Having a baby in a foreign country can be quite daunting regardless of whether or not it's your first. I had my first son in Germany and to be honest I had a very positive experience. So if you find out your are pregnant and are in Germany, let me talk you through the process from getting a pregnancy test to birth.

As you might be staying in the hospital for a couple of days after delivery, here are some essentials I recommend you take along with you to make your stay as comfortable as possible.

Parental allowance (elterngeld) is a benefit that new parents can receive to help with the loss of earnings due to the birth of their child. This is funded by the German Social Security System.

All parents in Germany are entitled to child benefits (kindergeld). This is to ensure that their child's basic needs are covered from birth. The Germany child benefit is provided by the Family Benefits Office (Familienkasse).