Pamela Youde

[haly]

Hi everyone

I am 13 weeks pregnant , French and so far, I was going to Adventist to do my checks up , but I had already planned to change and go to public hospital after my 3 months of pregnancy. Indeed, it seems that public hospital are very good in HK and I don?t want to spend thousands of hk dollars in private rooms, etc.. anyway , I want to have natural delivery ( if possible of cours) .. anyway.. this is another story? but so I was thinking to deliver at Queen Mary.

So I searched a lot of information about Queens Mary and the information that I got confirmed to me that it was a very good hospital so was about to register there this week but I called them and they asked me where I was living ( I was living in Sai Ying Pun and moved to Shau Kei Wan just one week ago), when I said Shau Kei Wan, they told me to register at Eastern hospital, which I think is Pamela Youde ( ok I can understand the logic).

But since then,.. I am bit worried cause I don?t know a lot about Pamela Youde and I don?t know lot of people who recently delivered there, the posts that I found in this forum were about deliveries that happened several years ago?
I ?ve just one friend who told me that apparently, the nurses can be a bit rude as they ask not to make noise when delivering? which afraid me a bit?
I don?t know either if they speak English and if there is prenatal classes in English in this hospital, and what methods do they teach or use for delivery.

Has anyone recently delivered there ? Could you please share your experience, basically, what I would like to know is:

-Do they have prenatal classes in English to prepare for delivery ? What methods do they teach ?
-Do they ?force? you to lay down in a bed for ( and before) delivery ? I heard that walking or go down on all fours could help during(before) the delivery .. but even if I don?t do that, I want to know if I will be free to try other positions or if they are very strict and what technics do they use ?
- I guess they are pro natural birth ? ( I should not expect to be advised to have c-section for no reason right ?)
- How it works during the delivery ? Is my husband allowed to stay with me ? during the labor or during the delivery ?
- My mother in law and own mother will probably be in HK when I will deliver, am I allowed to receive 3 people at the same time in the room ( of course during visiting hours)?
- How many people are in the same room ? Should I expect to deliver in the same room of other women ? How many ?
- Do they have private room or semi private room , with how many people and how much ?
- How long do we stay at the hospital after delivery (if nothing wrong)?
- After the delivery, where are the postnatal checks ? At the hospital too or where ?


Last question: As I don?t know yet how is Pamela Youde, I was thinking to register at both Queen Mary (with my old address) and Pamela Youde and choose after my first consultations in both hospitals which one I will keep ? Do you know if it?s possible ?
Or should I forget Queen Mary cause a bit far from my new home and can be an issue on the delivery day ? What do you think ?

It?s my first pregnancy so I?m a bit worried , especially as I am not familiar with the process in HK.
Thanks a lot for your answers, It will really help me.

 

[nicolejoy]

http://www.geobaby.com/forum/thread162681.html - I just posted in this thread yesterday.

Personally, I would choose PY over QMH unless there were medical complications. PY is quieter, closer and is one of the only public hospitals with a special accommodation ward. The nurses/doctors all speak English, but the admin staff are weaker in their English skills. They do not offer English antenatal classes (although honestly, I didn't think that the ones at QMH were great anyway - better to go to Annerley or something like that).

You can find most of the answers to your other questions in other threads on this forum. I have a cranky 2 year old I need to attend to. If you can't find the answers elsewhere (try searching in the top right hand corner of the top of the page), I will answer them later (if someone else doesn't do so first).

 

[FShah]

http://www.geobaby.com/forum/thread161874.html

Hi haly,

I've posted in the above link's thread sometime in September, I've delivered my third at PYNEH and have had good experiences there. (I've delivered all my 3 kids there). From hearing stories from friends who have had their deliveries at QMH, i'd personally will prefer PYNEH over QMH. As nicolejoy mentioned, they do not offer any antenatal classes in English so I guess best for you to look someplace else.

 

[nicolejoy]

I don't think that the antenatal classes not being in English is a big enough factor in the decision to go elsewhere. I went to QMH and they had antenatal classes in English, but they were quite 1970's and not very helpful anyway. To get quality antenatal classes, one needs to look out of the public healthcare system completely.

 

[FishMama]

Hi Haly,

I'm registered to give birth at PYNEH in December, so can't answer all your questions but may be able to help:

-They do have classes but not in english.
-They 'encourage' you to lie down during the whole labour process, but if you/your partner are firm with them and so 'NO' then they let you. They do like to keep you strapped to a heart monitor - but this is not necessary, and basically only needs to be done every hour or so (if your labour is progressing well). Again a firm hand and they will let you walk around/sit etc.
- They are pro natural birth - should they want to do a c-section they will explain why.
- Your hubby will be allowed in the actual delivery suite, he will not be allowed in the ward outside of visiting hours (but this the same for all hospitals), but as long as you are up for it there is nothing stopping you from walking out in the hallway with him.
- I am not sure how many people you will be allowed to have in the delivery room, you will have to check that with them.
- You won't deliver in a room with other people - the delivery rooms are private. The wards you will have to share
- They have rooms with 6 and 4 people. They did used to have private rooms, but recently did some changes so not sure about those anymore (i have an appointment on the 14th Nov and am going to ask them - so i'll let you know).
- Usually you'll be asked to stay in the hospital for 2-3 days including day of delivery
- Not sure where postnatal check are done - again will ask on 14th.

I would suggest you register there - the nurses and doctors are all very friendly and helpful. Also whilst you are there you can have a look around.

Nat

 

[thanka2]

Hi there. I gave birth to my daughter at PYNEH in 2011 so it wasn't exactly "years ago" and I think mine and FShah's experience are quite up-to-date. This is my birth story on this forum if you want to read all the details of my birth.

-Do they have prenatal classes in English to prepare for delivery ? What methods do they teach ?

Honestly, I think if you're depending on the Hong Kong hospital system to teach you any birthing methods you're going to have a hard time. Yes, they have classes. No, they're not thorough. From the reports I've heard they tend to focus on very non-essential things that make the jobs of the hospital staff easier but may not really help you during labor.

I did a 12-week husband-coached natural birth course with my husband a couple of our friends who were living in Hong Kong at the time. Better to check with Annerly Midwives for more thorough or practical classes in birthing techniques.

-Do they ‘force’ you to lay down in a bed for ( and before) delivery ? I heard that walking or go down on all fours could help during(before) the delivery .. but even if I don’t do that, I want to know if I will be free to try other positions or if they are very strict and what technics do they use ?

First, let me say that no one is able to legally 'force' you do do anything. If you go into the hospital with the mindset that you are still a free human being able to make choices then you are. But, if you read my birth story, they will tell you to do what they find is most convenient for them. Just to sum up, they wanted me to do a lot of things (wear a hot and stuffy hospital gown, lay down flat on the bed, strap down to a fetal monitor, get a pain med drip, not vocalize) and I didn't do any of those things. I stood up for more than 80% of my labor (12 hours) and I gave birth standing up. Were the staff really involved in this? No. They bad-mouthed us in Chinese and went off to tend to the other patient (whom they had convinced to get strapped down and hooked up). But, did that affect us? Not really. We just got on with the task at hand. Yes, walking does speed up labor.

Yes, being on all-fours or standing or even squatting has huge benefits for helping the baby descend. No, it is absolutely not necessary to have continuous fetal monitoring (I ended up having absolutely no fetal monitoring when I entered the hospital) and the readings are inaccurate 50% of the time anyway (according to my former private HK OBGYN who happens to also not be pro-natural birth).

It's really important to first know what you personally believe about birth (hence going to a good course through Annerly...reading books like "Ina May's Guide to Childbirth" and "Husband-Coached Childbirth") and then having a clear vision in your birthplan about how you're going to deal with roadblocks that you meet. You also need to have a strong advocate--in my case, that was my husband. To stand up and deal with the staff when you're focusing on labor (which is your primary job anyway--not to deal with them in the midst of labor).

Knowledge and conviction are power in this case.

- I guess they are pro natural birth ? ( I should not expect to be advised to have c-section for no reason right ?)

They have their protocols and they're pro whatever is best for the doctors at that moment. I wouldn't assume they are "pro natural birth." In my opinion, unless a hospital supports natural birth (by providing equipment, training and reassurance) then they can't claim to be "pro" natural birth. No, they're not going to pressure you to get a c-section off-the-bat but if it comes down to it and it would be easier in that situation they may send you in for one whereas it could be worked out naturally in some cases.

- How it works during the delivery ? Is my husband allowed to stay with me ? during the labor or during the delivery ?

If you're more than 4 cm dilated when you arrive you'll go into the labor ward and your husband can generally join you in there but that is also up to the discretion of the doctors. I wouldn't be without my husband in labor so if they had refused to let him come in with me, I would have insisted on laboring in the corridor--that's how important it was for me. There is always a way to push for what you want. But, I think that if they know that you're a pushover, they'll just walk over you and pressure you to do what they want. Anyway, generally, husbands are allowed into the labor ward when you're in active labor (4 cm+) so the best advice is to avoid the hospital as long as you can. I was in labor for 8 hours before I went. I only spent less than 4 hours in the labor ward at the hospital.

- My mother in law and own mother will probably be in HK when I will deliver, am I allowed to receive 3 people at the same time in the room ( of course during visiting hours)?

Not sure about the general ward but if you're in the special recovery ward (think it's F7) you can. It's first-come, first-serve with no prior booking. You should get the form from the hospital at one of your checkups and fill it out and as soon as you come into the labor ward have your husband fill it out and get it off to be approved--if there is room in the ward at the time, they will book you in. It costs more than the general ward. I stayed for about 2 nights and it was about $7,000 or so HKD if I remember...you can check my birth story.

- How many people are in the same room ? Should I expect to deliver in the same room of other women ? How many ?

I was in a room divided by a partial wall and a curtain with one other woman in labor at the same time. This is standard practice in Hong Kong public hospitals. It could be more or it could be less.

- Do they have private room or semi private room , with how many people and how much ?

As far as I know they don't for labor but for recovery they have the special ward as mentioned above. For recovery it's 4 other women in the same "room" but the room is split in two so basically on your half of the room there is two women.

- How long do we stay at the hospital after delivery (if nothing wrong)?

You have to be discharged by the doctor and that will all depend on when the baby is born and when the doctor next does rounds. I was kept for observation due to some bleeding problems. I stayed for 2 nights and nearly 3 days. This is also pretty standard. Probably the night you give birth and one extra night.

- After the delivery, where are the postnatal checks ? At the hospital too or where ?

They can either be at the hospital or at your nearest Mother Child Healthcare Center--depends on the type of checkup done. We attended our first checkups at the hospital.

Last question: As I don’t know yet how is Pamela Youde, I was thinking to register at both Queen Mary (with my old address) and Pamela Youde and choose after my first consultations in both hospitals which one I will keep ? Do you know if it’s possible ?
Or should I forget Queen Mary cause a bit far from my new home and can be an issue on the delivery day ? What do you think ?

As long as you have proof of address for your previous place of residence and it's current (water bill, electricity bill, bank statement) they will accept it and won't bother you about it. I actually moved from Shau Kei Wan to the New Territories and still gave birth at Pamela Youde--it was almost an hour's drive from our house to the hospital when I was in labor. Just pick the one you feel more comfortable with. I can't comment on Queen Mary hospital but at the end of the day they're all public hospitals and will have a similar way of operation as far as how they deal with you during labor.

If you have any more specific questions you'd like to ask, feel free. Hope you have a great birth!

 

[haly]

Hi everyone

Thanks a lot for your answers, it 's really helpful, I registered to Pamela Youde and will have my first appointment next week.
I will keep you updated.

thanks again !