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Childbirth

Share experiences and get support around labour, birth and recovery.

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Original poster

Giving birth in France on holiday

27 replies

shufflebum · 30/07/2011 21:44

I'm 31+3 and we go on holiday to France next Friday (will be 32+2). Midwife and insurance company are happy for me to go and I have been very blase about it all but am now starting to have a bit of a wobble!
We'll be there for 2 weeks, half an hour from the nearest hospital. We are going with lots of family who all have their uses! SIL is a GP, BIL is a vet and other SIL and FIL are pretty fluent in French so I think I'm in fairly good hands. My main worry is that DS1 was born at 36+2 so there is a chance this baby could be early too. Is there anything I need to know about giving birth in France. Things I have read have said it is a fairly medicalised procedure but I can't find any info about special care etc.

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Original poster

shufflebum · 30/07/2011 22:38

off to bed now but will check back in the morning

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PamBeesly · 31/07/2011 17:17

I really don't know about giving birth in France but just wanted to say I have heard France has one of the best health care systems in the world. A small bit of comfort to you anyway. Enjoy your holidays

Original poster

shufflebum · 31/07/2011 21:06

Thanks!

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Portofino · 31/07/2011 21:14

I really wouldn't fret too much about giving birth too early. But my dd broke her wrist on holiday in France 2 weeks ago and the medical care was fantastic! Be aware that you have to pay up front for things like ambulances - (have sufficient cash on you) - we had to pay 100 euros to transport dd from a&e at the Hopital to the Clinique, where she had surgery. We also paid for xrays. (all this can be claimed backed via travel insurance).

But all the emergency care - private room, GA, after care was all sorted. I got a bed too and even breakfast. I would have had all other meals should I have needed to stay longer - obviously as well as dd. I could not fault a thing about it. The hospital was spotless.

Original poster

shufflebum · 31/07/2011 22:07

Good to know you were well looked after. I'm hoping that if I pack a couple of babygrows then it won't happen!

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PurveyorOfBaloney · 31/07/2011 22:10

Assume you will have the EHIC card. That way state healthcare should be free at the point of delivery - we had an A&E visit for DS in France last month and didn't have to pay upfront, including x-rays.

Good to hear your insurance company are supportive, but just watch out for any exclusions they might have, and make sure the baby would be covered too, should it come early!

Original poster

shufflebum · 31/07/2011 22:19

Yes EHIC arrived on Saturday so should be covered on all fronts just worried about trying to communicate with French midwives while in labour!

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franke · 31/07/2011 22:27

Sorry, but lol at "bil is a vet"

No real advice except you have a good french speaker with you if it comes to it. Perhaps decide who that will be now and go through your birth plan with them, so they at least know where you're coming from.

mycatthinksshesatiger · 31/07/2011 22:29

Gave birth in France and it was wonderful compared to my experience of giving birth in the UK! Can't comment on how medicalised it was as had same level of drugs etc in both countries due to underlying issues etc - but the care was outstanding.

There were four midwives for three maternity beds, a couple of doctors and an anaesthetist whose only responsibility that day was the maternity ward. Everything was explained clearly and in as much detail as I needed, and they treated me like a proper person capable of expressing an opinion - total opposite of my UK experience!

And I think my French experience was pretty normal going by what friends and colleagues there told me. The after-care was excellent too - the only issue being that if they take the baby away at any point to give you a rest they may well offer a bottle - they are far less clued-up on BF over there from my experience.

Good luck!

OhHelpOhNo · 31/07/2011 22:34

I think most stuff has been covered all ready but I'd like to add on pain relief that an epidural is the Only option, no gas and air or pethidine.

I hope you have a lovely holiday.

Original poster

shufflebum · 01/08/2011 14:40

Oh crikey! That's worth knowing, I didn't get on with gas and air last time but was hoping to try again. Thanks

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buttonmoon78 · 02/08/2011 11:40

It's not always free at the point of delivery - sometimes you have to pay and then claim it back (though when we did we got more back than we paid despite the fact that it's only meant to be 75% IIRC ).

Mycat I think you may have been unlucky re the bottle issue - bf is hugely promoted in France (generally) and this is reflected in the very high cost of formula.

As I understand it, VD is promoted and sections are mainly used for medical emergencies. I can't comment on the medicalisation of birth though.

Good luck - I'm sure this will be a purely academic discussion!

dikkertjedap · 02/08/2011 19:46

Just one thought, how would you take the baby back to the UK? Would he/she need to be put on your passport first? Somebody may know or you may want to look into it just into case. Good luck and have a lovely holiday.

Original poster

shufflebum · 02/08/2011 21:49

franke BIL would dearly love to have a go at a human c section so he is being kept away! I used to work for him as a veterinary nurse so I can vouch for his surgical skills but would rather he didn't experiment on me!

mycat glad you had a good experience
buttonmoon will make sure we take our credit card!
dikkertjedapp my sil has looked into all that and assures me that although it will be a bureaucratic nightmare it's very doable so I leave it in her capable hands....Let's face it if the baby is born while we're there he'll be in Special Care for a few weeks at least so lots of time to get it sorted!
Thanks for all your advice, I'll report back if anything interesting happens!

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discrete · 02/08/2011 22:02

I have given birth in France twice.

Yes, the procedure is likely to be extremely medicalised, but then again for a pre-34 week baby I would guess it would be anywhere.

One thing to bear in mind is that many obs still give routine episiotomies in France (particularly when women have an epidural, which is, indeed, the only pain relief offered), so if you do not want that watch out for it and make it very, very clear (you may need someone with you who not only speaks French, but is very able to stand their ground for you).

Buttonmoon, I am afraid I agree with Mycat re bfing - the support for bfing is a shambles and most women I have met here were told they 'couldn't' bf (I was too, but I ignored them). If you have a preemie and you wish to bf you may well have a fight in your hands.

OTOH, I can vouch that frequency and strength of bh have no relevance on imminence of labour - I was fairly convinced from the bh I was having at 34 weeks that ds2 would be early, in fact he made it all the way to 40 weeks! So I wouldn't be too panicked about having to deliver while on holiday....

NonnoMum · 02/08/2011 22:06

Enjoy your holiday and we'll see you back in Blighty for a live birth thread when you are 41+!

MrsSchadenfreude · 02/08/2011 22:08

This happened to a friend of mine! Take your birth certificate with you just in case!

Original poster

shufflebum · 03/08/2011 08:46

Thank you keep all the useful advice coming. Hadn't thought about the birth cert, would my passport not be enough ID?
Re the BF, we didn't manage it first time round with DS due to undiagnosed tongue tie and various other issues and I would really like to try again so will prepare myself for a battle on that front if necessary.
Def. want to avoid an episiotomy will make sure SIL has that in her vocab list!

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OhHelpOhNo · 03/08/2011 09:10

Oh birth certificate, another red tape nightmare....the hospital would help with this but you need to register a birth at the local town hall/Mairie within in 3 days with full name....you will need (or at least we did) birth certificates and passports for mum AND dad plus wedding certificate, ideally with French translation....oh yes that was a nightmare!

Sorry to dump all this in you, as previous poster said hopefully this is all academic!

OhHelpOhNo · 03/08/2011 09:13

Also get as many full, shortened and international copies as you can, as to get more you would need to apply back to this Mairie. And you can also register the birth and apply for a UK birth cert from embassy when getting the baby a passport but it's best part of 400 euro all in

Original poster

shufflebum · 03/08/2011 13:01

Right birth cert, need to locate that, have no idea where that might be lurking let alone DH's. Mind you his mum probably still has his!

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MrsSchadenfreude · 03/08/2011 20:25

Yours will do if you were born in UK (for UK passport for the baby to travel back on). If not, you will need DH's as well and (probably) marriage certificate. Passport not enough, they need birth certificate as proof that you were born in UK (if you have changed your name, would definitely take marriage cert too).

pookamoo · 03/08/2011 20:33

Won't you have to apply for a passport before you can bring the baby back home?

Original poster

shufflebum · 03/08/2011 21:12

I have found mine and marriage certificate DH has no idea where his is and his mum doesn't have it
I was born in the UK so that's good!

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Original poster

shufflebum · 24/08/2011 21:37

Just thought I'd update to say I arrived back in the UK still pregnant, am 35 weeks today and all fine.

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