Maternity Services
 

Hi all!

I'm looking for any advice or stories people can give on maternity services (and the differences?) for the UK and Canada.

Basically, Hubby and I are looking to start a family in the next few years, which might well be before we get PR and can move. (Hubby is training for his job currently, so we don't want to try and fast track our application at the moment.) Can anyone advise if it will cause a problem with our application if we have another (small) person to add to it? Also, will it cause any issues with getting medicals done if I happened to be pregnant at the time? :X

In people's opinions, would it be best for Hubby and I to get all our spawn producing needs out of the way before we move, or to wait until afterwards? Considering costs, facilities, etc. Or just go for it when the time seems right, regardless of country? :rofl:

I'm aware that we'd then need to make sure to stay the 3 years after landing (though we're planning on staying a lot longer!) to get citizenship for any offspring that weren't born on Canadian soil. :)

Any advise or information gratefully received! :lol:

Re: Maternity Services
 

There are a lot of variables to consider. Amongst other things, I don't know your age and the window within which you would like to have children.

Under normal circumstances, adding a child to one's application doesn't cause problems. The only problem I can think of is a health problem that causes immigration authorities to reject the family's application. Of course, any family member might have such a problem, not just a child. But it seems obvious to me that, the more dependents there are on the application, the higher the statistical chances that someone will have a health problem that could put a spanner in the works (or a wrench as Canadians would say). But the statistical chances of being rejected on health grounds are still low.

Pre-natal care and a hospital delivery, with a doctor presiding, are covered by the provincial health care insurance programs. The one hitch is that, in some provinces, you are not eligible for the health care insurance plan for your first three months. Newcomers often buy private medical insurance to tide them over, but I don't know how that works if you're pregnant. See the Wiki called Medical Insurance.

If you would prefer to have a midwife looking after you during your pregnancy and delivery, you should be aware that midwives are more rare in Canada than they are in the UK -- in most provinces much more rare. In several provinces, midwives are private practitioners, and patients have to pay for their services. See the Wiki article on Midwifery.

I think you said in a previous thread that you were heading to Ontario. I believe the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) covers midwifery costs. But OHIP does impose a 3-month waiting period before you're eligible to enroll.

If you're pregnant when you go for your immigration medical exam, you can't have an X-ray. You can have the medical exam done, return after having the baby, and get the X-ray at that time. The baby will then need a medical exam too. See post #7 in Becoming Pregnant.

Hope that helps.
x

Re: Maternity Services
 

Not meaning to be picky (you give GREAT advice Judy) but before the poster has a heart attack the waiting period is 3 months not 30 !!!! ;)

Re: Maternity Services
 

Wow, what a typo! I mean, if you're going to make a mistake, what a mistake to make! Thanks for the heads up, Zoe. :)
x

Re: Maternity Services
 

Hahahahahahaha, brilliant!!! Thanks for the chuckle Judy! (And of course, great advice as always!) :rofl::rofl::rofl:

Re: Maternity Services
 

I think finding the right time is a better way of deciding and that will become apparent. Having a baby in Canada or in the UK, there isnt much difference in outcome, it isnt a poorer standard of care from what I have heard. Though a different system of care, your main carer in Canada being a Dr rather than a midwife.

.........sounds to me like you would like us to say start right away!!!!! So in a bid to always help out a fellow broody person..............START RIGHT AWAY!:thumbsup:

Re: Maternity Services
 

The other thing to consider is your feelings about the "medical" or "natural" nature of pregnancy/childbirth. I am very pro natural childbirth, and have had 2 homebirths with no pain relief in England. Am now pregnant in Canada, and the attitude is generally towards the fact that pregnancy here is a medical condition, so people (doctors included) seem very pro any form of intervention (episiostomy -spelling??) seems the norm here, while in england quite rare unless there is an emergency.
I have been very lucky to get a midwife here so I can have another home birth, but I emphasis, VERY LUCKY

Susan

Re: Maternity Services
 

Just a couple of points to add to Judy's excellent (as usual) advice. We arrived in Ontario when my OH was around 7 months pregnant, so knew we wouldn't be covered by OHIP for the birth as we wouldn't have been here long enough to qualify. Luckily, my employer's healthcare plan covered us for that three-month period (the policy includes an "OHIP replacement" plan for new residents) so although we had to pay upfront for family doctor, OB/GYN, labour/delivery and postnatal care, we were able to claim back in full. Total cost would have been somewhere in the region of $6k from memory, for a remarkably uncomplicated birth (20 minutes after arriving in the labour ward).

Bear in mind that the new baby is covered by OHIP straightaway, as he or she is a Canadian citizen and is treated as such regardless of the immigration status of the parents.

It may well be the case that OHIP would cover midwifery costs, but I don't know of anybody (and, because we have two small children, between us the OH and I have met a lot of new parents) who has ever seen a midwife in Ontario.

For our first child in the UK we were lucky enough to have one-to-one midwife care through the NHS, which was brilliant, but I don't think the system here was any better or worse - regular checkups with at the OB/GYN's office, occasional visits to the family doctor, u/s scans at the hospital, all worked well and every part of the chain seemed well aware of what each other part was doing.

From the perspective of the less-involved party in childbirth, I really wouldn't let the decision as to where you want to have a baby play any significant part in your decision as to when to move to Canada.

Re: Maternity Services
 

You can, the abdomen is shielded, it's your choice. I think the DMP handbook says they are not allowed to advise patients either way on that.

I wouldn't have one in early pregnancy if I was emigrating from Europe, why take an unnecessary risk - but if I was faced with delivering in the developing world or Canada, I'd take the x-ray and get myself to Canada without delay.

Re: Maternity Services
 

Both my kids were born here in Toronto at Women's College Hospital by Scheduled C-section (the first because he was breech the second because why turn down free morphine:D). I recovered very quickly and had a very good experience. Also the help with Breastfeeding was excellent, although it was a little funny to have a young male nurse telling me how to get a good latch:rofl: Anyway if you have any questions please ask.

Re: Maternity Services
 

I know of two friends here in Ontario who have used Midwifes one was a hospital delivery and the other was a home water birth. Also both these woman had Doula's present at the birth for extra support. Mind you I think Midwife are pretty rare here.

Re: Maternity Services
 

I've just turned 26. :) Ideally I'd like to start a family by the time I'm 30, but if all the comments had been along the lines of "Wait till you get to Canada, it's so much better!" then I'd have willingly held out until 35 or so.

LOL, I'd love to! Unfortunately there's that whole lack of money thing... :P And the fact that I need to get more decorating done, and the garden... X_X I estimate that in two years I might just about be getting to a position where I could potentially go for it. XD

I have a bit of a fear of the hospitals here in the UK, and currently I'm lead towards preferring a home birth or midwife lead unit, preferably in water with minimal pain relief. But, I guess anything could happen that might require me to go into hospital, so I'll be trying to keep an open mind for it all. From the sound of things virtually all births in Canada are in hospitals, but then I suspect the quality of care and stuff there is better. :P (Well it can't be much worse!)

:O I hadn't thought of that! That's useful to know, thank you. ^_^

Thanks so much for all the advice, everyone! :D As you can imagine, it's a fairly big decision to make. ;) From what I can deduce, there are pros and cons to both countries, so it really seems to boil down to going for it when the time seems right.

I do have a couple of small further queries...

If Hubby and I had a child in Canada as PRs, would it still be eligable for a British passport? Is that the same if we became Canadian Citizens before the birth? (Not that I'm likely to wait that long, but it's still useful to know. ;))

Do company medical insurance policies over there cover existing 'conditions'? i.e. if I moved accross when pregnant and Hubby then got healthcare for his job, would it cover me for the maternity stuff? It seems to be a bit hit and miss over here as to whether you're covered for something already underway. :O

Thanks so much! :thumbsup:

Re: Maternity Services
 

Hi again

first of all it's a shame more people don't think so carefully before deciding to have kids:thumbup: but at the same time if you wait for exactly the right time you'll never do it. There is never going to be a perfect time financially or emotionally. I would also advise that even before you start trying you and your partner go to the doctor and have a check up.

Before I had my little boy Id never been in a hospital for anything and when they told me he was breech and I had to have a C-section at first I was so disappointed but then after seeing women go though hours and hours of labour only to end up having a section anyway I think I got off pretty lightly.

If your children are born in Canada they are usually considered British by decent and would be entitled to British Passports.

Re: Maternity Services
 

Hi. As already stated, midwifery services are still very much in their infancy in Canada as midwifery has only really been recognised there for the last 10 years! Ontario actually leads the way when it comes to midwifery and has a total of about 390 midwives. Have a look on the following website which you may find useful:

http://www.aom.on.ca/About/FAQ.aspx

Re: Maternity Services
 

Yeah, I also wish more people would think about it first, and possibly wait until they're a little older. :X I'm so worried that when I do decide to have a child, if I'm still in the area I currently live then I'm gonna be the oldest new Mum by about 10 years!

That site's really useful! Thanks! :thumbsup: