Pregnancy and Medical Care in Turkey

I have noticed that there are a few posts about having a baby in Turkey. The girl in question is not married to her askim. The debate is whether to have the baby in the UK or Turkey. I am almost certain that if you leave the UK for longer than 3 months, than your entitlement to NHS treatment is null and void. I have also heard that as of the end of this year Turkey (although, as we all know the Turkish Government are always changing to goalpost are changing the law about foreigners coming in and out of Turkey and that you will not be able to renew your 90 day visa by simply leaving Turkey and then returning back. Some people do this to return back to the UK to visit their GP to maintain their NHS treatment. You must apply for residency later this year, and furthermore, you will be legally bound to take out state medical insurance (think its called SKC or something similar). Another aspect to consider is that if you have a baby boy in Turkey and he will have to take residence under the new laws, then he will have to do the army when he reaches 18+. Everyone says that by then the rules will change, I very much doubt this, so do you really want to put your son through this ordeal? Finally, if you are not married in Turkey, and you are pregnant this is considered extremely ayip. In the state hospital it is almost unheard of for your partner to attend the birth (this is a Muslim country and culturally men do not attend births), the private hospital may be a little more accommodating, but I can guarantee they will only be so due to paying money, privately, they will be disgusted that you are not married (their opinion not mine!!).

Ruby

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I can't understand why any woman would put herself in the position where she would get pregnant by a man who lives 2000 miles away and there is no certainty that he will be able to come and live with her here (if that's what she wants) and provide for the child.

However, unfortunately, while the decision to bring another life into the world should be one that requires much careful and considered thought, it actually only takes a couple of minutes to get pregnant. Then, effectively, it's the woman's problem - and hers alone. Many of these men who are getting these women pregnant have nothing whatsoever to contribute. They earn a pittance and very often, culture dictates that their parents and families have first call on their earnings. They don;t worry about that though because they think that a well-healed foreigner should be more than able to manage - and of course they all know we have benefits here too

And what of the girls getting pregnant? Many will be nothing more than teenagers. Do they have the resources to be travelling to and fro to Turkey, let alone look after a baby? Do they have the resources for ante natal care in Turkey and enough cash to cover the expense of delivering a baby in a State hospital in Turkey, let alone a private one? And what if they need a cesarean section and the costs spiral still further? Never mind all of that, have they got the where-with-all to consider what might happen if the pregnancy becomes high risk and she requires confinement to hospital for a long period, or specialist treatment? What if the baby is born early and needs specialist intensive neo-natal care? What about the costs then? You can bet your bottom dollar that her askim won't be in a position to contribute a lira.

Time and again we read stories of women who have had babies with Turkish/Kurdish men and they are stuck here with the kids claiming benefits while the men are over in Turkey carrying on as normal. And what do they do? Instead of getting on a plane and making a life over in Turkey they spend all their time moaning about how unfair the visa system is and how inhumane it is that the children are separated from their fathers. It's a shame they as mothers didn't think ahead bit more in the first place.

We waited until we were settled in the same country together before starting a family and I wouldn't have done it any other way. My husband was fully involved in all aspects of the pregnancy, the birth, and has been a constant in our son's life from day one.

If said girl saw how barbaric the medical staff are in lots of the hospitals in Turkey she would go in to premature labour on the spot. Help is needed for her I fear.

During the last 2 visits to Marmaris, including my most recent one, I have witnessed 2 youngsters, and I mean youngsters around 15 or 16 with half Turkish babies, both of the boyfriends worked in bars on Long Beach and they would sit around with their chavvy families passing the poor little babies around like prized tokens and askim would preen around saying 'this my baby' to everyone who cared to listen. As soon as the children who had given birth to children left, askim was off procreating with his next victim. No doubt as Judith rightly says, these numpties are, in all probability, claiming welfare benefits and we will be financially keeping these Turkish souvenirs for the next 18 years. Askim by then will be long since married off to a 'nice Turkish girl', his past behaviour long since forgotten. It makes my blood boil how irresponsible some families are with their young daughters, and one wonders how they have dragged these girls up to allow them to procreate and then proudly present the product of the sexual encounter on their next visit to Turkey the following year. Unbelievable.

Ruby

Unbelievable and tragic Not fit to be a mother she's not.

Maria