Just moved to HK & JUST pregnant

J

JANE892

Registered User
Ohh I'm stressing out a bit!
Just moved here from Australia. I'm 29 years old. Found out I'm about 4 weeks pregnant with my first!. According to fertility friend my due date is 20 Nov 07! I've done one pregnancy test and got a BFP! Yeah!
How do I even begin to do this in HK?
Do I first go to a normal doc (I've got an appointment at Quality HealthCare) and then what happens? Do they refer me to a baby doctor? I hear that the Matilda hospital is the one expats deliver at? Who will do my scans etc?
I know absolutely nothing so all your help would be so wonderful. I'd love to meet some other girls in my situation (currently living in Midlevels but moving to Causeway Bay/Happy Valley) at end of he month!...
Would love to hear any information/advice that you have!
:BFP
 
You need to decide if you want to go to a private ob/gyn and hospital or through the public system. May depend on what kind of insurance you do or don't have. If private you can go straight to the ob/gyn. If you want the Matilda, you must go to a private Dr that delivers there and I believe there is a list somewhere on this site. But do make sure that Dr books you into the Matilda RIGHT NOW. As you may have read on this website, the private hospitals are overbooked.

My hotel uses Quality Healthcare for various things but I'd actually just go straight to an ob/gyn as I don't think they will be able to give you much guidance if you want to deliver at the Matilda.
 
Congratualtions.

If you are going to go private the first thing you need to do is get an obgyn. There are lists of them on this forum. I used Sally Ferguson for my two delviveries here and can thoroughly recommend her. She will do your first scan at twelve weeks. She also does the nuchal scan to check for Downs Syndrome. She sent us to another doctor for the 20 week scan and for this one we also got a 4D scan which just blew our minds, seeing the baby's face like that.

We also used Hulda Thorey at Annerley Midwives as our doula for the delivery. She is a fully trained midwife and was there to advise of a whole heap of things including when to go to the hospital. She also offers antenatal and post natal things, such as weighing your baby in the first few weeks. She was absolutely fabtastic and I wouldn't hesitate in recommending her. She helped us delivery our second child and was the first person I called when I found out I was pregnant with our third. I arrived in Hong Kong six months pregnant with our second child and didn't have a clue, coming from a system in the UK where everything is done for you. Hulda was there to explain the system and recommend people to go to.

I delivered bith my babies born here at the Matilda. It was a fantastic experience both times. There is also the Adventist and the Canossa, which are also popular.

For general knowledge and finding out what to do when pregnant I would recommend reading one of the myriad of pregnancy magazines. They often have charts telling you what you should be doing when. For all three of my pregnancies I was an avid reader of Practical Parenting; lots of good advice and not too taxing to read when your juggling morning sickness and crushing tiredness.

I hope that helps. Oh and welcome to Hong Kong.

Jools
 
Hello Jools and woodk- thanks both very much for your replies. Both super super helpful. I have booked into see a general doc Sat week but I think I?ll cancel this.
Definitely want to go Private and we have fairly good medical insurance per my husbands company. I need to get an obgyn asap. I?m really new to this site but I surfed it for awhile and really can?t find the lists of ob/gyn any where?could either of you tell me where I should be looking on the forums.
I would like to contact Sally Fergurson and make an appointment- are you able to tell me where you office is and the phone number etc..
The part about Hulda at Annerley Midwives- what is a doula? Do you mean that I also have to find a midwife to deliver the baby at a hospital? Ohh my this is so complicated!! I thought I just turned up at the hospital and there would be people there to deliver the baby (plus the ob/gyn of course!). How can I contact Hulda and am I looking at a lot of money for her?
I take it that if I go for an appointment with an ob/gyn sometime next week they can book me into the Matilda right away?
Again I really thankyou for your information. I would love to meet up with other new mums to be in HK if there are any out there?.
Thanks
 
Hi Jane,

The list of Drs is here:

http://www.geobaby.com/directory/health-and-fitness/doctors/gynecologists/

A doula is more like a coach and are great if you want to labor at home for a bit, before heading to the hospital. There are mid-wives at the hospital.

I would wait until you're 7 weeks before visiting the Dr. By, then you should be able to hear a heartbeat. I remember my husband got all teary eyed. Head over to Watsons and get some folic acid. You should be taking 1 day.

That's about it and WELCOME TO HK!
 
Thanks again! Thanks for the link. Can I assume that all of these ob/gyn deliver at the Matilda hospital?
Also..dont' I need to go for a blood test asap so that they can measure the (beta) and then see in a week that it is doubling...
Yup- onto the Folic acid! Been taking it while TTC..
Are there any other ob/gyn that people recommend on this list? I would like one in WanChi, Happy Valley or Central...
Thanks again!
 
My obgyn is Dr. Phillip Ho. He has a lot of foreigner patients.He delivers at Matilda and he's in Central. He will lead you thru the whole process. Call him if you're interested. His no. is 25263322





JANE892 said:
Thanks again! Thanks for the link. Can I assume that all of these ob/gyn deliver at the Matilda hospital?
Also..dont' I need to go for a blood test asap so that they can measure the (beta) and then see in a week that it is doubling...
Yup- onto the Folic acid! Been taking it while TTC..
Are there any other ob/gyn that people recommend on this list? I would like one in WanChi, Happy Valley or Central...
Thanks again!
Click to expand...
 
Sally Ferguson is in Wanchai. She works at the OT & P practice Room 1501-1503 Shui On Centre, 8 Harbour Road, Wanchai, Telephone: 28249112. It's just about next to Immigration Tower if you know where that is. I like her calm manner which immediately put me at my ease. She also allowed me to have the births that I wanted, especially with the third, rather than interfering too much, which I know some doctors can do.

A doula is like a birthing partner. You don't have to have one. The midwives at the Matilda are excellent. We chose to have one for many reasons including: we were new to Hong Kong and didn't know the system; I had heard that C-sections were quite common on Hong Kong and was very determined not to have one, so felt a doula could advocate my preferences, since they have a medical background (don't get me wrong my hubbie would not have allowed it either, but the medical background just gave me extra confidence). I'm sorry I can't remember the prices, but I do remember thinking that it was well worth the cost and in actual fact our insurance company picked up the tab. Hulda is at Unit 1801 Car Po Comm. Building, 18-20 Lyndhurst Terrace, Central, telephone: 2983 1558. Hulda works with a couple of other midwives who are also excellent.

When you go to the doctors don't worry if you can't hear a heart beat until week 11 or 12, this is quite normal. There isn't really much that the doctor can do before 12 weeks apart from confirm that you're pregnant so I wouldn't worry too mcuh about getting an appointment just yet. Having said that you might want to use this time to investigate a couple of doctors that you like the sound of; the joys of the private system-you can choose your doctor, so you might want to visit a few.
 
Can't thankyou all enough. I'm going to start reading up alot on the weekend and I think I'll make an appointment to check out both docs mentioned so I can choose one that I really "click" with.
Glad that I don't have to rush to go to an ob/gyn..but would like to get an appointment soon so that I can make sure I get into the Matilda (sounds like bookings need to be done early!).
I'm also going to buy the magazine you mentioned...any other books I should buy. I hear "what to expect when your expecting" and "up the duff" are good?
Thanks everyone. I haven't even told my Mum yet...you can imagine how overwhelemed I feel at the moment- new country, new job, now pregnant. No friends. Just my DH!! I'm freaking out but feel better now!
 
Thank to everyone for their info. I called both Sally F and Dr Phillip Ho's offices. Sally's secretary couldn't speak English that well but Dr Phillips Ho's nurse was so lovely that I made an appointment for Sat (coming) she also has already got me into the Matilda! So I feel I can relax a bit now!
I also bought "what to expect when your expecting" and have been madly reading it all weekend...I have couple of questions which I'd love your feedback on.

- I think I can eat tinned Salmon- is there any branks in HK which you think are specifically good and don't have to much magnesium
- Where in HK can I go to Yoga for pregnant women. Preferably around Causeway Bay/Happy Valley?

THanks again!
 
hey how are you all,

I would like to gather some first time mom-to-be for some gathering,or drink......... will you guys interested to meet up....
 
I gave birth in October last year and I think my OB/GYN was fantastic...and a lot cheaper than some of the other more 'famous' doctors in Hong Kong who deal with foreigners. His name is Wilfred Wong and his office is in Central. His telephone number is 21235985. If you'd like to meet up for a coffee and a chat, I live in Happy Valley and would happy to meet with you and talk you through my experience(if that owuld help).

CelticKiwi
 
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