# Having a baby in Spain?



## Luvvin-tarifa (Nov 6, 2008)

Ok this is on behalf of my friend who has not got internet anymore!

What is the process of giving birth in Spain, for a single woman who is going to be 28 weeks when she moves out there. She has independant means and the baby was conceived via a donor, so what is the process?


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

gosh, I suspect when she arrives she would need to go to a doctors clinic/surgery and get registered and take it from there?? The hospitals are second to none here so she should get a good service. I have no idea how much it will cost tho?

Jo xx


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## Luvvin-tarifa (Nov 6, 2008)

jojo said:


> gosh, I suspect when she arrives she would need to go to a doctors clinic/surgery and get registered and take it from there?? The hospitals are second to none here so she should get a good service. I have no idea how much it will cost tho?
> 
> Jo xx


Hi Jo,

I think she is more worried about registering the baby after it is born, and wanting to know if a home birth is possible? also she has two other children who are coming with her, she has tried without fail to locate their father (he left when her daughter was only 6 months and has not been seen since it is rumoured he is in Australia) So can she get residency for them without a letter giving his permission? There is no residency order in the Uk for them and the court basically said she would not need a letter as there is no residency court order in place. I think their fathers name is on the birth certificate but am not 100%.
Sorry so many questions but she is trying to get organised and give the kids a better life!


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Luvvin-tarifa said:


> Hi Jo,
> 
> I think she is more worried about registering the baby after it is born, and wanting to know if a home birth is possible? also she has two other children who are coming with her, she has tried without fail to locate their father (he left when her daughter was only 6 months and has not been seen since it is rumoured he is in Australia) So can she get residency for them without a letter giving his permission? There is no residency order in the Uk for them and the court basically said she would not need a letter as there is no residency court order in place. I think their fathers name is on the birth certificate but am not 100%.
> Sorry so many questions but she is trying to get organised and give the kids a better life!


You have to register the birth in the country where you are when the baby is born. If only cos the baby would need a passport to travel and without being registered it cant have one. I would imagine a home birth is possible but that would have to be supervised by the medical profession, as would the remainder of her pregnancy, which is compulsory in the UK, and I pressume in Spain too

Her older children may be more complicated?? If they already have passports then I guess they can leave the UK and stay away unless there is a specific order from their natural father saying that that they cant. I´m not sure if they could become residents without his consent IF his name is on their birth certificates. I also think that there would be problems getting passports for them if again his name is on their birth certificates.

She would be sensible to get in touch with the british/spanish consulate

Jo xxx


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## Luvvin-tarifa (Nov 6, 2008)

Hi, Yes she already has passports for them so that is not a problem, and she knew she would have to register the baby over there and get a passport from the British Consulate, I think her worry is that she does not know who the father is as the baby was conceived via a clinic so she was not told the fathers details, so she is wondering if this will be a problem, she was originally moving to portugal with me but then found that donor babies is a definite no no over there!

She had a home birth with her last baby and really wants to have this one at home, but so far I can only find inconclusive evidence that this is or is not possible, most sites just mention hospital births which from reading other womens experiences is rather frightening! being leaned on to push the baby out forcefully is not my cup of tea and will make her freak!

She will need to get social secirity numbers for her and the children and residency I am told to live there and rent a place/open a bank account? so this is why she is worried regarding lack of father around to give his permission.

She spoke to the court and passport office who said that as there is no residency order in place in the UK she can move the children without his permission but it is what happens in Spain that she is worrying about!

Such a big decision for her and she really wants a better life for her kids, it seems a shame that it might not be possible!


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Luvvin-tarifa said:


> Hi, Yes she already has passports for them so that is not a problem, and she knew she would have to register the baby over there and get a passport from the British Consulate, I think her worry is that she does not know who the father is as the baby was conceived via a clinic so she was not told the fathers details, so she is wondering if this will be a problem, she was originally moving to portugal with me but then found that donor babies is a definite no no over there!
> 
> She had a home birth with her last baby and really wants to have this one at home, but so far I can only find inconclusive evidence that this is or is not possible, most sites just mention hospital births which from reading other womens experiences is rather frightening! being leaned on to push the baby out forcefully is not my cup of tea and will make her freak!
> 
> ...



It seems an awful lot of extra stress before the baby is born, would it not be more simple to wait until the baby´s born?? 

As for being leaned on to push the baby out?? well thats an old fashioned method that was used for centuries, before modern intervention came along!! I studied child birth for some medical exams "many moons" ago and its frightening how they used to do things in the middle ages.... dont worry I wont go into them lol!!

Jo xx


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## Luvvin-tarifa (Nov 6, 2008)

Hiya, well the main reason she is probably nto going to wait is that she has been offered a reasonably priced rental which will not stick around for very long, but also that her rental place in the UK is up in a month and she wont have anywhere to live over here, so that is her reason for not waiting she is not due until september and would find it difficult to find a short term rental place over here majority is 6 months and then she would loose the place in Spain! 
A bit of a vicious circle lol.

And the reports of the delivery methods were from people who have given birth this year in various parts of spain! Definitely middle ages if you ask me!


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Luvvin-tarifa said:


> Hiya, well the main reason she is probably nto going to wait is that she has been offered a reasonably priced rental which will not stick around for very long, but also that her rental place in the UK is up in a month and she wont have anywhere to live over here, so that is her reason for not waiting she is not due until september and would find it difficult to find a short term rental place over here majority is 6 months and then she would loose the place in Spain!
> A bit of a vicious circle lol.
> 
> And the reports of the delivery methods were from people who have given birth this year in various parts of spain! Definitely middle ages if you ask me!


I dont know about births in Spain, but I do know that hospitals in Spain are infinately better than UK, cleaner, more modern, hi tech, better run, more efficient. If I was ever unfortunate enough to get ill I would sooner be in Spain anyday!!!! But if she´s planning a birth at home, she would be treated the swame as any other euroean country

As for rent in spain well there´s loads of cheap places here. In any case, I would assume that your friend would have to pay to have her child here (she should check this cos although emergency treatment is covered, knowingly having a baby here may not be covered), so any reasonable rent would be negated by that, cos health care isnt cheap and then there would be child care for her other children????? Also rentals over here are falling by the day and there are lots of rental property available

I would suggest that your friend looks into all this very carefully, it seems like major complications, risks and costs just to bring her children up in Spain when it would be easier and probably cheaper to wait for a few weeks after the birth. She really needs to makecontact with the relevant embassies/consulates!!

Jo


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## Tallulah (Feb 16, 2009)

Luvvin-tarifa said:


> Hiya, well the main reason she is probably nto going to wait is that she has been offered a reasonably priced rental which will not stick around for very long, but also that her rental place in the UK is up in a month and she wont have anywhere to live over here, so that is her reason for not waiting she is not due until september and would find it difficult to find a short term rental place over here majority is 6 months and then she would loose the place in Spain!
> A bit of a vicious circle lol.
> 
> And the reports of the delivery methods were from people who have given birth this year in various parts of spain! Definitely middle ages if you ask me!


Luvvin-tarifa,

Home births are available in Spain, but obviously requires some investigation depending upon the area in which she chooses to live - there is information available on Embarazo, bebés, maternidad. Bebés y más which is a website that covers parenting/childbirth in Spain - home births are covered within this, including approximate costs.

Tallulah.

ps - interested to know why Portugal is a no-no on donor babies - is IVF not available/accepted there?


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Luvvin-tarifa said:


> She will need to get social secirity numbers for her and the children and residency I am told to live there and rent a place/open a bank account? so this is why she is worried regarding lack of father around to give his permission.


To rent in Spain you only need a Spanish bank account in most places. To live here she needs a padron and an NIE number. The children would be included in those I believe... well mine are on mine

Jo


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## Luvvin-tarifa (Nov 6, 2008)

Hi there, thanks for all the info, I shall pass it all on to her.
With regards Portugal the babies father has to go on the birth certificate and his passport produced, if this is not done a parentage investigation is started to determine the childs father! Which obviously she can't do! as she has no idea who the father is!
But anyhow, thanks so much for the info I will try and find out how much it is likely to cost to have her baby over there, and see what she thinks!
She has no problems with child care as she works from home so long as she has an internet connection she can earn a decent living and he slightly cheaper and warmer living in Spain will obviously help her considerably!
Thanks again for all the info!


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## DWPinSpain (Mar 2, 2009)

Couple of things about this...

She should also be aware she could be entitled to Maternity Allowance from the UK if she's been self-employed for 26 out of the last 66 weeks before the baby is born. That's if she doesn't do any work in Spain.

If she does start working here, even if it is via Internet, she should register with the Tesoreria General de la Seguridad Social as self-employed and start to pay contributions (minimum around €244 a month). If she does this then she can apply for Maternity Benefit through the Spanish social security but she will need to get form E104 from the HMRC after she stops work in the UK. She can download the application form here:

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/forms/2005/ca3916.pdf

She will be covered for healthcare wherever she is getting the benefit from. Until the healthcare is arranged she can use her European Health Insurance Card.

As regards the childbirth, she will have to have what is available on the Spanish NHS unless she wishes to go private.



Luvvin-tarifa said:


> Hi there, thanks for all the info, I shall pass it all on to her.
> With regards Portugal the babies father has to go on the birth certificate and his passport produced, if this is not done a parentage investigation is started to determine the childs father! Which obviously she can't do! as she has no idea who the father is!
> But anyhow, thanks so much for the info I will try and find out how much it is likely to cost to have her baby over there, and see what she thinks!
> She has no problems with child care as she works from home so long as she has an internet connection she can earn a decent living and he slightly cheaper and warmer living in Spain will obviously help her considerably!
> Thanks again for all the info!


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## Caz.I (Mar 21, 2009)

Luvvin-tarifa said:


> Hi, Yes she already has passports for them so that is not a problem, and she knew she would have to register the baby over there and get a passport from the British Consulate, I think her worry is that she does not know who the father is as the baby was conceived via a clinic so she was not told the fathers details, so she is wondering if this will be a problem, she was originally moving to portugal with me but then found that donor babies is a definite no no over there!
> 
> She had a home birth with her last baby and really wants to have this one at home, but so far I can only find inconclusive evidence that this is or is not possible, most sites just mention hospital births which from reading other womens experiences is rather frightening! being leaned on to push the baby out forcefully is not my cup of tea and will make her freak!
> 
> ...



Hi there, 
I am a single mother in Spain living here nearly 6 years. I dont have any experience of home births but imagine they are pretty rare here, and may be complicated in this country if she does opt for them. I know a lot of women who have given birth here and the majority of their experiences range from not great to very good. Dont know any who have been leaned on!  My only complaint about my son's birth was the time spent waiting for him to come out! Generally speaking, I believe this aspect of the health service is pretty good. Yes, there are scare stories wherever you go, but most here are fairly positive.

To be honest, I also think, like Jo, that dealing with all that stress when 28 weeks pregnant is going to be very tough, particularly when she has the added complications of 2 other children, moving to new home, country and sorting out some serious paperwork. Getting things done here, does not happen quickly and entails a lot of time (often wasted), effort and stress. Registering with the health service or clinic, organising a home birth, registering the birth, getting social security numbers, empadronamiento - town hall register, NIE, residency 2 months before giving birth is major stuff. Maybe better to come out earlier rather than later. Plus, does she have any kind of support network here?, because she will need one. I am lucky to have some support from family and friends, though am very self-reliant. All the same can be tough especially in the first few years. But that said, when I was pregnant and my nesting instinct kicked in, all I could think about was finding a good nest!
When she registers the birth with the hospital document (at the juzgado de paz) she should get the certificate and what is called a family book (libro de familia), I understand that since about 2005 unmarried mothers are no longer obliged to name the father on either. If she can (am not sure about this) try to add the other 2 childrens names to this book as this will give her status of large family (familia numerosa) which could be helpful in the future, for things like entry to state schools, financial help if necessary. Secondly, when I got residency for my son I did not have to consult the father, (he is here anyway though) even though his name is on the certificate and family book. And I only needed to show the family book.
Anyway good luck to her!
Caz.


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## Luvvin-tarifa (Nov 6, 2008)

Thanks all, messages have been printed out and forwarded to Liz. She said to say thank you for all your help!
She is going to try and get out earlier!

Thanks again for all the help...
Mandie


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