Hi HBr and Prego,
I'm due with my first baby in 5 days, at this point just waiting to go into labor since my doctor said the baby's head is engaged and it could happen any moment now.
We toured Queen Mary (public), Matilda (private), and HK Adventist (private) before making a decision on where to book our deposit for delivery. We went with Adventist for the following reasons:
1) My insurance covers both Matilda and Adventist for up to a semi-private (2 person) room and in the event there's availability for a private room upgrade when we arrive, the price we'd be paying out of pocket at Adventist was more palatable than the price at Matilda.
2) After doing the tours, I felt the most comfortable with Adventist. At Queen Mary, my husband and I were able to walk directly into the labor ward, no security, no one to greet us, no one stopped to ask questions or be available for questions. I felt like I could have picked up a baby and walked away (I know this is not a concern in HK but I'm from New York!)
At Matilda, I felt put off by the "luxury hotel vibe" i.e. concierge host giving the tour rather than an actual nurse/midwife, and in general the atmosphere of the hospital not feeling or looking like a hospital - that's just me. The concierge host who gave the tour couldn't answer any questions about medical concerns but provided a large packet around policies and fees, and the highlights of the tour were around comfort services (menu, massage chair for the partner, etc).
At Adventist, we were provided a tour by the head nurse on shift so I felt that my specific medical questions could be addressed and I liked the layout of the ward better.
3) Location - we moved mid pregnancy from Kowloon to Tai Koo, so Adventist ended up also being the most geographically convenient - Matilda and Queen Mary are both not that easily accessible unless you live in West Hong Kong, and we would have had to register a fake address if we wanted to be "zoned" for Queen Mary.
The only other point I would raise is that with most private hospitals, if you have extreme complications then they will send you to Queen Mary. With Adventist they will not admit you if you are before 34 weeks, I believe. I was on bed rest from week 26-34 due to risk for pre-mature labor and worried about this, but now we're geared up and ready to go!
Good luck with your decision, regardless I think safety of you and your baby is not an issue, it's just a matter of personal preferences!
