Corfu travel when 6 months pregnant

Hi,

I am at the 24 week stage of pregnancy living in the UK, my husband
and I have a number of investment properties in Greece- Corfu and we
are planning on travelling there in the next few weeks. We also have a
holiday home very close to Corfu Town where the general hospital is.

It is possible that we may stay a couple of months in Corfu, but the
intention is to go back to the UK for the birth of my second child due
March/ April 2008. I already have one healthy child aged 4 born in the
UK, the birth was uncomplicated. I will be 37 years old when the new
baby is born.

At the 24 week stage, my pregnancy is normal, both the baby and myself
are in good health. I do not have any immediate issues over the place
of birth, London or Corfu either is ok. So long as the baby and I get
good treatment.

I have been to Corfu hospital in the past and it seems "quite good",
but not being of a medical background I cannot be certain of the
quality of care which I could expect?

Can you offer me advice on the following questions:

1. Would being a regular EU citizen entitle me to full child birth
"cover" in any state (not private) EU hospital?
2. Are there any limitations on the care I could expect in the Corfu
medical system ?
2. Do I have to inform the hospital in Corfu on arrival of my
condition in case the baby arrives whilst I am there?
3. Would a Corfu hospital have the same standards and doctors as those
in London?
4. What information would I have to provide the Corfu hospital?
5. Is it possible to get travel isurance to cover the private costs of
child birth abroad?
6. How soon can a new baby travel by plane?
7. What are the implications of having a healthy baby abroad. UK
citizenship etc, returning to the UK.
8. Most importantly do you have experience having a baby in Corfu/
abroad what was your experience?


Thank you so much for your advice.

I can't answer everything, but I'll try, I am a UK citizen, I
travelled to Cyprus 6mths into my first pregnancy and in my 2nd
pregnancy spent wk16-wk32 in Korea before returning to the UK for the
birth. These days I live in the USA.


1. Would being a regular EU citizen entitle me to full child birth
"cover" in any state (not private) EU hospital?

Do you have your E111 (or equivalent if they changed the name), it's
the form you get from the post office, fill in, then get stamped to
show you get EU health entitlements. The form is in the back of a
booklet, which you should check for coverage. Cyprus wasn't in the EU
when I went there.

2. Are there any limitations on the care I could expect in the Corfu
medical system ?

It will be different, but not necessarily "worse", Greece as a whole
has tended to have pretty similar results to the UK for mothers and
babies.

2. Do I have to inform the hospital in Corfu on arrival of my
condition in case the baby arrives whilst I am there?

No, unless you are there long enough you want any routine antenatal
checks.

3. Would a Corfu hospital have the same standards and doctors as those
in London?

It won't be the same, but a reasonable sized hospital should have a
reasonable standard.

4. What information would I have to provide the Corfu hospital?

You'll either need to prove you are entitled to treatment by producing
your E111 (or equivalent if the name has changed), or provide
insurance details that they are able to claim from, or pay yourself
and claim back from insurance.

5. Is it possible to get travel isurance to cover the private costs of
child birth abroad?

Yes, the length of your trip might mean you can't get regular tourist
insurance and you need to check the small print very carefully with
tourist insurance if your trip is short enough, but there are several
companies which insure expat and business traveller, but it does cost
more. I can't remember the name of the company we used when we went to
Korea, I can ask DH and see if he remembers, but we were only able to
get an annual policy, however it would have covered both emergency
delivery and care of the baby with a high enough cap that even a very
sick/premature baby would have been fully covered and cover if we had
decided to stay longer and it been a planned delivery.

6. How soon can a new baby travel by plane?

Most sources say 2 weeks after the birth, but with the time frame you
are considering, it would be health of the baby that would be the
issue. Premature babies are sometimes moved by air in incubator, but
mostly if they need treatment that isn't accessible where they are.
Repatriation insurance is a separate issue, I don't know if it's even
available for an unborn baby.

7. What are the implications of having a healthy baby abroad. UK
citizenship etc, returning to the UK.

I can't remember the exact time scale you have for registering their
birth and getting a British birth certificate, it's significantly
longer than the 6 weeks you have if a baby is born in Britain and can
be done at an embassy, you don't have to travel to the UK to do it.

8. Most importantly do you have experience having a baby in Corfu/
abroad what was your experience?

That's the bit I haven't done! I have had emergency treatment for
pregnancy complications in both Cyprus and Korea. I was very happy
with the care I received, but don't underestimate cultural differences
and language issues. Ultimately the reason we chose not to have our
2nd in Korea was fear and nervousness, but it was much more to do with
being away from home and living in a small apartment and not having
any baby equipment that put us off than any issues surrounding the
birth itself. Having a premature baby anywhere is going to be hard,
but if you've already had a term baby and you're returning at 32 weeks
it's a very low chance. Check and double check any airline
regulations, consider getting a doctors note even when it's not needed
in case of any problems. The doctor we saw in Korea was happy to give
me a note anytime up until the limit of the airline (37 weeks iirc),
but this discussion was before 32 weeks and you can't predict what
might change so in the end we made sure our flight was when was 31+6
days as the airline required a doctors note from 32 weeks, we had one
anyway, but no one even noticed I was pregnant!

Cheers
Anne