Goun Mom Card

Korea offers some great services for pregnant moms. I still qualify even though I am a foreigner. Here are some of the services provided:

1) If you wait until your 9th week of pregnancy, you can get a free blood/urine test to confirm the pregnancy at a public health center.
2)After the 16th week, you can get free iron pills at a public health center.
3) You also get a free triple screening test and blood test (done between 16-20 weeks)
4) Free labor preparation classes are offered

*Note: I have not taken advantage of 1-4. I did not know about any of these until today. I probably still wouldn't have done it though, because I've found a Dr. that I'm happy with who speaks English. It's probably right to assume that if I were to go to a public health center, I'd have a hard time finding classes. #3 I already take a Prenatal vitamin with iron. And #4 I don't think Korean childbirth classes offered only in Korean would provide me with any knowledge!

5) The Goun Mom Card:
Once you are confirmed pregnant, you can have the doctor sign an application that you take to the bank and apply for this card. It comes in about a week and has 300,000 Won loaded on it. Free money from the government for pregnancy! I am able to use up to 60,000 Won each visit. So far, besides my last appointment, this has covered everything. My last appointment, I think due to the special extra-long and thorough ultrasound and nasty glucose drink was just over 80,000 Won. So I had to pay around $20. I'm not sure why they put a cap on the amount spent at each visit. My thought is- why not just let me use it until it runs out? Not only is it good for all the prenatal care, but apparently I can also use it for baby-related expenses. That includes doctor visits after the baby is born (post-natal) and even general shopping for baby items- clothes, bottles, etc.

The only other cost we've had related to the pregnancy so far (besides the doula) is the very first appointment before I had the Goun mom card. But if I had gone to a public health center to confirm the pregnancy, I wouldn't have had that expense at all.

Total out-of-pocket cost for prenatal care so far: $80
Our monthly insurance premium has remained the same; it doesn't go up during pregnancy. And we get free money from the government on top of the already cheap healthcare system. Thanks, Korea!