Moving to HK at 24 weeks - need help please

C

Camberwell

New member
Hi

I will be moving to HK from London when I am 24 weeks pregnant. I'll be living in Kowloon and really need help to understand the system in Hong Kong. A few questions that I have:

- How do you research and find a good doctor in Kowloon, any recommendations?
- Any recommendations on hospitals to give birth in? I have searched this forum but threads seem to be quite old.
- Any advice on being pregnant in HK?

This is my first baby so anxious anyway as I don't know what to expect, but have added stress about moving to a new country and not knowing the system. Any advice you have would be very much appreciated.

Thank you.
 
First, you need to decide if you will be delivering through the public system or private system.

If public, you do nothing to chose your doctor, unless you want to go to a private doctor for your prenatal check ups - this private doctor will not be able to attend the delivery in a public hospital. If you use the public system exclusively, tou register at a hospital, turn up at your scheduled appointments and are seen by whoever is on duty then and for the delivery the doctor on duty delivers your baby. You have no choice of doctor at all. There are many threads on here discussing public hospital prenatal care and delivery and the ladies who have been through the public system are helpful in answering specific questions posted here.

If private, you need to start calling OB/GYNs now and figure out how to book a room in a private hospital for delivery. Most people in HK book their bed in the private system almost as soon as their pregnancy is confirmed and you unfortunately will very likely not get a bed in a private hospital if you leave beginning your search for a booking until 24 weeks. There are lists of private doctors on this site, which would be a good place to start for contacts. Most will be in Central, not Kowloon, but the commute us easy. You will need to get in touch with the clinics individually and ask them how to go about securing a bed for the delivery without actually being in HK - I understand the process is not easy (sorry). I think someone on these boards went through this process last year, but I can't seem to find the thread right now. Maybe someone else remembers?
 
EDITORS: I posted a second reply with a couple links which most pregnant moms I know have found very useful for Camberwell. Why have you deleted them?? It is very rude given that I took the time to draft a helpful reply and supply information for her. Are you editing content now simply because it doesn't refer to your site or was the reply in some other way "offensive" - please do enlighten.
 
Thank you Elle and Rani, really appreciate the advice and the links to further information, I will start on these asap. My husband is already in HK working so hopefully he can get the ball rolling without me there (?).

Thanks again, all very exciting and scary at the same time ;)
 
Are you already 24 weeks pregnant now? If you want to deliver in private system, you need to see your Obstetrician before 20 weeks (hopefully before 16 weeks), then your obstetrician will make a booking for you. Most private hospital do not accept booking after 20 weeks of pregnancy - which means you can either go to the public system or give birth in your home country. Good luck!
 
Also if in Kowloon, most Obstetricians are located in either MONGKOK or TSIM SHA TSUI. You can search the Geobaby directory with a list of gynae doctors.
 
seejune said:
If you want to deliver in private system, you need to see your Obstetrician before 20 weeks (hopefully before 16 weeks), then your obstetrician will make a booking for you. Most private hospital do not accept booking after 20 weeks of pregnancy - which means you can either go to the public system or give birth in your home country. Good luck!
Click to expand...

I'm sorry, but this is just factually inaccurate. If there is room in a private hospital a booking can be made at anytime through an OB who does deliveries there. There is just rarely any space left, but certainly no rule that private hospitals do not accept bookings after 20 weeks. Also, booking between 16-20 weeks is leaving it too late to get a confirmed booking for most Hong Kong private hospitals - they start taking bookings at 8-9 weeks and fill up fast after that. Rarely would you be guaranteed a bed if you start looking at 16 weeks.
 
I hope this helps a little - I was on the waiting list for a bed at Matilda (tried to book at 8 weeks) and my OB's office was not worried about it at all. From what I understood, it happened all the time (wait listed) and she had never had a patient denied a bed when the time came for delivery just because it was HER patient and they just got you in!
(I ended up flying home to deliver anyhow as I really wanted a comfortable home birth with family around)

Maybe call a few doctors' offices and see what they say before worrying so much about not getting in?

Hope this helps and good luck!
 
Hi,

Thanks for the advice and experiences. Seejune I am nearly 19 weeks now and will be 24 weeks when I land, I'll have all of my hospital notes with me when I land, my husband has booked me in to see an OB a couple of days after I arrive, Dr Belinda.

Fingers crossed all will go well!
 
If that means anything to you. If your child, born outside of the UK, marries a non UK citizen, your grandchildren will not be granted UK citizenship. One of my kids is born in the UK and the other, in HK. My other half always jokes that he wants my younger to marry a UK citizen. :)
 
As long as her grandchildren are born in the UK, they would be granted UK citizenship. But if the child marries a non-UK citizen *and* the grandchild is then not born in the UK, then they wouldn't automatically become UK citizens (though if they moved there and lived there for long enough they could apply for it).
 
Unless the OP decides to stay in HK permanently then her baby can be naturalized when they return to the UK. This will give her child full citizenship and the right to pass on their citizenship to their children.
 
Hi
Firstly - congratulations!
Just to share a conversation I was having yesterday with someone who recently moved to HK when pregnant, she has spent some time chatting with the ladies at Annerley and has found them to be extremely helpful in calming her nerves and giving her some very practical and useful advise. Annerley is based in Central - but easy to reach from Kowloon or you could give them a call before you move over here.
I have found being pregnant in HK very easy and have got great support. I've been seeing a private OB to get some consistent support through the pregnancy and someone who can spend time with me explaining everything plus the opportunity for lots of scans to see our little one! I'll then be giving birth in the Public system which seems to be really good (other than some language / bedside manner challenges) and equal to, if not better than, what i would have expected through the NHS in the UK. Have had antenatal classes at Annerley and they will also do some home visits with me after the birth to help with Breastfeeding, baby check-ups etc.
I hope this helps - feel free to PM me if you have any more questions - still don't have the baby yet so can't give you the full details of the process - but can share experiences up until now :-)
 
Another great doctor in tsim sha tsui is nancy Fok

Public hospital doesn't give you enough monitoring of baby in terns if ultrasound but they do fetal heart rate each time, private will do ultrasound for you each time! I delivered my baby at queen Elizabeth in Jordan (public) and it was a very positive experience... Birth ball, aroma therapy, hubby with me the whole time.... But a little noisy at the post natal wards as babies are with the moms in the big room so there is baby crying constantly.... But public hospital has better support for breastfeeding and encourages it, whereas in private hospital the feeding schedule is more rigid and you need to be very insistent and make an effort to breastfeed (make a trip to the nursery and the nurse letting you in)

I think you can enter the public hospital system first and still book a bed with the private doc at private hospital ... That way if u are on waiting list you will still be able to give birth in public hospital if you dont get a spot...public hospital is pretty great!
 
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