25/8/2020 Pregnancy & Birth in Berlin!Pregnant women in Germany enjoy many protections by law. They are allowed to lie about it during job interviews and never get fired because of it (at least on paper!). They are not allowed to work at least 6 weeks before the due date while still receiving full salaries. Giving birth is covered up to 100% by the public insurance and the child can be added for FREE to the parents policy ;-) An unemployed parent can also be added to the working parent’s policy for FREE. Maternity Protection (Mutterschutz) Normally, the maternity protection period starts 6 weeks before birth and ends 8 weeks after. During which most mothers receive full salaries. When a child is born with a disability which in many cases involves special physical and psychological stress for the mother, then the mother can apply for an extension of the protection period with her employer to up to 12 weeks. If a woman suffers a miscarriage after the 12th week of pregnancy, she gets by law an automatic protection against dismissal until 4 months after the miscarriage. Also, if you are no longer allowed to work at your previous position because of maternity leave, your employer may transfer you to another reasonable position. In any case, you should NOT earn less by changing positions. If this is not the case, you can take legal actions against your employer and the law would be on your side. If you have legal protection insurance, that shouldn’t burden your budget. Household Assistance (Haushaltshilfe) You can get Household Assistance after and/or before birth if you have for example back pain, other kids, swollen feets, complications after birth, or no one to help at home. Basically, someone can come for a few hours for a few days each week. She helps with the housekeeping and takes care of the old kids (if any). You have to get approval from your doctor and your public insurance though! Unfortunately, most insurance companies are reluctant to approve such services. Their argument is that your husband should be able to do such tasks at home! But if you have another child at home, this would improve your chances significantly. Finding a midwife (Hebamme) Finding a midwife continues to be a challenge in Berlin. If you start looking early enough though, you should be able to find one! There are some online resources that may help:
A Midwife is a trained nurse (rarely a man) who usually works at a hospital and can help with the following services:
Beleghebammen is a self-employed midwife who has signed a contract with one or more maternity clinics, or works at a hospital with a so-called belege system. You can find the list on the hospital website. TIP: you can start by searching for a Beleghebamme. If you find one, you can easily register at the hospital that she works at (most Beleghebamme do the registration and all the paperwork by themselves). Main advantage: She will be with you during delivery. Some Beleghebamme can come to home after birth. Hebamme as well as Beleghebamme are both covered up to 100% by the public insurance. It’s more difficult to find a Beleghebamme one though! Prebirth courses There are courses that can be taken by expecting moms and dads. It’s covered 100% by public insurance for the mom. Some insurance companies cover the courses partially also for dads (e.g., HKK covers around 80% of the course fees). Some courses can be attended by couples or separately. Most courses are in German but some are also taught in English. Check online and compare prices before signing up. In the course, you get to learn about what to expect before and during birth.
Courses in English: How to choose a hospital? You are totally free to choose the hospital you prefer. However, keep in mind that the hospital district (Bezirk) NOT yours is responsible for issuing your baby birth certificate. So, you gotta choose wisely as the processing times vary widely. For example, Mitte is infamous for long processing times! So, if you are in a rush to receive the birth certificate (e.g., for Elterngeld or Kindergeld), just avoid going to Charite in Mitte for example. Some hospitals already have a small office to get the birth certificate paperwork started (e.g., Charite & Friedrichshain Vivantes). You may still need to go to the Standesamt responsible for the hospital district to finish up the paperwork though! After finishing the paperwork, you would receive 3 FREE copies (German version) by Post. It’s recommended to also request at least 3 extra more copies (international version) for your own records. You can still request more copies online later as well. You would need the birth certificate to apply for:
TIP: You would need to have the birth certificates of you and your partner as well as the marriage certificate translated to German at an authorized translation office for the baby birth certificate. NOTE: There is a lot of scam around in the translation business. Compare prices before you decide for a place. It usually costs around 25€ per document. Extras: Some hospitals offer some extra services. For example, Charite offers a FREE ride home (only during the week though). Register at your favorite hospital It's recommended that you register at your favorite hospital well before the due date. It's not a must though! It will just save you time and energy when you arrive at the hospital to give birth. Answering questions about your medical history while having contractions is not the best thing as you can imagine! Please note: being registered at a hospital doesn't guarantee a spot in the delivery room. You may end up waiting for a space to open up or going to a completely different hospital when time comes. The staff at the delivery room should help you out with this. TIP: register at more than one hospital just in case! During registration, you can request a family room (so the husband can sleep over) but it's not guaranteed though! If there is availability, you would have to pay out of pocket as the insurance doesn’t cover it. It’s not outrageously expensive though. New moms typically stay up to 3 days in the hospital. There is also extra private insurance (not too expensive) you can get if you prefer to have a single room (standard is usually 2 persons per room). This insurance can also get you treated by a senior doctor (Chefarzt). Prepare your hospital bag Before the 7th month of pregnancy, your hospital bag should always be ready just in case of an early delivery. The bag should contain at least the following:
See more at Vivantes hospital checklist. Fine diagnostics The public insurance covers what’s called fine diagnostics for your baby which produces advanced ultrasound images in color and can closely check the development of every organ in the baby’s body. Most gynecologists would be happy to give a referral to have it done at a few clinics in the city (e.g., https://www.bergmannstrasse102.de/) Birth (Geburt) When the contractions occur every 5 minutes, then it's probably the time to head to the hospital. If you are not sure, you could always call your favorite hospital to get advice (If you are lucky, an English speaker would pick up). If you decided to go, then you can call a taxi or Uber if you don’t have a car. You can call the ambulance of course if you feel like it but keep in mind that the ambulance will not take you necessarily to the hospital you want! The husband should usually be on your side during labor. TIP: There might be some restrictions because of Corona though, check beforehand with your preferred hospital. TIP: If you plan to do (Periduralanästhesie) PDA, we recommend requesting it as early as possible. It’s covered 100% by the public insurance. Milk pump (Milchpumpe) Already at the hospital, you can rent a milk pump machine from a provider such as https://www.milchwiese.de/. The public insurance fully covers the rental for 12 weeks which can be extended easily (even several times) by getting a new prescription from a gynecologist (Frauenarzt) or pediatrician (Kinderarzt). Selected English-speaking paediatricians in Berlin:
Websites to find a doctor in Germany:
Dealing with Stress after birth:
Enjoy your time with your baby ;-) CategoriesAll Family Finance Health SELF DEVELOPMENT SHOPPING Archives January 2021 Related ArticlesComments are closed.
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