Shortly after the doctor confirms pregnancy, pregnant women in France are given a schedule of mandatory doctor visits. I enjoy the fact that I am not left to guess when I should be going to the doctor or when my next ultrasound will be, but it can be stressful to follow when you have large events happening – like moving! Now I am a few weeks behind.
Social security covers women whether they see a doctor or midwife. So for now on I will be seeing a midwife at the hospital where I will be delivering. This will give me an opportunity to really get to know the facility and the midwives there. In France, midwives take care of deliveries, while doctors are only called over if there is a complication. Everyone receives the same minimum standard care no matter where they live or which doctor or midwife they see. If the pregnancy has complications or needs closer monitoring, the doctor or midwife is able to stray from the schedule and allot additional tests, ultrasounds and visits.
You do not pay at all for any of these visits! It is all covered through social health insurance… I have to admit that I am really getting used to this social system! Which is funny because before moving here I argued with my husband against it and why private insurance was better. But it is nice not having to worry about copays, deductables and limits. We can just focus on the baby and not worry about the medical expenses. The USA is really behind! If you are living in France without being on their social health insurance, then no worries. Doctor visits and ultrasounds are very cheap.
Schedule of Doctor Visits and Ultrasounds for Pregnant Women in France
First 3 months – 1st prenatal exam and 1st ultrasound
4th month – 2nd prenatal exam and the dad gets a heath exam
5th month – 3rd prenatal exam and 2nd ultrasound
6th month – 4th prenatal exam
7th month – 5th prenatal exam and begin classes for preparing for birth
8th month – 6th prenatal exam and 4th ultrasound
9th month – 7th prenatal exam
After the baby is born, French mammas are then to have a postnatal exam within 8 weeks and go to the following:
Within 8 days of birth – 1st baby doctor visit
Baby’s 1st month – 2nd baby doctor visit
Baby’s 2nd month – 3rd baby doctor visit
thefrenchsuck says
This is crazy. The statistical usefulness of ultrasound has not been shown. On the contrary, studies show that women who do not receive ultrasounds vs. those who do (but do not receive any intervention) are identical.
Furthermore, there is mounting evidence of a link between ultrasound and neurological damage to the unborn child.
“The brains of the offspring showed damage consistent with that found in the brains of people with autism. ” (Rakic, Yale 2006). It was observed that “a […] statistically significant number of neurons fail to acquire their proper position and remain scattered within inappropriate cortical layers and/or in the subjacent white matter. The magnitude […] systematically increased with duration of exposure to USW” (Rakic, Yale 2006).
There is a correlation (at least double the normal rate) between non-genetically determined left-handedness and amount of ultrasound received (Department of Medical Epidemiology,Karolinska Institutet).
Furthermore, autism is less prevalent among mothers who receive less prenatal care. Particularly, autism is significantly lower for Hispanic and Black expecting mothers in the US.