Positive Experience at Public Hospitals

V

VAH

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I wanted to write about my good experiences so far with the public system in Hong Kong. When I found out I was pregnant in january I was new to HK and had no clue about medical care.
It soon became apparent our insurance would not cover all costs but after reading bout people's experiences on Geobaby I became extremely nervous about having the baby in a Public Hospital. Therefore we split our care publicly and privately and at 28 weeks I registered ( reluctentyl) with the Tsan Yuk Hosptial.
I have found the midwives there very friendly and kind. I have not had to wait for hours on end for my appointments and all the tests I have had there so far have been done with great care and consideration.
I have also been really happy with my private OBGYN Dr Dawkins and the care there has been fantastic for myself a young first time mum. I still have several weeks to go but no longer feel worried about delivering at the Queen mary Hosptial and hope that other people at the beginning of their pregnancy who are unsure what to do don't get totally put of. I understand that people have had bad experiences but I wanted people to know that its not all bad! Had I been having the baby in the UK I would not be having any kind of private care and I feel very lucky to have had that opportunity here.
Fingers crossed I haven't spoken too soon!
:baby:
 
when you pack your bag for the hospital, please remember two things...
1) ear plugs!
2) eyepatch for sleeping!

i was in for a total of 4 times covering almost 5 weeks... these are two things i couldn't live without!

oh yeah and if your hubby luvs you at all he will bring you food for lunch and dinner....it was beyond horrible...

ps. if you take a box of dry cereal, a bowl and a spoon, they will provide milk in the mornings... i also had hubby bring me bananas for my cereal.
 
I found the lunch and dinner to be fine, but could not stomach the salty congee for breakfast! So bringing cereal is a good idea. It's also good to separate your luggage into small bags: one bag for stuff you want in the delivery room, another bag for things you will not need until the postnatal ward. One big bag won't fit into the lockers.

If you give birth on a clear day there is a fantastic view over the sea from QMH!

I gave birth there last month to my second baby - and also used Dawkins for antenatal checkups incidentally. I found them more receptive to "unorthodox" requests than last time. Perhaps they are getting more used to crazy foreigners making odd requests! They even provided a yoga mat since I expressed an interest in labouring in different positions. I asked for my baby to be passed to me immediately after the birth both times - last time they said no, they had procedures to follow first, whereas this time there was no problem.

Last but not least, the bill was only $150! I only stayed one night - it would be $250 if you stay two nights. I have also heard people who have given birth in UK NHS hospitals compare their HK public hospital experience favourably. Nurses are friendlier here, and they don't have the chronic shortage of beds.
 
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Hi,

Me too given birth at Queen Mary for my baby last year. It was OK. And I did all my checkups at Tsan Yuk and MCHC. I found the doctors and nurses were nice. But you have a lot of patient for waiting your number got called.

This is my good memory in there:

- The nurses is very efficient (I was arrived at 3 am in the morning) and you gonna have few doctors check you up. But they will not entertain you so much if you only just have a few openings.

- If you are not eating meat, you can tell the nurses when you check in (but my hubby brought me a lot of food for my lunch and dinner) unfortunately the pains just too much I couldn't enjoyed any of them.

- They really help for breastfeeding mother, really encourage you to do it. That's what I loved about them.

- The baby care unit is really excellent.

I got the sea view when I was given birth to my boy, but was soo busy to hold my 'push' apprently the docs said I was in 4 opening and not allowed to push. But can felt the baby head moved down, so after 19 mins in the labour room my boy came out and just realised that I got the sea view room, hehehe.

I think you just need to be positive thinking and hope that everything will be OK. For me public hospital here far more better than the one in my original country and the staff give you a good attention from labour until your baby born.

:burnout:
 
i'm glad that there are positive experiences, it gives me hope after the horrorsstories i've experienced, not just heard!
 
Yes, it is reassuring, as I'll be going through it again soon enough. I'm glad to hear some things (like moving around in labour) are changing - I spent 16 hours on my back, not even 'allowed' to turn onto my side (of course now I know better and wioll not let myself be bullied so much...). The seaview is fantastic, I could practically see my house (on an island) from the window .

About the food - not only is it vile, but really, what am I expected to do with a bowl of congee at 6 in the morning? The cereal is a great idea. Apparently the staff will microwave stuff for you if you ask (although I wouldn't have dared - everyone seemed to be busy enough without dealing with special meal requests). Think next time I will order pizza for meals.
 
I had heard the food wasn't too good! I will keep that in mind! Thank you for all your other advice.
 
What do I need to pack into the bag for delivery room vs the one for post natal? Just want to make sure I don't miss anything.... thanks.
 
I didnt need anything in the delivery room. I stayed in the gowns they provided.

the breakfast was pretty undesirable, but that's if you don't like congee. I brought my own instant oatmeal packs which were great.

And I sure loved the fruit they brought! I kept asking for seconds, I couldnt get enough of the oranges and apples.

Don't forget your own towel too for when you take a shower, or else you might be using a hand towel.

If I give birth in the public hosptial again, I'd stay more than the 2 days. Even though I couldnt wait to get home, it is great that they look after your baby and let you catch up on sleep. I should have listened to my mom on that bit of advice!
 
Any one delivered in Eastern Hospital before? I'm still debating whether I should go for the govt or private hospital. I think it really depends on the people there. I heard really good experiences at Tsan Yuk and Kwong Hua Hospital. Would be nice if there's some good stories at Eastern Hospital too.
 
Pre-packed luggae for delivery

Below are the recommended items for the pre-packed luggage for delivery at Queen Mary Hospital. It has been copied from their pamphlet:

MOTHER
1. cup
2. accesories for morning and evening toilet
3. tissue paper
4. slippers
5. maternity pads and belt or mesh pant
6. brassiere
7. underpad (protertine sheet)
8. coins or telephone card

BABY
1. new-born diapers
2. cotton wool piece or fragrance free wet tissue

Where do we purchase #5 and #7--hospital gift shop?!! :biggrin:

And to add, bring your own breakfast as other women recall not having a good one.

Hope this helps.
 
comments about PWH

Hello everyone,

I am due on early October but still haven't made decision which hospital I should deliver.

Does anyone have delivery experience in Prince of Wales Hospital? Any comments? I live in Shatin. PWH is the only public hospital I can go. Another two private hospital is Union Hospital (located in Tai Wai) and St. Teresa Hospital (located in Kowloon Tang). Any comments on that two hospital is greatly welcome.

Thanks.
 
I had my second child at PWH, but it was over 8 years ago, as a private patient. I had a great experience - the midwives were very helpful in allowwing me to walk around to get my labour going. They even allowed me to walk to the labour room rather than be on a gurney.

My only less than positive experience was when some young intern came into the labour room at about 6pm and said "I'm setting you up with an IV". I said "No thanks, I don't need one now" and sent him away.

I don't remember much about the food there, because my m-i-l brought me food every day (ginger fried rice, zhu geuk geung, etc.). I like congee in the morning too.

The breastfeeding support was adequate, although since he was my second child, I didn't need so much of it.

I had a friend who gave birth at Union Hospital about 7 years ago and she was not too pleased - too old fashioned and controlling (she thought) so for her next baby she went to St. Theresa's in Kowloon Tong.
 
Two thumbs up for Prince of Wales

I had a very good expereinced at Prince of Wales 2 years ago. The delivery room was very new then. very bright and colourful. That was what I remember. When they pushed me in, I thought woah it looked like a nursery. Anyway,all the midwifes was fantastic, very helpful and patience. I had a shared room, the room and the toilet was very clean.
 
Prince of Wales experience

Hello all,

I've never posted before, but I remember when I was new to HK and new to the whole public system I was overwhelmed and a bit nervous for what to expect as a public patient at Prince of Wales. So now, 9 months later, I realize it would be good to share my experience for other women who may be going through the same thing.

My whole experience was a very positive one. After being concerned that my water had broken?though I wasn't sure because it was a slow leak?I went to the hospital just in case, and sure enough that's what had happened. I needed to be induced at this point, so I waited in the pre-delivery (maternity) ward until a bed opened up in the labor ward. When it happened, about 12 hours later, I was wheeled into my own labor room (not sure if this is standard or if it was because I had to be monitored more because of the induction). My husband was allowed into the labor room with me the whole time, and after about 8 hours of (intense!) labor our son was born. They honored my request to hold him on my chest right away after the delivery, and actually they followed all of the requests on our birth plan except a few, like me having to lay down the whole time because I was hooked up to a heart monitor, and also I couldn't try laboring on a ball or anything because I couldn't leave the bed (again?being induced and hooked up to a bunch of IVs). But I can affirm those stories of women saying the midwives/nurses were all very kind and helpful, and I felt very taken care of.

They were also great about my wishes to exclusively breastfeed, as well as having him stay with me the rest of the time. The public delivery ward was made up of 2 rows of 5 beds across a wide aisle from each other (actually multiply this by 6 for the whole ward), separated by curtains which could be closed for an exam or privacy at anytime. There's one shared restroom with about 5 stalls and 2 or 3 showers, and you do need to bring your own toilet paper, but they have soap (and paper towels? I can't remember). And if you choose to keep your baby bedside with you, just tell one of the midwives when you need to take a shower or get ready for bed or something, and they'll keep an eye (or an ear!) out for your baby. It's amazing though, that even the first day, you can recognize the sound of your own baby's cry above all the others.

OK, the negatives: my husband didn't want to miss the beginning of my labor, and since we didn't know when that would be, he ended up waiting in the hallway outside the maternity ward for 12 hours, mostly standing because the two wooden benches were usually occupied! Plus, after the birth and being awake for 36 hours, baby and I were wheeled into the delivery ward for some rest, but it was about 8:30 in the morning and visiting hours weren't until 5:30 or something that evening, so after all that my husband couldn't even be with us all day! That was hard.

But here's the strange thing?I thought the food was pretty good! I'm a vegetarian, and I was told to order the vegetarian food even if I wasn't because it's much better than the regular food, so maybe that's something to keep in mind.

So there's my essay! I hope this is helpful to anyone going to POW for the first time. I was pleased with the whole experience, and would do it again if we're still in HK for our second child (down the road)... If anyone has any specific questions, I'd be happy to jog my memory and see if I could help. Best of luck to everyone!

Pam
 
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