HAVING A BABY IN AMERICA COMPARED TO THE UK

What are the differences between having a baby in America compared to the UK? I get asked this question all the time.

We had our first son in the suburbs of England, just south of London. When he had just turned two, we moved to New York City and that’s where our second son was born!

Is it actually different? Surprisingly, yes. Although the basic principles are the same, I had two completely different experiences, which I will explain more below, this post is pretty long so grab yourself a drink!

I think it is also important to mention, that in America, even in New York City, possibly even in the same hospital. Different doctors do things differently. This is my experience and will give you a good idea of what to expect but it won’t be the same for everyone.

CONFIRMING YOUR PREGNANCY & FINDING A DOCTOR

In England, when I found out I was pregnant, I called my doctor (who has been my doctor all my life). I went in, he confirmed I was pregnant and shortly after, I got a letter with details of my first appointment.

In New York, I didn’t already have a doctor. So, firstly, I had to pick which hospital I wanted to give birth in. I called them and they asked me to come in and a nurse confirmed I was pregnant.

Then, I had to choose my doctor (OBGYN as it’s called in the US). I was given the business cards of the OBGYNs that were currently taking on new patients and that would accept my insurance. The one I picked was going to be my doctor throughout my pregnancy and also deliver my baby.

TIP: If you’re planning to have a baby in America, you’re going to want to get good insurance!

CARE THROUGHOUT YOUR PREGNANCY

From memory, you have roughly the same amount of checkups in both the UK and the USA.

Both times, I was happy with the care throughout my pregnancies. In the USA, they were more thorough.

PRENATAL CARE IN ENGLAND

In England, all the appointments were with a midwife and often a different person each time. A sonographer does the scans. In New York, all my checkups were with my OBGYN.

In England, you have an 8-week appointment, which is mainly just paperwork and family history. You then get a 12 and 20-week scan as standard. You’d have additional scans if there were any concerns about the baby. You then have checkups with a midwife at 16, 24 and then every 4 weeks, increasing to every 2 weeks and then every week at the end of the pregnancy.

In these checkups, they listen to the baby’s heartbeat. Measure your bump (with a tape measure) to check the growth. They also take blood or ask for a urine sample if needed. Honestly, I never thought the tape measure was a very accurate way to check the growth of a baby!

PRENATAL CARE IN AMERICA

In New York, the 8-week checkup was the first big difference between having a baby in America compared to the UK. I got a bit of a surprise when I was told I was having a vaginal ultrasound! I had another at 10 weeks. Although the baby looked like a bean at that stage, it was reassuring to know early on that there was a heartbeat and it was all looking good.

I had full scans at 12, 16 and 20 weeks and one other, I think at 32 weeks in New York. They were also done by a sonographer. At all my other checkups my doctor did a quicker, less detailed scan, just to check the growth. The blood work and urine samples were pretty similar.

FINDING OUT THE GENDER OF YOUR BABY

This was one of the biggest differences between having a baby in America compared to the UK, which is why I’ve given it its own heading.

In the UK, most people find out the gender of their baby at 20 weeks, although you can pay for a private scan at 16 weeks if you’re too excited to find out!

In the USA, they take blood at 8 weeks. This is to test you’re genetics and see if there are any medical issues the parents could pass on to the child. It also reveals gender. The results take a couple of weeks so it’s possible to know your baby’s gender as early as 10 weeks.

I asked my doctor to wait until after the 12-week scan to reveal it to us. My priority was a healthy baby and, for me, once you know the gender it all becomes much more real!

LABOUR AND DELIVERY

More BIG difference in this area!

In England, with a healthy pregnancy, they would let you go till 42 weeks. You would be induced at this point if you hadn’t already gone into labour naturally. In America, most doctors don’t like you to be overdue. Most would like you to deliver at 39 weeks, 41 at the latest!

It was more of a discussion of how I was doing and how the baby was doing rather than a set rule, which was nice.

DELIVERY IN ENGLAND

Waterbirths were very favourable at my hospital in England. I started by having a waterbirth, I imagine it would be a lovely way to give birth. Unfortunately, I had some complications and the baby needed to be monitored meaning a waterbirth wasn’t possible. I then went on to have an epidural.

You can choose to have the epidural from the start if you want. This is all done and monitored by midwives and nurses. If your pregnancy is straightforward, a midwife will deliver your baby. You meet that person on the day when you’re in labour.

If it doesn’t quite go to plan, (like for me) and you need an episiotomy or a c-section, you’d be transferred to surgery and this would be done by a surgeon.

As my labour was so long, I had two midwives, they were both fantastic. I assume it will vary somewhat depending on who you get.

DELIVERY IN AMERICA

My American OBGYN thought a waterbirth was WILD! They’re not commonly done in New York. She advised that there was no need for me to feel any pain so get an epidural straight away. At 39 weeks, I hadn’t felt any contractions but I was already 6cm dilated so we agreed I should go in and have the baby.

I had the epidural and they gave pitocin to encourage my labour. I was monitored by a nurse and also my OBGYN.

When it was time, I pushed and my OBGYN delivered the baby. I needed some stickers which she did for me. If I’d needed an emergency c-section she would have also done that.

My second labour was a much better experience, although it is common for the second one to be easier!

THE HOSPITAL AFTER DELIVERY

I stayed in the hospital one night after having each of my boys.

In England, you’re on a ward with about 7 other families. In America, you often have a private room. I shared it with one other person. Both times we were separated by a curtain. Either way, you honestly won’t get that much rest as nurses are constantly in and out.

For me, the first night was pretty similar in both places.

One difference is that, in America, you can have your baby taken to the nursery to be looked after while you sleep. I chose to keep him with me though.

Another difference, in England, you pack nappies, postpartum supplies, basically everything you might need and should take it with you to the hospital.

In America, you’re given everything. Even a nice pack of L’Occitane toiletries! You can and should take home anything you don’t use! I was also given a gift bag with extra diapers, nipple cream, etc etc.

THE COST

Possibly the biggest difference between having a baby in America compared to the UK. In England, everything is free courtesy of the NHS. Most people do play National Health Contributions out of their paycheck but you would pay the same whether you have a baby or not!

We moved to the US knowing we would want another baby while we were there and that it would cost us so we factored that into our budget. I got a bill after every checkup or appointment. Then a large bill at the end for my labour and hospital stay. You pay for everything, down to the last paracetamol! (Yes, if you do put your baby in the nursery you’ll get a big bill – I hadn’t even thought about that until another Mom mentioned it after!)

It’s impossible to know the exact cost before as every hospital and doctor sets the prices. The type of insurance and the amount they deduct will also have a big impact. If you need a c-section it will be more expensive and so on.

AFTERCARE

In England, after you’ve been discharged from the hospital, you get regular visits from a midwife (again, it can be a different one each time). All being well, after a couple of weeks you get assigned a health visitor. I had appointments with the health visitor for a couple of weeks, then she told me I could just contact her if I needed her. All these appointments are at your own home. This is helpful when you’re recovering from the birth!

In New York, you have to register for a paediatrician (baby doctor). This is the doctor your baby will always see. Mine is at the same hospital I delivered in and you go there for all the checkups. I feel like you don’t get as much aftercare in America, although our ped did as we could message with any questions. However, as you always see the same doctor, you’re just getting one opinion which is less confusing. Midwives in England would all tell you different things about how much they should eat, sleep, weigh etc. so it was nice to follow consistent advice!

CONCLUSION

To summarise, there are quite a few differences between having a baby in America compared to the UK. Definitely pros and cons for each place. I ended up with healthy baby boys each time and that’s the main thing I wanted.

I know this was a long post but I hope this information is helpful or interesting to you!