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"No American's ever goes overseas to have a birth!" A staff member of an Ohio Congressman told me in March 2005 as my wife and I were planning to return to Slovenia for the birth of our third child. It seems that most Americans and other foreign nationals living in the region return to their home country to have a baby... I am an US Citizen that was lead to believe that the medical system in the States was the best in the world. My wife is Slovenian and a year after we were married in Piran, our first daughter was born in Postojna. Two years later, our second daughter was born in Sarasota, Florida. When my wife became pregnant with our third child we decided that we preferred the birthing experience here in Slovenia. In May 2005 we moved back to Slovenia for the birth of our third child. Six years ago, our choice for birthing was to have Dr.Aleksander Merlo in Postojna perform a water birth. My wife believed this was the kindest and gentlest way to deliver a child. Initially, I was very skeptical, but after reviewing the process I came to the conclusion that as long as a doctor is present for any emergencies my wife was right. When I checked with individuals in the states as to why water birth is not a common procedure, I was told that the medical profession and insurance industries have great resistance to new procedures. Sadly, a water birth did not work and Dr. Merlo performed a C Section. He performed to the highest standards! He took personal time to keep us informed of exactly what was going on. Although English is not his primary language, I had no trouble understanding him. Simply, this American was very impressed! In the US the patient is generally sent home after two or three days. Here in Slovenia my wife was kept at the hospital for ten days the first time and eight days this time. This difference in my opinion was important for my wife and child. Sadly, the US system seems so often driven by insurance which is based on time and costs. From what I hear, the Slovenia system is moving more toward an American model. However for now, particularly with birthing, the system seems dedicated toward the patient over the costs. There is an old joke that US doctors do C Sections so they can be on the golf course by a certain time. This may be crude and unfair, but there are times it sure feels that way. When we arrived at the hospital in Postojna it was midnight. The doctor on duty determined that my wife's time was near. Dr Merlo was called about 1:00am and was with us within the hour. Delivery took place just after 3am. He was not going to argue with God about the time set for delivery. He was only interested in the best for mother and child. When Dr. Merlo was performing the third C Section on my wife, he expressed his concerns. He told me that perhaps it was just the way things are done in the States, but to him it looked like they had been rushed and sloppy at the end of the second C section. He went so far as to express: "This is what I would show students not to do." This was not what I wanted to hear about how my wife was treated in the States. Perhaps the proof of what Dr. Merlo expressed was how rapidly my wife returned to normal and how much less pain she felt after the birth this last time. After this last birth, I spent a great deal of time talking to Dr. Alenka Mlakar, the director of the hospital. She was also the doctor who performed regional anesthetic. We talked at length about her concerns for maintaining the quality of medicine during this period of rapid change. This period leading up to Slovenia's entering the EU has been very difficult on many of the public systems. I have come to appreciate how just keeping them going depends on the strengths of the very best professionals. In the US a typical birth by C Section costs between $10,000 to $12,000 without insurance. When I asked in Postojna, I was told that a normal delivery it would be about $1,200 and a C Section about $2,000 without insurance. There were some additional costs for a private room and to be with my wife at the time of the birthing but I consider them to be very minor. Our experience does not translate into saying that the Slovenian Medical system is better than then US. What it does say, is that here in Slovenia there are some great medical professionals and that sometimes the system here can be the best in the world. If we have another child, we would prefer to be here in Slovenia for the birth. The purpose of this article is to share a great experience, to say thank you to Dr. Merlo and the hospital, and to be helpful to other foreign citizens who might be considering birthing in Slovenia. What feels good is that we received no special treatment. I have not been asked to write this, nor was I compensated for writing this.