I love awards, partly because I love the fact that they give recognition to both individuals and groups, and partly because they spice life up for those involved. And they usually turn our attention to interesting and worthy things.

Such is the case with Alternativ Stad's (Alternative City's) award. This membership organisation is a Stockholm based group lobbying for a environmentally sustainable city. They are also part of the global organisation Friends of the Earth and believe in a city that is more than just for cars and offices, that is safe and environmentally friendly, has more parks and places of recreation, and that grows in a controlled manner with a foundation based on human needs and proportion. They regularly organise demonstrations, seminars, papers and the lobbying of politicians as well as the Ralph Fidler Prize.

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Ralph Fidler was the founder of this group of activists back in February 1969 and was himself an active member until his death at the age of 90. The organisation present the award in his honour, to a person for their notable contribution to the development of Stockholm. 2009 sees the award being given for local political activity to Aspuddsbadets vänner (Friends of Aspudden's Pool) for their tireless efforts to save one of Stockholm's culturally historic and socially valuable, non-commercial meeting points in the inner-city suburb Aspudden.

Aspudden's Bath House was built in 1919 and is in need of extensive renovations. However the owner of the property, Stockholm municipality, does not wish to make the necessary investment in renovations and intends to demolish the building to make way for a new daycare.

According to local activists the building is one of Stockholm's most unique pools and according to the Stockholm City Museum it is particularly valuable from a historical, cultural, environmental, as well as artistic perspective. Yet the plans to demolish this 90 year old have not been revoked. The city did in fact plan to demolish the building back in the mid 1980s, after which a membership organisation took over responsibility for the daily running of the pool while the city maintained ownership.

The group Aspuddsbadets vänner have actively been trying to have a dialogue with Madeline Sjöstedt, Deputy Mayor and responsible for the Municipality's Department of Sports Management but she is apparently not interested in a discussing the pool. She states in her blog that while the municipality is willing to sell the pool no-one has expressed interest in buying it, it is one of many pools in the south of Stockholm in need of renovations and the area has a much greater need of a new daycare.

Unfortunately for the pool it seems like its days are seriously numbered, despite much interest in the pool and a very successful Gala that was held last weekend. Police have been removing squatters who have been onsite 24-7 and at 6am this morning they barricaded the area and builders entered and started sabotaging the building, removing windows and other fixtures. The Facebook group are urging all available bodies to come to the pool immediately and an emergency meeting has been called at 7pm tonight.

Ironic that today, just one day after the Award was announced, the demolition of the pool should start. Let's hope that tonight's meeting can rally enough support to force the politicians to take notice, and start a dialogue about the future of Aspudden's Bath House.

The Danderyd Method
This method means that staff will be by your side for the duration of the active stage of labour, as opposed to attending several women at the same time. It also involves an agreement that labour will not take longer than 12 hours and has found to reduce the number of emergency caesareans.

Clinics
Apart from giving birth in a public hospital there are also a growing number of private clinics, particularly in the big cities. They offer a range of services, very often from pregnancy to long after the birth. The best way to find out about them is to check with other families, ring the hospitals in your area and ask or look under Mödravård in the Yellow Pages (Gulasidorna).

Homebirths
This is the only real alternative to a hospital birth and you can get information on the associations website: www.fodahemma.org. A homebirth will allow you to see the same midwife throughout your pregnancy and then during delivery. A homebirth is not covered by the health system but if you fall within the non-risk category you can get a grant for a homebirth. Some midwives even have portable pools – which is the only way you will get a water birth in Sweden as the authorities do not support water births.

Doulas
A doula is a birth attendant who has had her own children and is experienced in the birthing process. She does not have a medical background or responsibility and will not give medical advice. She is however trained to give the mother and father support and information during the delivery. She provides continuity with consultations before and presence for the duration of the delivery. More information about doulas is available on the Swedish Organisation for Doula’s website www.doula.nu/. Given that many of us are birthing in a system that is new to us, in a language that we either don't know or don't want to know under pressure, I can't recommend a doula enough. She will be there with you and for you, your comfort when all else feels foreign.

Alternative therapists generally do not have agreements with Försäkringskassan so they are not subsidised and are free to charge as they please. It is also against the law to treat anyone under the age of 8, so you will not find therapists specialising in the treatment of children. The exception to this are those who are qualified in “school medicine” as well as having alternative education, enabling them to treat all ages. A rare example is Vidarkliniken who combine “school medicine” with anthroposophical medicine.

If you know what sort of therapist you are looking for, half the battle is over. It is more difficult if you have an interest and would like to experiment. As always, it is easier to experiment in the bigger cities and wandering around the city you may come across anything from a Chinese herbalist to a Rosen method therapist.

Word of mouth is a fairly reliable source of information although alternative medicine and therapy is often a personal choice. Talking to people around you might at least help in finding out what your choices are.

Health food shops tend to be good places for local therapists to advertise and the people who staff them are usually in the know about who is around.

Failing that, there are some good websites that will help you find both a method and a therapist that suit. Their information on the Swedish websites is predominantly in Swedish so research on the actual method is best done first in English.

• The Committee for Alternative Medicine is an industry organisation aimed at spreading information about treatment methods, protecting the individual’s right to free choice, creating uniformity in the Nordic region, certifying therapists and lobbying the government. They also list accredited therapists around the country.
  

• Alternative Medicine is a guide to therapists and companies specialising in alternative medicine and therapy. Although run by a company it provides information (in Swedish) about a wide range of methods and lists therapists all over Sweden.
  

• There are also a number of industry associations within each method and you should find links to them on the other two websites. Examples include the Shiatsu Association and the Swedish Academy for Homeopathy.