Healthcare Warning for Pregnant Women in the UAE

Published on Monday, October 27th, 2008
Health Abroad » Health News

Summary: Pregnant expatriate women living in Dubai and the UAE are being warned that medical services are letting them down

Healthcare Warning for Pregnant Women in the UAEWhen a partner is relocating to a country like Abu Dhabi or Dubai where contract conditions can be so enticing that the move is a no brainer, for many women they have little real choice but to follow in their partner’s footsteps and put their own careers on hold.

As a woman ‘trailing’ a spouse to the UAE it can be hard to get a work visa in one’s own right, therefore a certain percentage of women take the opportunity to enjoy a career break, be a supportive partner and take decisive action when it comes to the extension of the family.  In other words, an expatriate assignment overseas is often the time when non-working women plan their pregnancy.

In a country like Abu Dhabi where health care services at the private clinics are considered to be excellent, getting pregnant and managing the pregnancy and birth are supposedly positive prospects for would-be parents.  However, a healthcare warning has just been issued for pregnant women in the UAE…

It seems that Dubai’s most popular private hospitals are so overcrowded and over-run with expectant women that they are turning people away from appointments, and in Abu Dhabi the situation is no better.  There the Corniche Hospital, which delivers 15,000 babies every year, is blaming a new computer system for the fact that it is falling way behind with appointments and making expectant women wait for many hours to be seen.  One expatriate recounts a tale of arriving early for her noon appointment and having to wait until gone 5pm to be seen.

In Dubai it has been reported that expatriates are the ones being turned away for appointments when there’s a backlog; although the situation for local women is not much better as they are facing very long waiting times to be seen for what are essential appointments and checkups. 

Going back to Abu Dhabi, it appears that there is a shortage of midwives, doctors and nurses that is exacerbating the overall issue, and whilst the Corniche’s reputation is generally very good indeed, it is nothing if not seriously concerning for expectant women who see how strained the situation there really is.  When you’re pregnant the very, very last thing you need is to feel concerned about the staff and services that you and your baby will be completely dependent on when the time comes.

If anyone reading this has little sympathy for the women affected or no understanding of what the situation can be like, here is an example of what women are having to go through in the likes of Dubai and Abu Dhabi.  Up to 100 women are turning up for antenatal appointments and crowding into waiting rooms designed for fewer than a quarter of that number of people.  They are suffering from the heat of the room, they are finding that there is not enough food and drink available to sustain them throughout their 6 – 8 hour waiting times, and when they are ‘lucky’ enough to have a seat they are uncomfortable – which is a real concern when you’re heavily pregnant. 

After being seen by hurried and harassed staff, women then have to wait for up to an hour and a half to have their paperwork processed for insurance purposes.  Women are collapsing and fainting and the situation is very far from a joke.

There are of course a choice of hospitals in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and anyone who’s actively contemplating using their time abroad to start or extend their family needs to look into the availability and quality of services that they will need.  So, if you’re in the UAE or moving to the UAE and you’re thinking that you will need medical care for a pregnancy or indeed for any other medical situation, do your research into what the situation is really like.  What’s more, don’t forget to consider that many health insurers will only cover the costs of a pregnancy and birth when the insured woman has been paying her premiums for a year or more.

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