Living abroad, first pregnancy

[aecpro]

Hey, I am currently living abroad (in a non-english speaking country) and 20 weeks pregnant with my first baby.

Would really like to make some links with others perhaps in a similar situation or with experience of living away from family when having a child. I have an amazingly supportive husband who is being a great help but would be nice to connect with others.

Hi there,

I am in the same boat - currently living in Prague. I'm newly pregnant and we're not even in the public insurance system so I'm navigating blood tests, scans etc with private clinics! I very much miss being able to communicate and to be able to tell my friends in person.

I did find a few online groups on FB for foreigners having babies, baby meet ups etc so that's something.

How are you getting on? Is the health care good where you are?

Hi, I am in Warsaw so very similar setting as you.

We have private healthcare with our employer and in the first trimester I was using the provided system which was good, the language barrier was more of a concern in that system though and there is an alternative private hospital which we have made an additional payment for in the 2/3 trimester and ultimately for the birth there as well as they can guarantee english doctors/midwives. How has the healthcare been for you and what are your options for the birth?

I haven't yet found any groups locally on FB for babies due or meet ups yet. How long have you been in Prague?

Hi, I currently live between Turkey and the UK but will be moving to Turkey full time once baby is born.
I've had scans and appointments in both countries but eventually decided to have the baby in the UK as it's a high risk pregnancy and I have a great consultant here.

Good luck with your pregnancy x

I’m 24 weeks with my first and living abroad. Also a non English speaking country but we’ve been so lucky that most healthcare professionals speak good English. I find the insurance and paperwork side hard sometimes though.

We’ve been living abroad for 4 years now but I am suddenly feeling guilty for having a baby abroad. My parents are so close to my DB’s children and I know they would have loved to have had the same relationship with mine.

@Betsyboo87 I know that feeling! My mum is keen to know when we might be coming home...

Currently living out in Asia and 8 weeks along... can’t help wishing I had family closer, but DH is v supportive. I’m going for a mix of public and private services due to limited insurance, but honestly the public services here are pretty good so not too concerned!

@Betsyboo87 just wanted to say, don't feel too bad. I live in the ME, dm is in the UK, df is in spain, and they both have a beautiful relationship with my ds. We only see my df about twice a year, but ds adores him. Babies seem to know who the important people are

I'm in Spain and I totally get where you're coming from. I've been here for 10 years so the language isn't a problem and my partner is really supportive, but that nagging feeling of wanting to be with my friends and family from home is constant. I'm 19 weeks and my last trip hope will be in May so it'll be a long time til I see them afterwards!!

@aecpro ah we're very close then! This was actually a lovely surprise and we weren't planning on staying - we came here for a training course for my husband and then were just going to travel and work remotely...not so anymore!

Now he needs to find a contract job so we can access the state medical insurance. For complicated reasons (so much bureaucracy here!) that's the best way to go. We're also due to move out of this flat in a month and so are flat hunting...I' very glad it's so early for me or I'd be freaking!

I've only had blood tests so far here and they are very efficient. Some people say the medical care is good here but there's very little warmth or hand holding but I haven't really found that yet - maybe it helps that I have low expectations for that...luckily I can go see an Ob-Gyn I had when we were last here a few years ago who is lovely for my scans - she took out my IUD...so I know she did that right!

I am in the ME and had both my DC here. It’s tough being away from ‘home’ but my experience all through my pregnancy and the newborn stage was great - eg I had the same OB/GYN for all my antenatal appointments and for the deliveries themselves.

My advice would be not to concern yourself with comparisons to the ‘UK way’ of doing things otherwise you end up stressing yourself out.

Good luck!

I'm also overseas in central Europe. 32 weeks now. So far any medical stuff has far exceeded expectations. Scans every 4 weeks, all consultant-led, and we are on local medical insurance not private.
We have found 'baby stuff' far more expensive here, so have ordered all the big items from the Uk.

@PrimeraVez I definitely think you are right about not thinking about doing things the 'UK way' - and this isn't just limited to pregnancy or kids - this is now our 5th year of living away from the UK and in our second international post and we definitely feel that we have settled into where we have lived rather than trying to replicate home.
The language difference from a paperwork side of things is the most complicated part of the process that I have experienced so far here as well @Betsyboo87