I gave birth in both Puerto Rico and New York. There were several striking differences.

I gave birth to one of my children in New York and the other in San Juan. Sophie-Claire Hoeller I had a baby in New York and in Puerto Rico. Both experiences were different in many ways. Wait times for doctor appointments in Puerto Rico were longer, likely due to physician shortages . I had to buy my epidural and some supplies in advance, but my husband had more access to amenities. When I moved from Brooklyn to Puerto Rico two years ago, with my husband and then-3-year-old son, we were firmly "one and done." Life with a toddler in New York City was too hard; we spent weekends at chain-link fence-enclosed playgrounds that were either shadeless and sweltering in the summer or freezing and depressing in the winter, struggled to find affordable childcare , and didn't have the village it takes to raise a kid.