something a lil' off topic (sort of).. hubby just said that we dont have baby showers up here. Is there something similar? Or how easy would it be to start a tradition .. I think that they can come in very very handy!

LoPorto - are you a european citizen? I think that this is the most important question to answer in order to know more about your health care options here in Italy. If you are an EU citizen then you'll have access to the free healthcare system here. If not, then you'll need to pay for the doctor.

rtpm- Are you sure about this? I am an American citizen but I have the free health care here in Italy. I have only payed the ticket fee or whatever when going to a specialist... other than that, everything is free for me.

I am an american.

how much is the "ticket fee"?

Diana,
hi, you have free healthcare because you are married to an Italian citizen. Anyways, as long as someone is a resident of Italy they can get on the national healthcare.
Loporto,
My gyn. is less if I see him at the hospital and more expensive if I see him at his private practice.
"Co payments" are different prices depending on your doctor or what u are having done. I personally would not have a kid here unless I was on the national health system. Unless you have the money to spend and you are fluent in Italian it doesn't make sense (to me) to go through pregnancy and childbirth here. Having a child (especially your first) is a major life altering experience on it's own. Moving to a new country, adapting to a new culture, learning a new language and having a baby here right away is a lot to take on. Not trying to be negative...just food for thought.

oops - sorry - should have said "are you an EU citizen or permanent resident of Italy?" So - LoPorto - what kind of visa are you going to come here on? Are you married to an Italian or are you an EU citizen? Or will an employer sponsor you? I think that these questions are very relevant to whether you will be covered by the Italian national healthcare scheme or will have to shell out for private insurance.

I kind of agree with Autumn but I guess that's personal preference. Even though I speak OK Italian and have lived here for a while - I still found being in hospital (just for something minor) stressful as I didn't feel well and just wasn't up to communicating in a foreign language. Also - there are lots of customs in hospital which you are not used to (just silly things - like there being fewer nurses and lack of bedside manner and also lack of privacy). On the other hand, this is a personal decision - and for all we know you may already speak perfect Italian!

This is a very useful forum. My husband and I are expecting in August, and although we currently live in Sudan, will be in Rome (his home city) for the birth. I am a U.S. citizen but understand that I will be covered by the state insurance system once I register with a permesso di sogiorno (we will spend July and August in Rome).

I am wondering if anyone has suggestions for public hospitals in Rome - e.g. Policlinico Umberto I? Or would you recommend a private clinic, one with English-speaking doctors? My Italian is decent, but I'm concerned having to struggle with language during a stressful labor.

Also, does anyone know of any doulas (birth assistants) working in Rome? We found one on www.doula.it, but I was hoping to find others as well.

As for your relationship, LoPorto, I hope you and your husband can enjoy the pregnancy - and the last months as just the two of you. It's really wonderful when you can both feel the baby kick, but you still have the freedom to be just a couple, able to make your own schedule or go out to a party without a babysitter. Auguri and good luck!

I did not give birth at Policlinico in Rome - I was there for a severe allergy attack - but I'm not sure that I would recommend it. It was chaotic, dirty and there was absolutely no privacy -but the doctors seemed ok. They gave me all the right medicines but it was not exactly a pleasant experience (a man died in the bed next to me in the middle of the night - lots of sick old people in the emergency room were forced to sit on chairs all night as they ran out of beds, the bathroom was very dirty and there was no toilet paper or soap etc). Someone upthread said that the hospital on Isola Tiburtina is known for being a good maternity hospital in Rome- maybe you should try there.

About getting your Tessera Sanitaria in Italy - like everything here it requires tons of bureaucratic hassles and time. You need to first get your Permesso di Soggiorno, then a codice fiscale and then establish residency in Rome (which involves the usual bureaucratic hassles including a police officer coming to your house to make sure you really live there). In my case I also had to show buste paghe from my employer in Rome (to show that they paid the health care tax - this would be waived if you are an EU citizen who can trade in your home country's health care card for an Italian one- not sure what happens if you're a US citizen who has residency through an Italian husband - maybe someone else can fill me in). Once you have established residency you can get the Tessera Sanitaria. If you are umployed you can apparently still get the Tessera Sanitaria but you need to register with the unemployment office. For me it's been a big pain - and I'm not sure if you'll be able to do all this in just 2 months...maybe you should come here a bit earlier?

A few things:

jhelm, thanks so much for allaying my insecurities! Isabella sleeps through the night in her room/bed since she was 3 months old with little crying if any at all. She actually likes her bed and likes to go to sleep. I spend a lot of time w/her during the day when I am done working and though she doesn't get carried everywhere she is always near me and my husband. Not breastfeeding meant that my husband could get more involved with feedings and I think this is great for their bonding and it allows both of us to break it down sleep wise (though it's me doing the 11pm feed). Isabella is a very happy kid and very loved, despite not being attached to me 24/7. It is good to know we are not doing any permanent damage and I am not the worst mommy in the world .

LoPorto: Autumn and rtpm are right: if you have no family and speak little Italian it may be a more difficult experience to have especially if it's your first baby. I am fluent in italian and (presumably) knew the ways and it was a bit jarring. Also for the tessera sanitaria, it took my husband 4 months before he could get his and there is less hassle for him since he's married to a citizen. Be very sure of what you want to do.

Re: baby shower, it might be a neat idea and maybe your family would like the novelty of it, but in general people here come to the house/hospital after the birth and bring you literally tons of stuff. We are still living off some stuff that we got (they bring bigger sizes too)! Some people have a baby list (which in retrospect I wish I had), especially those who already have kids.

A note on the tessera sanitaria...in many cases, you can take the "ricevuta" from the PdiS office to ASL (for healthcare) and they will issue you a temporary healthcare while the final PdiS is being processed.

In my case, the same day I got my PdiS ricevuta, which was a form with my picture affixed and many stamps from the Questura di Foggia (this may differ from Questura to Questura, I imagine), I took it to the ASL office and was issued a Libretto Sanitario for 6 months.

I states this in a previous post, but I think it got lost in the shuffle of this long thread! If you're willing to pay a little extra for a private clinic in Rome, a friend of mine told me that all of the Americans in Rome (who can afford it, anyways) go to clinic Villa Mafalda.
If you're also interested in seeing what different maternity wards offer in different hospitals throughout Italy, go to this link: http://www.prenatal.it/libroaperto/maternita.aspJust select the region, province and city and It'll tell you if certain hospitals offer rooming-in, birthing balls, private rooms, etc. It's in Italian though. Hope that helps a bit.

Cassi

I am getting so confused.

I am an American Citizen. My husband, also american, will be getting a student visa, so I will have a family visa, which I believe will also hold the same restrictions as the student visa (can only work part-time, etc.) we plan to be there for 3 years, when he finishes school, so we'll have a pdis, whichs someone said earlier that we just need to pay the $90 so we're covered by insurance? (which sure beats my $200/month here!)

We looked into citizenship since his great-grandfather came to America when he was six from Milan. Unfortunately, his father was naturalized when he was 12, which automatically naturalized him as a minor. we have a lawyer looking into it, but as of now, we will not have dual citizenship.

Language: I do not speak italian. My husband speaks pretty well, and is taking classes now.

I am not due until the end of November, so we will have 5-6 months to acclimate. I'm sure the longer we are there the better, but at least it's not arrival and then birth.

we are still definitely considering staying here (tear). but the cost is so much greater...his tuition will be 3x that of the italian school, but I'll have a better chance of getting a decent part-time job. insurance is outrageous here, but I'm still not sure what we'll be covered for there. BUT we won't have a car there saving us $600 a month (gas, insurance, loan, etc.)

Thanks for all the advice!
Reading through the old posts earlier, I got the sense that private clinics could actually be more problematic than public hopsitals, since they're not necessarily set up for emergencies. Also, when we told our Italian friends here that we would likely use a private clinic, they recommended against it for that reason... But we'll definitely check out the Isola Tiberina hospital (we got married on that island so it has special appeal!).
As for the Tessera Sanitaria, thanks for the tips. We're going to Rome for a quick trip in April or May and may start the process then. But if we're using a private clinic anyway (we're saving up for that..), it wouldn't matter, right? In any case, I'm calling the Italian embassy here to get the details.
One tip for LoPorto - given the number of anglophone expats in Italy, you might find an English-language new mothers group (or even form one yourself). I've heard that this can be a great help when adjusting to a new baby, especially while also adjusting to a new country. You might also do a language exchange with new moms who are Italian -- you practive your Italian with them, and they get to practice English with you. Could be fun.

Hi all
We tried to get our new baby registered as an Italian citizen but were faced with a point blank 'no'. We were told she would have to wait until she was 18 and apply for it herself. Is this a fact or just the usual bureacratic blinkers. My wife is Indian with full papers, indefinite leave or whatever it's called and residency etc. all above board.

A child who is not born to Italian parents must wait until they are 18 and only then can they ask for citizenship by naturalization. It is not like in the US where citizenship is based on where you are born. In Italy, to be given citizenship at birth it is only by blood.

Wouldn't a child born in Italy get Italian citizenship automatically? well, I have no idea. You say your wife in Indian but a permanent resident - so are you an Italian citizen?

Citizenship is attributed on two different principles: by blood and by "soil" right. The two can coexist. Italy only recognizes citizenship by blood: if you are born to an italian citizen you automatically inherit Italian citizenship, but if none of your parents is an italian citizen you do not acquire itlaian citizenship even if you are born within the Itlaian borders. I think that the US as well as France attribute citizenship by both blood and "soil", which means that one is entitled to citizenship by both being born from US (or French) citizen parents or by being born inside the national boundaries.

Up until not so long ago, France extended the citizewnship right to everyone that happened to be born inside its boundaries, regardless of whether the parents (or at elast one of the parents) was a legal resident. What occurred is that people from beyond the border of the various neighboring countries, as well as citizens of the many Francophone countries (Algeria or Senegal) might just travel to France for the delivery of the baby and return home afterwards. Thus, the baby would be Franch citizen and, in case the parents decided to emigrate to France, they could do so legally claiming the right for their French-born baby to live in his or her nation, and therefore the right for the parents to live with the child. Currently, France has limited the "soil" right only to the children born to the legal residents of France.

IMHO, the French system (and I suppose the US and the Australian ones are not much different, according to what you say) are far more civilized than our own.

quote:

Originally posted by di&andrea:
there is some to pay to go to a specialist

That's not right. A specialist working for the ASL is free just like the regular doctor, the difference being that to see a specialsit yo have to first see your doctor who will issue a request, than take an appointment with the ASL or your local (public) hospital and, on the day of the visit, carry along the request in order not to pay. Visits are supposed not to have "tickets" (pseudo-English for co-payment ). Sometimes, though, taking an appointment with a specialist takes long: in these cases people decide to have a private visit with a specialist, for money (often lots of).
Some private specialsits will offer a moderate discount if you accept not to be issued a fattura: refuse! if you are not issued a fattura, you will not be able to request the partial reimbursement (done in bulk once a year: if your yearly expenses are not up to the minimum leve, fle them anyhow and have them saved" for the following year!)
For urgent cases there is a separate list of appointments, which is much shorter, and a patient on an urgency is supposed to be able to have the visit within a couple of weeks in the worst case (we are talking about urgency, not emergency!).
A small co-payment is often requested for exams, though.

The Italian constitution recognizes health as one of the basic rights. Anyone who is a legal resident of Italy is entitled to health coverage. This means that you can ask for the temporary card as soon as you filed your request for a PdS and have full coverage (at least as full as any Italian citizen) as soon as you are on the system. This includes free doctor for basic stuff, free hospital care in case you need it, and all other services. (Notice, usually this does not cover dental care, except emergency cases and only limited to teeth being pulled or in case they don't need to be pulled, getting some medicines to make you able to wait until the dentists open their offices in the morning ).

Baby showers: since some time there is "lista di nascita": some baby stuff places offer yout he possibility to order the stuf you need in term of clothes etc. You may therefore put out a "partecipazione" card that alsos tates that the "lista di nascita" is at the XY shop, and everyone who is intereted to take part to it can go to the shop and pay for one or two item or provide a sum to partially pay a large and very costly item. You will pay the balance: if you order for 2,000 euro and friends and family pai 1,200 euro, you will have to add the 800 euro missing to purchase the stuff you ordered.
At the same time, if you have friends with small children, you will be silently given used items: one will offer you the stroller she needs no more for the three years old (ouch! Nowadays children sit in strollers until the start going to school ), another will hand you a bunck of used clothes, another will offer her used buttle sterilyzer that she will certaonly not need for another year, but after your baby moved to solid food could you give it back to me for our second etc.
Those who instead will want to give you brand new stuff for the baby, will centrainly want to buy the very best stuff, so in case you decide to have a "lista di nascita" make sure to add costly stuff to it, because nobody will be willing to pay for a handful of 10 euro baby clothes, instead of paying 50 euro for a luxury one (baby clothes: better five cheap ones: they don't last anyway and you will need a lot, but I am the minority here!)

Thanks for the explanation of citizenship AliceTwain. How does one gain citizenship if one is an immigrant to Italy with a permesso di soggiorno? Maybe's Noorani-Smith's wife could get Italian citizenship and then her child would get it too.

I'll leaave that reply to those that weren't born with an Italian citizenship. All I know is "not easy"!

I have a friend who has been living in Italy for six years with a pdis(she's from California) and now has the right to apply for citizenship. I don't know exactly what the details are, but I believe that you do have to stay in Italy for atleast six years before you can apply.

AliceTwain: that's interesting about the lista di nascita! We were wondering if those existed in Italy, since it seems so difficult to return stuff at the stores in Italy. ie how would people know what you need unless they ask? Atleast that's what my husband said.

could someone at least give me a range or average for how much the co-payments/"tickets" are?

I recently saw an orthopaedist - a straightforward consultation - the ticket was €20. I also had an MRI done on my knee. The ticket for that was €35 and I noticed on the fattura that the full price was €180.

However, I believe that pregnant women do not pay the ticket for anything, as long as it is related to the pregnancy. I'm sure some of the others can correct me if I'm wrong.

Pregnant women have to pay also. I know for a fact that to get standard pregnancy blood tests done with a ticket is 35 euros. I don't know what it costs without the ticket.