Let me tell you a little bit about being pregnant in Lyon. Discover with me the useful services available in Lyon for pregnant women. I hope that helps!

Those things we never learn in advance. It just happens you get pregnant and you feel like you don’t know anything about life. 

It’s totally normal since you haven’t had any experience before or on top of that you are in a foreign country which you though you have already  learnt a bit. But here you are, the pregnancy arrives and there is a lot of learning in front of you. Anyways, it was my case. Not only did I have no experience about being pregnant but also in France and Lyon which is different to Poland where I grew up, where my sister had her babies, away from the mentality, rules and standards I understood.

So I had a fun in discovering this all in France and Lyon. I have been writing posts on the topics related to pregnancy in France but here I want to share with you some of my experience of being pregnant in Lyon. I want to give you some useful addresses, which helped me and served me during my pregnancy in Lyon.

• Registering in ‘Maternity’ – deciding on the hospital you want to give birth in. It is actually very difficult to choose and it should be done asap if you want a place in the chosen one. It’s difficult as you probably as I did not know many hospitals in Lyon. I would recommend always choosing the one closest to you if possible…as it is also not that simple. Because the maternity facilities in France are classified into three levels, depending on their ability to manage pregnancy. Level 1 supports pregnancies and deliveries “simple”. Level 2 has a neonatal or intensive care unit on site or nearby. There is also level 2A which includes a neonatal pediatric ward. And level 2B is for the intensive care unit and neonatal pediatrics, it supports at-risk pregnancies greater than 30/31 weeks amenorrhea. Level 3 has a neonatal resuscitation unit. It particularly follows at-risk pregnancies, especially those related to premature births.

  

I was lucky to choose the quite close to my place hospital which matched the level of facilities I needed. And I will tell you this: this is honestly the best maternity unit in Lyon and this is not only my opinion but many others. I am talking here about Hôpital de la Croix-Rousse in Lyon.  

Lastly, you can also consider the private maternity but they are not free as hospitals but you are supposed to get warmer, quicker care, single room etc. However, the public maternity in Lyon are also very very good. The only thing I could complain for was waiting for the appointments which were also delayed but once I got into the doctor’s office I always got the best service ever and I was listened to and never rushed. Wonderful feeling. 

Here is the list of the public and private maternities in Lyon:

Hôpital de la Croix-Rousse: (3 level) 103 grande rue de la Croix-Rousse – 69004 LYON

Hôpital Femme Mère Enfant: (3 level) 05 place d’arsonval – 69437 LYON

Hôpital Natécia: (level 2, private)  22 avenue Rockefeller – 69008 LYON

Hôpital Jules Courmont : 165 chemin Revoyer – 69310 PIERRE BENITE

Centre hospitalier St Joseph St Luc- Maternité: 20 quai Claude Bernard- 69007 LYON

Centre hospitalier Sainte Foy les Lyon-Maternité: 78 chemin Montray – 69110 SAINTE LES LYON

Clinique du Val d’Ouest: (level 2) 39 chemin de la Vernique – 69130 ECULLY

Clinique mutualiste de Lyon: 107 rue Tarieux – 69003 LYON

Clinique du Tonkin: 26 rue du Tonkin – 69100 VILLEURBANNE

• Declaring your pregnancy to Security Sociale as explained here– this is standard in any french city and Lyon but essential and extremely important so I’m mentioning it. You cannot miss the deadline – before the end of the 3rd month of the pregnancy! This determinants that all tests, healthcare, doctor appointments etc are 100% refunded.

  

• Finding ‘Sage femme liberee’ in Lyon – finding an individual midwife who will support you during your preganancy and after the delivery. This is so cool. Basically, in France and Lyon, you have the right to 8 sessions of course the preparation for delivery for free. Additionally, you get the contact with the midwife who looks after you and visit you at home after delivery. What is important, is to search online for sage femme libere who lives next to you. Simply, type the sage femme libere and the area you are interested in Lyon; or you can simply go to the doctolib to find one. I had a chance to work with 2 of them, located very close to me. Obviously, I loved them both. They were understanding, gentle, helpful and reassuring when I was having hard times.

  

Catherine Bacquenois; She has an amazing experience and used to work in my hospital so I decided to call her! Address: 210 Rue de St Cyr, 69009 Lyon.

Laura SOUMAGNE, She is also very nice, helpful, motivated and full of tips she is sharing with you happily. And most importantly, she is bilingual and speaks English perfectly.   Address: 35 Rue Hector Berlioz, 69009 Lyon.

• Finding the activities for pregnant women in Lyon – any yoga, swimming, pilates which I actually didn’t do. I have to admit I am not a sportive person. However, during my pregnancy, I was walking a lot, getting fresh air, moving my legs, listening to music and staying positive & getting energy so it did me well. But I understand that many people are interested in proper activities in Lyon so here you have a list of few not all available in Lyon:

  

Swimming pools for pregnant women in Lyon called ’aquagym prénatal’

Piscine de GERLAND, 353 avenue Jean Jaurès LYON 69007

Piscine de la DUCHERE, 4 avenue Andrei Sakharov 69009 LYON 9

Piscine Jean MERMOZ,  (only summer) 12 place André Latarget 69008 LYON

Piscine du RHONE, (only summer) 8 quai Claude Bernard 69007 LYON

Piscine AQUAVERT, 01 Chemine des Cytises 69340 FRANCHEVILLE

Centre EBINA être et Bien-être, 1 Chemin des Vignes 69670 VAUGNERAY (contact  Isabelle Lamoste fon 06.81.97.77.64)

Piscine municipale de CHASSIEU, rue des sports 69680 CHASSIEU (contact Sophie Carel on 06.65.16.95.21)

Association Parentale BB ALO, 9 place Lazare Goujon 69100 VILLEURBANNE

Yoga for pregnant women in Lyon

SMALL, 11 rue Franklin – 69002 LYON

YOGAOWL, 57 Rue Saint Maximin, 69003, LYON

YOGAMA, 5 rue Justin GODART 69004 LYON

ONLY YOGA, 5 rue St Claude – 69001 LYON

YOGA LYON, cours individual (Contactr Sabine Rabourdin on 06 22 97 86 99)

NATECIA, 22 ave. Rockfeller – 69008 LYON

Centre EBINA, 1 Chemin des Vignes 69670 VAUGNERAY (contact Isabelle Lamoste)

LE FIL DE SOI, Galerie de Fuveau 13710 FUVEAU

AU FIL DU SOUFFLE, MJC de Villeurbanne 46 cours Jean Damidot 69100 VILLEURBANE

• Finding Mums FB groups  in Lyon and some even in English: very useful to get and share advice about having a baby in Lyon. On top of that, it’s an ideal place to meet other Mums in Lyon! Below, there are just a few groups as the new groups are being created and some are lowering the activity so keep your eyes open and research.

  

English-Speaking Mamas Lyon

Pregnant & new mamas tribe in Lyon (english – speaking)

Mums in Lyon but in French

Mums in Lyon but in French

• Finding the second hand shops for babies in Lyon: if you consider buying used baby’s equipment or clothing on occasion, there are few opportunities to do it in Lyon. You can visit the famous Vide Grenier in Lyon which are happening in different parts of Lyon and advertised in local magazines. Then you have the FB groups achat-vent/bon plans – these are FB groups whose members sell and buy things for babies and kids. Lastly there is a famous leboncoin and the charity shops in Lyon. See below few addresses I gathered for you:

  

Lyon univers bébé : Achat Vente Troc (bébés /  maman / mamans) 

bon plan mamans , enfants lyon . groupe serieux

Bon plan Don, échanges & ventes maman lyon

Bon Plan Maman Lyon 3

leboncoin.fr bebe Lyon

Bric A Brac in Lyon Vaise – very big one charity shop, 21, RUE BERJON / 69009 LYON

Bric A Brac in Croix Rousse – smaller one but very accessible, 19, rue PAILLERON / 69004 LYON

Emmaus –  very good in central Lyon but smaller one, 283 rue de Créqui 69007 – Lyon

• Finding the Baby Shops in Lyon: and when you need the new equipment and clothing for babies and children in Lyon, here is my small list of the shops I found n Lyon. But be aware, there are more which are discovering every day:

  

AUBERT CHAMPAGNE AU MONT D’OR. It is a very good shop for the baby equipment and a lot of pieces of advice you get from the staff. You can order online or visit the shop. Address: 6 bis avenue du Général de Gaulle, RN 6 – A côté de Mc Donald’s, 69410 CHAMPAGNE AU MONT D OR

Shop vertbaudet Lyon Herriot. It is also good shop but mostly for baby clothing. Address: 27 Rue Edouard Herriot, 69002 LYON 

Shops Okaïdi. It’s a good shop for baby and kids clothing. There are few shops in Lyon.  Okaïdi LYON CV BREST at the 12 rue de Brest or in the La Part Dieu or in Confluence. 

Kiabi CHAMPAGNE AU MONT D’OR. It‘s a shop with a quite reasonable prices for baby clothing and new mom – to – be. Address: 29 Avenue Général de Gaulle, 69410 CHAMPAGNE AU MONT D’OR

I hope you found it useful. Maybe you have already had some experience in being pregnant in Lyon and you could share with us some of your memories? As obviously, my experience is limited and a bit subjective. And it would be extremely interesting to find out the experience of others. Thank you!