Pregnancy and Travel Nursing

[waterlily252]

Hello all!

DH and I have been working with Continental Travel Nursing trying to get a travel assignment overseas (UK or Scotland). We have most of the paperwork complete and are working on getting actual contracts set up...our recruiter said we have probably about 2-3 more months before we are ready to leave!

Here is the kicker: I just found out that I'm pregnant! :heartbeat While this was not all planned we are happy and excited. The only thing we can't decide is if we should continue on with our travel plans! We are more worried about my health/insurance than the actual moving. We are not currently close to either of our families so this is not a concern of ours. We are fine with the idea of traveling with a small infant (basically until they reach school age) and just planned on working opposite shifts to cover child care (if this didn't work out then only one of us would take an assignment at a time). It is pregnancy that has me worried! I know the health insurance for travelers isn't the best....but does it cover pregnancy? If I decide to take the first 1-2 assignments then not a third so I could have an "unpaid maternity leave" would my husbands insurance cover me & baby (and the birth?!).

I have an email out to our recruiter but due to the holidays I don't expect to hear back right away, so I thought maybe someone could help me out here! I am anxious to get traveling and love the idea of having the baby overseas (we have considered moving overseas at some point in our life), I just dont want to get stuck with a $$$$ bill when the baby is born!

[waterlily252]

In case it wasn't clear - DH and I are both RNs!

[Spiderella]

Hmmm, I don't know about the company you are with, but unless you get your own health insurance, you will have to pay alot out of pocket. Most companies offer the 80/20 or 70/30 split, which means that the insurance will cover the larger half, but you have the pay the lower portion first. I'm not sure how it works in the UK, but when I went to Australia I had to get my own insurance first, before I was even eligible for a work visa.

I'm sure that with proper planning it can be done, and your child will be an EU citizen so after delivery his medical should be covered. But you should definitely do alot of research before deciding to go. I don't know how you and the hubby are going to be able to trade off shifts...when traveling, the rule is that we're the flexible ones, not the company. You will have times when you might both be scheduled to work, or your shifts overlap...then what will you do with the baby?

Personally if I got pregnant, I would stop traveling at least for the first few years. It's an adventurous and unpredictable lifestyle, and having a baby could make it difficult.