1. If you're unsure where to go for the best prenatal and obstetrical care, contact your local Embassy for recommendations on top clinics or hospitals. Women's clubs and other expatriate networks can also be an invaluable resource. Never underestimate the value of experience and don't be afraid to ask for help.

2. Take the time to familiarize yourself with any special features of pre-natal care where you are. In France, for example, it's very common to use the services of a sage-femme, a woman who'll provide prenatal counseling on labor and delivery, caring for a newborn, tips on breastfeeding, and other important stuff that obstetricians rarely take the time to discuss with women.

3. Interview your obstetrician on the A-Zs of giving birth. You don't want any surprises The Day Of. Is your doctor going to be called in when you go into labor, or will you be getting whoever happens to be on duty? Do you need to sign any prior consent forms, such as for an epidural? Will your husband be allowed in the delivery room where you can freely kick and scratch him? What's the local philosophy on delivery positions, episiotomies, or emergency caesarians?

4. Take full responsibility for your own prenatal care. Do what sounds right to you and skip the rest. We've run into obstetricians who'll suggest you stop taking pre-natal vitamins to slow what they consider to be excessive maternal weight gain. Excuse me? Who's this about?

5. If you aren't proficient in the local language, make sure someone in the delivery room can translate. Fast.

6. Know what to expect in terms of post-natal procedures. If you plan to breastfeed, find out what the prevailing approach is to nursing and be prepared to assert yourself if it's not what you want. You want to breastfeed on demand? Some hospitals will push you to do it on a schedule. Will your baby be "rooming in" with you at night, or off in some nursery where you'll hear her crying half the night? Be clear about what you want and make it stick.

7. Know what costs are covered by your medical insurance and acceptable forms of payment for anything that's not. You don't want to be messing with administrative details when it's time to go home.

8. Be right on top of your baby's neo-natal care while in the hospital. Pediatric procedures for newborns can vary by country. Know what's going on and keep meticulous health records for your child. You'll thank yourself over and over when it's time to move again.

9. Ask for the support you need. Don't sit and cope with the baby blues all by yourself or be shy about asking the nurses to take your baby for a while if you need to sleep (and you will). Childbirth is a profound experience. Sometimes you just need to talk to someone who's been through it. Know who you can call if you need to, and have their phone numbers handy.

10. After you're home with the baby, seek out a top pediatrician and find out about post-delivery care for yourself, too. Again, some countries (like France) offer excellent follow-up treatments for new moms that may not even be available back home, including specialized kinetherapy to help you regain pelvic muscle tone after the strain of pregnancy. Hey, why not? Explore your options and take the best possible care of yourself.

Ritta Yee and Vera Nicholas-Gervais are co-founders of ExpatCoach.com, a personal coaching company serving the international expatriate community. Yee, a U.S. expat spouse now living in Spain, and Nicholas-Gervais, a former career diplomat from Canada, work with clients through all stages of the expatriate experience, from the point of overseas relocation to return homecomings. Trained by CoachU (www.coachu.com) and members of the International Coach Federation (www.coachfederation.org), the team has over ten years of combined experience in international living. They've been recently profiled in Woman Abroad, the magazine for women on the move, and will be featured in an upcoming article in The Weekly Telegraph. Their mission is to help clients live their best lives, wherever they are. ExpatCoach.com offers a complimentary coaching session to prospective clients, and coach in one-on-one, group, and corporate settings. Visit Ritta and Vera at www.ExpatCoach.com to learn more about their signature coaching style and how to reach them.

READER FOLLOW-UP FORUM:

We know that many of our readers have become parents while living far from home, and we'd love to expand this article with further observations and advice. If you think your experience with pregnancy and/or childbirth abroad might be helpful to other expatriates, please share it with us by e-mailing editor@talesmag.com ! Thank you very much!