Choosing an obstetrician

L

Liquorice

Registered User
Hi, how does one go about choosing an obstetrician. From reading some of the threads only obstetrician's registered at a hospital are allowed to deliver in that hospital, so presumably I need to choose the hospital first. Is this right?
 
Hi

It is true - only certain drs can work in certain hospitals - so if you have a hospital preference then you do need to check if your chosen dr can work there. The booking process is done via the dr - so you do need to get the dr sorted before you can book in. In HK Matilda take bookings from 9 weeks and it can be difficult if you try to book much later than this. This is only true for the private system however if you are going through the public system then no private ob can deliver you there. So it makes no difference who you chose. You can opt to have a doula in these circumstances - who can be working in the private sector but be warned some public hospitals have limits on numbers in the delivery room and so if you have a doula you may not be allowed your husband in the room during deliver.
 
Wouldn't you want to pick a doctor you are comfortable with and then deliver at the hospital that that doctor delivers at? Picking a hospital before a doctor is kind of backwards, at least that's what I think. Hospitals like the Matilda are great - but there are other good hospitals in HK like Adventist and Sanatorium. Are you really going to change from a doctor you like and are comfortable with to another new doctor just because you don't like the hospital they deliver at? Maybe some people would, but I wouldn't.
 
Hi FutureHKmom, my husband has a strong preference to go public. I am only starting researching all of this so am kind of shortlising hospitals that have good reputations as I know a lot less about the public hospitals than the private ones. I have to have a c-section so will stay in for 5 days I think, thus I'm specifically trying to find a hospital that may have longer visiting hours than the typical 2 hours a day. Because of this I think I may have to work backwards by finding the hospital first. Unless you think this is still wrong? To be honest this is my first baby and I am completely clueless, I do not know where to begin even. What I know is that I want my husband (and preferably my mother too) in the delivery room and I would like to have much longer visiting hours, as well as being a very good hospital of course.

Hi Nikkig, what is a doula? And the booking process - this is booking the date for the delivery or booking your doctor for all of the antenatal visits plus delivery? I am going away for three weeks in a fortnight and I won't be back in HK until I am 12 weeks pregnant. So private is likely out for me? At the moment I am seeing my fertility doctor so that is why I haven't had to find a doctor yet but he will only see me one more time.
 
I didn't mean to say that there is a "right" and "wrong" choice....understanding your situation more, I think your first decision should be whether you want to go public or private, not whether you choose doctor or hospital. I went private, so I don't know much about the public route. but I believe that if you go public, you won't need to really pick a doctor because you see whoever is on call that day for your check ups and whoever is on call delivers your baby. But don't quote me, there are many others on this forum who have more experience with public and I could be totally wrong.

If you go private, whether you go with choosing a doctor first or hospital first I guess is up to you really. It's just that I would rather find a doctor first that I trust and who I am comfortable with - after all, this is the doctor that is going to look after me and my little one throughout my pregnancy and whose hands are going to deliver my baby. That to me is more important than whatever hospital I end up delivering in because frankly, between the three private hospitals that most doctors that people on this forum talk about deliver at - Matilda, Adventist and Sanatorium - I would be happy delivering at any one of them as long as that is where my doctor would be. But that's just me, other people may disagree. Again, there is no "right" or "wrong" with this - just what makes you the most comfortable.

If you decide to go the private route - why don't you ask your fertility doctor to recommend someone?
 
I am less worried about finding a private doctor, I have good recommendations from friends and others on this site I think. I will talk to my doctor though and get his opinion on whether I should go private or public. A complication is that I have had a lot of injuries to my pelvis and hips many years ago - broken badly in several places. I have medical reports saying that I really will need to have a c-section unless the baby is very small because the parts that are supposed to move to allow delivery will not. I would feel more comfortable if the doctor that is delivering it is one that has been aware of my particular situation and following it, rather than whoever is there on the day. I guess I am really scared of them wanting me to try for a natural delivery when I shouldn't and can't do it. I didn't know that this was the case - i.e. whichever doctor is on duty - I think that makes quite a difference. Thanks for your input - very helpful.
 
You better confirm with those that have gone the public route about the public way....as I said - I'm not too sure about this! Good luck!
 
personally I would suggest that you find a doctor that does a lot of c-sections and that you trust and then if the hospital is decent go with him. i was originally scheduled at QMH, private, I choose hospital over doctor because QMH has a great pedi unit. At my last appt. (32wks into pregnancy) the doctor told me she would not be here for my delivery...that freaked me out (because I had a substitute doctor last pregnancy and things didn't work out well) and so I have instead found another doctort that I trust and am going to the hospital where he delivers (sanatorium...which is NOT as well equipped as QMH, but nevertheless good).

if you're not too worried about the doctor, then I would advise you go to QMH because the neo-natal clinic there is THE best on the HK side!
 
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