Cost of delivering a child in Poland

ryanbThreads: 28 Posts: 28 Joined: Apr 27, 11 ♂	Jun 23, 11, 17:37 #1
How much does a normal delivery without complications without insurance in Poland? I am trying to decide what level of coverage to get for my wife, and the maternity riders are really expensive unless you have a waiting period that would make the insurance useless.

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Edited by: delphiandomine Jun 23, 11, 17:39 #2

ryanb:

How much does a normal delivery without complications without insurance in Poland? I am trying to decide what level of coverage to get for my wife, and the maternity riders are really expensive unless you have a waiting period that would make the insurance useless.

I can tell you now - if there are complications, Poland could get expensive very, very quickly - especially if you're looking for private Western standards of care.

valpomikeThreads: 20 Posts: 244 Joined: Apr 20, 09 ♂	Jun 23, 11, 18:57 #3
I had great medical care, well visiting Poland, and the cost was far less, than the same service here, and better care. Mike

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Jun 23, 11, 19:33 #4

Oh no ... don't. Stay in the US, please -- somewhere your wife will be treated with dignity.
I had a baby in Poland - apparently covered by private health care which was ok for my monthly visits to the private clinic.
Then came the hospital and off I was tipped into NFZ.
I"ll accept this was 8 years ago - and possibly things have changed *dramatically* (hah!) but for me the high points were ..
Unhygenic and Dirty wards. My room was mopped twice a day but there was only a single (nearly broken) shower/toilet which was shared between all the ladies and therefore continuously blood-stained.
Forget the birth-partner concept. I needed a section and my husband was only allowed with me because I couldn't speak English.
No English-speaking doctors. Of course the nurses didn't either
Beds from the middle ages. This might sound absurd, but when you've had major abdominal surgery it's nice to think the bed might adjust.
Food worse than in prisons. Milk soup every morning and the other 2 meals *every day* were bread, butter and garlic sausage. I was in for a week and never saw fibre or any fruit/vegetables.
An understanding of newborns that insisted I give my child to the nursery nurses to be fed glucose after he was born.
This was the regional 'acute-care' hospital in a large city ... not some forgotten place in the back-woods.

cjj
p.s. i wonder if they still wash babes by holding them upside down by their heels under the running tap in the rooms ... that was a sight to behold ;)

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Edited by: Wroclaw Boy Jun 23, 11, 19:41 #5

ryanb:

How much does a normal delivery without complications without insurance in Poland?

A bottle of decent Scotch whiskey a few packs of coffee, some chocolates. A few doughnuts at choice moments always goes down well too. The above helps if youre an EU citizen im not sure of the actual cost, there are private hospitals that cover it for about 4000 PLN with no complications i believe.

Based on the above and always over paying the head of department (HOD for the birth ward) for gynecological visits paid dividends for us, no epidural though that really does cost 1400 PLN.

SeanusThreads: 22 Posts: 30,158 Joined: Dec 25, 07 ♂	Jun 23, 11, 19:45 #6
whisky, WB, whisky ;) ;) I knew a poor Pole deliver a child here not long ago and she didn't find it expensive at all.

ItsAllAboutMEThreads: 4 Posts: 358 Joined: Apr 30, 10 ♀	Jun 23, 11, 19:48 #7
Wroclaw Boy: A bottle of decent Scotch whiskey for the husband?

sobieskiThreads: 82 Posts: 1,141 Joined: Jun 1, 08 ♂	Jun 23, 11, 19:51 #8
In the Medicover hospital here in Warsaw (where I had last year a subscription-covered operation) they charge you around 12000 PLN as I remember. Best care in Poland though and not getting kicked out after two days or lying in the corridors. And not being obliged to pay bribes to everybody, from the doorman to the surgeon.

WroclawThreads: 77 Posts: 7,404 Joined: Apr 1, 06 ♂ [Moderator]	Jun 23, 11, 19:52 #9
cjj: Food worse than in prisons. Milk soup every morning and the other 2 meals every day were bread, butter and garlic sausage. I was in for a week and never saw fibre or any fruit/vegetables. the food is bad. the reason one has visitors is so that they can bring food. where there is a hospital there is a shop nearby with a microwave. so, hot food.

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Edited by: Wroclaw Boy Jun 23, 11, 20:01 #10

Wroclaw:

the food is bad. the reason one has visitors is so that they can bring food.

Yeah i had my appendix out in hospital so the only food i got was in the old vain for three days, having said that when i finally was allowed to eat that poxy little bowl of risanka, it tasted like the best food i'd ever had.

Seriously though most NFZ hospitals have a similarly very poor menu of bread with sliced poor quality meat and a knob of butter for one meal, then your lucky to get soup for the next with shite loads of bread again. Most patients have food brought in. The hospital we were in was new and had won awards so the food was decent. Its all about the economics right...poor country = poor friggen hospital food.....most of the time anyway.

Also dont forget soap and toilet paper, its rare for a Polish NFZ hospital to supply either.

Seanus:

whisky, WB, whisky ;) ;)

yeah, handed politely into the ward managers capable hands. Shite whiskey = shite service.

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Jun 23, 11, 20:02 #11

My operation was appendicitis. Operating theater was something from Star Wars. Post-operation five stars. (very pretty nurses :) ) Had my own room with even a flat screen TV. Which was not essential, but what was for me essential the feeling that you were in good and caring hands.
Nobody lying on a corridor...A smiling nurse checking every hour or so if you need something. At night absolutely silent, and so clean...
I decided there and then that my "abonament" is very much worth it. I prefer to stay as afar away from the NFZ as I can.

Wroclaw BoyThreads: 57 Posts: 5,470 Joined: Jul 3, 09 MEMBER ♂	Jun 23, 11, 20:06 #12
sobieski: My operation was appendicitis. Operating theater was something from Star Wars. Same as that mate, the only thing i was thinking as they put me under anesthetic was that ceiling needs painting and that operation light looks a bit dodgy too.

sobieskiThreads: 82 Posts: 1,141 Joined: Jun 1, 08 ♂	Jun 23, 11, 20:12 #13
Only thing I remember they put my chest full of these rubber feelers, something else on my thumb and next thing I knew I woke up in my room :)

warszawskiThreads: 60 Posts: 2,385 Joined: May 21, 10 ♂	Jun 23, 11, 22:05 #14
ryanb: I am trying to decide what level of coverage to get for my wife, What city are you in RyanB?

joepilsudskiThreads: 44 Posts: 2,529 Joined: Apr 27, 07 ♂	Jun 23, 11, 22:23 #15
Wroclaw Boy: Same as that mate, the only thing i was thinking as they put me under anesthetic was that ceiling needs painting and that operation light looks a bit dodgy too. Lucky you didn't need brain surgery...

ryanbThreads: 28 Posts: 28 Joined: Apr 27, 11 ♂	Jun 24, 11, 01:13 #16
I will be in Warsaw in September. At this point I am still in the US.

warszawskiThreads: 60 Posts: 2,385 Joined: May 21, 10 ♂	Jun 24, 11, 01:27 #17
ryanb: I will be in Warsaw in September. At this point I am still in the US. So your wife/fiance/girlfriend will be having the baby in Warsaw?

urszulaThreads: 2 Posts: 362 Joined: Aug 31, 07 ♀	Jun 24, 11, 05:32 #18
ryanb: I will be in Warsaw in September If your baby is born in Poland, you will need to get a passport, if you intend to return to America. And that takes a while. She (or he) will be a Polish citizen and you would have to get her a US citizenship if you plan on it. More red tape.

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Jun 24, 11, 09:24 #19

ryanb:

How much does a normal delivery without complications without insurance in Poland?

The quality of maternity care hugely varies per hospital in Poland, I recently became a father with my son born in Świętej Zofii Hospital in Warsaw. We were very lucky and able to get a private recovery room (500zl a night but only 3 available) and generally I couldn't fault the treatment we received from start to finish. We also had to pay 600zl for an epidural but all other costs were covered by the state as we are tax payers here. I've heard horror stories about other hospitals though.

It is routine here (Warsaw, not sure about the rest of Poland) to have a private 'arrangement' with a midwife where you pay her say 800zl - 1000zl to get extra special treatment. You sign a contract with her in case she isn't able to provide the services as there's no guarantee the baby will arrive when she's on her shift etc and that way you get the money back. The midwives even have their own websites to advertise themselves. It's open corruption for me but if I was using a hospital with not so good a reputation I wouldn't hesitate to make such an arrangement.

There was an article in the Warsaw Insider recently about the private options for giving birth and Medicover have a maternity hospital somewhere in south Warsaw now where it costs 12,000zl for a birth. The problem though with the private care is they're not so used to dealing with complications.

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Jun 24, 11, 13:40 #20

Exactly, your child would automatically be Polish if a parent were Polish (as in the case of my children). It is true though that you have to arrange the American passport, not that you will be denied, but it takes a bit of arranging.

I have given birth, twice, NFZ-style meaning basically "we will catch the baby when it comes out" method but I am pleased with the outcome for me. No drugs and almost immediate recovery for me and when something went wrong with our child, the professional staff stepped in immediately. Ok, the food was awful and the facilities not up to the standards we would like, but it wasn't that bad really. Oh, and no bill...and I got becikowa ;)

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Jun 24, 11, 14:15 #21

db1874:

There was an article in the Warsaw Insider recently about the private options for giving birth

If anybody wants a copy of that, let me know: I can certainly scan and email it (I can probably supply a text-only version if needed).

sobieski:

In the Medicover hospital here in Warsaw (where I had last year a subscription-covered operation) they charge you around 12000 PLN as I remember. Best care in Poland though and not getting kicked out after two days or lying in the corridors. And not being obliged to pay bribes to everybody, from the doorman to the surgeon.

I've got to say that I'm becoming less and less impressed by Medicover. Seven or eight years ago they were excellent, but recently they seem to have so many customers that service levels are far less than in the past.

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Jun 24, 11, 18:36 #22

warszawski:

So your wife/fiance/girlfriend will be having the baby in Warsaw?

My wife will be having our second child in Warsaw around February.

urszula:

If your baby is born in Poland, you will need to get a passport, if you intend to return to America. And that takes a while. She (or he) will be a Polish citizen and you would have to get her a US citizenship if you plan on it. More red tape.

Since neither I nor my wife are Polish, my understanding is that our child will be born an American citizen by blood and we will just have to register his or her birth with the US Embassy. In our situation our child would only be born Polish if he or she would otherwise be stateless, which doesn't apply here. We will need to get a passport.

Harry:

If anybody wants a copy of that, let me know: I can certainly scan and email it (I can probably supply a text-only version if needed).

I would love to see that article. I'll PM you my email address.

As far as insurance, at this point medicover looks like our best bet. I'm not dead set against using state hospitals but I can't get a visa for my family without proof of health insurance, and medicover would cost less than half what insurance from one of the foreign companies that caters to expatriates would charge. Medicover has English-speaking staff which helps too since my Polish isn't very good yet. I don't think there is a way for non-EU citizens to use the state system (If I'm wrong please let me know, I'd like to know all my options- the main concern is the visa thing).

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Jun 24, 11, 19:02 #23

ryanb:

My wife will be having our second child in Warsaw around February.

db1874:

Świętej Zofii Hospital in Warsaw

This is the one i have also heard good things about, its the one on Zealazna and semi private- db1874

ryanb:

As far as insurance, at this point medicover looks like our best bet.

I am not quite sure, Medicover will cover you fully,as your wife is already pregnant.

Harry:

Seven or eight years ago they were excellent, but recently they seem to have so many customers that service levels are far less than in the past.

There are now, three option levels at medicover as far as the package is concerned,when we viewed the offer about six months ago, the middle one seemed the best offer.

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Jun 24, 11, 19:39 #24

Ive posted on here before that when my gave birth in Poland two years ago we used a state NFZ hospital and the service was excellent. We had a private before and after birth room as did most of the expecting mothers. The afterbirth private rooms had a sink and shower, wc, baby changing station with a little baby crib for the new addition.

If i remember rightly they also recently changed kitchen management so even the food was good.

It was a new hospital in Polanica Zdroj and as i mentioned above had won several awards for its standards. We thought about Wrcolaw but visted the birth ward 5 months before the birth date and were not impressed.

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Jun 24, 11, 20:55 #25

I suspect with Medicover the key question is "do you have a hospital or must I use an NFZ one?"
My pregnancy and birth was with Medicover all the way .. but they don't have a hospital of their own where I live so had to contract out to local institutions.
Same with the cancer treatment I received through them -- all contracted out to the local NFZ. While I obviously got a scan/diagnosis much faster I ended up an ordinary user "in the system" once I got on to my chemo and rads treatment.

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Jun 25, 11, 06:24 #26

cjj:

Same with the cancer treatment I received through them -- all contracted out to the local NFZ. While I obviously got a scan/diagnosis much faster I ended up an ordinary user "in the system" once I got on to my chemo and rads treatment.

We have recently changed our medical insurance company, from International policy (Bupa) to a PL Policy ( Medicover). The one thing I did notice about Medicover is the only Policy that covers cancer treatment was the Gold+, the others did not cover cancer treatment, only consultations. I wish you success with your treatment.

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Jun 25, 11, 20:17 #27

Harry:

I've got to say that I'm becoming less and less impressed by Medicover. Seven or eight years ago they were excellent, but recently they seem to have so many customers that service levels are far less than in the past.

To be honest that is something I also notice recently. Still they are better as NFZ. (which is no opinion on the NFZ medical staff, they cannot help it that the system is hopeless).

spiritusThreads: 53 Posts: 253 Joined: Oct 25, 06 ♂	Jul 26, 11, 14:39 #28
How much does a normal delivery without complications without insurance in Poland? I would go with either DHL or UPS. Don't go with Poczta Polska or they will likely lose the child en route (or re-direct it to Kiev).

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Jul 26, 11, 14:54 #29

I have an American friend and a Canadian friend who had their children in Sw. Zofia. They both raved about it. The building was old but the quality of care was super.
I had my youngest at Centrum Damian. I want to say it cost about 4000 pln. The service was amazing. Clean, small clinic. We were happy.
We used to have Medicover. I despise it. It is a business. About a year and a half ago my youngest broke her thumb. We had medicover so I drove her to the new "hospital" in Wilanow. I was turned back at the door. The old communist hag dr. said I had to go to the childrens hospital in Praga (I had just sat in traffic for about 45 minutes) I asked her if she wanted to even look at my daughters thumb and she told me "no, go to the childrens hospital."
Anyway, we went to the childrens' and they were professional, nice and quick. My husband is Polish so language is not an issue.
So that evening my husband calls Medicover to talk to the dr. that turned us away. He gave her the biggest blast of sh*t ever. Not screaming or yelling but called her out on her unprofessional behaviour and how medicover is supposed to be quality care.
He promptly cancelled our coverage and from that point we use Centrum Damian- which has been great.

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