Costa Rica - Page 2

[Nubia Jones]

Hello everyone!

I am so happy to have found this forum.  My family (hubby & 5 kids) will be relocating to Guanacaste, CR in Jan 2013.  I am a birth doula here in the Silver Spring, MD (DC Metro) area and hope to continue serving women in CR.  I am researching where and how I can offer my services.  Most likely, we'll reside near Playa Flamingo or Playa Tamarindo.

Any suggestions!

Am I legally allowed to work as a doula (both volunteering and charging low fees) even if I am not a citizen?  I hope to serve expats, tourist, and locals (Ticos) BTW, my Spanish language skills are average.  I understand a pretty well but my conversation is a little about survival.  I think I should invest time in improving my skills if I want to serve Ticos. Any suggestions on where to study in Guanacaste?

I was excited to hear that CIMA is opening a site in/near Liberia! 

I appreciate any info and advice offered. 

I hope to reach out to some of you when I get to CR in Jan.  Our active kids would LOVE to have playdates with new friends!  By the way, I have three boys (12y, 9y, 5y) and two girls (8y,4y)

Best,

Nubia

[e-mail]

(website coming soon!)

[tigerlily426]

Hi Everyone,

I posted back in April, but haven't really been following this thread since then. I'm so glad to see so many people are looking for and being supported in natural births here. I posted questioning whether or not I should switch to Dr. Paer, and I'm happy to say I did make the switch. He's much more laid back, and since I have a low risk pregnancy he has not made me come in every two weeks, etc. for needless appointments. I'm now 37 weeks along, and hoping for the baby any day now. We are also using Dra. Castro as someone else mentioned, and she seemed really nice. I'm glad you liked her. And, we're using the Doula Dr. Paer recommends, Natalie Garvey, and like her a lot. We're planning for a waterbirth at CIMA, so we'll see how that goes. Hope I don't miss the window!

LizzyC, from this forum I met a really nice fellow pregnant lady who also has a 10mo DD living in Grecia. She's super nice! If she didn't contact you as well, let me know and I can put you in touch. tigerlily426 at yahoo dot com

I also wanted to put out there that I have the Hypnobabies book and CD set, so if anyone is interested in getting a copy let me know (man, I hope the copyright police don't swoop down on me! Um, I won't give you a copy, per se, but you can peruse mine ;) ) I've been practicing self-hypnosis for the past few weeks now, and feel really confident about the birth.

Melissa

Atenas

[Corey Grace]

Hi, ladies! My husband and I are TTC and are really looking into where we want to have our prenatal care/ L&D/postpartum care. Unfortunately for me, I'm considered "high risk" here in the states because of my history of epilepsy. And even though I've been seizure-free (with the help of my medicine) for almost a decade, it seems as though no birth center will touch me with a ten foot pole! I dream of having an all-natural water birth, outside of the hospital setting. I contacted Dr. Paer last night and told him my story... he said that he wouldn't consider me high risk at this point in time:) So, in the event that I still can't find a good midwife, birth center, or hospital that allows water birth, we're considering moving down to CR for a few months. I know that seems drastic, but we do plan to settle down there permanently within the next 5 yrs or so. We also have a great support system... his mom, 4 sisters, and all of their extended family live in La Fortuna de San Carlos! To my knowledge, my husband will only be allowed to leave the U.S. for 3 mos when he gets his green card. In that case, I would fly down to CR maybe around 7 months gestation, and he could come down around month 8 and then he'd have to fly back home when baby is 2 months old. If it's safe for baby to fly at that age, I could fly back to Florida with him. I would greatly appreciate any feedback at all from those of you who have already experienced giving birth in CR, including how you handled baby becoming a U.S. citizen or not... Gracias por la ayuda!! ~Corey
p.s. Dr. Paer said labor/delivery in either the catholic hospital or cima (the only 2 places he delivers) would cost me $3,000. Is this a typical rate for private pay? How much did your midwives charge? All of my prenatal care in Florida will be covered by Medicaid...

[Lizzyc1974]

Hi Corey,
I can answer some of your questions, since I am also from Florida and had my birth with Dr. paer here in Costa Rica.

Regarding Florida, what part do you live in? Even if a hospital is not your first choice, I know there are hospitals that you can do a water birth in. With Dr. paer, it is also a hospital birth. In South Florida, I think Coral Springs Medical Center, and Boca Raton Community Hospital. I am sure there are more, but those are ones I thought about. I would definitely ask around. I also had found a midwife in South Florida who works with an OB if any additional support is needed. She also does water birth in a hospital. Here is her contact information: Judith Kaplan, CNM ARNP
Total Midwifery Care
Home Birth, Water Birth, Private Hospital Birth (Boca Raton Regional Hosp)
Integrative Holistic Women's Health, Hormone Balancing, Gynecology
Kabbalah of Birth Workshops
Childbirth Education Classes
4722 Nw 2nd ave. Suite C108
Boca Raton, Fl 33431 
Phone: [phone]
www.WomanCareFlorida.com 
 
If you do decide on Costa Rica:
The price you were quoted was exactly what I paid. You pay the doctors fees directly to him, then the hospital fees to the hospital. I had my baby at CIMA, which was just like a USA hospital. You may actually pay a bit less depending on how things go. I ended up with some anesthesia and it still was a bit less even after paying the hospital. You will also pay for a few regular appointments at about $100 each.

With citizenship, we first took care of our son's Costa Rican passport. It wasn't too bad. The thing is it takes some time to get it. You won't be able to take the baby out of the country until you have it. All in all, it took about a month and a half. And not back to the USA at all until you take care of all the USA paperwork. You will also need to submit paperwork for a "Permiso de Salida" so you can take the baby out of Costa Rica.

After we had his Costa Rican birth certificate we applied for his USA passport and Consular Report of Birth Abroad. We are both USA citizens, I think if one of you is not yet a citizen you may need some additional documents. We had to provide a lot of documents, which we had brought from the USA. Passports, marriage certificate, proof of time in the USA, letter from the doctor etc. there is a list on the embassy website. You also go to a short interview to submit the papers. Once the papers are submitted, it takes about 2 weeks to get the passport and documents. You can not even apply until you have the original Costa Rican birth certificate, so get that first. The passport cost about $200.

The main thing you probably want to look at is timing. We were trying to leave the country quickly after our son was born and we barely made it at a month and a half after he was born (to Nicaragua) It takes some time. I imagine you are familiar with some of the bureaucratic mumbo jumbo you have to go through in Costa Rica. It always takes a while. If you are planning to live here having a child does give you easy access to residency, but it sounds like you don't need that since you are married to a Tico?

Let me know if you have any other questions!

[Corey Grace]

Thanks for responding so quickly! :D We live in the Tampa Bay area which is about a 5 hr drive from Boca Raton. :( I'll keep searching for well spoken of midwives who are willing to take on my situation within a few hours from home. But Costa Rica definitely is a possibility, especially for the add on kids in the future LOL

[Corey Grace]

So many documents... man, that seems like a LOT to handle! My husband is from Nicaragua but has his cedula in Costa Rica. I should be able to claim residency through him alone, from what I understand. I'm so glad to hear that Dr. Paer really IS all that he's cracked up to be! Makes me feel a lot more at ease for when we're permanently relocated to CR! If I do have this soon to be first child in Costa Rica, do you know off hand if she/he would have dual citizenship (CR & USA) or will American citizenship not apply because my husband is still Nicaraguan with Costa Rican residency? Thanks!

[Valeria Eastham]

Hello everyone,

I am moving to Costa Rica in a few weeks and I am really looking forward to meeting new friends, specially moms-to-be. I am due with my second child in June 2013 and plan to have a natural birth. I am originally from Mexico, but have been living in the United States for the last 12 years. I have a very good moms group here in Texas, so I am really hoping I can make some good friends in my new Country :-)

My home in CR is located in San Isidro de Heredia. Anyone wants to get together for a playdate, book club, moms night out, movies, coffee?

[sunshineincolor]

My husband and I are in the beginning stages of planning to have our 2nd baby in Costa Rica in late August/early September. A huge thanks to all the mama's who posted above, your comments have already been so helpful! I would love to chat with LizzieC or tigerlily to hear about more of your experiences. First question is about distance to the hospital as we are thinking of staying in Atenas or Grecia but want to feel that we are close enough to the hospital. We've seen estimates all the way from 20 minutes to an hour...is this dependent on traffic or what is the real scoop? I know you usually have some time to get there, but we have reason to believe it might go quickly for me this time...homebirth has it's appeal, but carbirth does not!
Second question is why many women seem to choose CIMA over La Catolica? Nicer facilities or something else? We will be making a trip down to CR in April and would love a chance to meet up with anyone who'd like to chat or have a playdate in the Atenas area ( our daughter will be 19 months).

[Lizzyc1974]

Hi sunshineincolor,
I'd be happy to talks with you sometime. I haven't been checking this site lately, so best to reply to my personal email [e-mail]

To try to answer you questions: personally, I felt pretty comfortable with the distance between Grecia and Escazu, but I had a really long labor with my first. There is no way it is 20 minutes.. Maaybe speeding with NO traffic. But I doubt it. It really does depend on traffic and time of day. It usually takes about 45 minutes, but could be longer in morning rush hour. I am not sure about Atenas, but I think it is probably similar. Neither are "close". There is a hospital in Grecia, as well as a new one in Alajuela in case of a real emergency, if you could not get to the private hospital. It wouldnt be ideal, but I liked knowing there was a safety net. If you want to be very close to CIMA, you probably want to live in the outskirts of San Jose, like Escazu or Santa Ana, at least until the baby is born.

We now live way far from San Jose, at the beach in Tamarindo. We still go to Escazu to see our pediatrician every few months and for any serious illness or testing. We are actually getting ready to try the public system since our baby is in need of some more expensive tests. I hear there is a very good children's hospital there. Maybe I will post something nice we figure it all out.

Regarding the hospital, I only looked at CIMA, but was immediately comfortable with the look and feel of it. And the location is convenient, just off the highway. There are also a number of hotels right there. I figured if they tried to send me home if I was in early labor, I would just check into one of those rather than drive back to Grecia. When you come down, check out both and see what you think. I believe CIMA may be a bit more expensive than Biblica or Catolica but all have good reputations.

I know there is now a playgroup in the Grecia and Atenas areas, I think it is on Facebook under "Central Valley Families" or something similar.

Let me know if you have any other questions!

[Lizzyc1974]

So it turns out we are moving to Escazu and I went ahead and joined the Facebook group I mentioned in a previous post. The group is fairly new and so far has members in Atenas, Grecia, Heredia, Escazu, and San Jose. If you live in the central valley and want to meet other families and have playdates etc. come join us! Families in Central Valley Costa Rica
https://www.facebook.com/groups/290012747769653/

[kdreaper]

Hi everyone, regarding hospital birth from Grecia/Atenas area vs. home birth- we weren't comfortable with a home birth in Grecia because the Grecia hospital is pretty horrible. So we decided to have a hotel birth at the Marriott next to CIMA so we could be next to the hospital but not in it. We had a doula and a midwife and it was wonderful. We didn't exactly tell them we were giving birth in their hotel room:) We just left Grecia as soon as the contractions started, checked in (smiling calmly during contractions), and left the place spotless! We were actually only there for about 12 hours. They didn't notice that we checked out with an extra person. Anyone can message me if you want to know more, or talk about other options that we had considered before we decided on the hotel. kdreaper at yahoo dot com.