 |
| The day we found out...Friendsgiving! |
*Cost*
 |
| Yep, 55E for monthly lab work & preliminary genetic screening, with NO INSURANCE |
Ok, this the American in me coming out. I have friends from Canada and the UK who would not agree with me on this point, but when your reference is American health care costs, yes, France is cheap. Since we still have American insurance, rather than the French social health care, we pay everything at full price out of pocket and then submit claims to our US company after the fact. While this is time consuming, tons of paperwork, and results in a 4 month delay of reimbursement, I don't mind because it's so cheap to begin with. I'm talking 100E, no insurance, for a monthly appointment with my OBGYN {who is the head of the maternity at a well-known hospital in Paris} including an ultrasound {which is also in 3D for part of the time!}. I mean, what?!?
*High Quality of Care*
*Lab work*
*Laid back*
I learned very early on in this pregnancy that French are definitely more laid back about letting pregnancy progress than Americans. Granted my only experience with pregnancy in America is stories I've heard through friends, but I think this holds true. To illustrate, when I took my first three {yes, three!} positive pregnancy tests, I immediately called my doctor for an appointment that day. Because so many of my friends told me that they went to their doctor and took a blood/urine test in the office to confirm it on the spot. So I arrived at my doctor, she congratulates me, proceeds to estimate my due date, go over the do's/don't's of pregnancy, and writes me a prescription for the full blood work needed when you're pregnant, and hands me the bill for the appointment. Trying to comprehend what just happened, I timidly ask "So, are we going to do a urine or blood test to confirm I'm actually pregnant?" She smiles at me and says, "If you've taken three positive home tests, trust me, you're pregnant. There's no need for a separate blood test other than your full blood test that you'll next week." I left dumbfounded and spent the weekend wondering if I was really pregnant. Of course, it turns out I was, confirmed by the full blood work a week later.
Another thing that's different is that generally, most pregnant women continue seeing their generalist until 6 months, assuming there's no complications, at which point they switch to an OBGYN or a midwife for the remainder of the pregnancy. And honestly, this makes a lot of sense. Other than your ultrasounds, the monthly appointments are literally 10-15 minutes: blood pressure check, weight check, question answering, au revoir! I mean, really, when did America go away from this tradition to seeing an OBGYN from the get-go? Unless there's a problem, doesn't it make sense to stay with someone who knows you? Oh, and by the way, those ultrasounds? The 1st one in France is 12-13 weeks, NOT 8-10 weeks. Again America seems to go overboard on this too. As hard as it was to wait that long, it actually looked like a real baby at that point, not a blob!
That glass of wine that you're used to drinking to unwind? It's definitely not completely off the table here. While no one's recommending you have a glass every day, they definitely are okay with it from time to time. And if you were to order one in a restaurant, you would not get the shocked, judging stares you would in the US.
The thing that has been the hardest for me to get used to in terms of being laid back here is the smoking. It is NOT recommended that pregnant women smoke in France either, but the amount of second-hand smoke they must ingest is crazy to me. I feel like I'm constantly holding my breath as I walk by smokers on the sidewalk. And the strangest thing? Smoking is allowed immediately outside the maternity wing at the hospital. And I do mean immediately.
*Maternity clothes shopping*
So what do French women do? I'm still not entirely sure, but I think it must be a combination of boutique shopping and online shopping. I finally found jeans I liked at a wonderful maternity boutique called MammaFashion {in an empty alleyway...no one would ever stumble into this shop!} because although H&M has quite a selection of maternity pants, 80% of them are flare or loose fitting on the bottom. NEWS FLASH...I have never seen a Parisian wearing anything other than skinny jeans, so why would they switch for maternity pants?? The rest of my jeans and leggings I ordered online at GAP. Thankfully, I discovered a site, which allows for free shipping and free returns, without paying the exorbitant taxes/import fees associated with many American websites/companies. But workout pants....yeah, that one is still stumping me....probably because most Parisian women don't work out, let alone when they're pregnant...
*Bathrooms*
Any pregnant lady knows how important bathrooms are. In France, it's even more important since there's very few public ones. I will say, I think I know where all free ones are now {there's even a secret, clean one in the walls of Seine}, and I know to make sure to use the restroom at any restaurant, museum, or event I'm at before leaving. You never know how long you might have to wait for the next one!
My running route now includes a pit stop at my hospital in the middle since I can't seem to go more than 1-2 miles without needing a bathroom. I've decided the key is to act confident when walking in somewhere to find a bathroom. Now that I know where they are in the hospital, I just stroll in and use them, despite the looks I get coming in drenched sweat and wearing workout clothes.
*Being a pregnant foreigner in France*
This has definitely been the hardest thing for me. I always thought not drinking would be the hardest thing with all the good wine, champagne, etc. in France, but it turns out, it's the food! Since so much of French food culture revolves around charceturie meats and unpasteurized cheese, it's hard not being able to eat those things! I have found a decent selection of pasteurized cheeses in the grocery store, but eating any of those things out is impossible because you don't know if they're pasteurized or not! Thankfully, my friends here are awesome and always save the labels for me and try and buy at least one pasteurized cheese every time we get together! :)
France also has a high prevalence of toxoplasmosis. This is the same disease that pregnant women can get from cat litter, but for some reason is found in high quantities in France {perhaps because the French eat a lot of raw and under-cooked meat}. This means, that either before getting pregnant, or immediately after finding out, every pregnant women is tested to see if they have immunity to toxoplasmosis. Most French women do, since they have lived their whole lives eating foods from the soil here and likely contracted it sometime in their lives. {If you contract toxoplasmosis when not pregnant, it is harmless and results in life-long immunity.} However, most foreigners are not immune, and I was one of those who was not immune when tested. This means, not only do I take a monthly blood test to check that I haven't contracted it while pregnant, but I always have to avoid the soil and not eat any raw veggies or meats! I've never thought of myself has a veggie person, but when taken away, I realize how much I actually them! No salads, no veggies and humus, no raw salsa, ugh! I'm having to get creative with how I get my veggie requirements in nowadays!---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UPDATE: June 1, 2015
Just a few more funny/interesting notes.
*Life in a Folder*
No joke, you carry your life around in a folder for every appointment you have. Heaven forbid you forget your folder when you go into labor--it has every record of your entire pregnancy from lab results to ultrasounds to the doctor's scribbled notes from monthly appointments. While this is great for me, who needs all my records back in the US anyway, it seems stressful for someone living here!
*Clothes, or Lack Thereof*
The first time we showed up for an ultrasound and the doctor told me to take off my pants and underwear for the ultrasound, I knew he meant right there and then; there would be no gown, as in the US. This is a French norm that I had experienced on my first every doctor visit in France, but for Nick was all very new. I remember him looking shocked and confused, like perhaps he didn't hear something correctly. He rolled with it, but afterwards told me how strange he thought it was. Now, 5 months later, he's used to it to at every appointment!
Speaking of clothes, I attend a weekly pre-natal yoga class that's enitrely in French, which means I'm essentially the only non-French person there. While I show up in my yoga pants, all the other women show up in normal clothes {because riding the metro or being seen in public in work out clothes is a faux-pas in Paris}. However, despite the fact they wouldn't be caught dead in workout clothes outside the studio, it doesn't bother them one bit to come into the studio and strip down in front of everyone to put on their yoga clothes. I mean, really?
*Bureaucracy*
Oh, yes, like everything else in France, there's bureaucracy frustrations. Whether it's wandering the hospital because three different people tell you three different things about where you should go {no one seems to ever be in the same page in France}, or waiting 1 hour to pay a 20E bill, it's always something. Yes, to pay my 20E bill from lab work in the hospital, I had to go there. Reverting to my American self, I mistakenly thought it would be a quick pop in and out type of visit. Oh no, please take a number and we will call you, when we feel like it...There were so many times when a window sat empty for 5 minutes before they called another number! Ughh! Where is my American efficiency??
*Treated Like a Queen*
Despite many of these bizarre and sometimes annoying traits, I will say, pregnant women are treated like queens in France. I can't tell you how many times someone has given up their seat on the metro or bus, or let me cut in line {gotta take advantage while I can!} Plus, there's priority lines at the grocery store and post office for pregnant ladies. And if you happen to wait in a non-priority line, and someone notices you, they will pulll you out of line to check out immediately. Well done, France, well done. America could take some clues in this department!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All in all, it's not so bad being pregnant in France, other than missing out on our last few months of enjoying French wine, cheese, and meats, of course! I love how laid back the French are about pregnancy; I feel like it's helped make me less stressed and helped lead to an overall easy pregnancy so far. I will say that I look forward to future pregnancies in the US, where I don't have to worry about weather cheese is pasteurized/unpasteurized and eating fruits and vegetables with no worries!
All in all, it's not so bad being pregnant in France, other than missing out on our last few months of enjoying French wine, cheese, and meats, of course! I love how laid back the French are about pregnancy; I feel like it's helped make me less stressed and helped lead to an overall easy pregnancy so far. I will say that I look forward to future pregnancies in the US, where I don't have to worry about weather cheese is pasteurized/unpasteurized and eating fruits and vegetables with no worries!
