Originally from Southeast Missouri, I moved to London when I was 26. I brought with me six months of contraception (the pill), at a cost of $180 USD purchased before my employer based healthcare expired. I came to pursue postgraduate studies, and when my supply ran low I registered with my local NHS surgery. By the end of the week I walked away with my new prescription, covered by the NHS and paid for by my taxes. Score! 13 years later and I am still here. I have given birth to both of my children here. Both were born caesarian in hospitals through the NHS. My first child was born 5 weeks early, and resulted in a 3 week hospital stay. The care I received from the midwives, nursery nurses, doctors and all helped reassure a nervous first time mother living thousands of miles away from family. My second child arrived much less dramatically, requiring only the minimum 2 day hospital stay. The experience, both before and after giving birth was equally reassuring. I made visits to midwife teams (at their office in my area) and consultants (at the hospital) before giving birth to check on the baby’s health as well as my own. And after each child was born and I was back home, I received visits by the traveling midwife and nursery nurse team, checking on mum and baby and making sure I knew where to access nursery groups - whether for information on breastfeeding or just to meet other mummies and chat. And all this without having to fight insurance agents or request costings for the myriad tests and procedures that are part of giving birth. My children are now 11 and 6. We have gone to the gp chesty coughs, outer ear infections, minor burns and all things child related. Both children have made trips to A&E (accident and emergency, or the ER), with the ride in the ambulance being the highlight for my son’s class. There is no cost for prescriptions for children; the cost for adults is around £7.70.