Giving birth in Mexico as a foreigner – the complete guide

Two years ago I made a Mexican.

How?

My partner and I decided to give birth in Mexico.

Why?

• Quality, affordable healthcare.
• Freedom of choice in terms of medical procedures.
• Instant Mexican citizenship for the baby. Mexico allows dual citizenship so this does not prevent her from acquiring the citizenship of other countries.
• Instant permanent residency for both parents as well as for both sets of grandparents.
• We now all have a fast-track route to naturalization. We just need to spend 18 months out of any 24 months in Mexico to be able to apply for citizenship. Actually getting it takes a little less than a year on top of that.
• It’s really pleasant and relaxing to go swimming in the Caribbean every day before giving birth.

A Mexican passport is a great travel document, and gives full access to a huge market of 130 million people. If you are not North American, Mexican citizenship grants preferential access to the US and Canadian labour markets through the TN NAFTA professional visa.

And beyond the utilitarian aspect, Mexico and Mexicans are particularly pleasant.

So I made this video with Sergei, who helps foreigners give birth in Mexico, to show how it works and that Mexico is not a scary destination to accomplish this.

Who is the target audience?

Generally speaking it’s men who are more interested in all the passports, Plan Bs, etc. So this video was made to help men convince their partners that this is a great option. It’s long, detailed, and goes beyond what men are usually interested in.

But a pregnant woman will find it very informative.

https://youtu.be/Wh4GjS0TVQk?si=XrT3Gbc4kRfHCpkm

Feel free to get in touch with Sergei and read more about the process of giving birth in Mexico.

If you just want regular residency in Mexico Sergei can also help.

As for the Mexican regularization program which I mentioned a few times in the past, it seems to still be on-going though it was meant to be cancelled in 2024. So anyone that has set foot in Mexico between 2015 and 2023 can obtain a 4-year residency, directly in Mexico, with less than two weeks on the ground. If you’re interested in pursuing this get in touch with the team.

To a World of Opportunities,

The Wandering Investor.

Other services in Mexico:

• How to Obtain Residency in Mexico
• My Real Estate Buyer’s Agent in Tulum and Playa del Carmen
• Give Birth in Mexico for Citizenship
• My Favourite Realtor in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Articles on Mexico:

• Making a Real Estate Investment in Playa del Carmen – decent diversification
• Full Analysis of the Tulum Real Estate Investment Boom
• 6 reasons against a Real Estate Investment in Cancun
• Investing in Multifamily Housing in Playa del Carmen
• Full Guide to Making a Real Estate Investment in Puerto Vallarta
• What is a Lock Off Condo & Crazy Architecture in Tulum, Mexico
• Easy 4 year residency for past tourists in Mexico
• Puerto Vallarta Investment Case Study with Numbers
• Is a house in Puerto Vallarta a good investment? Case study with capitalization rates
• We bought a house in Playa del Carmen, Mexico!

Subscribe to the PRIVATE LIST below to not miss out on future investment posts, and follow me on Instagram, X, LinkedIn, Telegram, Youtube, Facebook, and Rumble.

My favourite brokerage to invest in international stocks is IB. To find out more about this low-fee option with access to plenty of markets, click here.

If you want to discuss your internationalization and diversification plans, book a consulting session or send me an email.

Transcript of “Giving birth in Mexico as a foreigner – the complete guide”

LADISLAS MAURICE: Hello, Ladislas Maurice from thewanderinginvestor.com. Today, I’m near Cancun in beautiful Mexico, and we’re going to be discussing giving birth in Mexico, why you should do it, and then the whole process. We’re going to go see a whole bunch of doctors, medical professionals, etc., etc. So wait, Sergei, you’ve been living here in Mexico for many years. Correct?

SERGEI: Yeah.

LADISLAS MAURICE: You’re now a Mexican citizen.

SERGEI: Yeah.

LADISLAS MAURICE: You went through the process yourself with your wife.

SERGEI: Everything.

LADISLAS MAURICE: Everything. And now you have a business, and you help women give birth in Mexico.

SERGEI: That’s correct.

LADISLAS MAURICE: Okay.

SERGEI: Yeah.

LADISLAS MAURICE: So can you tell us why people should consider giving birth here in Mexico?

SERGEI: First of all, I’m living in Cancun. We provide and support childbirth in Cancun, in Playa, and even in Tulum. It’s our state in Quintana Roo. A lot of people come especially to this place because of the amazing views, because of the good hospitals, because of the professionalism of the doctors and so on. And of course, some people have like a goal at the final to give great future for the baby, because after the childbirth, the baby will get not only the birth certificate, but the Mexican passport. It’s like a great benefit, because it allows to travel more than 150 countries from all the world. And after the child birth, the parents can get residence permanent cards, is for the whole life without an expiration date. They just get once and for all the time.

And the next step, in two years, if they will decide to stay here, they can obtain for the Mexican citizenship. And, of course, not only the parents, but the grandparents and the elder kids under 18, the brothers and the sisters of the baby.

LADISLAS MAURICE: Yeah, I think it’s really a no-brainer for anyone that is in the process of having a kid to come and give birth here. I did it here with my own daughter, she’s a Mexican citizen. So one, it’s a great passport, like you were saying, it gives visa-free access to Schengen, etc. For people from developing countries, typically, it’s a better passport, so it’s an upgrade, but for Westerners, so North Americans, Western Europeans, it provides people with diversification and a nonwestern passport, which is really interesting. And like you were saying, permanent residency, essentially, for the siblings, for the parents, for the grandparents, which then easily leads to citizenship if you live here. How many women have you helped give birth here in Mexico?

SERGEI: In total?

LADISLAS MAURICE: Yeah, in total, yeah.

SERGEI: I think that more like 300.

LADISLAS MAURICE: Okay, cool. So he’s been around the block. You know all the medical professionals here, who’s good for whom, etc., etc., in Quintana Roo, in this part of Mexico. So essentially, what you’ll get out of this video is you’ll get a general overview of some of the possibilities that you have here in Quintana Roo when it comes to giving birth. We’ll look at the hospitals, etc. And you’ll see it’s very nice. These hospitals are modern, a lot of them are new, etc. Because there’s often this perception in many countries that, oh, Mexico is not 100% developed country, so it means the medical care is not good, etc. It’s completely wrong. Medical care is great here. And we’re going to just go have a look at all that in detail, and then talk to the actual doctors.

Fantastic. So Sergei, tell us about this hospital.

Birth tourism hospital in Playa del Carmen

SERGEI: Yeah. Now we’re in Playa del Carmen, and we will see one of the really nice hospital. Here we can have a natural childbirth, water childbirth. After, we will see this room with a big bath. And now we will speak with one of the really nice doctor. His name is Daniella.

LADISLAS MAURICE: Hello, Doctor?

DR. DANIELLA: Ola.

SERGEI: Hello.

LADISLAS MAURICE: How are you?

DR. DANIELLA: Fine, thank you. Welcome.

LADISLAS MAURICE: Doctor, thanks a lot for having us here.

DR. DANIELLA: Thank you. Thank you for thinking about that process to the normal delivery. And it’s very important for me talk with us.

LADISLAS MAURICE: People come here to give birth in Mexico from overseas. They’ll stay in their own country for seven months, and it’s only in the last two months that they come over to Mexico. It means that the woman who had a doctor back home, who is following her pregnancy, she comes here and she has a new doctor. Do you find that this causes stress or do you find that it’s very manageable, that it’s not an issue, that the transition is not a problem? What are your thoughts on this?

DR. DANIELLA: So every doctor in Russia, Europe, France, and United States, and Canadian, they do specifically the same process to ultrasound, blood test. And when the people come here to have the process to labor and born the babies is the same protocol to know that baby is okay and that baby can born wherever he want.

LADISLAS MAURICE: Okay. So essentially, not an issue, the transition is easy, same protocols. Let’s say, 10 births that you manage here at the hospital, how many are to Mexicans and how many are to foreigners that came here to Mexico?

DR. DANIELLA: Could be 50/50.

LADISLAS MAURICE: 50/50. Cool.

SERGEI: Wow. Okay.

LADISLAS MAURICE: And I think, Sergei, that says a lot about the state of birth tourism here in Mexico.

SERGEI: Yeah, yeah. A lot of people from all the world come especially to Mexico for the childbirth, because of the good medicine, good doctors, good opportunities, because all the hospitals are totally equipped with the modern equipment and so on. And here, we have different types of the childbirth. As I know, you’re like a specialist for the water childbirth, too, yeah? Is it necessary to have, like, a special certification for this?

DR. DANIELLA: Yes, I have a certification with Barbara Harper. Yeah, it’s international certifications of pool birth.

SERGEI: And here in this hospital, we have a special room for the water childbirth.

DR. DANIELLA: Yeah. In Mexico, the protocol about the pool birth, it’s the pool helps to produce comfort in every woman, and in that hospital we work with the beneficence.

Giving birth as a foreigner in Mexico

LADISLAS MAURICE: We’re here with Dr. Ivan, whom I know personally because he helped my partner with the delivery of our baby, etc., our little Mexican child. So Doctor, thank you again.

DR. IVAN: Long time.

LADISLAS MAURICE: It was successful.

DR. IVAN: Nice to see you again.

LADISLAS MAURICE: Cool. And so, Sergei, you work with Dr. Ivan. He’s one of the specialists that you work with, correct?

SERGEI: Yeah, for many years. I have some assistants here in Playa Del Carmen, and they know him personally, and a lot of my clients come especially for his assistance, for his service, because he’s a really nice doctor.

DR. IVAN: Thank you.

LADISLAS MAURICE: I confirm. [laughs]

DR. IVAN: [laughs]

LADISLAS MAURICE: Doctor, you deal with a lot of non-Mexican clients as well?

DR. IVAN: Yes, a lot of patients from around the world come to Mexico for medical attention, maybe sometime for childbirth, sometimes for gynecologist surgeries, too.

LADISLAS MAURICE: Okay. Out of, let’s say you have 10 patients, how many patients are non-Mexican?

DR. IVAN: Here in Playa is around 50% of the patients, maybe.

LADISLAS MAURICE: Cool. Look, when you come here to Mexico for birth tourism or for whatever, it’s been done a lot. So don’t worry, you’re not the first one, you’re not going into the unknown. It’s something that’s very common, a lot of people do. And people are very happy, generally speaking. So from where are most of your foreign clients, from which countries?

DR. IVAN: United States, we have a lot of patients United States, but from Europe, from Russia. We have a lot of patients from Russia, Ukraine, a lot of patients from Italian patients, too. South America, we have a lot of patients from Argentina, too.

LADISLAS MAURICE: Okay, interesting. Yeah. So you, Sergei, you know that quite intimately. You have a lot of clients from Europe, Eastern Europe, and also, increasingly, North Americans that are coming here.

SERGEI: Yeah, yeah.

LADISLAS MAURICE: And again, it’s something that we’re seeing more and more Westerners who come to places like Mexico, who really want that Plan B, they want that residency, they want that passport for their children. So the industry, generally speaking, medical tourism, birth tourism in Mexico is really booming.

SERGEI: Yeah, yeah.

The full process of giving birth in Mexico

LADISLAS MAURICE: How does it work concretely? So let’s say, a father to be, typically, it’s the father that wants the passport and the permanent residency and then tries to convince his wife. So this video is good for men who want to convince their wives that this is a good option. So let’s say, my wife is expecting a baby, or my partner is expecting a baby, and I’m like, “I want that permanent residency in Mexico. How about we go to Mexico?” So how does it work? What’s the process?

SERGEI: First of all, we discuss the request. We ask about all the wishes, about, like, scenario in general, what kind of birth they want, natural childbirth or C-section, depends by the case. Then I’ll explain all the details, all the stuff. What will be the main parts, like, a road map from the beginning till the end. We help with the accommodation. We help with the car transfers. We help with the car rent. We help with the personal assistant during all the process, from the beginning, from the airport till the end, when they receive all the documents. We help to find a good specialist. Depends by the case of the couple of the family.

Because, for example, if they want especially C-section, we will find the best doctor who will make a perfect C-section. If they want a home birth, we will find a good midwife who specialized in home birth.

LADISLAS MAURICE: With the bathtubs and all that?

SERGEI: Yes, everything. If they want a water birth in the hospital, we will find a good hospital with bath and a good specialist who has a certification for the water birth and so on. Our assistant will be during all the consultations and even during childbirth, she will help to make a good connection between the doctor and between the couple, because for normal process, for doctor, it’s much easier to speak Spanish because it’s his native language, and some details can be missed if it will be speaking in English. And she will stay during all the process till they’re discharged from the hospital. And after, we will help with the paperwork. Firstly, we will make the documents for the baby, and then we start with the paperwork for the parents.

How to choose a hospital in Mexico for childbirth

SERGEI: What should women to know when she chooses the hospital?

DR. DANIELLA: Every woman need know what she wants. If I want a normal delivery without interventions, could be it’s good idea, for example, Hospital Ixchel in Playa Del Carmen try to respect these decisions. And in 2012, an official Mexican standard came out that talks about respecting every woman’s culture. The medicalization of childbirth is something we have been doing in the hospital for a long time. We are used to following medical protocol. Since 2012, Mexico has recognized humanized childbirth as respecting the decisions of a woman who knows what she wants. It’s good idea check every hospital, and if the hospital work with that.

SERGEI: What rules is it possible to make humanized childbirth. What protocols, is it strict or it’s flexible, and so on?

DR. DANIELLA: Yeah.

DR. IVAN: We have a lot of options in Playa del Carmen, around four or five options that the patient can choose. And depend a lot the location, depend a lot the preference of the patient. If the patient wants to try a water birth plan, we have a specific option for that. She needs to check the preference of the patient. She needs to check what is the best option, about cost, about the equipment, about the medical equipment, too. But she has different options to choose what is better.

DR. DANIELLA: Here, we can work with midwife, we can work with doulas, and the babies can be born in the room. In other hospital it’s not. When the baby is ready to be born, we go to the surgery room and put in position the mommy in a bed to have a baby, legs up and discomfort completely, and the doctor it’s good, in good position, but is really painful. So usually, when we can do movements and put in the best position to start pushing, that is a gift or that is my right, we don’t know. Right now we can do that process and we can have births in any position we want. It’s in the law, and it’s just finding places where they allow it. Here we allow it.

SERGEI: For the woman, it’s easy to see all the hospitals to choose the best one.

DR. IVAN: Yes, yes. Every hospital, we have a medical assist. And the medical assistant, she can show the room, she can show the delivery room, sometimes, picture of the surgery room, sometimes. But yes, she can [crosstalk 14:20].

SERGEI: Okay.

LADISLAS MAURICE: And just to jump in there, that’s what was done with my partner. We received a shortlist of hospitals, and then we had the viewings that were organized in the various hospitals. And then we made a decision. And ultimately, we chose Dr. Ivan and his hospital here.

SERGEI: And you can assist during the water childbirth, too?

DR. IVAN: Yes, yes. In all the different options, my team that worked with me, that is a neonatologist, pediatrician, the anesthesiologist, other gynecologists to assist me, we can move to the different options. So the only is that the patient wants to know the specific hospital, and if she decides a specific one, we move to the hospital with her.

SERGEI: You can come to different hospitals?

DR. DANIELLA: Mm-hmm (affirmative). I work in Ixchel, sometimes, in Costamed. And we try work in La Joya, we don’t know. It’s all is new and looks good. But they have rules, and that rules, it’s difficult to the normal delivery.

SERGEI: They are more strict.

DR. DANIELLA: Yeah.

SERGEI: More protocols.

LADISLAS MAURICE: Even with regards to COVID, I remember when women were about to go give birth, in some hospitals, they had to go through a COVID test, they had to wear a mask, etc. Other hospitals, it was no. So these things also matter. You need to be asking all the questions, which is what you know, Sergei, you know all the different hospitals. Because it’s easy to just find a hospital. You can google “hospital Playa Del Carmen”, “hospital Cancun”, but knowing really the differences between the hospitals, that’s where a service provider like Sergei comes in and helps you choose the one that is right for you as well as the right doctor for you.

SERGEI: Yeah. As I always say, the doctor is the first and the hospital is the second. The most important it’s to find the best doctor for you, and then we can ask the doctor in which hospitals she or he can assist. 

Finding a good doctor for childbirth in Mexico

SERGEI: How is possible to find a good doctor to choose the best doctor for delivery?

DR. IVAN: Well, that depends about the recommendation, is one of the most important. The patient must check the experience of the doctor, how many years working in the place, for example. Depending a lot about the preference of the patient. If the patient decides one kind of delivery, for example, in home. In my case, I don’t do home deliveries. But it depends a lot the preference of the patient, too. But the most important, the recommendation, the experience, and the preference.

SERGEI: How is partners childbirth created in Mexico, is it allowed to invite relatives to this process?

DR. DANIELLA: Yeah, usually the family, it’s really important in the process. In some hospital, the rules is not a family, just one person. And some time is in home, so all the family it’s in home. In hospital, just one or two persons, adults could be in the same place with the woman.

Using a midwife or doula in Mexico

SERGEI: You say that you don’t do home birth, but is it possible, for example, to invite midwife or doula to assist with you to the patient?

DR. IVAN: Yeah, the work for the doula and the midwife is in the house with the patient. The doula can make the exercise, the respiratory exercise, the feet ball exercise with the patient in her house. And the doula, she can decide the moment that go to the hospital. The doula can stay with the patient and the midwife stay with the patient in all the process, too, inside the hospital.

SERGEI: It’s allowed?

DR. IVAN: Yes.

SERGEI: Okay, perfect. Question about doulas and midwives, is it possible to invite them to the hospital?

DR. DANIELLA: I work with the midwife and ever I try to be all the certifications, and the hospital say, “Okay, we accept and you are responsible.”

SERGEI: Okay. And who is the boss during the childbirth? Is it–

DR. DANIELLA: Yeah. I try to respect. Usually, if the midwife need helps, she works in home, and when need hospital in Mexico, it’s necessary a doctor. So usually, I try to work really quiet and try to be in the second plan. So, okay, the woman is the most important patient, and the baby is our patient’s most, most important. So if everything looks good, Momma okay, baby okay, and the midwife do her work, we can try not work, or not have interventions like a doctor–

SERGEI: You just control on the back that everything goes well and it’s okay.

DR. DANIELLA: Yeah.

SERGEI: Okay.

DR. DANIELLA: But usually, if the midwife need helps, I try to know what happened. Usually, we’re moving to the hospital for specific problems. When we have the process to labor, we need hours. If I am in labor and not eat and not drink any water, the patients have dehydrate and not have energy to have contractions. Come to the hospital and I say, “Okay, you need eat, you need drink.” And if not produce contractions, and baby not coming soon, when we need IV fluids and then a medical process. It’s step by step.

Prenatal care in Mexico as a foreigner

LADISLAS MAURICE: What about all the kind of, like, prenatal care, kind of yoga classes, then, like, lactation consultants, all that, you do all that?

SERGEI: Yeah, yeah. We have a specialist in our company who provide all of these services. She’s breastfeeding specialist, she’s maternity specialist, she’s postpartum care specialist, and so on. And of course, we have different extra services, like, yoga classes, special classes for the families, everything. Yeah.

LADISLAS MAURICE: Anything you would have back home in Europe or in the US pretty much exists here.

SERGEI: Yeah. With the preparation What will be in the first stage, in the middle, in the last stage, during the childbirth, after the childbirth, how to take care of the baby in his first weeks, his first months, and so on. So it’s everything.

LADISLAS MAURICE: Cool. So essentially, you get a WhatsApp concierge, and you say, “Hey, I need this. I need that. Can you help with this?” And then you take care of everything?

SERGEI: Yeah, of course.

Home birth in Mexico for foreigners

LADISLAS MAURICE: Fantastic. Now we’re with charming Sabrina from Switzerland and Belen from Argentina, even Patagonia. And so you help people with home birth, correct?

SABRINA: Yeah.

LADISLAS MAURICE: Okay.

SABRINA: We’re midwives.

LADISLAS MAURICE: Midwives specifically for home birth. So we’re going to go into the whole details. So Sabrina and Belen, what are you seeing in terms of trends? Are more people choosing to give home births? Are you seeing your business grow, for example? Is this something that is a bit more common than it used to?

SABRINA: Yes and no. So it’s a trend that’s coming back. I’ve been here for 26 years, and we used to do a lot of home births, and then it declined, and now, Tulum has become like a mecca of alternative medicine. So yeah, it’s growing.

LADISLAS MAURICE: Okay. Look, what’s the process? Because when you say home birth, so I’m not an expert in terms of all these topics, but I can imagine that a lot of couples get a little bit worried. They’re worried about hygiene, what if something goes wrong? So what’s the process? How does it actually work?

SABRINA: We always work with a Plan B, so we have a whole team. We’re not just midwives, we’re also working together with doctors and hospitals in case something happens. I don’t know if hygiene is really an issue. It’s more like people who don’t know about home birth maybe think that’s a problem.

LADISLAS MAURICE: Okay, so it’s not a problem?

SABRINA: No.

LADISLAS MAURICE: Okay. So essentially, people just stay in their own homes, and then you come over, you do the whole setup?

SABRINA: Yeah. So most people want to have a water birth, so we bring the pool. We fill the pool. I think it’s pretty much documented on Instagram, and Facebook, the home birth movement. And, yeah, we bring everything, oxygen tank and things we need for the birth, for emergencies.

LADISLAS MAURICE: Okay. Essentially, it’s just you and or, like, one or two of you, or how does it work?

SABRINA: Yeah, it’s usually the midwife with an assistant to support. And so we’re usually two midwives working together.

SERGEI: Is the epidural anesthesia is necessary during the childbirth, or it’s possible to have a childbirth without any medical treatment?

DR. IVAN: Yeah, in the first moments when the patient starts to feel the contraction, it’s very optional. If the patient feels the contraction not too hard, not too painful, but it’s a good tool for the patient. In a moment, the patient feel a lot of pain and the anxiety is too much in the patient it’s, sometimes, better to use the anesthesia to try to reduce all the anxiety and the patient feel more comfortable in that moment. But it’s optional in all the cases.

LADISLAS MAURICE: What happens if there is a complication? Because that’s essentially the selling point of a hospital, it’s if things go bad, there’s everything.

SABRINA: Okay, but so 99% things won’t go bad. You have a percentage where you might need a C-section or something, but it’s not an emergency situation. So that’s why we can give birth at home. Giving birth is part of the physiology of the women. It’s like getting your period every month. Women give birth, they don’t need support. What they need is the environment for them to be able to give birth in a physiological way. So what’s the benefit of giving birth at home? That the midwife is the expert in physiology. So what we do know in science today is that when we do certain things, like bright lights, talking to the woman all the time, we disturb their natural birthing process, and then we have problems, and then we need the hospital. But a lot of times that happens in a hospital already from the beginning.

So most women start giving birth at home, even if they go to the hospital, right. They don’t wait in the hospital for their birth to happen. And a lot of women feel that, “Everything was working good at home, and the moment I came to the hospital, I got scared, I started freaking out, and then everything stopped. So I need Pitocin, I need a drip, I need this, I need one intervention after another.”

Preparing for childbirth in Mexico

SERGEI: Is there any special preparation for the childbirth for the woman in the hospital?

DR. DANIELLA: Okay. For the woman, it’s important the locations. Usually in the world exist different courses to prepare about–

SERGEI: For the childbirth?

DR. DANIELLA: About the childbirth.

SERGEI: What will be before, during, and after?

DR. DANIELLA: Yeah.

SERGEI: To know all the processes?

DR. DANIELLA: That information helps to be quiet and understand the changes of the body and not alarm and produce adrenaline. In the normal delivery, when we’re quiet and try to be easy in the process, it’s very important for the production of the hormones in our brain. If we are stressing, produce adrenaline. And that adrenaline decrease the oxytocin, and oxytocin work with the contractions. So if every patient know what happened and know it’s safe have the baby contractions and be in a pool, that oxytocin, it’s high, and the adrenaline is down.

SERGEI: And it will be normal contractions, and the delivery will be much easier.

DR. DANIELLA: Yeah, we can do a normal process without medications, without the stress, without medications to produce contractions. In our brain, produce oxytocin, and that oxytocin help to do the process normal, and the baby is born completely normal without medication.

SERGEI: It’s like humanized childbirth. It’s without extra inventions, without any medication, without–

DR. DANIELLA: The best option is without medication. Usually, the medicine it’s very important, and if it’s necessary, we use medications, we use anesthesia, or do C-sections. But if everything it’s normal and it’s okay, it must be assumed that every woman has the right to give birth without violence.

LADISLAS MAURICE: Every woman has the right to essentially choose really her own process.

SERGEI: Without violence.

Discussion with midwives at humanized birthing center in Mexico

LADISLAS MAURICE: Yeah. Great. So we are now here with Ella from the United Kingdom and with Anna from the Czech Republic, are both midwives at a humanized birthing center. So what is a humanized birthing center?

ANNA: So here, we not only focus on the natural way of birthing and having the raw, natural experience, but we also focus on the humanized birth, which means that we cherish the women’s wishes and what she wants to have from her birthing experience. Because we know that even though we are the midwives, we are there to support you. It is your experience, it is your birth, and we always try to make it as closest to your expectations and dreams.

LADISLAS MAURICE: Because we saw some regular doctors, they said the same thing. So what’s the difference?

ELLA: I think the difference is here is that generally it’s midwifery-led. So it’s looking at birth as more of a normalized process and experience as part of your life that is not an illness and something to cherish. So as midwives, we have a holistic approach to care. So we’re looking at the physical safety of mom and baby, of course, through the pregnancy, birth, and postpartum, but we’re also supporting their spiritual and emotional journey as well, because it’s big changes for moms and their families.

LADISLAS MAURICE: Cool. So my understanding, when I compare it to the hospitals, that the hospital has a lot of services, a birthing being one of them, but you just focus solely, solely on this.

ELLA: Yeah. And I think that humanized is a word that can easily be used, but is it really being delivered is another question. It’s very easy to say that we offer humanized births but when you look at people’s experiences or birth stories, well, to me, at least, it doesn’t always seem like that. But here we are really a multi-disciplinary team. So it’s not sort of led by doctors, it’s we try and work together as a team, all with a common goal for humanized birth and personalized birth for the women.

Having a C-section in Mexico

SERGEI: Is it possible, for example, for a woman, if she wants to have a C-section without the strict reason to have the surgery or it’s forbidden?

DR. IVAN: Yes, it’s possible, but the first step is that the patient must know the benefits for a normal delivery. If the patient knows all the information and decides the C-section, it’s possible.

DR. DANIELLA: In Mexico, we have the right of the make that question choice, and usually the private medicine it’s more common the C-section.

DR. IVAN: The third rule is that if the patient doesn’t want to try the normal delivery, we cannot go against the patient. So if the patient decides the C-section, we can help for that. But always the information first, the information to the benefits for the patient and for the baby for a normal delivery.

SERGEI: Okay, okay. That means that always you first discuss, you always explain, and only after she will decide how it will be better for her.

DR. IVAN: Exactly, yeah.

SERGEI: Is it possible to have a natural childbirth after the first C-section?

ELLA: Absolutely.

ANNA: Yeah.

ELLA: Yeah. I mean, of course, it’s the mom’s choice, but yes, it’s very much possible. It may depend a little on how many cesarean sections, how long ago the last cesarean section was, but absolutely it’s possible.

DR. DANIELLA: Childbirth is possible after cesarean section. I delivered even after three cesarean sections. This process requires a lot of education. Recognizing that women can do this is one of the components. But at the same time, it’s a combination of several things. Every woman to be healthy, the baby be healthy, good placenta, good liquid, and good position.

DR. IVAN: The best is after two years the caesarean section we can try the normal delivery. If it’s no more than two years, we need to check the caesarean section scar for ultrasound, and if the scar is a good size, a good measure, we can try the normal delivery, too. So it’s possible.

SERGEI: First of all, to wait, like, two years, then to check with the ultrasound if everything is okay.

DR. IVAN: Yeah, exactly. After two years, we can try the normal delivery. No more than two years, we need to check for ultrasound, the scar.

DR. DANIELLA: The process to labor it’s a physical process when a cylinder it’s inside another cylinder. So if the hips the mommy it’s okay, baby it’s in good position, going to be movement, cardinal movements, and that is scientifically moving down and going to move out and the normal delivery it’s possible. So, healthy, baby okay, and location. So sometimes, it’s very important in the process, the thing happens, so the medical it’s necessary be with the patient and check if baby is okay, or the process is really tired, energy is down. And it could be it’s necessary a C-section. The C-section just is a process to save mommy and baby. That’s it.

SERGEI: Is it possible to have a natural childbirth if it’s twins?

DR. IVAN: Yes, but it’s a little more complicated. The position of the baby must be normal for normal delivery both baby. And remember that all the twins pregnancy is more risk for preterm deliveries, preterm childbirth. So if the baby is no more than 34 weeks, is better the C-section for reduce the risk for complication in the babies.

DR. DANIELLA: It’s possible. It’s really tired. The last one baby when born with me, the first one was a girl, and the head is down. And the head it’s in good position all the pregnant. When the first baby born was she, this girl, and the next baby was a boy, and the patient needed two hours between one another. But it’s different. My process is without medications, just she try be quiet and continues the process to movements. Remember, the normal delivery just use movements, and when the baby is in good position, just outside.

SERGEI: Perfect. Okay, you have an experience with twins, too?

DR. DANIELLA: Yeah, yeah, I have experience, but it’s a hard experience.

SERGEI: Yeah. But it was normal childbirth without C-section?

DR. DANIELLA: It’s possible but it’s necessary the control to stress. If you are stressed, imagine that the first baby comes out and everything is fine, but the second one won’t come out and won’t come out. It’s been an hour, two hours. So I decided we didn’t use medicine. I says, okay, the first baby, come with mommy, put in the chest and try to suck. When feeding the baby, produce oxytocin and the contractions start again, and the baby is out, yeah.

Having home birth with twins in Mexico

SERGEI: Perfect, perfect. And is it possible, for example, to have a home childbirth or childbirth at the center if twins?

ELLA: Yes.

ANNA: It is possible. We had one experience recently, and it was a little unplanned, because the first plan was to do it in the hospital, because that’s what our team and the momma felt as the safest option. But the birth was so fast that both of the twins were born right here. [laughs]

SERGEI: Wow.

LADISLAS MAURICE: Nice. Success story. [laughs]

ANNA: Yes.

LADISLAS MAURICE: Yeah.

ANNA: Yeah.

LADISLAS MAURICE: And you have a doctor on site as well?

ANNA: Yes. There is, we have like offices with doctors as well. So we can do like a general prenatals, but also specific, like, maternal fetal, which are more details of the baby, so we check that everything is growing as it should.

LADISLAS MAURICE: So when the baby is born here, there’s a doctor that’s present in the room as well, it’s not just the midwives?

ANNA: Not necessarily. We offer the woman to have the choice if she wants to be in care of a doctor or with just midwives. So that’s also part of the humanized approach.

LADISLAS MAURICE: But the doctor is, like, upstairs?

ANNA: Well, if it’s at night, not necessarily, but so far, we always have someone on call. So if we need the doctor’s attention, it’s just, like, one phone call away. But, ultimately, it’s the women’s choice. And a lot of women actually prefer being surrounded with just women and just midwives, it brings them more comfort and peace. So that’s when they choose this midwifery-led team.

LADISLAS MAURICE: Cool.

ELLA: Yeah. So if you’re working or going as a mom to a birth center in Europe, and I believe some states in America as well, they’re midwifery-led. So, as long as everything stays within normal and it’s progressing well and there’s no concerns, then it stays midwifery-led team and in the birth center. But equally, in Europe, there would then be a transfer, if there was any need, to then an obstetric-led unit. So it’s looking at if there’s any deviations from the norm, discussing that with the patient and making a decision.

Procedures/complications of childbirth in Mexico

SERGEI: For example, if she wants natural childbirth, you can help her to find a good option. For example, to go to the water childbirth, normal childbirth, with doula, with midwife, they can assist her. But, for example, if something goes wrong during natural childbirth, what will be the next step?

DR. IVAN: Yeah, that’s one of the reasons that I don’t do the house childbirth, because my part in all this process is to prevent that something wrong happened. And if something wrong is happening in that moment, my work is make all the necessary to reduce the risk for baby and the mother. So if the delivery in any moment, something changed, I need a surgery room immediately to crossing the door. So it’s better for me make the deliveries in a delivery room in a hospital close to the surgery room for any emergency.

SERGEI: What happened, for example, if something goes wrong and it’s not just enough to stay here, and the mother necessary should go to some hospital or somewhere?

ELLA: So again, that would be very personalized depending on the experience, on the emergency. But generally, we don’t have, like, a speedy emergency. So as we’re monitoring constantly the progress of the labor, we’re looking at how mom is, how baby is. So the idea is that if anything’s out of the norm, we’re already going to start discussing that. Of course, there are sudden obstetric emergencies, but they’re very, very rare. So generally, if we see any deviation from the norm, and then we discuss it with them, and they understand, it would be a calm process. And we transfer, normally, it’s about 9, 10 minutes to the Clinical Ixchel, the Hospital Ixchel, the gynecologist ready and on call to then meet us there.

LADISLAS MAURICE: So concretely, so you have essentially cooperation agreements with doctors and with hospitals. So if in the 1% of cases, things were not to work out, then you immediately, what, an ambulance can come, or you drive people to the hospital?

SABRINA: No. So, transfer might be 15%, right, but they’re not emergencies. So maybe the birth is going forever, and as a midwife, you see things are not flowing well, even though we support her physiologically all the way, things are not happening, maybe we need to do a transfer. And that transfer can be in a car still. It’s like going to the hospital and saying, “Okay, let’s try and intervene a bit in this process.” The 1% are emergencies. Those are even in the hospitals shouldn’t happen. But sometimes, we provoke emergencies by intervening.

ANNA: So if the mom tells us, like, “I don’t want to do this anymore here, I want to move to the hospital,” we are not going to be, like, “Oh, but you’re fine. We have to stay here.” No, we always listen to the wishes of the mom. So that’s, I think, really important. And also what I want to add to Clinica Ixchel is this is a hospital that I really like this scenario, because even though we have to transfer, we still continue with the woman as her team, which is not very common for most of the birth. It’s usually, okay, so you go to the hospital because most of the personnel are not allowed to go in. But with this Clinica Ixchel, we have the opportunity to go and continue as her care team, which is really–

SERGEI: And you stay for all the time?

ANNA: Yes.

SERGEI: Okay, together?

ANNA: Yes.

SERGEI: How is safe the home birth in Mexico, if we compare with the normal hospital birth?

SABRINA: I think for me, as my experience, 20 years of being a midwife, we support people in the hospital and outside of the hospital. I really think, for me, the home birth is the safer option, even though, sometimes, you have to transfer and that is a stress. But it’s also a stress to intervene in the hospital. So sometimes, we can’t get out of a stressful situation at birth. But, like, some real emergencies I’ve seen, I’ve seen in the hospital and not at home, because at home, you have to anticipate the problem. So actually you’re, like, moving the woman before there is a problem. And so you already have the whole medical team there. And so, in Mexico, sometimes, the problem is time. If you’re in private care, the doctor comes, the anesthesiologist. And sometimes, you’re there for an hour or two hours waiting for people to come. But if I transfer from home, I call the doctor, I call the teams already waiting for me there. And they’re there until the baby is here.

So sometimes, doctors are there, and the birth is really long, they’re like, “I’ll just go and check the other lady in the other hospital quickly. I’ll be right back.” And you’re, like, “Where’s the doctor? And now I have a problem, and I need someone here now.” So I feel like the home birth, really, for me, as a midwife, is a safer option.

SERGEI: It’s possible to start the birth in hospital with the midwife?

ELLA: Yes, yeah. So you need to have the gynecology midwife package, because they need the gynecologist in the hospital scenario. But yes. So you have that option to choose your team and also your location with as [inaudible 44:25] primarily could be in the birthing room at Hospital Ixchel or at home.

SERGEI: Okay, nice.

ANNA: Just that I think that most of our clients patients, they choose for this option, because they don’t really want a home birth, because if they travel here from their home, they don’t really have a home here. And also they usually come here for having the out of the hospital experience. So that’s why I think majority chooses this room. Yeah, but we offer all of the other options as well.

SERGEI: And do you have an option like water birth?

ELLA: Yes, yes. So in all of those scenarios there can be water birth.

SERGEI: Here?

ELLA: Here, home, or in the Hospital Ixchel.

SERGEI: When the woman should go to the hospital, in what moment she needs to take her bags and go strictly running?

LADISLAS MAURICE: I knew it was when she was screaming at me. [laughs]

SERGEI: [laughs]

DR. IVAN: [laughs] No, but it’s in the last visit here we did, in the last appointment here, in every moment we need to repeat again and again the different signs. One of the signs is if they start with the contraction and the contraction are very regular, like, three or four contraction in 10 minutes, that’s a good moment. But if the water broke and the baby reduce the movements, and if the patient doesn’t feel the movements for more than two hours, it’s important to check that baby. Or, if the patient starts to bleed in more than normal, that is a sign, too. But yes, it’s different signs and symptoms that the patient must check in the house.

SERGEI: What other services you provide here in this center? Because, for example, maybe some woman wants to have, like, a little bit education before, maybe some support after, and so on.

ELLA: We have a really complete, well, it’s a really good course, prenatal course. Our main one is like five sessions. It runs over five weeks. So it gives an opportunity, particularly for first moms, to really understand pregnancy, natural birth, what to expect, and also that early postnatal period, and also meet other moms. We have yoga, we have the ultrasound scans, and we have the maternal fetal structure, and, like, the anomaly and genetic scans, and then postnatal.

ANNA: Yeah. What I think that I would like to add, but I feel that here, basically for the prenatal, what we really offer, and what I think is really important, and what is drawing the mothers to us is that we give them continuity of care. And when they want to, we give them prenatals with midwives, which are really different from the prenatals with doctors. We focus on their wellbeing, on the positions of the baby. So most of the mothers, I feel, they feel a little bit more cared for to be prepared for the birth. And then we also give them the, as Ella said, the postnatal care, not only just the breastfeeding or, how is her body healing, but also about the whole family, how they are getting into these new experiences of new family, or if it’s more children, then it’s still a new family, right? So we also focus on the wellbeing, it’s not just the mother and the birth, but it’s also her newborn family. Yeah.

SERGEI: When is labor induction is necessary to stimulate the process?

DR. IVAN: Yeah, for example, is the water broke, and it’s long time after the water broke is a good moment. If the baby is more than 41 weeks, it’s important the stimulation, too. And sometimes, if the patient has any risk, for example, high blood pressure with other complication is moment to induction. Of course, the baby must be in a normal position and the baby must be healthy, too.

DR. DANIELLA: The induction, it’s just is a process to start with contractions. I prefer not using. Usually when it’s the first baby, it’s normal wait around till 10 days, and it’s normal. I wait, with a Russian patient, 44 weeks. So just it’s necessary. Baby okay, mommy, okay. If the mommy feel confident to wait, it’s good. Induction could be if we have hurry up to have the baby, but the induction have a really low percent to normal deliveries. Usually, when you use those induction, it produce contractions and the baby is stressing. And it’s normal, the baby with that distress produce tachycardia or bradycardia, and that it’s a risk, and is necessary a C-section. If we going to do induction is specifically in a patient, and we need to talk about all the risk. It’s possible, but not the best idea.

SERGEI: How long usually, after the childbirth, the doctor will wait until they cut the cord?

DR. IVAN: Okay, it’s not a specific time. Depend a lot about the flow in the cord. If the flow stop, we can cut. The time is–

SERGEI: It’s not like immediately?

DR. IVAN: No. Not immediately, yes.

SERGEI: Usually waiting?

DR. IVAN: If the baby is crying well, and the baby is with a good color, and the pediatrician say that everything is fine, we can wait the time necessary. When the flow inside the cord stop that moment to, maybe I make the cut, or sometimes, the partner can make the cut.

SERGEI: Okay, okay.

LADISLAS MAURICE: And so your clients or patients from which countries are they typically?

Statistics about childbirth in Mexico

ANNA: All over the world, but most typically, I would guess USA and Canada. Because even though these countries, they offer home birth and midwifery-led, they are, I think, like what you suggested as well, they label themselves as humanized, but their actions are not, so then they seek someone who really like preaches also what they believe, and that’s when they contact us. And I think that also from the talking and from the prenatal care, it’s easy to see if what we are just saying is really just words or if they also translate into actions.

LADISLAS MAURICE: Are such centers not allowed in some countries, or is this like a common thing in other countries as well? Again, I’m completely new to the topic.

ELLA: There is a big movement. I wouldn’t be able to say for everyone, but there is a big movement for midwifery care and midwifery-led birth centers, especially through the continent of America.

LADISLAS MAURICE: Sergei, what percentage of your clients ask for home birth, roughly?

SERGEI: Not so many. I think that, like, maybe 10%.

LADISLAS MAURICE: Okay, is it a growing segment? Is it a growing trend?

SERGEI: Depends by the mentality. It’s not up the age, it’s, like, it can be 24 or it can be 40.

LADISLAS MAURICE: Okay, and how many babies do you deliver together per year on average?

SABRINA: Well, we can do, like, up to eight births a month, nine births.

LADISLAS MAURICE: Okay, cool. Your patients, what percentage approximately opt for such a humanized birth center versus the home birth and the normal hospital?

SERGEI: I think it’s like maybe the same, 10%. And approximately how many births per month or per year you have from this center?

ANNA: Well, we have statistics, but I don’t know the numbers, but we usually have around, what, seven, five, seven births a month.

ELLA: I’d say between 5 to 12, depending on the month.

ANNA: Yeah, it really depends. Every month is different, yeah.

ELLA: And then there are some in hospital and at home as well as part of the team.

Child vaccination schedule in Mexico

LADISLAS MAURICE: So now that we’re in the topic of home births and more natural options, can we discuss vaccines, child vaccines, Sergei? What percentage of your clients would choose to have the normal schedule vaccines for the babies versus do not choose to get?

SERGEI: Maybe, like, about 40% they will choose and 60% no.

LADISLAS MAURICE: Okay. So in Mexico, it’s relatively people can make their own decision?

SERGEI: It’s flexible, because it’s not so, like, super strict.

LADISLAS MAURICE: Okay.

SERGEI: For example, in case, with the midwives, as I know, they sign in the contract that they don’t want vaccines.

BELEN: Yeah.

SERGEI: Okay.

BELEN: Yeah, yeah. We sign all the papers with the family that we are attending them, the Plan B, the vaccines all the time.

SERGEI: Okay.

SABRINA: So the law is mandatory for the government. It’s mandating the government that the government needs to offer these vaccinations free. It’s not mandatory on the people yet. So it’s really your choice. I think that’s important. Midwifery care is all about informed consent, so, like, you explain everything and there’s what is your choice.

LADISLAS MAURICE: Okay, cool. So for people who are not into vaccines for babies, Mexico is an interesting option, because in a lot of countries it’s mandatory, and here, essentially it’s a bit flexible. It’s good to know that there is this option out there for people who are interested in this. 

Why should you give birth in Mexico as a foreigner?

LADISLAS MAURICE: So why do they come here? Is it because it’s more affordable than North America, or is it because they want permanent residency, a cedula, or a passport for the kid, or just because they happen to live here? Why do people choose to come to a center here?

ELLA: I would say a combination. So some, definitely their focus is the residency. Others, like, as Anna said, they’ve had a really bad experience where they’ve maybe had some obstetric violence in their previous birth, or just not felt that they were at all listened to, or they were being pushed in a direction they didn’t want to do. So they searched on social media, on the internet, to try and find somewhere they believed that would support them with their wishes. And then others, yeah, they’re living here. Often, we have sort of the Europeans, particularly, that are used to midwifery-led based care as part of a norm would then search out a similar type of care.

LADISLAS MAURICE: Cool. Thank you.

SERGEI: There are a lot of clients, a lot of patients who come for the second, for the third childbirth, or it’s more that have the first delivery, and it’s like a new experience for them like this?

ANNA: I think that, nowadays, we are coming into very even numbers, because I feel like before, it was the second and multiple time mothers who are seeking for healing birth. I also feel it’s like a trend in the obstetrics, even the first time mommas, they don’t want to go through the first birth experience, so they actively seek, even before giving birth, what are like other options? What are maybe like better chances for them, right? So I feel that now it’s somewhat similar, yeah.

Getting residency in Mexico by giving birth

LADISLAS MAURICE: So look, what I find really interesting about Mexico is the fact that the country is very decentralized, and there’s a lot of freedom. And you actually find this when it comes to giving birth in Mexico, where you have so many different options that are all essentially legal. So you come here together with Sergei, you can really choose your a la carte program plan, just lay it out, work on it, implement everything. It’s really impressive. I really enjoyed it.

SERGEI: Yeah, everything is step by step, from very beginning till the end, from the arrival till the all the paperwork, all the documents and so on.

LADISLAS MAURICE: Yeah, tell us about the paperwork because, I mean, again, it’s one of the key selling points of giving birth in Mexico. It’s the fact that the kid becomes Mexican from Day One, and that the parents, the siblings, and the grandparents on both sides get permanent residency. So how does that work? What’s the paperwork like?

SERGEI: Yeah. First of all, after the child birth, we will make a birth certificate for the baby. Then it takes maybe two, three working days after discharge from the hospital, then two, three more working days for the Mexican baby’s passport. Then we will–

LADISLAS MAURICE: So wait. So baby gets a passport in, like, just three days?

SERGEI: After the birth certificate, yes. Now it’s really fast. For example, in Cancun.

LADISLAS MAURICE: Compare that with the US, where you have to wait months for a passport, [laughs] here, just three days. Cool.

SERGEI: Yes, yes. After, when we will have all the documents for the baby, we start the process for the parents. The normal timeline, it’s maybe about four weeks in average. It can be less, it can be more. Sometimes, we can accelerate the process, because we know some offices, we know some details, how we can manage. And in this case, we can make everything, like, maybe in one week. And after when we will get PR for the parents, we can start the process for the siblings, for the grandparents, and it takes the same time. Sometimes, it’s like four weeks, sometimes, we can manage everything and make it too fast, like in one week.

LADISLAS MAURICE: Yeah. And the great thing about attaining PR this way is that you get an accelerated path to Mexican citizenship. So all you need to do is to spend 18 out of 24 months in Mexico and you’re then eligible to apply for Mexican citizenship. And then once you apply, it just takes like six to nine months to get it. So it’s not like Chile or other countries where you can apply for citizenship, but then it’ll take two, three, four years before you get your actual passport. So in Mexico, things actually work. This is really, really an interesting plan. So this is essentially how you became a Mexican citizen, correct?

SERGEI: Yeah, it is, it is.

LADISLAS MAURICE: Cool. You, your whole family, kids, wife, everyone.

SERGEI: Yeah, yeah.

LADISLAS MAURICE: Cool, fantastic. And you’ve done it for a lot of other people?

SERGEI: Yeah, of course, a lot.

LADISLAS MAURICE: Cool. So if you’re interested in Sergei’s services, if you want to give birth here in Mexico, if you want help from A to Z, or just with the documentation part, or just with the birth giving part, etc., there’s a link below with more information on Sergei’s services, and then, yeah, have a chat with him.

SERGEI: Yeah.

LADISLAS MAURICE: Sergei, thank you very much.

SERGEI: Thank you.

LADISLAS MAURICE: I really appreciate it.

SERGEI: Thank you, too. Me too.