Well, I came to the USA, I got married, we are pregnant! Nervous, anxious, excited? Well, take a deep breath and get ready for an exciting ride. It is going to be a fun-filled and rewarding ride. I will walk you through steps to help you prepare for the little bundle of joy.
Mental preparation:
Prepare yourself mentally, life is not going to be the same anymore, there will be a lot of emotional, physical and relationship changes. It is for your good you should try to embrace this as soon as possible. For men, your wife is going to go through a lot of emotional and physical changes, suddenly they will start hating the favorite dishes, maybe they will stop eggs and meat, maybe they will never drink milk again, maybe they seem to be puking always. Please try to stand with them and not argue about all these, these are all first trimester problems and soon they are going to change. Try to take up household responsibility as much as possible. For women, pregnancy is as new as it is for you to your husband, the worst part? You get to feel it but they can’t even feel it all they can understand is through you and your emotional wrap with them. Though you go through a lot, try to be nice on them to make your first-trimester journey smooth. Also, as a couple, try to have good sleeping, eating and exercising habits. It might sound early but it is a good time to choose names, try to select a short name for the sake of simplicity. Being organized is the key for a successful and fruitful pregnancy. I have given a good amount of details in this blog to help you understand what needs to be done which will help you stay organized. Finally, try to spend quality time as couples, go out, have fun, take time off and go visit places. You will not have the same luxury after getting your bundle of joy.
Tip: Research about morning sickness and how to neutralize it.
Visa status:
The next most important thing to take care of is your visa status. Make sure your visa status is sorted out before the end of 5 months in your pregnancy journey. I have seen cases where couples got stuck at the end of the 8th month due to rejection in petitions, denials, etc. Do not take stress on the visa status, sort it out as soon as possible and make sure you can stay at least 3 months after the due date for a safe transition if needed. If you see yourself in out of the status situation after the 7th month of your pregnancy, immediately consult an immigration attorney and explore the options of extending your stay on the humanitarian grounds.
Worth exploring:
H/L visa premium processing
Change of Status
Staying in the USA on a humanitarian basis
Health Insurance:
It might sound funny, if you plan for pregnancy, the first thing to look out for is your health insurance. Make sure to get a top plan with very good maternal benefits. This is the best time to check your health insurance, try to get a very good plan to cover your expenses. Most of you might have an employer-sponsored plan and choose the plan with the highest benefit, you will be having 20 to 25 doctor office visits and an inpatient visit a typical course of pregnancy. If you have your own plans, try to enhance your plans.
Maternity support persons:
Do not take it alone, plan to have support persons like grandparents to be with you for the big day, it is a good idea to bring them at least 20 days ahead of the big day to cover pre-term scenarios. If the support person does not have a passport or visa, initiate it as soon as possible.
Apply For Indian Passport: https://portal2.passportindia.gov.in/AppOnlineProject/welcomeLink
Apply For USA Visa: https://ceac.state.gov/genniv/
Getting help and Choosing hospitals:
If you don’t know your options, you don’t have a choice. Choose OB-GYN and hospital carefully,
· Make sure to find an in-network OB-GYN.
· Make sure you choose a hospital recommended by your OB-GYN, by this way you don’t have to be involved in the hustle of transferring medical records between OB office and Hospital.
· Most of the hospitals will need registration ahead of the big day, get the registration in place as early as possible.
Getting prepared for the big day:
Now the ground is set for the big day, success is when preparation meets the opportunity, be prepared, have checkpoints in place to make sure the pregnancy is smooth, few of the checkpoints are
· Travel arrangements of supporting person.
· Health insurance to support person. https://www.insubuy.com/
· Maternity tour with the hospital
o I highly recommend this, you will get the first-hand experience of what is a triage room, where you will be admitted, what the procedure is etc. The idea is to make sure you get used to the environment and not struggle on the big day.
· Birth classes with the hospital
o This is different from the free maternity tour above, it is usually a paid class that covers all the aspects of pregnancy, usually, hospitals does this to educate couples and make them understand different procedures, emergency planning, C sections, etc. You will know everything you need to about pregnancy. The idea is to make you aware of your options for a rainy day. Getting baffled when the doctor says they need to give a Pitocin, an epidural is the last thing you want during the 11th hour.
· Birth plan
o Create one, it is interesting and helpful for the mother
· Pack and keep your bags ready and have a contingency plan
o Keep the bags at least 4 weeks ahead of the big day and always have a backup plan on who will take the mother to the hospital in case of emergencies.
· Speak with friends and neighbors
o Hear their experiences and speak with them about their journey, it will be helpful to you.
· If you are planning for a baby shower function
o Plan it before the 36th week of pregnancy.
o Create a baby registry.
· Browse and learn about preterm, post-term, late-term pregnancies.
· Keep insurance cards and identification cards ready.
· Choose a pediatrician and just schedule a friendly visit with them.
o Ask them when to bring the baby for a visit after discharge from the hospital.
o Ask if they can visit the hospital immediately after the baby is born.
At the Hospital:
This is the place where you are going to put the least efforts in the pregnancy journey, you will be taken good care of. Knowing things change will help, the day you go to the hospital might be a busy day and you might not have rooms, so the RN might decide on putting you in a triage room or you might be redirected to a different hospital, be prepared mentally for all this.
· Cooperate with RN and doctors.
· Ask if you don’t understand.
· Make sure you know what is happening at all the times to eliminate the fear in you.
· Make sure you have food, dress, stay plan for at least 2 to 3 days.
· Consider newborn photography, they are worth every penny.
The important three for your baby (Birth certificate, proof of birth, SSN):
Usually, the hospitals are very well organized and reach out to you to get the necessary information for a birth certificate, SSN and proof of birth.
· Have the name of your baby ready, it is much easy to fill out the forms at the hospitals rather doing it at a clerk’s office after a month.
· Fill out the details with utmost care, make sure all the details are printed correctly.
· Get the proof of birth from the hospital, this will serve as a very important document until you get a birth certificate
· Ask the hospital clerk if they are going to forward the birth certificate application and SSN application.
· Usually, certificates will be mailed to your address, if not, understand where to collect birth certificate and SSN
Passport and OCI are two important documents that a newborn will need. The link below will help you with the application process.
