pregnant... what are my options?

[Kathryn41 3,205]

You definitely do not want to have a baby in the US without health insurance. Medical care in the US is good - but you pay for everything - even with health insurance your US birth could cost you anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars (depending on the health insurance you have). Without it, you can expect a hefty price tag - not the way you want to start a new life together. Take advantage of your Canadian universal health coverage - you will really miss that when you get here. Once you get here, you are ineligible to use it. You can only use it when you are a resident of Canada - and you stop being a resident of Canada when you become a resident of the US. It is either one or the other - and as been mentioned above, trying to play both sides can come back to haunt you with challenging repercussions.

Your child will be a dual citizen. The US father needs to register the birth abroad (the process has been mentioned above) and you will have a Canadian birth certificate. If the birth took place in the US, then you would submit an application to Citizenship and Immigration Canada for a Proof of Citizenship document that your son or daughter would use to prove his/her Canadian citizenship.

But please - without health insurance, you definitely do NOT want to give birth in the US. You don't even want to get sick in the US and have to go to a doctor's office, let alone a hospital. It will be expensive enough when you do get here with a newborn. You don't want to throw in unnecessary financial concerns on top of everything else.

Good luck!

Edited January 24, 2013 by Kathryn41

[Love's JAA 100]

Details here:

Source: http://www.dhs.gov/western-hemisphere-travel-initiative-basics

Will a Canadian birth certificate really be proof of US Citizenship?

[NikLR 13,220]

Most provincial birth certificates list the mother's and father's name (as long as you order long form which you should always do in this day and age) and they may list the province and country of the parents birth. (My British Columbia, Canada birth certificate does.) Combined with a marriage certificate, the parents passports, a CRBA, and a land POE (vs air) then the child should be okay. But it may not be enough... Make sure you figure it out.

http://www.travel.state.gov/law/citizenship/citizenship_5199.html

http://travel.state.gov/travel/living/living_5497.html

I still totally agree with everyone about having a birth in Canada though. IMHO it would be asinine to pay thousands of dollars (more with complications should they arise and honestly both the USA and Canada do way too many c-sections) when you could delay your process and just enter the USA as a new family. I saw somewhere on VJ I thought about someone paying 9k for a regular pregnancy with no complications, from start to finish. OMFG. I cannot imagine how expensive it would have been to give birth to my daughter! I am so happy I'm fixed!

[The Mean Lady 604]

Most provincial birth certificates list the mother's and father's name (as long as you order long form which you should always do in this day and age) and they may list the province and country of the parents birth. (My British Columbia, Canada birth certificate does.) Combined with a marriage certificate, the parents passports, a CRBA, and a land POE (vs air) then the child should be okay. But it may not be enough... Make sure you figure it out.

http://www.travel.state.gov/law/citizenship/citizenship_5199.html

http://travel.state.gov/travel/living/living_5497.html

I still totally agree with everyone about having a birth in Canada though. IMHO it would be asinine to pay thousands of dollars (more with complications should they arise and honestly both the USA and Canada do way too many c-sections) when you could delay your process and just enter the USA as a new family. I saw somewhere on VJ I thought about someone paying 9k for a regular pregnancy with no complications, from start to finish. OMFG. I cannot imagine how expensive it would have been to give birth to my daughter! I am so happy I'm fixed!

My car was 8k.

Nothing like financing a child

Oh I'm sorry honey... we couldn't pay our bills, so we have to send you back.

When I was 12, I told my 5 year old sister that she came from sears.

My mom pulled into sears one day and my sister started screaming DONT TAKE ME BACK DONT TAKE ME BACK

[NikLR 13,220]

Omg you were mean! Lol. When I was born, after 18 hours of labour my brother promptly said "send her back, I want a brother!" I was also born the day after him so my mother was in labour for his entire 8th birthday. I can say he's never felt I was much of a birthday present. Lol

What baffles me is the high rate of teen moms in the USA. It's so damn expensive to be pregnant and give birth that you would think the parents would rather pay for condoms or birth control (preferably both) than the cost of their teen daughter to be pregnant and raise a child. Somewhere 2+2 isn't equalling 4 in someone's mind. Rofl!!

[Flames9_RN 358]

Omg you were mean! Lol. When I was born, after 18 hours of labour my brother promptly said "send her back, I want a brother!" I was also born the day after him so my mother was in labour for his entire 8th birthday. I can say he's never felt I was much of a birthday present. Lol

What baffles me is the high rate of teen moms in the USA. It's so damn expensive to be pregnant and give birth that you would think the parents would rather pay for condoms or birth control (preferably both) than the cost of their teen daughter to be pregnant and raise a child. Somewhere 2+2 isn't equalling 4 in someone's mind. Rofl!!

But isn't the USA's big thing--abstinence? More or less put your head in the sand and hope the problem goes away!! Make any mention of giving free condoms to kids and holey moley, all hell breaks loose!!

As a cr-1//ir-1, yes one then becomes a Permanent resident of the USA, once they cross the border and activate (endorse) the visa! What she could do is phone up her provincial health plan and tell them the whole picture and see that they have to say. There might be some leeway if its only a short time after you POE!! Nothing with hospitals is cheap in the USA, the floor I worked on (PCU/telemetry) was supposedly $10,000 + a night

I know a few yrs back--read an article online that stated BC was going to start looking more into this as it was costing them millions of $$$$ a year in similar situations.

[The Mean Lady 604]

But isn't the USA's big thing--abstinence? More or less put your head in the sand and hope the problem goes away!! Make any mention of giving free condoms to kids and holey moley, all hell breaks loose!!

As a cr-1//ir-1, yes one then becomes a Permanent resident of the USA, once they cross the border and activate (endorse) the visa! What she could do is phone up her provincial health plan and tell them the whole picture and see that they have to say. There might be some leeway if its only a short time after you POE!! Nothing with hospitals is cheap in the USA, the floor I worked on (PCU/telemetry) was supposedly $10,000 + a night

I know a few yrs back--read an article online that stated BC was going to start looking more into this as it was costing them millions of $$$$ a year in similar situations.

Actually, in 2010, I believe, obama pulled all federal funding for abstinence-only education programs.

[Ms Hogan 295]

My opinion and advice remain the same.

Once you become a permanent resident of the US you lose your health care in Canada. I know it might not be quiet that simple on paper but that's my understanding of it.

But either way, I would have my child in Canada first and then go. That's it from me on this topic.

[SF2007 48]

I highly recommend for you to give birth wherever you are best insured and then deal with registering the birth abroad. Your child is entitled both Canadian and American citizenship through you and your husband no matter where you give birth.

I delivered 5 months ago and our U.S. hospital bill was about 25k. We have good insurance but you still end up paying quite a bunch out of pocket.

[The Mean Lady 604]

I highly recommend for you to give birth wherever you are best insured and then deal with registering the birth abroad. Your child is entitled both Canadian and American citizenship through you and your husband no matter where you give birth.

I delivered 5 months ago and our U.S. hospital bill was about 25k. We have good insurance but you still end up paying quite a bunch out of pocket.

uhhh 25k... that's not good insurance.

[SF2007 48]

uhhh 25k... that's not good insurance.

I would agree with you, if it was the amount we ended up paying. I gave the full number to give an idea of what it's worth.

[The Mean Lady 604]

I would agree with you, if it was the amount we ended up paying. I gave the full number to give an idea of what it's worth.

lol the way you posted was misleading

[VanessaTony 3,567]

lol the way you posted was misleading

Agreed. I think my heart stopped for a second there!

[pocheros 101]

Omg you were mean! Lol. When I was born, after 18 hours of labour my brother promptly said "send her back, I want a brother!" I was also born the day after him so my mother was in labour for his entire 8th birthday. I can say he's never felt I was much of a birthday present. Lol

What baffles me is the high rate of teen moms in the USA. It's so damn expensive to be pregnant and give birth that you would think the parents would rather pay for condoms or birth control (preferably both) than the cost of their teen daughter to be pregnant and raise a child. Somewhere 2+2 isn't equalling 4 in someone's mind. Rofl!!

Except there is that weird puritan streak in the US, especially the south, where kids are taught abstinence and nothing else, and their parents are evangelicals. Big wonder they get pregnant when they don't even have a basic understanding of their own bodies. It's really sad. Then there are also additional barriers to obtaining abortions, and hormonal birth control is expensive to obtain without insurance. I recently paid $200 to visit a doctor to get a two-month prescription for hormonal birth control. I'm lucky we could afford it but it's still ludicrous. I feel bad for teenagers deprived of proper education and healthcare.

Most of these problems go away with socialized healthcare and proper sex education, but that would upset the die hard american conservatives. Also I don't mean to say all southern americans are die hard conservatives, but they certainly have more of a presence in the US than they do in Canada.

Edited January 25, 2013 by pocheros

[NikLR 13,220]

Yes I know they are conservative down there. My husband is one of them since he's from Alabama (hello bible belt!) One of the things he does love about Canada is the socialized health care. Maybe not the way we have to achieve it, but to be frank and honest, the health care system down there confuses me darn near to death.