MATERNITY

PRENATAL CARE

If you get pregnant in France and want to have a baby within the French social security system, you must visit a doctor or a midwife who works within the state healthcare scheme (conventionné) before the end of the 3rd month of your pregnancy.

Once your pregnancy has been confirmed, you will be issued a form. You will need to send the first 2 pages to the nearest office of the family allowance fund (Caisse d'Allocations Familiales or CAF). The third page must be sent to the health insurance centre (Caisse Primaire d'Assurance Maladie or CPAM). You will then be sent a guide to maternity and newborn care (Guide de surveillance médicale de la mère et du nourrisson), which explains when to have your compulsory prenatal and postnatal checkups.

Prenatal checkups, which must be attended monthly from the 4th month of pregnancy include:

• Blood tests to check for toxoplasmosis, measles, etc.
• 8 prenatal sessions
• 3 scans (écographies). The public health insurance fund (Assurance Maladie) reimburses these at 70% up until the end of the fifth month of pregnancy and at 100% thereafter.

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GIVING BIRTH

If you give birth in a clinic or a hospital, all your basic expenses will be covered. Unless you are covered by a complementary private health insurance scheme (mutuelle), you will be liable to pay for extras, such as having a single room, TV or phone. The average stay is 5 days (8-10 for a caesarean).

REGISTERING YOUR BABY'S BIRTH

You must register the birth of a baby in France at your local town hall (mairie). Parents are able to choose whether the child will bear the mother's or father's family name, or both. In all cases both parents must present valid ID.

You are legally obliged to register the birth of your child within 3 days at the local mairie, so it is advisable to have a name ready.

You will need to provide your family logbook (livret de famille) and the certificate issued by the midwife or doctor. If you don't have a livret de famille, the mairie will issue one.

You will also be given a carnet de santé for your baby. This is a book that contains the child's health records: vaccinations, check-ups, operations, illnesses etc.

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MATERNITY / PATERNITY LEAVE FOR WORKING PARENTS

If you have fewer than 2 children you are entitled to 16 weeks maternity leave (6 before the birth and 10 after). If you have more than 2 children your leave increases to 26 weeks (8 before the birth and 18 after it). If you are having twins, you are entitled to 12 weeks before and 22 weeks after the birth.

All new mothers are obliged to stop working for a minimum of 8 weeks, including 6 weeks after the birth. Fathers are entitled to 3-days leave immediately after the birth plus a leave of 11 consecutive days to be taken within 4 months of the birth.

BENEFITS

In order to be eligible for family allowance, you must provide the CAF with a notification of your pregnancy (déclaration de grossesse) within the first 14 weeks of pregnancy. After the first obligatory prenatal exam, you must have 6 more exams after your third month of pregnancy. After each exam, send the appropriate form to the CAF.

Allowances depend on your personal circumstances. Contact your local CAF for more information or visit the CAF website (in French).

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