French maternity services

[MissPollysTrolleyed]

I have an invite to a friend's hen party in France or a long weekend when I'll be 34 weeks pregnant. I can get the train so not worried about transport but am slightly worried about the worst case scenario that I go into labour or have complications while away.

My friend has rented a villa in the mountains so we'll be about 40 minutes from the nearest town big enough to have a hospital. As long as I have my E111 Form, could I just turn up and expect the same level of care as a French woman in similar circumstances and what level of care would that be?

Or, am I being very cavalier thinking of going away so late in pregnancy? I'm having a rotten early pregnancy and really need something to look forward to. I've already cheered up considerably since the hen plans started circulating.

Hmmmm, not sure. I had my best friend's hen party last weekend at 24 weeks and struggled. It was here in London where I live so I didn't have to even travel go anywhere but I found that the late nights and constantly being on the go wiped me out. I may be a wimp though! I am going to Portugal at 27 weeks so it's not the travel I would be concerned about, just the hen party it's self! How many weeks are you now?

13 weeks now. The hen party will be very lame tame for various reasons so I'm not daunted by that. We'll be a very small of girls in a remote villa so there'll just be lots of lounging by the pool and bbqs in the evening and early nights for me!

Sounds good then! Go for it :)

Both my DC were born in France and I found the level of care excellent, many a little over medicalised but I have no other experience to compare it to.
I'm sure you will get the same treatment as a french woman.
How's your french, you might want to brush up on some pregnancy terms, like "Putain de merde, donnez moi une épidurale!"
Otherwise they'll probably keep you in for at least4/5 days, more if you have to have a CS.

E111 covers you for emergency medical care. But the French government does not pay 100% of costs - the French often have top up insurance. If you gave birth at 34 weeks the top up costs of you being in hospital and your baby being in special care could be phenomenal.

I would go, but make sure you take out travel insurance that covers you for pregnancy and is happy to insure you at 34 weeks.

Sorry that is not correct, maternity is covered 100% in France from 6th month onwards as is neonatal care. The only thing you may have to pay for is a tiny supplement for a private room.

OP what you need is the EHIC (European Health Insurance Card), very easy to apply for and it's with you by post within a few days. www.ehic.org.uk/Internet/home.do

This has superceded all other forms and all travellers to EU countries should have one.

IME the level of care in France in excellent. You would not be treated differently as any other patient. But if case you need medical care, you'll most probably need to communicate in French, how would you feel about that?
Also, if the baby was to be born early (fingers crossed it won't happen), you'd have to stay there for a while until the baby is fit enough to travel.
Check that the nearest town hospital in question has a "maternite" as many have closed down in the recent years.
I am currently 35 wks pg with DS2 and would not feel comfortable going as far as that.

Also there are three types of maternity hospitals in France. They all offer the same level of care for the mother but differ in their ability to look after newborns.

Level 1 are for the majority of pregnancies that do not have any special risks

Level 2 deal with more complicated pregnancies and newborns from 33 weeks onwards

Level 3 deal with specialist problems and newborns of less than 33 weeks and are usually only found in large cities.

Do you have to commit now? At. 13weeks, you still have a long way to go. By the time you are 34 weeks, you may feel like staying close to home.

If the hospital is already full or not equipped to deal with a premature baby, you could be transferred to another hospital (very) far away.
The level of care is good but you'll be very lucky if you find an English-speaking nurse or doctor.
TBH I don't think I would travel so far away from home at 34wks. French trains aren't very reliable (would you be OK with being stuck on a train for 5 hours without toilets or air-conditioning?).

Trains will get really expensive if I leave it much longer before booking but I guess I should probably try to see if I can hold out and see how the pregnancy's going in a couple of months' time.

My main fear is that I would give birth prematurely and have a baby needing special care with DH and DS stuck in England. On the other hand, I desperately need something to look forward to - had a rough first trimester and no sign of any improvement so far in the second trimester.

If you get the "Prem's" price the tickets are cheaper but non-refundable, but normal train tickets are usually fully refundable until the day before the trip.