepping and gazillion loads of laundry I've done. These first are the fun parts, the mommy rewards if you will.  But no.  I also have severe (anaphylactic) allergies to nuts and shellfish, so I will be very careful when introducing certain foods to Canadoca because of the family history, baking is something I have to be extremely careful with. Anyway, the person did not mean to cause her any harm of course, as she did not see any issue with giving a five month old cake. Apparently it was par for the course for her. Got it.

I thought I was the only one who could possibly have such a bizarre incident occur, until I read Eric & Emily's post on another well-meaning South American trying to give their daughter cake, saying it couldn't hurt. Then a friend told me about how every time she goes for coffee, the barristas stuff her 14 month old full of chocolate when she turns her back to pay. You often see babies with bottles of chocolate milk, or perhaps it's milk and coffee, as in the story in Emily's post.

I get that nutrition is about personal choices and opinions and that South Americans have a different view on it than North Americans in many cases (do you really need fries, rice and pasta with your beans and meat? Not to mention no vegetables besides the beans...sugar in EVERYTHING) but I am really not okay with people feeding things to my kid without asking me first, especially when it could be putting her at risk. I also get that this is something we will have to contend with back home with people wanting to give her treats, but I didn't expect this to start before she'd even started eating. For now, cake will be officially listed as her first solid food in the baby book, no long term effects, and heck she even seemed to enjoy it. But I'll be more careful next time...  

Baby DRL is here!

On Friday, my water broke at about midnight (right after asking Mr. DRL if he was prepared to not go back to work for a while!) a weekend later, we're home and parents to a healthy (8 lbs, 5 oz) baby girl... life will never be the same!

What Good Health is Worth

I have been meaning to do a post for some time now on what the costs of certain treatments for different ailments have been in our experience here in Rio. I find it to be unpredictable and often shocking. It's a good idea to keep cash in the country in case you need, well, as you'll see below - some bloodwork done!  (A "good to know" - most places do NOT take Visa. Sao Vicente Hospital in Gavea does however and they have a lab there as well.)

• For example, when I was taken to Emergency in Copa D'Or for an anaphylactic reaction and I feel my life was saved by the treatment I received, it cost a mere R$180.
• The above struck me as particularly odd being that treatment for a routine urinary tract infection cost R$650 (Doctor's appointment, tests and prescription).
• An overnight ER visit by Mr. DRL for severe vomiting and convulsions a few months ago cost R$2,700 (but included the visit, some antibiotics, tests including an ultrasound and a CT scan). 
• Prenatal visits are $R300 a pop, and ultrasounds vary between R$180 and R$350, depending on which tests are ordered. 
• Blood tests are very expensive. I have paid up to R$2,000 for a set of bloodwork (and I have had to do about 5 or 6 sets of it over the course of my pregnancy). Luckily my insurance now pays for this directly!
• Physiotherapy/massage appointments have ranged between R$100 and R$130 and generally last at least an hour.
• The projected cost for the birth of my baby is R$13,000 which includes 2 obstetricians in the room at all times, a personal anaesthesiologist, and pediatrician.  The cost would not change if it were to be C-section.
• Here's another funny one - over the counter pregnancy tests vary in price but I generally paid about R$30 for them. A pregnancy test - blood test - at the Sergio Franco clinic costs R$20.  Also note that some of my at-home pregnancy tests were WRONG thus the number of TESTS plural that I had to take.

I would like to note that our medical insurance does cover these costs but in a lot of cases we have had to pay up front and be reimbursed later. We started off down here insured with an international healthcare plan for expats but found the paperwork quite overwhelming - ALSO there was some fine print in our policy, specifically we were not covered for a pregnancy unless the baby was conceived at least one year after the insurance policy had been in place. Oops.

Now we are insured with Bradesco here in Brazil, and so in many cases we do not have to pay up front if the place handles it directly, however others do not and in these cases we have to pay up front and submit later. For example the lab takes our insurance but my doctor, ultrasound technician, hospital, massage/physio, etc. do not.

Another note: there may be more cost-effective healthcare available, admittedly we tend to go to places that are highly rated - in search of "pristine" healthcare as one of my commenters put it.

Just something for expats to think about...

 

Dengue Fever in Brazil

Just as a sidenote, most of my guests who have visited travel doctors back home were advised to get Yellow Fever vaccinations to visit Rio, something that is NOT actually required!

It's Dengue season again - Expat American Living in Brazil has a travel alert/update on the situation - check it out here.

Luckily Rio is not yet affected.  Thank goodness for me because pregnant women's oxygen-rich blood is apparently a magnet for mosquitoes!

KEB

So in our neighbourhood we now have 3 little "fast food" places in a row - Koni, Keb & Yoggi. I've written about Koni & Yoggi before (Koni is little sushi cones available with a ton of different fillings/toppings. Yoggi is a frozen yogurt place.  Also a bit of a favorite for me right now...)

I love that there are some healthier fast food options around - something we could learn from back home.

Fast forward to KEB - I was hoping it would be like falafel places back home, but unfortunately it's not, really.  Lacks that spice/kick... we weren't super impressed with the food... Mr. DRL's comments are funny - he says that he feels there is too much emphasis on the gimicks and not on the food. See the little plate/scooper foldable thing below. We were all quite puzzled with it and spent several minutes figuring it out.

Xixi (she shee - also known as pee pee) times three

So... I wasn't going to post about any of these, er... events individually, but now that they have all happened within about a week, I think it's a sign...

STORY 1: It's no secret that a lot of public urination goes on in Rio.  During Carnaval it takes place even more.  You know, it's normal -  the drinking, the outdoors-ness. No, sorry I don't understand it.  Oh you really really just "had to go"? Yes, I am familiar with the concept being that I am now more than 30 weeks pregnant... trust me if I can hold it, so can you. Yes, I realize that there are a lack of public washrooms, but frankly, no one wants to see or smell you do it... Can you tell I saw a few too many people partaking in this over Carnavale? According to this little piece in OGlobo, the city of Rio is using 120 thousand litres of disinfectant to combat this... situation.

STORY 2: Continuing on the topic... then, at Carnaval, I was handed a little envelope as I entered the premises. After we got settled in, I checked it out.  See the photos below:
Understand the directions? It's a device for women to direct their urine (so they can pee standing up). How nice for the Sambodromo to provide us with this technology!

Back home, thanks to a girlfriend's stagette (bachelorette party) ... I am familiar with such devices.  The brand of choice is called the "Freshette" and at my friend's last celebration of singledom, which had an out in the bush theme since we were in rural BC, a freshette was purchased for her as a gift/dare.

After reviewing the Freshette website I see there are many benefits to using such devices... check it out here. 

STORY 3: This surely falls in the TMI (Too Much Information!) category and also in the completely mortifying and pretty disgusting categories... but like I said - I didn't intend to post about any of these incidents individually but now that they've all come together it does make for an interesting blog post... and also a head's up to anyone who's pregnant in Brazil.  And posts like this also make me happy that this blog is fairly anonymous ;)  Okay, so consider yourself warned.

Being pregnant, I frequently go for blood and urine testing.  I noticed that the directions for the urine testing are much more "thorough" (meaning diagrams and everything) when it comes to the pre-urine cleansing or wipe-down that is to take place, as opposed to back home where they sometimes just give you a wet nap type thing or something to use beforehand.  Ok, so no big deal.  However, last time I went for testing, when it came time for the urine test, the nurse had me lay down on the table, get into the stirrups (so that she could ensure the "pre-urine cleansing" was done properly - yikes!) and then after that MADE me pee in a cup she was holding WHILE I was still in the stirrups at the lab.  I was SURE that it was a language barrier issue at first until she showed me some MORE detailed instructions with drawings and everything. Yes, I had some major stage fright.

It should be noted that I have talked to a few people about this and NO ONE back home has ever heard of anything like this, and people here who have been pregnant in Brazil have not necessarily gone through this either, depending on which lab they used. So I'm not saying this is a procedure that is followed in every Brazilian lab, I'm just stating the facts of what happened to me!

My knee

Thanks so much to everyone who has commented and emailed me about my fall. I really appreciate it!

I am feeling much better - I have been back to the surgeon twice to have the bandages changed and will get the stitches out next Friday. I was not very mobile for the first two days but am up and around now, even went out for lunch on Thursday and walked a few blocks.

This took a lot more out of me than I would have expected. I was very tired the first few days and not exactly a model patient (my husband may have regretted taking the day off on Tuesday... not that he will admit it, haha), I am not happy being inactive for any period of time. 

Once the stitches are out I can swim again, and a couple weeks later I can start again with yoga.  There's light at the end of the tunnel!

One interesting thing about having a knee injury while pregnant, I remember reading that every extra pound of weight a person carries puts the pressure of 10 pounds worth of weight on the knee... nice timing for a knee injury, huh? I am certainly carrying a few extra pounds these days if you know what I mean...

Night Out - Elton John. Part 2: The Turn for the Worse

Sooooo... last night my friend & I were leaving the Elton John concert when my night took a turn for the worse. Our husbands were hanging out back in Leblon and offered to drive down to come and pick us up but we turned them down, mostly because we didn't know the area, therefore finding a meeting place would likely be disasterous. We were FINALLY to where the cabs were, and were sweaty, exhausted, (hello swollen ankles when you are 6 months pregnant and have been standing in sandals for about 5 hours in the heat), hungry, both couldn't wait to eat and shower.

We were steps, about 10 steps in fact, away from getting into a nice air conditioned cab, and cut under an underpass to make the walk a bit quicker. Enter the pipe. I didn't see it coming. Judging by the INDENTS which will surely be awful bruises that are still indented on my shins this morning, I tripped on it at about lower to mid calf height, then proceeded to go down, landing on mostly my left knee. It was a bit of a blur and although I did not immediately feel any pain, I knew something was up with that knee. When I rolled up my pantleg, I saw the gash and what looked like my kneecap. Yep it was that deep. Yikes.

A policeman approached us and asked if I was okay but I quickly said I was fine and my friend asked him to help us get a cab, he pointed to them 10 feet away and said they're over there... ok thanks. I really realized how afraid I am of the police here last night as with both of my two encounters with them I just got the heck out as fast as possible!

We got into a cab and headed for the Sao Vicente hospital in Gavea. After many "detours" (I don't think the cabbie quite knew where he was going) we arrived, met Mr. DRL and I was immediately helped out.

Here's where it gets a bit comical...

After looking at the gash, the ER doctor said she'd have to call in a surgeon to stitch me up and it would be about 20 minutes. We all wondered why they would not have someone ready for surgery in the ER, I mean it is a hospital, right? Turns out there's no PLASTIC SURGEON on duty, just on call. That's right, I have officially had "work done" in Brazil. He had to do a little bit of reconstructive stitching on the inside of my knee (muscles) and I am also confident my scar will not be too bad considering, well, he's a plastic surgeon! And a very nice, English speaking one, I might add. Yes, he offers "other services" - if you want his info, let me know...

I asked if he could throw in extra services for some sort of package deal... no go last night.

So now I need painkillers, antibiotics, no yoga or exercise or beach or pool... sucks. I guess I will finally get caught up on some of that blogging now!

There are so many ways in which this could have been worse, I'm really grateful that:

• My knee broke my fall and therefore the baby is fine.
• Today is a holiday, since my husband and friend were in the ER with me until after 3:30 this morning.
• We were not located in too bad of a place when it happened, meaning I did not have to walk more than 10 steps to get into a car. We'd just finished walking at least a couple of km's to get out of there, it would not have been good if it had happened earlier!
• My friend was fantastic, and not grossed out, and very supportive.
• It was not worse!

I would like to comment that it must seem that my husband and I are incredibly incident and accident prone - this is our 3rd ER visit since moving to Rio, and in fact it's our 3rd since September. Back home going to hospitals just wasn't something that we ever did, but as I often say, in Rio there is seldom a dull moment...

Muscle Beach

I've been meaning to post about this for awhile!

Muscle Beach has set up in Rio for 3 months - the "summer" - is free of charge, offers lots of classes!  To use the facilities you do have to register and it is open to tourists as well, but what I don't know is whether or not it is still open to registration.  Anyway there are a lot of outdoor "gyms" in Rio along the beach but this one is certainly the most state of the art I've seen, apparently there is also one in Barra.

To read more about Amil's Muscle Beach on Ipanema or Barra beaches, click here.

Here is the class schedule for the one in Ipanema:
 

Oh the Vanity of it all... First Impressions...

I wrote this as a draft on September 26th, the day after I found out I was "for sure" pregnant and had my first prenatal visit... now that the cat's out of the bag, here are some genuine first impressions, not to mention advice for anyone finding themselves "knocked up" in Brazil...

First thoughts on finding out one is pregnant or "gravida" in Brazil

1) I am not sure if I was really "just a little bit pregnant" (I know, there is no such thing) but I did multiple at home pregnancy tests which were inconclusive.  Just FYI. The first was negative, a week later the second and third were neither positive nor negative (was supposed to have 2 stripes on one side for prego or two stripes on the other side for not prego. What did I get? One stripe on each side... TWICE. Two separate tests.) Then finally I bought a "Clear Blue" and it was positive. Go for the North American pregnancy tests, in my experience they were accurate and the other local brand was not!

2) If you think you might be expecting, go for a blood test right away, it will cost R$20 at Sergio Franco clinic - which has many locations - and they say you will have the results within 8 hours.  My first thought should have been: "this was too good to be true..." no, the results were not ready until the next morning (after I had called two additional times and frantically tried to check them online in the bathroom while we were out for dinner, on my blackberry)... but once I did get them the next morning, they were accurate and at only $R20 it is a steal of a deal. Most at-home pregnancy tests here are in the $R30 range, and not necessarily reliable (see point 1!).  Which gets expensive in comparison, when you have to buy 4 of them like I did... And then you know sooner. I felt certain I was pregnant 3 weeks before I found out for sure but thanks to the faulty tests, did not get confirmation until I was 9 weeks along.

3) After all this runaround, I really needed to hear it from someone in a white coat, in English, that I was pregnant in order to believe it.  As soon as he did, he gave me supreme sh*t for getting too much sun the day before and told me I would have to be very careful in the sun while pregnant and went on and on about what kind of cream to use to prevent stretch marks and to help my skin heal itself afterwards. As much as I thought: wow this is his main concern? I also think: wow I might be lucky to be having my kid here!  Sounds like some good stretch mark cream! Note that despite he mentioned the cream no less than 5 times when I was there and even provided samples, he did not once tell me anything about diet, drinking (ok maybe because it's obvious! But still...), exercise or any restricted activities.  Or my health other than my skin health...

Thanks to the mayo clinic web site I now am all up to date on that stuff anyway... but good to know where his priorities lie.

Back to Brazil

Because, of course, THAT is what this blog is actually about. Well, supposed to be.  When I am not talking about myself, my baby, my family, my husband, international politics, or, er... food.

So today I went to the physiotherapist, which is actually always a lot of fun.  It's more massage-like than the physio I've had back home, and the two physio's I go to both speak a smattering of English and Portuguese so it's kind of like a mini Portuguese lesson for me and mini English lesson for them.

They were telling me about places to buy baby things here in Rio, and we got talking about bedding. Specifically, sheets.

One of them knew what sheets were but the other thought we'd somehow got onto the topic of diapers. Why? Well in the cute little Portuguese accent, sheet, and sh*t pretty much sound the same! (Kind of like gringoes saying coco and coco...)

So then we got into this pronunciation demo where I tried to show them how to pronounce the difference, about 10 times, so then they each repeated me about 15 times, so you can really see how a bystander walking in might have thought someone really sh*t the bed...

Sheet! Sh*t! Sheet! SH#t!

It was quite amusing...

Thanks, Pfizer!

I find a many interesting articles on the Made In Brazil blog - and a lot of info on events around the city, and of course all things Madonna. Oh and if you are ever looking for photos of hot guys in Speedo's, it should also be your first stop. Since, let's face it, most people in North America have really never seen this before, they have only seen Grampa's and six year olds wearing speedos.

Speaking of Grampa's... today on Made in Brazil is a post about a new health initiative in Brazil - sex education for the elderly. Ok, maybe I am using the term elderly too loosely... for the 50+ crowd. Apparently in Brazil the rate for this age group contracting AIDS has doubled over the past ten years.

Click here for the Made in Brazil blog post and to view the commercial.

Who should be paying for this issue (in my opinion)... Pfizer! The maker of Viagra... oh where would we all be without it...

Hot Water Purse, Anyone?

I am having some issues with my sciatic nerve so my doctor recommended some rest, anti-inflammatory lotion and a hot water bottle. Off to the drugstore I go, prescription in hand.  When I asked about a hot water bottle, or my translation of it (agua quente garaffa), the pharmacist took me to the water cooler and pointed out the variety of bottled water for sale.  I gave him the confused gringo face and said told him I needed to be able to heat it up, a hot water bottle. To the back he went, and came out with a GLASS bottle of water (I guess that would be somehow easier to heat?).  I then showed him my lotion he'd just helped me find, then motioned putting it on my back and said again agua quente... "Ahhh!" he said... "Bolsa de agua quente!"

Which basically translates to: Hot water purse. Done and done.

Of course!

Things That Come in Three's.

I've been telling our friends and family that if they need yet another reason to come visit us in Rio, they should look no further than this simple fact: they should feel super-safe about our ability to find them excellent medical care should they fall into bad health (or fall down and hurt themselves after too many caiprhinha's) - because we are slowly making our way through the ER's of the city.

I am a firm believer in the "third time's a charm" expression and "things come in 3's" so we're done. Right? Period. No more ER's.

We spent Thursday night in the ER. Not me this time! My husband (after just recovering from a nasty bout with bronchitis that the doctor was concerned could potentially develop into pneumonia) came down with flu like symptoms and was vomiting, convulsing and had a really high temperature. So in the middle of the night I took him to the ER at Sao Vicente where we had the entire emergency ward to ourselves, he was immediately cared for, hooked up to an IV, given a CT scan and ultrasound, various blood tests, and kept until the following afternoon. Oh and they were really nice, most of them spoke English, and they let me sleep in the bed with him.  Except, he eventually kicked me out and made me sleep on a stool because he was nauseous. 

It seems as though he had some sort of nasty virus but is now feeling much better. He even went for a swim in the ocean with his friend who is visiting today!

So tourists, fret not if you are coming to Rio, even if something terrible happens to you, you will probably receive much better medical care than you would in, say,  Canada! I realize that is not what Michael Moore would have you believe, but it's true...  

I've been telling our friends and family that if they need yet another reason to come visit us in Rio, they should look no further than this simple fact: they should feel super-safe about our ability to find them excellent medical care should they fall into bad health (or fall down and hurt themselves after too many caiprhinha's) - because we are slowly making our way through the ER's of the city.

I am a firm believer in the "third time's a charm" expression and "things come in 3's" so we're done. Right? Period. No more ER's.

We spent Thursday night in the ER. Not me this time! My husband (after just recovering from a nasty bout with bronchitis that the doctor was concerned could potentially develop into pneumonia) came down with flu like symptoms and was vomiting, convulsing and had a really high temperature. So in the middle of the night I took him to the ER at Sao Vicente where we had the entire emergency ward to ourselves, he was immediately cared for, hooked up to an IV, given a CT scan and ultrasound, various blood tests, and kept until the following afternoon. Oh and they were really nice, most of them spoke English, and they let me sleep in the bed with him.  Except, he eventually kicked me out and made me sleep on a stool because he was nauseous. 

It seems as though he had some sort of nasty virus but is now feeling much better. He even went for a swim in the ocean with his friend who is visiting today!

So tourists, fret not if you are coming to Rio, even if something terrible happens to you, you will probably receive much better medical care than you would in, say,  Canada! I realize that is not what Michael Moore would have you believe, but it's true...  

Salmon

Being originally from the west coast of British Columbia, Canada, I grew up eating a lot of Salmon. So I have been delighted to find many salmon dishes available here in Rio. However, after finding out that most of the salmon here is farmed, I am a bit more selective about my salmon consumption in Brazil...

Not only is farmed salmon more likely to contain toxic substances such as PCBs and pesticides, but back home there was recently a story in the news about fish farms in BC causing problems with the wild salmon population, specifically infecting them with parasites and sea lice.

For those who still want a taste of salmon in Rio and can't find any wild stuff: it is widely recommended that one not consume farmed salmon more than once a month.  So go ahead and try it out, just not that often!

Timing is Everything

Most of our experiences in life are all about timing. Our experience in finding a new doctor the other day was no exception.

We do have the names of a few doctors, recommendations from friends and my husband's office.  However, none of them had any openings anytime soon, and Mr. DRL had been quite sick for almost a week, so I decided it was time to go to see a doctor, appointment or not.

My one idea of where to start this process was the "CoTrauma" office on Autalfa de Paiva, I figured if they didn't have a walk-in clinic of sorts, they would be able to at least point us in the right direction.  Which they did, to a huge building about a block away with the names of about 100 doctors on the directory, but we couldn't discern which one might be a) a general practitioner and b) available.  In strolls a fellow who speaks English, asks us if he can help, and says yes I know just the person! Oh! There he is now, cutting through the lobby.  The man went up to the doctor and explained our situation, and within 15 minutes my husband was being treated by a Harvard educated doctor who spoke perfect English.  We are more than willing to do most things in Portuguese (or at least try) but when it comes to health matters, it is really nice if there are no misunderstandings.  Understanding 80% of a conversation is just not enough when it is about your health!

It was a good thing we went to see this doctor because Mr. DRL had such severe bronchitis by this point that the Dr. was concerned it might develop into pneumonia! Now, almost a week later, he is as good as new.  Plus now he has a favorite new doctor with a convenient location who is seemingly easy to get an appointment with!

So as much as I write about the occasions in Brazil when things don't work out, I thought that I should dedicate some space to showing how it often does work out.  No, it's not as interesting or as funny or entertaining but it is also nice to know there are people who are willing to drop everything to help us in a moment's notice and in some ways living here can be more convenient than back home (we particularly are enjoying the medical system here...)

Men

Before I complete this post I would like to clarify that I think I have the best husband ever and he is almost perfect in every way.   And also to warn you this post is kind of gross.

Ok so here goes...

Earlier today I was checking out the blog of Expatmum, and came across, among other things, a video called Man Cold. (Other related and even funnier video: How to Deal With Man Flu).

Mr. DRL currently has a cold - yet I must admit has been toughing it out all week, going to work every day but Tuesday, when he worked from home, and generally being tough about it while a bit tired at times.

However, I had to laugh at the videos because this tough guy act is not always the case.

In February, shortly before we moved to Brazil, we went out for a wonderful Valentine's Day dinner at one of our city's best restaurants, and then went to the symphony.  I could barely keep my eyes open during the symphony and started to get nauseous when we returned home.  To make a long story short I was up sick (sicker than I have ever been) all night long.  My husband had no idea that I was even sick until at one point I yelled for him because I was throwing up so bad I could barely breathe.  Of course once I realized what I had done (we are generally a closed bathroom door kind of couple) I immediately kicked him out. He promptly went back to sleep.

The following night I was feeling better but it was his turn to get sick.  But, unlike the previous night when he slept soundly almost throughout my entire ordeal, I was completely aware of every single move he made as he dramatically would moan and run to the bathroom and loudly get sick...  at one point I was getting frustrated with my lack of sleep after being up sick myself the previous night and asked him to keep it down a bit and be considerate of me trying to sleep as I had tried to the previous night, and his response was that he was obviously, clearly, far more ill than I had been so I should have some sympathy.... ummm I'm pretty sure he caught what I HAD FIRST and we had the SAME THING.  It is still something I chuckle over. In fact I am laughing now!

So, I am proud of Mr. DRL, he has had this cold all week and really has not complained much at all... oh how we have evolved ;)

ER

I survived my first trip to the ER in Brazil last night, I had a rather significant scare.  I am allergic to nuts and was out for dinner with Mr. DRL & Mr. DRL's boss and we were just finishing up a very lovely evening of never-ending conversation and wonderful food with a cup of tea and a cookie when I made a big mistake and ate the cookie. I should mention the cookie was about the size of a quarter.

You see, I am allergic to nuts. And was dumb enough to not check. Within about a minute or two I realized 1) This reaction was not just going to go away, and 2) I had NOTHING on me.  Normally I carry pill form antihistamine and an epipen but last night, nothing.

Which led to me interrupting the dinner conversation and blurting out: "You know what? We need to leave right now?! I ate a nut! I ate a nut!"  Not really the best close to such a nice evening...

Mr. DRL's boss shooed us out and told us to just run and go but the valet took so long with the vehicle that he made it outside before the vehicle did at which time he told us to take a cab and he'd take the vehicle once it reappeared. Honestly that recommendation was probably the biggest stroke of luck & genius for us as we were terrified enough without having to find a hospital ourselves for the first time. Not to mention that I don't feel we had a ton of time.

We bailed out at the nearest 24 hr drugstore and grabbed a bottle of liquid antihistamine for me to start to guzzle, and continued on our way, the cabbie was amazing and speedily drove us to the ER.  How was I doing during this time? Not good.  I was having trouble breathing, this was the worst reaction I can ever remember having. I told Mr. DRL that if something happened to me or if I was incoherent, he'd better remember to send someone to pick my dad up at the airport then next day...

Upon arriving I was brought in immediately (before the paperwork was done) to be monitored, the liquid antihistamine was helping keep the swelling in my throat from getting worse but the rest of the symptoms began to show themselves.  Within about 10 minutes of arriving at the hospital my face was swollen up like a balloon (seriously it was terrifying, I looked about 20 years older than I am, not to mention about 20 pounds heavier!), swollen eyelids, swollen lips, you name it.  My body was covered with hives, some of which - more than 2 inches in diameter.  Then, vomiting,  shortly after receiving the biggest needle not intended for an animal that I have EVER SEEN. No word of a lie.  I actually wish Mr. DRL had taken a photo of it just to prove how tough I am...

My throat is still not quite "right" - I can still feel swelling. But I received excellent care and honestly just feel lucky to be alive!

We went to the Copa D'Or hospital and received great care - and this is a public hospital.  We just wanted the closest one and that was it.  Oh and what does it cost to save my life in Brazil, you may ask? A mere R$190.  Not bad considering I had bloodwork done the other day that cost over $R1,000!

Yuck

Disclaimer - gross alert.

It's been awhile since I missed an entire day of blogging but a Norwalk-like sickness or food poisoning has infected our household including one of our guests (and strangely, not the other... which we are still trying to make sense of... and hope sincerely it is not still to come for him). This reminded me of the Norwalk which we think we had back in February in Canada, as it hit super hard and basically just wipes you out and makes you vomit like there's no tomorrow... luckily this one doesn't seem to last as long.

Oh and we all ate ridiculous amounts at a Churrascaria the night before which always makes this sort of experience even more pleasant... 

If you are in Rio, I sincerely hope you DO NOT catch it.