10 reasons why having a baby in a Brazilian hospital is different to having a baby in an English one.

9. The visitors. You may be surprised when I tell you there weren't any really. Family came of course, including Rach's Uncle, wife and kids from Joao Pessoa. But, everyone else stayed away from the hospital (again, not like York). When two from our church visited they were quite nervous and one of them refused to hold Gloria for fear of getting her dirty and making her ill. It turns out that in Brazil a lot of superstitions (probably rooted in a genuine desire to protect young life in a volatile environment) surround newborn babies especially to do with cleanliness and health. Non-family folks may be quite cautious and coy at first. Later some people visited us at our house and we took Gloria into the language school for everyone to see.