During my first pregnancy, we spent almost 5 months in Canada. It had its ups and downs, but let me show you the main points.
Being pregnant in Canada
My pregnancy became obvious kind of right after we landed in Vancouver to start my project there. As we did not plan our travel insurance according to this, the pregnancy was a noticeable financial expense. I had to pay for the doctor visits, ultrasounds, blood tests, and medicines (yes, I had awful morning sickness). These would have been free in Finland, as our residency was there.
No language barrier
The upside of the story was that we managed to find a competent doctor who accepted an international patient and he was helpful throughout the visits. Another little win, as it is Canada, he spoke English, yay 😀 It was easier to discuss medical conditions as at least he was a native speaker. It is much harder and funnier in Finland, but let’s not jump into that yet.
Using Canadian healthcare as a foreigner
I can’t tell you anything about how locals feel towards the healthcare system, but as a paying patient, I was satisfied. The appointments were on time, the doctors and nurses were helpful and the facilities looked modern and clean. Despite the circumstances (24/7 being nauseous and numerous throw-ups) I enjoyed visiting the clinic. We managed to arrange all the examinations and papers (obviously in English) that I needed later in Finland.
Why didn’t we stay in Canada?
Some friends asked us, why didn’t I give birth in Canada, as the baby would get Canadian citizenship. Maybe we would consider, but the baby is already having problems with the three other citizenships. No need for a fourth one 😉
So at the halftime of the pregnancy, we were relocating to Finland. Check out the worldwide famous baby box and my experiences in Finland.