Unless someone around your due date has to see an OB because their pregnancy becomes more complex you will not be able to see a midwife and should be getting prenatal care no matter what. Were you pregnant before traveling to Canada? What was your plan knowing you wouldn’t qualify for OHIP? If not did you purchase private health insurance knowing you wouldn’t qualify for OHIP? If you purchased private travel health insurance before leaving and before getting pregnancy it may cover your costs.
Giving birth in Canada without provincial healthcare coverage (NOT BIRTH TOURISM)
- Thread starter colgate1
- Start date
I’m currently 28 weeks and honestly I don’t have that 15k. My spousal sponsorship application was submitted in January 2023. We have contacted the MP to also help in expediting it but i’ve not gotten PPR still
Your MP can’t expedite your application and pregnancy won’t expedite the application. What have you been doing to access care for the past 3 months and what was your plan for accessing healthcare when you decided to come as a visitor?
I have been seeing my husbands family doctor and they have referred me to about 2 OBY GYN still waiting for a response.
Would suggest calling each OB‘s office to verify that they accept private pay patients and their fees. Not all doctors accept private pay patients because they already have a big enough patient load and are required to prioritize those with OHIP and most doctors aren’t set up for private pay, don’t have a set fee schedule for private pay patients, don’t have the billing systems in place fkr foreign nationals, etc. There tends to be few doctors that accept the majority of non-OHIP holders in a region. Do you have the funds to pay for an OB going forward or part of the cost of a hospital delivery? Have you had your 20 week anatomy scan? Is the GP licensed to provide OB care as well if they have been seeing you until 28 weeks? If so why are you looking for a OB are you high risk now? Most hospitals will allow you to do a payment plan but typically want a certain level of deposit. Some hospitals do not accept private pay patients although if you arrive Iabour close to birth they’ll accept you as a patient. It is always best to have already registered with the hospital in advance if you don’t have OHIP and want to deliver a baby in Ontario.
Thank you so much for the detailed reply. I’ve actually been seeing an OB in my home country for 4 months before coming to canada. Im not high risk but I just want to actually be in the care of a specialist.
And yes, we have some funds we can use for deposit of it comes to paying. I’ll call many OB offices as you have suggested to know who accepts non- OHIP patients.
Thanks again. Appreciate your help
You would still need a referral so you should follow-up with the OBs you have been referred to. If they don’t accept private pay patients there is no point in waiting to see if the referral is accepted. Seeing an OB for the first 4 months doesn’t involve a lot of care unless you have something like hyperemesis gravidarum. There is not much that can be done but waiting to see if the pregnancy is viable and treating a miscarriage if it happens. If you came to Canada at around 15 weeks that would mean you haven’t gotten the big ultrasound at around 20 weeks which is the anatomy scan. It sounds as though your husband’s GP may be seeing you as a favour but is not trained or licensed to provide obstetric care which GPs can do with an additional year of residency. Assume you have delayed getting an OB hoping that you will get OHIP and not have to pay but you haven’t received real prenatal care for all of your 2nd trimester. It is very important not delay care any further and call hospitals to discuss cost of care if you don’t get OHIP, what kind of deposit will they require, would a payment plan be possible, etc. When speaking to OBs about accepting you as private pay patient they also may ask whether you can pay their fee for the delivery upfront that is typically around 1.5-2k. It is clear that you want to have your baby in Canada but I also assume you want to have a healthy baby so prioritizing prenatal care is important. Thinking about your family’s financial circumstances also need to be a factor unfortunately but it seems as though just paying for proper prenatal care during the 2nd trimester may have not been possible. Some of these tests are time sensitive so for example it will be difficult to even have an anatomy scan at this point because the baby is too big to get clear images while at around 20 weeks the foetus is small enough that they can stretch out and you can easily visualize the organs and structures. I hope you and your baby are healthy throughout the pregnancy and during the postpartum period and you have an uncomplicated birth but accessing prenatal care is important and waiting and hoping your get OHIP as soon as possible is not a plan. You and your partner need to be discussing whether having the baby is possible financially, how much savings do you have that could go towards prenatal care and labour/delivery if you don’t have OHIP, start talking to hospitals and doctors about costs and deposits, discuss whether you are comfortable going without prenatal care and showing up at the hospital when you are in labour of you can‘t afford prenatal care, asking the hospitals in your area how much that would cost based on various scenarios and what type of payments plans may be available and whether that would fit into your budget. As soon as the federal government announced that it would be easier to join a spouse in Canada while waiting for sponsorship I posted that many pregnant women would arrive and be without provincial health coverage. I am sure you aren’t the only one in this position but because there will be more pregnant women without OHIP there will be additional pressures on the limited resources available for pregnant women without OHIP. Whether women can afford to access prenatal care and labour/delivery while they wait for PR needs to be a consideration for any spouse coming to Canada pregnant or trying/not preventing pregnancy when in Canada.
@Maybach20 , where about Ontario you live? Did the GP you currently see order an ultrasound and prenatal bloodwork yet?
Most midwifes would prioritize out of country low-risk pregnant women with no OHIP. Try to fill out as many as application forms you can. Perhaps try going to their clinics and talking to them in person. Unfortunately, you may need some luck too.
I hope you are accepted as a patient soon. It is very sad that many pregnant women with no ohip has to go through similar situation. My wife and I have been there and I know how you feel. All the best.
Most midwifes would prioritize out of country low-risk pregnant women with no OHIP. Try to fill out as many as application forms you can. Perhaps try going to their clinics and talking to them in person. Unfortunately, you may need some luck too.
I hope you are accepted as a patient soon. It is very sad that many pregnant women with no ohip has to go through similar situation. My wife and I have been there and I know how you feel. All the best.
You are typically limited to midwives in your local area because being local is important for access to the midwife and to allow the midwife to make any home visits without wasting a lot of time driving around the city. All healthcare providers in Ontario are supposed to prioritizes those with OHIP first as a requirement from OHIP although I have seen some midwives bend the rules at times. It is also not fair to expect midwives to take on additional patients because they don’t have OHIp when they already work a significant amount of hours per week. You wouldn’t ask other professions to take work additional hours of work without pay, losing sleep by taking on another delivery that month although they don’t get a lot to begin with and sacrificing personal time with likely their own family and children. Midwives can only take on a certain number of patients based on due dates so they can attempt to be present at all their patients births. If they take on too many patients with the similar due dates they will not be able to be present at many births and patients will have to seek care at the local hospital from whatever OB is on call. That defeats the purpose of having a midwife and developing a relationship with them over time. People should not show up at clinics expecting to be able to talk to a midwife and plead their case. The clinics have a schedule and other patients. There are likely many other patients who desperately want or need a midwife on the waiting list and the waiting list has likely already undergone some sort of triage system. I assume whether a patient has OHIP and their situation is part of the intake form when joining the waitlist. A follow-up phone call to see if there is any chance they will be able to get to see a midwife or where they are on the waitlist is an acceptable option that shows respect to the clinic and other patients. It is very common for midwives to have waitlists and face high demand versus the number of patients they can accept. Many without OHIP have been told they aren’t accepting patients although some do get lucky. At this point in her pregnancy someone else around 28 weeks needs to be determined to be high risk and no longer eligible for midwifery care for a free spot to become available. Although I empathize with this person they should have considered the fact that they didn’t qualify for OHIP before deciding to come to Canada as a visitor before their sponsorship was approved or made plans to come to Canada knowing they had enough savings to pay out of pocket for prenatal care or labour/delivery. What about women who have worked and paid their taxes? When it comes to midwives don’t women who have worked and paid taxes and have OHIP deserve to be able to see a midwife if that is the care they want?
Unless GPs have done additional training in OB which is an additional 1 year residency after they complete their GP residency then overseeing the prenatal care of a pregnant women over 12+ weeks is out of their scope of practice. It would open them up to potential liability issues, they may not be able to interpret results, may not be familiar with what to order and monitor, etc. Assume the GP isn’t trained in obstetrics or they would have likely remained with the GP to save money because the GP would bill less than an OB would for regular prenatal appointments. The GP also has to consider their own scope of practice and expertise. You can only ask so much of a GP in this situation and they are only legally and professionally able to do so much without putting themselves at risk and also not providing good care.
Have you try searching the midwife network?
https://www.ontariomidwives.ca/find-midwife
Dated back 4 years ago, I was a PR not having a PR card but only got the landed paper. At that moment, I was 20-week when I returned back here in Toronto from overseas, having no OHIP card because the waiting period of OHIP for returning PR/citizen was 3 months, and I was not sure can I get OHIP card for I only got the landed paper.
I found the midwives near my home and filled forms online, 2 of them accepted me. I showed the midwife clinic my landed paper and told them I was waiting for OHIP and not sure can I get the coverage before labouring. At that time, Midwives clinic told me that the check-up is covered but if my OHIP card is not issued when I labour, I need to pay the cost of hospital, and they shown me the price list.
I got 1 or 2 ultrasound and bloodtest, and monthly check-up in midwives clinic. Finally 1 month before labour I got my OHIP card so I don't have to pay for the hospital.
I suggest you find as many midwives as you can because you are already in 28 week, good luck to you.
I stay in Mississauga. Yes, the family doctor has had me do 2 ultra sounds already and blood work. I have been filling forms for midwives. I’ll keep filling and try to visit the clinic and hopefully I’ll get someone to accept me. Thank you so much. It’s Really difficult for healthcare here without OHIP.
Hi, I am in an exact scenario as you had been. Can You please shed some light based on your experience and once my wife gives birth, whether the kid will be enrolled with OHIP immediately or not. Appreciate if you can drop me a note over email to get some advices from a person with real life experience. Many thanks brother! I can be reached at imsunjid@gmail.com
Hello there, I can relate to this. My son is 2 and a half now. I just got my PR two weeks ago. We live in Alberta. I had to pay my birth out of the pocket. Plus all the doctor fees, blood works, ultrasound..... My birth was short and sweet fortunately. The stay at the hospital was around $8000 a day+ eperdual 1400( I got it half price, because doctor messed something up). Doctors fees around 350 because I had a natural birth. My baby's stay at the hospital was 4000 a day( not Nicu). But you will get your baby's money back after he gets his health card..... if you wanted a C section and private room. I would say you need to have 15000-20000....good luck.
Pm me if you need more information.
Pm me if you need more information.
Thank you so much, this is really great to hear at least the baby’s cost was reimbursed after getting the health card.
I moved from Quebec to Ontario which complicated the whole thing about getting this OHIP, which made me to understand that, the changes in provincial health policy differences which I wasn’t aware much about. Hence, anyone with Ontario experience could be of real help, though, the Alberta one already gave me a hint about the cost and reimbursement. Much appreciated!!!
The doctor at the hospital in Calgary wants cash when I was pain a in labor. ( won't take my debit/ credit cards) It's ridiculous. It's like a grocery market. My husband has to drive to the bank to get cash for him when i was in labor pain. And he almost missed the birth. Just so you know they will treat you differently.