Going home to have a baby, is that possible?

[Peter_Pan 661]

Paying the doctor 200 euros out of your pocket is still cheeper than paying 5000ish dollars for the birth alone.

I will be in my 30s, but under 35, which means I am not eligible for the triple test. If I want it, I suppose it would cost more to pay it out of my pocket in the US than in Romania (and that's just one example).

Do the US doctors offer free prenatal care for the couple? Do American couples undergo these:

A: Generale: HLG+VSH, Glicemie, Calcemie, Transaminaze, Creatinina+Ureea Sanguina, Colesterolemie, Trigliceride, Coagulograma, Grupa Sanguina+RH, serologia hepatitelor B+C(HBsAg+HCV), serologia sifilisului+anticorpi (VDRL+ TPHA), HIV, sumar-urina, urocultura-antibiograma. Aceste analize se fac de catre ambii viitori parinti.

B: Dozari anticorpi pentru: zoonoze (toxoplasmoza, riketsii, listeria, brucella), CMV (citomegalovirus), Rubeola, Chlamydia, Mycoplasma, Ureaplasma.

C: Consult genetic: se indica daca in familiile partenerilor au fost cazuri de malformatii in cupluri unde partenerii sunt rude (grad 2,3)

They are in Romanian, but I am guessing the medical language is the same. I have American friends who are mothers and none of them told me they did any investigations before conceiving.

[ceadsearc 516]

Most people in America are already vaccinated against things like Hep B and rubella.

Cholesterol, etc. would be checked by your primary care doctor at your yearly physical.

Pregnant women are screened for HIV, chlamydia, etc.

Genetic screening is an option women can pursue but many are not at high risk for anything and consider it necessary.

I am not sure what you mean by "investigations before conceiving."

If you feel the care in Romania is better you are more than welcome to have your baby there. But unless you plan things out very well, you will lose your green card. So consider if that risk is worth the money you will save or not, and plan accordingly.

[Peter_Pan 661]

We don't screen pregnant women for HIV or hep. B, we screen them before they conceive.

[Laure&Colin 558]

We don't screen pregnant women for HIV or hep. B, we screen them before they conceive.

All of them? Because these tests are made in France, but most (except for the routine cholesterol, blood sugar, HIV, rubella vaccine...) are only done before pregnancy if there's fertility issues. I suppose the public health system is ruined enough so they won't test everyone for everything...

[Peter_Pan 661]

As far as I know, yes, all women who go to a doctor's and say they want to conceive.

And both future parents are tested for them.

[juliava 80]

You may pursue any of the tests mentioned above here, in US. In fact, many of them could be done by your primary physician and not by a gynecologist or fertility specialist. Certainly, the price will be different, BUT I have faith that you WILL be taken care of.

Other than that, I tend to agree that the quality of medical services in Romania has completely changed, in a good way. The low costs are definitely a reality and hey, if my husband-the USC- and I wanted to be treated in Romania WE WOULD get the service, no matter what country we currently reside in. Cool, huh? Therefore, I do not appreciate the unrealistic scepticism or the way people tend to generalize their own negative perceptions/observations of reality and portray a whole medical system as being bad and ineffective. Ah, I forgot- a foreign medical system!How childish is that?

Needless to say, many foreign students choose to attend Romanian medical universities, not only due to the low costs but also due to the quality of education received there!Moreover, many Romanian doctors have been successful in doing their practice in other countries; and for those who think that the "Anesthesia" chapter is being skipped, I even happen to know a family of Romanian anesthesiologists in Long Island!

But let me tell everybody what haven't changed in Romania yet: people don't visit the doctor or the dentist, unless something hurts!Period. In countryside, as some people get older- again, NOT EVERYBODY, they may even refuse to call a doctor as they think their time to dye has come and they must accept it.

Romanians, in general, are not proactive in pursuing preventive check-ups, as people do here, in US. And in my opinion, that's the main source of their problems and NOT the medical expertise or the quality of medical services.

OP-goodluck with the K-1 process; I really believe that somehow time will solve your dilemma. I'm close to 35 myself, I havent finished my school yet but I still believe that I'm not too old to have children. Many couples here have children when they are in their 30s, NOT in their 20s. Furthermore, look at those Hollywood celebrities; they are in their 40s or 50s and they end up having healthy babies!Have some trust in your good, Romanian genes and forget about the age limits imposed by our culture!