Pregnancy in the UAE
If you decide to start a family in the UAE, you will probably be pleased to know that the country has a well-developed healthcare network and a modern infrastructure for maternity services.
However, as the UAE is governed by Islamic laws, there are a number of restrictions that you should be aware of. The most important condition for getting access to maternity services in the UAE is a marriage license: you must be legally married to give birth in the UAE.
Maternity facilities in the UAE
To give birth in the UAE, you will need to refer to a hospital or clinic – there are no options for home births or independent birthing centers in the UAE.
All doctors in the UAE are attached to a medical center – and most medical centers and smaller hospitals have a maternity wing. To gain access to maternity care, you will need to make an appointment in a hospital.
In larger emirates like Dubai and Abu Dhabi, you will also have access to establishments like Medcare Women and Children Hospital, specializing specifically in maternity care and pediatrics.
You can find maternity facilities through the following websites:
- Emirates Health Services;
- Abu Dhabi Health Services Company;
- Dubai Health Authority;
- RAK Health Directory.
To find a doctor, you can check the hospital website you have access to. You will then need to book an appointment and come in for your first check-up. You will need these documents:
- Your current health insurance card;
- Original marriage certificate;
- Your and your spouse's ID;
- Copies of your residence visas.
Important:
Abortions are illegal in the UAE. They are only administered in emergencies (when the mother's life is in danger) or in the case of a fatal genetic disease. Even then, the abortion must be conducted before the fetus is 120 days old and must be approved by an authorized medical board.
Costs of maternity care in the UAE
Giving birth in the UAE is expensive. If you decide to give birth in a public hospital, your bill for full care may go up to AED 30,000. Naturally, public hospitals are significantly less pricey – but not exactly cheap either. Giving birth in a public hospital will cost you up to AED 7,000.
The high medical care costs in the UAE make having proper health insurance an absolute must. In fact, it is now legally required that every employee in the country be provided with company insurance. If the pregnant woman is not employed by a company in the UAE herself, her partner must add her as a dependent to his insurance plans. The insurance plan must have maternity benefits.
When planning your pregnancy, make sure that your maternity insurance benefits are activated when you need them. Some insurance companies ask you to be insured for six months before the date when your maternity benefits kick in.
Arranging papers for your child in the UAE
Once a child is born, their birth must be registered within 30 days. To receive a birth certificate, you will need to present the following documents:
- Your marriage certificate (attested and translated into Arabic);
- Copy of the mother's and father's passports and residence visas;
- The hospital-issued birth notification;
- The hospital-issued discharge summary.
If you opt to give birth in a public (government) hospital, the hospital will arrange for the issuance of the birth certificate on your behalf. If you have given birth in a private hospital, you will have to apply for a birth certificate yourself.
Next, you will need to arrange a passport, residence visa, and Emirates ID for your baby. You have 120 days (since the day of birth) to do this. You can do this yourself or pay an agency to assist you with all the procedures. If your child's residence visa is not finalized within 120 days, you will be charged a fine of AED 100 per day until it is.
Important:
A foreign baby born in the UAE will not receive local citizenship. Instead, the baby will be granted the nationality of their parents. If the parents are of different nationalities, the baby will be given the father's nationality.
Childcare in the UAE
Childcare facilities in the UAE are abundant – however, most establishments are geared towards children who are over one and a half years old. For younger children, you can hire a nanny who gets paid by the hour. Note that it's quite expensive to hire a licensed nanny in the UAE. In fact, it may be significantly cheaper to participate in an AuPair program or hire a nanny from your home country or India and the Philippines. If you hire a nanny from abroad, you will need to pay them minimum wages, as stated by the UAE government.
Children in the UAE are generally vaccinated against tuberculosis (TB), Hepatitis B (HBV), polio (IPV/OPV), diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough), tetanus (Dtap), Haemophilus influenza (Hib), pneumococcal conjugate (PCV), Measles, Mumps and Rubella, and Varicella. Make sure to check if these vaccinations are covered by your health insurance. If you are a resident of the UAE, your child can get free vaccinations at the clinic assigned to your place of residence. In this case, you will need to provide a number of documents, including your Emirates ID and a copy of a recent utility bill.
Generally, employees in the UAE are entitled to 45 days of maternity leave. If the woman has been employed by the company for over a year prior to giving birth, she receives full pay during her maternity leave. If she has worked for less than a year, she is entitled to reduced pay.
Note that government employees are entitled to three months of maternity leave with full pay.
Under UAE law, paternity leave is known as “Parental Leave” and allows for 5 working days from the day of the child's birth until 6 months. It's worth asking your company if they offer a different paternal leave, as most allow up to 8 weeks off for fathers.
Good to know:
In 2014, the UAE government passed a law making breastfeeding mandatory for the first 18 months of a baby's life. There is currently a blanket ban on the promotion and advertising of formula and other alternative baby nutrition products in the country. In short, the UAE government strongly encourages breastfeeding.
Breastfeeding in the UAE
In 2018, the government banned all formula milk promotions as a further endorsement of the UAE's official breastfeeding policy. Basically, breastfeeding is being encouraged hugely, even in public, and there is a lot of noise to propagate it with media campaigns and government initiatives. Having said that, you need to be discreet while feeding your child in public by covering yourself with protective gear such as a scarf or a stole.
Useful links:
Ministry of Health Prevention - Birth Certificate Issuance
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (attestation)
