https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Wed, 08 Apr 2026 22:59:33 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-happy-with-the-countrystateprovince-youll-give-birth-in#post-301498 Wed, 19 Sep 2012 15:33:58 +0000 mrsjyw 301498@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>love the hospital, wish i could say the same about the country! LOL. as in i wish we were somewhere non-us that offered better mat leave :P </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-happy-with-the-countrystateprovince-youll-give-birth-in#post-300743 Wed, 19 Sep 2012 07:54:52 +0000 travelgirl1 300743@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@highwire: Yeah I'd be lying if I said I hadn't been a hot mess of freakout when I first found out about it all.... I really didn't want to pack up all our apartment, arrange shipping etc, and fly back to England at 38 weeks. That would have sucked. I'm so grateful it looks like we'll be able to stay in Canada for the birth. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-happy-with-the-countrystateprovince-youll-give-birth-in#post-299458 Tue, 18 Sep 2012 09:45:42 +0000 rachiecakes 299458@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>The hospital I gave birth in has one of the best midwives practices in the country. The c-section rate is the lowest around and they discourage interventions unless medically necessary. I believe that this is what allowed me to have a vaginal birth despite complications (pre-e, posterior, etc.).<br /> When I was first hospitalized with pre-e, the attending nurse was new to the hospital and when I was released she told me she was shocked that they didn't order a c-section that day and that every hospital she had worked in before would have. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-happy-with-the-countrystateprovince-youll-give-birth-in#post-299329 Tue, 18 Sep 2012 07:13:16 +0000 Honeybee 299329@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@jedeve: I thought you were in Missoula but the hospital must be bigger than that? Are you outside the city? What described sounds just like Helena's setup! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-happy-with-the-countrystateprovince-youll-give-birth-in#post-299237 Mon, 17 Sep 2012 23:10:18 +0000 Baby Boy Mom 299237@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We're in Mexico, so eh. On the nice side, the private hospitals are really nice, but medically they follow lots of trends in the US except with a bit of a lag (so lots of interventions, even when not really necessary). I just feel like there is something wrong with the system when most of the people I know here that had babies, had c-sections. Also, things like giving our baby glucose water because I asked not to give formula...um no thanks. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-happy-with-the-countrystateprovince-youll-give-birth-in#post-299224 Mon, 17 Sep 2012 22:40:58 +0000 Mrs. Bee 299224@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Yup NY, NY in the best hospital in NY! If anything went wrong, there was a state of the art NICU, and my OB is the head of the dept there. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-happy-with-the-countrystateprovince-youll-give-birth-in#post-299223 Mon, 17 Sep 2012 22:29:34 +0000 DillonLion 299223@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I've had good experiences with my maternity healthcare so far. Even if I was going to someplace with "better" coverage or whatever, I'd still be terrified to have to travel/move/experience a totally different healthcare program 2 weeks before my due date! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-happy-with-the-countrystateprovince-youll-give-birth-in#post-299222 Mon, 17 Sep 2012 22:23:03 +0000 runsyellowlites 299222@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I hate our maternal healthcare here in the states.... hate hate hate it! No I don't hate medical technology I just hate our system &amp; perspective on them and their use. So since moving overseas to a place where they believe in the capabilities of a woman's body &amp; don't frivolously use interventions isn't an option I decided to stay the heck out of the hospital and planned a homebirth. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-happy-with-the-countrystateprovince-youll-give-birth-in#post-299220 Mon, 17 Sep 2012 22:10:57 +0000 Ree723 299220@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm an American expat living in Australia and that's where our first was born. I LOVE the system here, absolutely love it! From a financial point of view, there was absolute no cost out of pocket to have our baby, other than the $150 we paid for the optional NT scan at 13 weeks. The government health care system, Medicare, is funded out of taxpayer dollars so there's no insurance claims to deal with, no co-pays, etc. It was wonderful. </p> <p>I loved the hospital we gave birth at - amazing midwives and nurses (never actually met with a doctor as I had a low risk pregnancy)! They take a very hands off approach to pregnancy unless complications arise, which I really appreciated as I didn't want to have internal checks, or swabs for infections (GBS), or multiple u/s that could scare me into thinking my baby was humongous, or have my baby given eye drops when there are no risk factors present to warrant such action etc. </p> <p>I loved that we had midwives visit us at home after LO arrived to weigh her and check on my recovery. I love that DH got two weeks of paid paternity leave. I also love that there is a government funded Baby Bonus that gives $5000 tax free to parents to assist with the purchasing of baby items (it was meant to be an incentive to help boost Australia's population but it's available to any new Australian baby).</p> <p>Really, I just cannot rave enough about the Australian system. I'm hoping we have our next one (and maybe one more after that) here as well as the system works that well. Love it. Ah, the only downside I guess is that after birth, unless there are complications, you end up in shared room (twin rooms). Not the end of the world though. I can share a room for a night or two to take advantage of all the other perks. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-happy-with-the-countrystateprovince-youll-give-birth-in#post-299055 Mon, 17 Sep 2012 19:52:28 +0000 prettylizy 299055@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm another Canadian who had an awesome expierence with everything and am so happy to have the options I did and my full year maternity leave! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-happy-with-the-countrystateprovince-youll-give-birth-in#post-299038 Mon, 17 Sep 2012 19:47:09 +0000 chopsuey 299038@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I had my LO in Atlanta, Ga. Hospital food sucked, but was happy with everything else! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-happy-with-the-countrystateprovince-youll-give-birth-in#post-299013 Mon, 17 Sep 2012 19:26:05 +0000 Arden 299013@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Like @Minnie_Girl, I'm happy with the care I have for myself, but not the medical system in the USA as a whole.</p> <p>If I end of having to transfer to a hospital, I'll be wishing I was in the UK or South Africa, but that's just not possible for this pregnancy.</p> <p>Most likely my next birth will be at a birth center in South Africa. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-happy-with-the-countrystateprovince-youll-give-birth-in#post-298966 Mon, 17 Sep 2012 18:47:34 +0000 Rubies 298966@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm also from Toronto and loved where I gave birth - everyone was so nice to me. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-happy-with-the-countrystateprovince-youll-give-birth-in#post-298957 Mon, 17 Sep 2012 18:40:12 +0000 shopaholic 298957@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I don't know all the specifics, but having a baby in Canada or Sweden seem to be really good!</p> <p>I know that in the U.S. (and California for us specifically) the costs can range so much depending on your insurance plan and employer. You can pay $0 out-of-pocket to something like 50% of your total cost?! Yikes! So far, I think we will have to pay something like $5,000 for the delivery and I'm not sure if that includes something like 20% co-pay? Honestly, I don't want to know and just want to let DH handle it all! :/ </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-happy-with-the-countrystateprovince-youll-give-birth-in#post-298358 Mon, 17 Sep 2012 11:52:10 +0000 looch 298358@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>The hospital in my hometown in the US has a Childbirth Center staffed with nurse midwives, they do the deliveries with OBs called in for emergencies and C-sections. I'd be totally comfortable delivering there. It's not a large urban center by any means. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-happy-with-the-countrystateprovince-youll-give-birth-in#post-298207 Mon, 17 Sep 2012 10:30:26 +0000 Minnie_Girl 298207@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm very happy with my health care providers and the place I plan to give birth, just not the maternal health care system here in the US. </p> <p>We have to pay out of pocket for our homebirth midwives and *hope* that DH's health plan will partially cover the cost. He works for the area health care company and has a generally excellent health care package, but a birth that should be extremely low cost/low risk to insurers is made expensive for us. </p> <p>If for any reason we needed to transfer out of our midwives' care, there would be no one on standby at the local hospital because shared care and a transfer system is nonexistent here. </p> <p>I'm not the least bit nervous about giving birth at home. What makes me nervous is the lack of health care coverage and the poor communication between midwives and doctors. The fact that midwife care is so shunned from "traditional" US obstetrics is disturbing. And disturbingly unsafe. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-happy-with-the-countrystateprovince-youll-give-birth-in#post-298175 Mon, 17 Sep 2012 10:17:14 +0000 Mrs. Superhero 298175@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Yep, I'm in BC, Canada and I had the best experience possible with both my girls :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-happy-with-the-countrystateprovince-youll-give-birth-in#post-298149 Mon, 17 Sep 2012 09:54:30 +0000 jedeve 298149@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I want to give birth somewhere with national health care!!!!</p> <p>I'll be doing it in Montana, so there's no real choice of hospitals. Part of me wishes that I was in a bigger city to have more of a choice of providers, and wouldn't have to be airlifted if something goes wrong, but what can you do? The place actually looks pretty nice - birth/recovery rooms are the same, jacuzzi tubs, fold out bed for husband, beautiful views. And pretty much no chance of sharing a room since they have about 30 babies a month there and have 9 rooms!</p> <p>My biggest concern is that I'll go into labor during a blizzard and won't be able to get to the hospital in time (January baby). Luckily I'm only a few miles away and my downstairs neighbor is a paramedic. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-happy-with-the-countrystateprovince-youll-give-birth-in#post-298090 Mon, 17 Sep 2012 09:29:34 +0000 oliviaoblivia 298090@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'll be delivering in Toronto and I'm so thrilled to be having our baby here rather than home in the states. Aside from the great care I've received, it's such a relief to not be rushed back to work at 12 weeks pp. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-happy-with-the-countrystateprovince-youll-give-birth-in#post-298078 Mon, 17 Sep 2012 09:19:54 +0000 wheres_c 298078@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@travelgirl1: I'm from Northampton. I agree that out of the three, Canada probably has the best healthcare system for my needs. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-happy-with-the-countrystateprovince-youll-give-birth-in#post-298059 Mon, 17 Sep 2012 09:03:29 +0000 travelgirl1 298059@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@travelingbrit: It's a tough decision isn't it. Which part of the UK are you from? I think that's why I'm so happy to be in Canada, because I get the no-cost side from the UK, but a really good support system too. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-happy-with-the-countrystateprovince-youll-give-birth-in#post-298044 Mon, 17 Sep 2012 08:54:57 +0000 wheres_c 298044@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm a Brit, who will be giving birth in Florida. Besides England and the US, I have also lived in Canada - so am familiar with all three systems.</p> <p>The original plan was to move back to England before TTC - Since the birth would be a lot cheaper, and we planned on settling there anyway. Things didn't go to plan.<br /> I'm happy with my doctors and experience so far, but absolutely not the cost.</p> <p>I don't want to start a political debate, because they never end well - But I don't believe basic healthcare should come with a cost (other than taxes).</p> <p>Also, am hating the maternity leave options here in the US. Basically everyone is expecting me to return to work 12 weeks after the birth (after the UNPAID FMLA). Yet our European employees get up to a year off at partial pay. UGH. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-happy-with-the-countrystateprovince-youll-give-birth-in#post-298019 Mon, 17 Sep 2012 08:41:38 +0000 Foodnerd81 298019@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Hmm... I was all ready to say yes, but reading some of these other things reminds me where the US really is lacking. But, the US healthcare system is all I know, and we have very good insurance, so I will stick with my yes. We are in Boston, where we have so many top notch hospitals and birthing centers, so I will be doing a midwife birthing center that is in a hospital. I'm sure even with insurance we will end up paying a bunch, but we are prepared for that (as I said, this is all we know!). Having extended leave and pay would certainly be nice, but I'm planning to be a SAHM anyway.<br /> I'd feel differently if my hospital settings were limited, but I feel good about my area. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-happy-with-the-countrystateprovince-youll-give-birth-in#post-297997 Mon, 17 Sep 2012 08:23:08 +0000 looch 297997@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Yup, I gave birth in Switzerland.</p> <p>eta: I should also mention that healthcare in Switzerland is not free, health insurance is mandatory for all people living here, so the companies have plans at different price points. Considering we pay over $600 a month for three of us, the care is excellent. Very little is out of pocket. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-happy-with-the-countrystateprovince-youll-give-birth-in#post-297988 Mon, 17 Sep 2012 08:17:05 +0000 travelgirl1 297988@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Crumbs: That sounds amazing!<br /> @mynoahbear: That must have been scary with the language barrier but it sounds like you got excellent care. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-happy-with-the-countrystateprovince-youll-give-birth-in#post-297982 Mon, 17 Sep 2012 08:12:52 +0000 mynoahbear 297982@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I gave birth here in Tokyo and I'm so happy we were here. Our first baby was born with Trisomy 18 and spent 9 months in NICU. Our medical team was incredible and super supportive. We had a bit of a language barrier but they tried so hard to make sure we understood everything. The entire time he was in NICU, we only got billed for the diapers he used. Everything else was paid for by the Japanese National Health Insurance.<br /> We chose to go to the same hospital for our second baby. Because the staff knew our history, they took extra care with my second pregnancy, doing every test to make sure everything was ok. So yes, we are extremely happy I gave birth in Japan. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-happy-with-the-countrystateprovince-youll-give-birth-in#post-297979 Mon, 17 Sep 2012 08:10:33 +0000 loveisstrange 297979@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@travelgirl1: I live between Cambridge and Norwich, in Norfolk. Cambridge is an absolutely gorgeous city. Haha, I didn't think that you were trying to bash anything. I was just trying to share a positive experience about the NHS maternity care. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-happy-with-the-countrystateprovince-youll-give-birth-in#post-297975 Mon, 17 Sep 2012 08:08:12 +0000 SugarplumsMom 297975@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm an American living in Sweden and I wouldn't want to have a kid anywhere else! The environment is really family friendly and the benefits are second to none. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for LO.</p> <p>All my prenatal appointments, delivery, and baby appointments were covered. DH and I paid very little for the hospital stay - it was so little it might as well have been free. Although my birth was traumatic, there were no complications and my LO is healthy. So far, I really like all the scheduled check-ups for her (first one was an at home visit, then every 2 weeks for the first 2 months). It's done at a local baby clinic so no worries of old, sick people hanging around. </p> <p>If there's a baby emergency, all DH has to do is put up a piece of paper on his door at work and it's automatically understood. He has great paternity leave benefits, and LO gets a small amount from the city every month (every baby gets this until they're 16 y/o, then they get a little for studying). I can go on. Everything helps alleviate some of the stresses of being new parent. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-happy-with-the-countrystateprovince-youll-give-birth-in#post-297972 Mon, 17 Sep 2012 08:05:39 +0000 travelgirl1 297972@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@zippylef: That's awesome, I'm glad you had a great experience there. I'm honestly not trying to bash England - I'm a proud Brit - but my family has kinda scared me I'll be honest, lol. Do you live in Cambridge? I'm from Yorkshire, I've heard Cambridge is gorgeous. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-happy-with-the-countrystateprovince-youll-give-birth-in#post-297967 Mon, 17 Sep 2012 08:02:59 +0000 loveisstrange 297967@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@travelgirl1: I'm an american expat living in England and I had my baby at Addenbrooke's in Cambridge on the NHS. My water broke and I needed to be induced and when they came in to talk to me about starting the pitocin/syntocinon they looked me dead in the eye and offered to do an epidural at the same time. I wanted a med free birth, but due to a heart condition I was diagnosed with at 36 week, I wasn't allowed to. They offered me an epidural, gas and air and pill narcotics with no guilt or anything. </p> <p>I actually really enjoyed my experience there. The ward? Yeah, that kind of sucks, but I felt like the docs and midwives were all pretty fabulous. </p>