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It is impossible to have figures at the national level, even if only an estimate concerning these women who cross the border, or bring professionals across the border to give birth as they wish. The Haute-Savoie CPAM receives around 20 requests per year. The case of Eudes Geisler, up against the Moselle CPAM, in any case encourages women to tell about their experience, and their possible difficulties in taking charge. Maud lives in Haute-Savoie. “For my first child, at the hospital, I let it be known that I did not want medical treatment, but the teams are changing and it is difficult to be supported in their choices over time. I had an epidural when I didn’t want one. My baby didn’t stay on me, we gave him a bath right away. »She gives birth to her second baby at home, with a French midwife. “Once you’ve had a taste of home birth, it’s hard to think of anything else. “ But when she is pregnant with her third child, the midwife no longer practices.
“I really wanted to find a solution in France,” says Maud. But the only midwife I found was in Lyon. It was really too far, especially for a third. We are not unconscious, we do not want to put our life or that of the baby in danger. You have to be able to be repatriated quickly to a hospital. By acquaintances we turned to Switzerland. A couple explained to us that they had given birth at home, in France, with a Swiss midwife, and that they had been reimbursed without difficulty. A month and a half before the term, we contacted this midwife who agreed. ” This assures the couple that the care does not pose a problem, that it is enough to ask for the form E112. Gold, Maud is met with a refusal. The reason: the Swiss midwife is not affiliated with the order of French midwives. “She has since become affiliated,” explains Maud. But we are unable to get this form. The midwife has still not been paid because we cannot advance the full amount. The delivery cost 2400 euros because I did a false job, which inflated the bill. We just want to be reimbursed on the basis of the delivery and the pre and post natal visits. ”
Childbirth in hospital in Luxembourg: full coverage
Lucia gave birth to her first daughter in 2004, in a “classic” maternity hospital in the Paris region. “As soon as I arrived, I was ‘dressed’, that is to say naked under a blouse open at the back, then quickly confined to bed to allow monitoring. After a few hours, when I was offered the epidural, I accepted, a little frustrated but relieved. My daughter was born without a problem. The nurses “scolded” me the first night for picking up my daughter in my bed. In short, the birth went well, but it was not the joy that I had made. We had provided haptonomic support, but on the day of delivery it was of no use to us. ” For her second daughter, Lucia, who has researched a lot, wishes to be an actress during her childbirth. She turns to the Metz hospital, known to be “open”. “Indeed, the midwives I met welcomed my birth plan where I described my desire to be able to move as I wished until the end, to be able to give birth on the side, not to have substances to accelerate. labor (prostaglandin gel or others). But when the gynecologist learned of this birth plan, he called the midwife to warn me that if I decided to go to Metz, it would be according to his methods or nothing. ”
Consultations in Switzerland reimbursed on the basis of the basic French rate
Lucia decides to go and give birth in Luxembourg, in the maternity ward of the “Grand Duchess Charlotte”, which has obtained the “baby-friendly” label. She writes a letter to the medical adviser of the CPAM explaining her wish for a gentle birth near my home. “In this letter I indicated that if birth centers had been near me, this would be my first choice. “ After consulting the national medical adviser, she obtains the E112 form authorizing treatment. “My daughter was born very quickly, as I wanted. I believe I did not advance the costs because the hospital had an agreement. I paid for the gynecological consultations which were then reimbursed, on the basis of the social security rate. We were at least 3 French people to be registered at the same time for birth preparation courses. ”
The scenarios are multiple and the support rather random. What seems constant in these testimonies, on the other hand, is the disappointment after a too medicalized first childbirth, the absolute need for a peaceful environment, a personalized support and the desire to re-appropriate this unique moment that is a birth.