I've had 2 babies in France. As an American, the biggest shock was never getting a hospital bill.

Kristen Seitz had two babies in France, where she lives now.

Courtesy of Kristen Seitz Kristen Seitz entered pregnancy worried about medical costs and losing control during birth.

Seitz says her French care team respected her preferences throughout labor.

Her experience made her reconsider many of the fears she'd brought with her from the US.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Kristen Seitz .

It has been edited for length and clarity.

At 25, I was working in Texas at an oil and gas company, feeling like this wasn't the life I wanted.

I decided I'd quit my job and teach English in Europe for a few years, planning to return once I'd had my fill.

My first Christmas in Europe , I was teaching at a school in Poland and was invited to spend the holiday with a colleague's family.

It was there that I met a French man who would become my husband.

We had 2 kids in France Since the meeting, we've moved around, living in Poland and Canada, and since 2019, in France.

We wanted to settle near my husband's family, and it was easier to get married in France than anywhere else we had lived.

Both of us knew we wanted children, and I found out I was expecting our firstborn in 2023.

The whole process of having a baby scared me because of what I had heard from family and friends in the US.