# Help finding a midwife?



## RachelT2017

Hello,
My husband (American) and I (British) are relocating to France from California to live and work in a few months. We will be going to Limoges as our starating base as I am pregnant and will need to deliver our baby a few months after we arrive. We have some family in Limoges but no knowledge of hospitals or care.

Can anyone offer any help with a trusted English speaking midwife in the Limoges area?
Any advice regarding pre-natal services/groups in Limoges.

Thank you so much 
Rachel


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## DejW

Registering with a GP (médicin traitaint) is probably your first step. It is they who orchestrate the clinical care.

You could look up "sage femmes" in pages jaune, but that won't help you find one with the same sense of humour as you! As a long ago father that's very important?

DejW



RachelT2017 said:


> Hello,
> My husband (American) and I (British) are relocating to France from California to live and work in a few months. We will be going to Limoges as our starating base as I am pregnant and will need to deliver our baby a few months after we arrive. We have some family in Limoges but no knowledge of hospitals or care.
> 
> Can anyone offer any help with a trusted English speaking midwife in the Limoges area?
> Any advice regarding pre-natal services/groups in Limoges.
> 
> Thank you so much
> Rachel


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## RachelT2017

Thank you. I will look into médicin traitaint.


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## EuroTrash

DejW said:


> Registering with a GP (médicin traitaint) is probably your first step.


Even before that, the very first step is to get your Carte Vitale or at least your Attestation of health cover (unless you're using private health insurance, in which case I don't think you register a médecin traitant).


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## Bevdeforges

If your husband is going to be working in or around Limoges, you should be covered by the sécu through his work. Then, you have to see what mutuelle his employer fixes you up with. But as soon as he starts, you need to resolve the coverage situation, get at least his sécu number and an attestation de droits to start the process(es) of finding a doctor, sage-femme and other care providers.

In the meantime, you may want to take a look at the resources the US Consulate has available through their website: https://fr.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/local-resources-of-u-s-citizens/#collapse6

On a quick glance, I don't see anyone in Limoges on the doctor listing, but that doesn't mean there aren't any english speaking folks there. You will probably have to ask around. You may also want to look into the English language parent group Message, which is based in Paris, but has members and contacts around France who might have more information for you. Welcome to Message Paris
Cheers,
Bev


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## DejW

From unwelcome experience the vocabulary of hospital stays is not complex and you can look it up before you go or visit the sage femme? Many Fr heath professionals have a little English, some are quite fluent - they may have studied in the UK.

The two key phrases "this is not going to hurt" and "PUUUUUUSH are international?

DejW


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## 95995

Be aware that home births are not common in France and are not recommended (this is because hospital births are considered far safer). Also, it's not likely that the obstetrician will deliver your baby - delivery is usually via a birthing team. That said, it seems to me that most people report an excellent experience of giving birth in the French system. 

If you google 'pregnant in France' you will find some useful information and blogs.

Have you got any kind of interim private health cover? (I'm thinking in terms of your care whilst you are awaiting your attestation from CPAM - otherwise just go see a doctor and pay up-front - doctor's fees are quite low here (23 Euros, about to increase to 25 Euros) so it's really not worth holding off for the paperwork to come through (IMO).


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## RachelT2017

Thanks for your response. We will happily pay out of pocket for any medical expenses till we are situated. By the time we arrive I will be approximately 6 months pregnant. So a little nervous to get sorted quickly with the correct doctors etc.
Just still a little unclear who would be the first person in the process so we can thoroughly research and make any necessary contact or address paperwork before we arrive. Any further info would be appreciated. Thanks so much
Rachel


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## RachelT2017

My husband is self employed. We run a business together, that we'll register when we arrive, will the being self employed affect our ability to apply for those forms?


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## 95995

RachelT2017 said:


> My husband is self employed. We run a business together, that we'll register when we arrive, will the being self employed affect our ability to apply for those forms?


That changes *everything*. You will need to take out full private health insurance for both of you before you travel (which will likely be very expensive given you are pregnant). The French health system is a contributory one, not purely residence based as in the UK. In addition, if your husband is not applying for a long-stay visa (which requires private health insurance anyway) but relying on the 90 day visit to then request a carte de sejour as the spouse of an EU citizen, you will need to be able to demonstrate a 'statut' in France and the question of your health cover will also arise. Be aware that even an EU citizen is required to have health cover on arrival.

Perhaps you should consider moving after the baby is born.


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## Bevdeforges

RachelT2017 said:


> My husband is self employed. We run a business together, that we'll register when we arrive, will the being self employed affect our ability to apply for those forms?


I was wondering about that. That will make things a bit more complicated. It depends a bit on what business entity you plan on registering under - the situation is somewhat more complicated here in France than in the UK, I'm afraid. It will depend a bit on what kind of business and how you are organizing the structure of the business. The AE thing you'll read about on several of the threads in the forum is strictly a one-person business - if you're doing this together, you'll probably need something like an SARL. But even that can depend on exactly what sort of business you're in. For the business side of things, you really should talk to the CCI in your departement. They generally have a section devoted to people setting up their own businesses and they can provide advice, consultation and even classes in some of the basics. 

And yes, it will take "a few" months to get the health insurance side of things organized. On arrival, you really should have some sort of private cover - though I realize that can be hard to get once you're pregnant. Still, worst possible case, you pays your money up front and you worry about any available reimbursement later on. The main thing will be to find a GP and let him or her guide you through the rest of the process.
Cheers,
Bev


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## EuroTrash

EverHopeful said:


> That changes *everything*. You will need to take out full private health insurance for both of you before you travel (which will likely be very expensive given you are pregnant). The French health system is a contributory one, not purely residence based as in the UK. In addition, if your husband is not applying for a long-stay visa (which requires private health insurance anyway) but relying on the 90 day visit to then request a carte de sejour as the spouse of an EU citizen, you will need to be able to demonstrate a 'statut' in France and the question of your health cover will also arise. Be aware that even an EU citizen is required to have health cover on arrival.
> 
> Perhaps you should consider moving after the baby is born.


New home, new country, new language, new business structures get your heads round, make a decision on and get set up, possibly visa requrements to comply with too, new baby... that's a lot of red tape and stress for a couple to take on all at once.


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## 95995

It's only my opinion, of course, but I think it would be pretty foolhardy to come without private health insurance - when it comes to pregnancy, you just never know what complications might arise or when and then you would not be looking at a basic GP bill. That risk is actually why private health insurance would be expensive in this situation.


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## RachelT2017

Right!! Ok. Well. This indeed does change a lot!!! Unfortunately the option to move after is out due to his work. It requires us to be there by April 2017.
So.... I will go down the path of looking into private health coverage if this is the only option. 
Thanks you for bringing it to my attention. I must say it did all seem very 'easy' !!!!
I will begin my research into private health coverage. Thank you.


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## Bevdeforges

Oops, my post crossed with EH's, and I completely overlooked the issue of only one of you having EU nationality (for the time being). Yes, for you to get a carte de séjour, the EU citizen of the family needs to have a "statut" (basically, a job or other means of financial support) and both members of the couple must show that they have health coverage, which usually means private cover unless the EU national is retired and drawing a pension.

You may want to look into adjusting the timing of your plans by at least a few months. Figure that you'll have a good two years once the trigger is pulled on Brexit - though it's possible that some prefectures may get hesitant about issuing cartes de séjour for Brits once the dates are set in stone.
Cheers,
Bev


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## EuroTrash

RachelT2017 said:


> Unfortunately the option to move after is out due to his work. It requires us to be there by April 2017.


I'm getting confused about the timescale and your statuses throughout that timescale, which will make a difference to how it pans out. You say


RachelT2017 said:


> My husband (American) and I (British) are relocating to France from California to live and work in a few months. We will be going to Limoges as our starating base as I am pregnant and will need to deliver our baby a few months after we arrive.


and


RachelT2017 said:


> By the time we arrive I will be approximately 6 months pregnant.l


but April 2017 is still 7 months away... ? 
So do we take it that you have to be working by April 2017, so in fact you'll be moving out before then, maybe around the end of this year or early next, and you'll be in France for several months before you start working? Do you envisage having the business set up before baby arrives or will baby come first? I must be missing something because I don't get how the April date fits in. Do you have to wait until then before you can launch the business?


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## jessicaR

RachelT2017 said:


> Hello, My husband (American) and I (British) are relocating to France from California to live and work in a few months. We will be going to Limoges as our starating base as I am pregnant and will need to deliver our baby a few months after we arrive. We have some family in Limoges but no knowledge of hospitals or care. Can anyone offer any help with a trusted English speaking midwife in the Limoges area? Any advice regarding pre-natal services/groups in Limoges. Thank you so much Rachel


 Hello Rachel, I pray you are able to still receive messages from this post. I will also be arriving in Limoges, France for my husband’s job from California! Are you please about to give me any information you received? Perhaps the best English speaking Dr. As well as midwife?? Thanks so much, Jessica


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## Bevdeforges

of Hi Jessica, and welcome to the forum. Just a word about what you're asking for - limiting yourself to "English speaking" doctors may not be such a good idea. Though the situation for finding English speaking doctors has changed in the 4 or 5 years since this thread was last active.

Probably the easiest way to find a doctor (or OB-GYN) will be to check the medical listing services online - like Doctolib, or Maiia or whatever is used in the area to which you are headed. These generally give lots of information about the doctors who are listed, including what languages they speak. Another good source for this is the Annuaire sante listing on Ameli.fr. Ameli is the French health service's portal for information and assistance for the public health program. The doctor listings in Ameli often include language spoken. Though to be honest, just because a practitioner admits to speaking English doesn't mean they are eager to do so with a new patient. And some doctors are much more receptive to trying to speak English to you once you have shown that you're at least trying to speak some French with them. (Being in any medical profession here is stressful at the best of times, due to a severe shortage of doctors and other practitioners in some areas, exacerbated by an unusually large proportion of doctors arriving at or nearing retirement age in the next few years.) 

Midwives (sage-femmes) are also listed on Doctolib (and probably also on other appointment services). Probably not a bad idea to start learning how to use the online reference sites now. They're in French, but can usually be translated using a translation app or a browser like Chrome. Do try to learn a few of the key terms in French, though, just in case you can't find someone entirely fluent in English. Or, do like I used to do before medical appointments and look up the terms you need to explain your situation and write them down. If you get nervous or flustered or something, you can always pull out your list and point. Showing that you've taken a bit of effort on your part often serves as a major ice breaker with medical people. But maternity care in France is usually top notch anyhow, so you're in good hands.


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