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Original poster

What Happens If You Accidentally Have a Baby in France?

43 replies

maretta · 09/01/2005 15:32

Hi. I've just found out that I am pregnant and due mid september .

We have a family holiday booked, a week in France in early August and I'd really like to go. I shouldn't imagine they'd be a probelm - I went to 41.5 weeks with ds1 but obviously I need to make contingencies.

Does anybody know what would happen if I went into premature labour. Would my insurance or E1-11 cover this? I don't want a baby to arrive with a large bill.

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Heathcliffscathy · 09/01/2005 15:34

i'm pretty sure you'd be covered as we're all EU

Heathcliffscathy · 09/01/2005 15:35

many congrats btw

JanH · 09/01/2005 15:38

Congratulations , maretta!

Someone gave birth in the loo of a cross-channel ferry we were on once. Sorry, no help at all but I always wondered what effect it had on the baby's nationality!

I don't think your insurance would cover it, or any contingency expenses like extra accommodation etc. You'd be about 34 weeks by then, wouldn't you? Better check about E111 (not sure who with though.)

alux · 09/01/2005 15:39

It should be no problem. and I hear that the hospital food in France is better.

LIZS · 09/01/2005 16:16

Have a look here and here although I can't see Pregnancy specifically mentioned and you would n't get all the cost back.

colditzmum · 09/01/2005 16:20

Yuo'll get to eat Brie and nobody will give you evils.

ixel · 09/01/2005 16:21

This isn't v helpful, but just thought I'd mention that a friend went on hol to Yugoslavia, and gave birth, not even knowing she was pregnant! She had a really hard time getting the baby home, red tape wise! BTW, she's quite a big girl anyway, hence she didn't show.

moondog · 09/01/2005 16:43

Good God Ixel! What a bizarre tale!

JanH · 09/01/2005 17:08

Found this on Liz's second link:

moondog · 09/01/2005 17:14

Well, if you DO have a baby in France, they will treat you like royalty. My sister has had 4 there and amongst other things, was having wine with her (delicious) meals, a week's sat at a time in a private room, and having a physio visit her at home for about 4 sessions to run through a post natal exercise routine with her.
Very nice!

Slinky · 09/01/2005 17:16

DD1 was taken to an A&E dept. in France last summer after a head injury, and if going by her experiences/treatments then you can rest assured you will be treated VERY well!!

Original poster
maretta · 09/01/2005 17:30

Thanks for the help - and bizarre stories.

I will spend some time looking at the links and small print.

OP posts:
TinyGang · 09/01/2005 17:39

Quickly skimming through I read this as '...accidentally leave a baby in France'!

Sorry, nothing to offer this thread but hope it all goes well for you

Beetroot · 09/01/2005 17:45

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

JanH · 09/01/2005 17:48

Mind you, according to ggglimpopo they are very keen on strapping you down, feet in stirrups etc - she wanted a portable (?) epidural and the consultant said snottily "and where would you go?" (out for a 5 course meal obviously, hehehe) - so you might not end up with exactly what you planned.

But then if it happened I suppose you wouldn't be too worried about how!

Original poster
maretta · 09/01/2005 18:13

I'm lucky - my aunt's a midwife and has a degree in French and German.

She doesn't know this yet but I'm hoping that she'll do me a letter giving a brief summary of my notes in French.

OP posts:
wishingchair · 10/01/2005 14:31

Hiya - just wanted to add something to this only as when I got dd's passport photo done, they told me they had a French baby in who'd been accidentally born in france and of course they couldn't get home till they'd got a passport for him.

So no problem if you don't mind having an extended stay in france, but might be a bit more of a prob if dh had to get back to work etc.

Other than that - congrats!

wishingchair · 10/01/2005 14:31

Sorry - baby was accidentally born in the UK and they couldn't get back to France.

Duh. Pregnancy brain kicking in again

Blu · 10/01/2005 14:43

And remember you need your own personal, renewed E1-11, now. Old ones covering the whole family are now no longer valid.

Congratulations!

wordsmith · 10/01/2005 14:56

From the comments about French healthcare on this thread, I would definitely re-book your holiday - for mid-september!

cas73 · 10/01/2005 15:14

If you have a baby abroad, you will have to get a passport for it (plus it will have dual nationality probably, if you want to have a french passport for him/her). I found (not in France though) that the quickest way is to get and english passport from the embassy.

One thing to keep in mind though is that the baby will of course have british nationality, but it will be "by descent" which in practical terms means that will not be able to pass the nationality to next generation. And there is no way to change this status - there would be better chances if a foreign person came to live in the uk, than a uk national giving birth on holidays abroad. (I have this with my 2 and have really looked into it...)

PrettyCandles · 10/01/2005 15:17

Have you already bought your holiday insurance? If you bought it at the same time as booking the holiday - ie before you were pg - then you may be covered. If not, then you may not even be able to get holdiay insurance. Could be worth checking!

Oh, and congratulations! I was only 10w pg when I was on holiday in France, but I was indeed treated like royalty. The French can be real jobsworthies and petty over regulations, yet as soon as I mentioned the word 'enceinte' they bent over backwards to help me out. Very nice .

Frieda · 10/01/2005 15:23

Congratulations, maretta!
Re: the baby being born in France, this actually happened to a woman I worked with. We were both about 34 weeks pregnant and both had hols to France booked. I discovered that my holiday insurance didn't cover me after 34 weeks of pregnancy and decided to cancel (actually, I sold our holiday to a friend, so didn't lose out entirely) ? I can't remember what the deal was with the E111, but it doesn't always cover you totally ? I think it's about 75% for most things ? it'll probably say on the form. Anyway, colleague decided to go on hols, had a bout of food poisoning which set off her contractions and baby subsequently arrived about 5 weeks early. As far as I remember, the actual birth went fine, but because the baby was prem, the hospital wouldn't discharge her for about 6 weeks. Hubby had to go back to the UK because of work, and the fact that they'd gone on holiday in a 2-seater sports car which couldn't accommodate a baby seat and they had to rent a flat out there for a couple of months until they could bring the baby home. I seem to remember it all cost a small fortune and was quite stressful in the end, although his work was pretty accommodating.
Sorry to sound like a prophet of doom, but if I were you, I'd make sure you had travel insurance which covers you for pregnancy related emergencies for the number of weeks you'll be pregnant at the time. I think Churchill and Lloyds insurance have deals if you'll be late on in pregnancy, but I think a lot of companies don't offer cover after 34 weeks.

Having said that, I'm sure you'll be fine, though it may be as well to be aware that medical expenses might not be the only ones you have to think about.

JanH · 10/01/2005 15:41

btw I'm very sorry but the title of this thread makes me giggle every time I see it - both the concept of accidentally having a baby, anywhere, and the obvious answer to the question!

monkey · 11/01/2005 13:03

cas 73, where were your 2 born? I have had 2 children born out of UK & have never been told that they are only British 'by descent' and can't pass their UK nationality onto their children. I'm sure this can't apply to all babies born to UK parents out of UK. No onme has ever told us that... you've got me worried now.

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