Delivering at Queen Elizabeth hospital

I don't think all public hospitals have it. My friend at QMH didn't. Also, I think it's just two home visits that are offered for those delivering at UCH.
 
I did not do any follow up at QEH after I left after 2 nights... All follow up appts were done at MCHC, they checked my wound at the hospital, twice if I remembered correctly and had a session on Breastfeeding with a nurse who came around checking and helping those who had problems, but it was MCHC that really helped without Breastfeeding and following up with my dd when her weight gain was not ideal
 
Forgot to mention that they do have a Breastfeeding clinic and hotline at the hospital but I live in mos so it was easier for me to go to mos MCHC which was wonderful...

Did I mention they have aromatherapy massage to help relieve pain at QEH? It helped with the earlier stages of labour but when the pain really came I don't think I would want anyone to touch me haha
 
I am very surprised to hear positive comments for any public hospital particularly QEH. I must say you ladies are very lucky. I am not sure if anyone was getting special care due to race or not. My friend, an overseas Chinese, was with QEH since week 29-week 34 and her baby was in ICU for two months. She was always calling me for food delivery to her because I am living nearby. The quality and choice of food is less satisfactory and it was pretty much suffering for her to have such a bad experience for extra weeks there than other mothers.

Anyhow I have heard lots of negative comments so I would not go to the public hospital if I were you, especially when I realized that your are keen for the tender care.

No matter how, I am sure you are making the best choice for yourself. I wish you good luck and please feel free to contact me in PM for anything at all.
 
I believe there is a difference between staying there for 2 days or 2 months in terms of food and I have heard lots of good feedback including my own at QEH, and if you want to Breastfeed, it is much better at public hospitals as they are designed and are catered for Breastfeeding because you baby is placed next to you so you can feed her as and whenneeded, which is Brett often, unlike at private hospitals when you can only feed every 4 hours!!

I must also say that it largely depends on your expectations whether something is good or bad, and what kind of attitude you have towards it....

Another major benefit is that they promote natural vaginal delivery and will only give u a c section when the situation requires it, which is not the case normally with a private OG at a private hospital!


And if there is any complications or emergency public hospitals have all the necessary equipment a to deal with the situations!

I think you made the right choice for choosing public especially for the benefits of the baby (pro natural and pro Breastfeeding)

Best of luck and let me know if u have more question!

By the way I am also Chinese rave!
 
I was in and out of UCH for about 2.5 weeks altogether. Yes the food was grim - small portions and not particularly nutritious. Everyone was getting food brought in from home (including the local mums, though they ate the hospital food aswell). However, for $100 a day, including *all medical costs*, I'm surprised anyone would moan about a lack of gourmet food.



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I gave birth at QEH last year. I was admitted at 4 am and then induced. Went straight to labour room and husband was with me the whole time. I requested epidural but the anaesthetist was too busy and didn't come until I was 9 cm dilated, which was too late as I was squirming all over the place already and thought it would be fast. After two hours of pushing they had to use forceps to get my baby out. According to hospital policy they had to ask my husband to leave but the doctor was flexible and my husband insisted on staying, and they let him! Every step of the way the midwives and doctor were nice and gave me clear instructions and descriptions, although they were clearly busy. Overall experience was good although I was completely exhausted and felt half dead afterwards.

Baby was given to me right away and I could try to breastfeed her right in the labour room. Back in the ward it was noisy but otherwise fine. Nurses were busy but nice. They gave me help whenever I asked. Very good support for breastfeeding I think. Many of them actually volunteered to teach me how to help baby latch and gave me tips. If they don't volunteer, do ask and I'm sure they will be happy to help.

Food is not great. Environment not serene. But everything important for your health and that of your baby are there. You get what you pay (or don't pay) for. Low taxes man... gotta remember that...
 
Thank you all for your answers and for sharing your experience.
As for me, food is the last thing I'd worry about because I know a hospital is not a restaurant/hotel so my expectations are not high. If I'm still hungry after I eat their food, I'll ask my husband to bring some more food and that's it.

The most important for me is the quality of care my baby and I will receive, and from what I can read, there's nothing to worry about.
For $100/day, what we can get in a public hospital is satisfactory.

My only concern is still about getting an epidural because I've heard mothers not being able to get one because the anaesthesist was too busy :-(
Giving birth to a first baby is not easy since I don't know what to expect, it's the unknown. But not being sure of getting what I request makes things more complicated and it worries me... I keep on praying so that everything goes smoothly on the D-day...
 
djudju, you *will* probably be hungry after eating their food as you don't get much. It's worth taking some sweet and savoury snacks in your bag so you don't need to wait for your husband.
 
Agree, pack snacks with you and tell your hubby to bring you food also as you might be quite hungry and you should eat when you ate hungry to help you recover and get nutrition needed for lactation!

You can get a shot of pain killer if no epidural is available .... I somehow angled to deliver the baby without anything with the encouragement from the midwives so hopefully all will go smoothly with you!!
 
djudju said:
Thank you all for your answers and for sharing your experience.
As for me, food is the last thing I'd worry about because I know a hospital is not a restaurant/hotel so my expectations are not high. If I'm still hungry after I eat their food, I'll ask my husband to bring some more food and that's it.

The most important for me is the quality of care my baby and I will receive, and from what I can read, there's nothing to worry about.
For $100/day, what we can get in a public hospital is satisfactory.

My only concern is still about getting an epidural because I've heard mothers not being able to get one because the anaesthesist was too busy :-(
Giving birth to a first baby is not easy since I don't know what to expect, it's the unknown. But not being sure of getting what I request makes things more complicated and it worries me... I keep on praying so that everything goes smoothly on the D-day...
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About the epidural, the advice I got from the doctor at one of my antenatal check-ups at Tseung Kwan O hospital is to ask for it when you register and again when you're brought into the delivery suite. Thus, they can at least anticipate that you want one. She said there's a 90% chance of getting one. I was registered to deliver at United Christian Hospital but maybe this advice is relevant to QEH too.

In the end, I had an emergency c-sec and didn't need one. But for my first child, I had an induced vaginal delivery, and I made the mistake of telling them I would decide later when I was offered an epidural and ended up not getting one when I did want it (within the medically prescribed time frame). So if you're offered an epidural and you are having a vaginal delivery, just take it, because you may not get it later if you change your mind. But basically, don't wait for them to offer...just ask. I think they gave me the painkiller shot that Karhu mentioned but it didn't seem to help.

Also try to practice deep breathing, maybe while pinching yourself. They provide gas which definitely helps the pain IF you can manage to not panic and breathe through the contractions.

I must be the only one that actually liked the hospital food. But I agree that you might need snacks to supplement. They tend to do rounds with milk and fruit but when I was there, the fruit was orange... not very filling.
 
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