’90 Day Fiancé’: Ariela Is Terrified To Give Birth in Ethiopia On ‘The Other Way’
Ariela and Biniyam are one of the international couples who will be featured on the upcoming second season of TLC’s 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way, premiering Jun. 8 at 8 p.m. EST.
Ariela, a 28-year-old writer from Princeton, NJ, met 29-year-old Biniyam, a dancer, choreographer, and martial artist from Ethiopia, during an impromptu trip across the world shortly after her divorce. Just three months later, Ariela was pregnant with a baby boy and decided to move to Ethiopia permanently to raise her son with her boyfriend.
On the season premiere of 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way, “Home is Where the Heart Is,” Ariela opened up about some of her fears about giving birth in Ethiopia—especially since an epidural isn’t likely to be an option for the mom-to-be.
Ariela found out she was pregnant after dating Biniyam for just a few months
After finding out she was pregnant, Ariela admitted she was frightened and unsure of what to do. While she decided, the 90 Day Fiancé star returned to the U.S. to make sure she could get the prenatal care she needed.
“When I found out I was pregnant, I was really scared,” Ariela confessed. “So I came back to the U.S. for prenatal care.”
At a prenatal yoga class, the 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way star told a shocked group of fellow moms-to-be that she would be giving birth in Ethiopia. “My birthing plan is interesting, because I’m actually having the baby in Ethiopia, where my boyfriend is from,” Ariela said to a room full of gasps. “I’m nervous about it. And I’m leaving in a week and a half to go there.”
The 28-year-old, who was 26 weeks pregnant at the time, explained that immigration attorneys had told her it would be easier for her to move to Ethiopia than for her baby’s father to move to the U.S.
“I consulted with several lawyers, hoping that Baby [Biniyam’s nickname] would be able to move to the U.S. to be with me in time for the birth of our son,” Ariela revealed, “and all of them told me that it would be a very difficult and long process…So as of right now, the plan is for me to move to Ethiopia and for us to live there.”
The ’90 Day Fiancé’ star was scared to give birth without an epidural
At her prenatal yoga class, Ariela opened up about her fears about childbirth in an unfamiliar country.
“I think it’s really important for both parents to be present at the birth, so the only way I can do that is by moving to Ethiopia,” she said. “But I’m nervous about it, because obviously they speak a different language, it’s a different culture, and they don’t have the same facilities.”
The 90 Day Fiancé star explained that not being able to get an epidural was an especially frightening prospect to her. “And there not being an epidural, that’s something that really scares me,” she said. “I don’t have a high pain tolerance.”
“The whole country, there are no epidurals?” her yoga classmate wanted to know.
“I’ve been contacting hospitals, and so far they say that they don’t have the medicine,” Ariela shared.
The mom-to-be feared the worst when it came to giving birth in an unfamiliar environment
As for the idea of giving birth in her boyfriend’s country, Ariela seemed more than a little worried.
“The ob/gyn in Ethiopia told me that they have anesthesiologists who are trained to administer an epidural, but they often have a shortage of medicine,” the 90 Day Fiancé star explained.
One of Ariela’s classmates spoke up, saying she couldn’t imagine giving birth without the option to get an epidural herself. “In my home country, Japan, we don’t do the epidural,” she told Ariela. “I’m really happy that I’m giving birth here, actually, because I can get all the testing and the epidural, and yeah, I think it’s much better here. But you are choosing to go out, so I shouldn’t say that.”
Ariela admitted that her classmate wasn’t wrong about her fears. The 90 Day Fiancé star wasn’t entirely sure that giving birth in Ethiopia was the right decision.
“My biggest fear about giving birth in Ethiopia is that I won’t get the proper attention and care that they afford to you in hospitals in the U.S.,” she confessed. “I’m making a sacrifice. I hope that it turns out the way that I want it to.”
