Maternity |
|
|
Maternity care and baby delivery is offered in Saqr Hospital and RAK Hospital. Services in the governmental hospitals are provided free of charge (except for the room fees) to the holders of a health card. However, government hospitals might not be up to some people standards and it is likely you will not receive the attention you might be looking for. You might also come across some communication problems, as often Arabic is often the first and only language of the staff.
If you have a private medical insurance that covers maternity, or you are prepared to pay yourself, consider RAK Hospital, or hospitals in Dubai like the American Hospital or the Welcare Hospital. RAK Hospital has a well-equipped maternity unit and hires highly trained staff who can speak fluent English. In RAK Hospital, the delivery package starts at 5,000dhs for a standard room, up to 8,000dhs for VIP suite. To have a caesarean section performed you have to expect to pay around 12,000dhs. Another advantage offered by RAK Hospital is the possibility for fathers to participate during the delivery of their babies.
PAPER WORK BEFORE AND AFTER GIVING BIRTH
Required documents at the governmental hospitals before the delivery include: health card, marriage certificate, passport copies of mother and father, and proof of Ras Al Khaimah residency (rent contract, phone bill, etc). After the delivery you will receive a Notification of Birth in Arabic, which will be necessary to get a birth certificate. You will be further instructed to go to the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Foreign Affairs to get the birth certificate of your baby and its translation attested. The hospital, in which your baby is delivered, should inform you about the procedure of registering your child.
UNMARRIED AND PREGNANT
Unlike many other countries, in the UAE, it is against the law to be unmarried and pregnant. Punishment can be very harsh and usually involves a jail term followed by deportation. Governmental hospitals will give you a hard time if you cannot present a marriage certificate when requesting maternity care, and they will most likely notify the police. |