Pregnancy appointments in France

[Rideforthehills]

Hi,

I am in France this summer for an extended visit but not resident. I have had my mid-wife appointments and scans in the UK so far but will see a local midwife in France for 25 week - 34 week appointments.

Does anyone know of any differences in care between UK and France? For example I was asked to do Toxoplasma blood test which isn't standard in UK.

I'm not particularly worried, just interested, it would be helpful to know what to expect and if there are any gaps/differences that I might need to address.

You won’t be in the French system so you will just get whatever checks your UK MW tells you to ask of your French MW.

I’m a bit out of date but was in France for the same period of my pregnancy. I had monthly appointments, with an extra scan at the first one because they wanted to check everything was OK, and a standard, very detailed scan at 33 weeks. As standard I also had various blood tests, a glucose tolerance test, and a Strep-B test (and maybe others I’ve forgotten). I was also sent to the dietician because I was putting on too much weight! And was sent to ante-natal classes, which were very different to the UK ones...

The French system is changing, but I was super impressed by the quality of care there.

If you’re just there for a few months you need to find a doctor who is ‘conventionné’, and keep all of the paperwork that you’re given so that you can claim back what you’re entitled to via the EHIC card. You might do that via the CPAM office (if you have a Euro bank account that the money can be paid into), or the UK EHIC office (used to be in Newcastle?) can process it when you get back.

I hope it all goes well.

Thanks @Wimpling that is excellent advice. I have already made contact with a midwife and doctor here who have been very thorough with everything so far. They have gone above and beyond some of my UK experiences. I have also signed up to ante-natal classes so looking forward to those starting.
Good tip on EHIC - I'll do a bit more digging around on that.
Thanks for your insights!

Information on getting your costs reimbursed is here: europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/health/unplanned-healthcare/payments-reimbursements/index_en.htm

You might have to pay upfront for some things and claim reimbursement when you get home. It's best to check with the French and UK contact points before you go as some scans and blood tests can end up costing a few hundred euros....

It might not be relevant in your case but pregnancy lasts a week longer in France, your due date would be a week earlier in the UK.

@Wimpling that sounds very similar to what I'm going through right now and what my doctor has told me to expect (currently start of pregnancy in France).

@Rideforthehills the toxoplasma blood test is standard in France because, if I understand correctly, there is a higher level in the soil. As such, women who haven't had it are told to avoid eating salad if they haven't prepared it themselves and wash the pre-washed supermarket salad again to make sure.
A quick note that the eggs rule in the UK is that Lion eggs are fine but that this is only for the UK - in France you still need to cook the yolk through.