As I entered the third trimester of my pregnancy overseas, I thought I had mentally prepared for the final stretch. What I didn’t expect was how physically, emotionally, and logistically intense it would become—especially navigating the end of pregnancy in a foreign country during a pandemic.
Forced to Get the COVID Vaccine While Pregnant
One of the scariest moments of my entire pregnancy happened shortly after I received the COVID vaccine. I want to be honest here—I did not want the vaccine. At the time, there was very little information about its safety during pregnancy, and I was completely against getting it.
But we were told that if we wanted to leave the country, we had to be vaccinated. Travel back to the U.S. or to any other country was off-limits without it. Many public spaces and services in Germany were also restricted to vaccinated individuals. My husband, like all soldiers, was required to get it or risk being relieved of duty and discharged from the military. We reached a point where we felt like we had no real choice.
So I got the shot.
My ER Nightmare: Pulmonary Embolism at 30+ Weeks Pregnant
That night, I began having trouble breathing. It felt like someone was sitting on my chest, and no matter how I adjusted, I couldn’t get enough air.
We rushed to the ER in Germany, but it was packed. The staff kept trying to get me to lie down for a stress test, despite me repeatedly begging them to check my heart and lungs. Lying flat only made my breathing worse. I refused again and again, but I felt completely dismissed. The language barrier didn’t help either.
They finally ran some tests late that night but it wasn’t until the next afternoon, as I was getting ready to leave, that someone finally asked me to stay for more monitoring. That’s when they finally told me—I had a pulmonary embolism. A blood clot in my lungs.
I believe it was related to the vaccine, but the doctors disagreed. Who knows?! Either way, I recovered within a few days, and there were no long-term effects on myself or my growing baby.
Third Trimester Symptoms: Pain, Swelling, and Sciatica Abroad
The physical toll of the third trimester was intense. The baby dropped low and shifted my pelvis in a way that made walking nearly impossible. I struggled with sciatica, pelvic bone pressure, and extreme fatigue—I was barely making it. I tried my best to keep walking and moving, but it was not easy. I would get stuck on the floor while trying to exercise, because my sciatica pain was like nothing I had experienced. My pelvic bone would crack while I walked. I didn’t even know that was a thing! Eating and sleeping were no better! Overall, I was just uncomfortable or in pain all the time. You know regular pregnancy stuff.
On top of it all, I gained 15 pounds in just a few weeks, mostly water weight. I was swelling like a balloon, and it only got worse in the heat. Basically, I was miserable!
Pregnancy in Germany During a Heatwave (No A/C!)
Here’s something I didn’t know before moving to Germany: air conditioning isn’t common. Most homes, apartments, and even hospitals don’t have it because the climate is cool for most of the year.
But I was set to deliver in summer, and the heat made my swelling worse. We ended up buying two portable AC units just to survive the last few weeks. I couldn’t imagine doing it without them.
Even the hospitals are warm—many women here bring personal fans or open the windows during labor. That was definitely part of my delivery bag plan.
Pregnant and Far from Home: The Emotional Toll
This trimester was emotionally heavy. I was already exhausted from the physical symptoms, but I was also dealing with family struggles back home. The reality of being so far away, especially as we prepared to bring a baby into the world, hit hard.
My husband’s training schedule was more demanding than I ever could have imagined, and he poured every spare moment into being there for me. Still, I found myself alone more often than not, consumed by the haunting thought that the village I had always dreamed would welcome our baby simply wouldn’t be there. Our family and friends were over 5,000 miles away.
I started questioning everything. Was delivering in Germany a mistake? Should we have flown home? But when we did the math, it just wasn’t realistic.
We would’ve had to:
- Pay out-of-pocket for the flights and lodging
- Get our baby command-sponsored
- Apply for a passport and SSN
- And my husband’s 3-week paternity leave would’ve been up before we even returned.
(And of course—right after we gave birth, the new policy changed to 3 months of leave. We missed it by that much.)
We would’ve paid so much out of pocket and my husband would have had to leave us in the states until i was able to sort everything myself, which could take months! In the end, we decided delivering in Germany was best.
How Birth Works in Germany: What I Learned
Giving birth in Germany is quite different from the U.S. Here are a few key things I learned:
- 🏥 You don’t deliver with your OB. Whoever is on shift (midwives and doctors) will deliver your baby.
- 📋 You pre-register with a hospital between 30–34 weeks. This is called Krankenhausanmeldung.
- 🤰 Midwives lead the birth process, and there’s a strong focus on natural labor. Epidurals may not be immediately available.
- 🛏️ Postpartum stays last 2–5 days, depending on your birth and how you’re doing.
I did a lot of research to find the right hospital and prep for what to expect.
Looking Back on a Hard but Powerful Chapter
Emotionally, the third trimester pushed me to grow. The physical discomfort was constant, but it was the solitude, being far from family and the familiar, that affected me the most. I had to adjust to a new system, advocate for myself in a language and culture that weren’t my own, and accept that my ideal version of this experience might look very different.
Still, I found clarity in the challenge. I became more confident in speaking up, more grounded in trusting my instincts, and more present in the reality of what was unfolding. I felt my weakest in this season—physically worn down, slowing to a crawl, and often unsure how I’d make it through the day. But even as my body struggled, quiet lessons in patience, self-advocacy, and trust were taking root. I didn’t feel strong at the time, but looking back, I can see how that season shaped me and quietly prepared me for what was coming. I wasn’t just preparing to meet my baby; I was becoming the mother she would need.
Ayla Ellison 