Bh pregnant! - please help me plan!

amother

Sun, Mar 17 2013, 6:39 pm

I would really appreciate your help my friends, we were planing on moving end of August , just found out I am pregnant and due in first week of November bh! So my first Question is, can we still go end of August?

If not , then I can't take a newborn on the plane either so that would delay it by at least 6 month! We really would like to leave as planned!

If yes, how do I go about it? What do I need to organize before I go?

I have no idea how the system works there? How do I register in the hospital, which hospitals are good and close to Rechovot? Will I need a doctor? How much does it cost? What else do I need to consider, organize, prepare, sooo nervous !!!

Thanks so much !!!

Marion

Sun, Mar 17 2013, 11:56 pm

Yes, you can still come. Don't forget all your medical information.

Kaplan Hospital is IN Rechovot. To register at the hospital all you need is your and your DH's teudat zehut (ID cards) and bank account information. (Bank info is so bituach leumi can put money in, not for payment.) Birth is covered by bituach leumi, so you won't be seeing a bill for it.

amother

Mon, Mar 18 2013, 5:13 pm

Thanks Marion , I don't understand the difference between all the different health cares either, so is bituach Leumi the best one?

How does the hospital work? Do I need a doctor?

Any more Israeli another's could offer their help/advice? Smile

ima m

Mon, Mar 18 2013, 5:28 pm

macabi, meuhedet, clalit and leumit are the 4 health covers, each area has at least one of these and in each area one has a better name for itself so it is not that one of these is better, you need to ask in your area which has a better name for the kind of things your be using it for eg pregnancy or if you have any other medical conditions.

Bituach leumi is equivalent to social security it is a tax but if your unemployed you receive benefits for it, it also pays child benefit

you can def come during pregnancy, start you pregnancy care where you are and then hand your notes over to the doctor in israel when you get here
big mazel tov and basha tova
you can pm if you want to ask anything else

Marion

Tue, Mar 19 2013, 3:48 am

You'll choose a doctor (rofeh nashim) when you choose your health fund. This will NOT be the person who delivers your baby. Babies are delivered by hospital midwives; in an emergency there are hospital OBs on call (always one IN the hospital) for a surgical delivery. You CAN choose to take a private physician, but it's not usually necessary (and it IS very expensive).

Bituach Leumi is, as stated, like social security, except its coverages are different. It includes all areas related to birth and parenting (child allowances, birth grants, maternity leave payments), death (burial costs, survivors pensions), labour (unemployment, pension, minimum income support) and other benefits.

notshanarishona

Tue, Mar 19 2013, 4:16 am

amother wrote:

The best kupah depends on where you live.
Ask around once you move as to what services are available locally from each kupah I.e. you will want to find out about local: labs, urgent care, health clinics, specialists, etc..

I have Meuhedet and I am pretty happy with them.Can't comment on the other ones.

shalhevet

Tue, Mar 19 2013, 5:10 am

To add a bit, although Marion wrote most of it:

Your maternity care is not directly linked to your delivery in Israel.
For your maternity care you may or may not have the choice of a rofeh nashim (gyn/ob) or going to Tipat Chalav - this is under the care of which kuppat cholim you choose, and depends on where you live. Tipat Chalav is a government run service for low-risk pregnant women and babies - it may or may not be connected with kuppat cholim depending where you live.

Once you reach 40 weeks iy"H you are under the care of whichever hospital you choose. If you don't have a reason to go before, you turn up in labour. You will be assigned a midwife who will deliver the baby if everything is uncomplicated. If there are any problems, including wanting an epidural, stitches after birth etc. there are doctors on call. Everyone I know irl goes this route and doesn't hire a private doctor.

Kaplan Hospital is in Rehovot itself. In the central area you also have Beilinson in Petach Tikva, Maayanei Hayeshua in Bnei Brak (frum), Laniado in Netanya (frum), Lis in Tel Aviv, Tel Hashomer, and Assaf Harofeh. You can ask here or elsewhere what people recommend.

Jewishmom8

Tue, Mar 19 2013, 5:32 am

you should come
its going to be fine iyh
you should pick the kupa that has the drs people recommend where you are going to be living.
the ob that you see will not be there when you give birth.
I always take a doula that I trust for support and help at the hospital. Its important to me for so many reasons including the fact that my ivrit isn't great.
I bh have given birth 6 times here and its been fine.
I am someone who loves hadassa ein kerem but there are lots of good hospitals
bsha tovah!

LisaS

Tue, Mar 19 2013, 6:51 am

Making aliya with an infant sounds more complicated to me.

I would recommend getting an experienced doula who can hold your hand (figuratively) through the whole birth process and explain how things work here.

Let us know how we can help!

sara_s

Tue, Mar 19 2013, 8:28 am

When you join a kupat cholim (which is free), then if you want to also join their supplementary health plan (usually around 40-50 nis a month) then there may be a waiting period for the supplementary part.
For instance maccabi's supplementary plan - magen zahav- has a 6 month waiting period. The supplementary plans are good for extra pregnancy tests that aren't covered in the regular plan. So maybe you should keep your american health insurance for a few months if possible. Then again, most pregnancy tests are done in early pregnancy, so maybe you won't need them once you've made aliyah.

Peanut2

Sun, Mar 24 2013, 12:55 pm

If you make aliyah as a "normal" olah, or a katin chozer, or ezrach oleh, you will immediately be covered by Israeli national health insurance. Giving birth is free and you will get money for doing it! You can still pay for some services privately if you want.

If you are not making aliyah then you will need to purchase your own insurance and possibly pay for the birth. I don't know what the costs are.

If you are already an Israeli citizen and not an ezrach oleo/katin chozer, you are not covered under bituach leumi and will need to either purchase your own insurance or pay a large fine to bituach leumi in order to be covered.

There is a facebook group called the brand new mama's group where you can ask for recommendations re hospitals, doctors, and kupot in your area. Of course, you can also ask here, or any other contacts you may have in the country. AFAIK once you pick your kupa you cannot switch it for a while. (Your kupa is your HMO, essentially. Though all offer comparable services, some are better than others in different areas, and some doctors may only work with specific kupot. etc.) I know people in Jerusalem who registered for their hospital pretty last minute, and imagine it's not urgent in other areas either.

Caveat: I have never given birth in Israel. So what do I know?