Safe to get pregnant in HK?

A

artistinhk

Registered User
OK, so maybe not politically correct, but, we are lucky enough to know that we are extremely fertile and the discussion has been started about little person 2.
But is it safe in HK? With all the chemicals in the air, I/we wonder if we are giving our child the best start if they are conceived and carried to term in such a polluted environment.
I know there are lots of babies that appear healthy out there and I am sticking my neck out asking.... but will they be healthy long term?
Has anyone else had this conversation prior to conception?
 
i think that all of us worry about the long term health of our children...
but, would living in hk STOP me from having my kids??? NOT ON YOUR LIFE!

i don't think that HK is much worse than many big cities around the world. i have two VERY healthy kids. one is 2.5 and the other is 6 months. both were conceived here and born here. their father is local and has lived here all of his life. he is a VERY healthy person, even though he doesn't go out of his way for it. he doesn't take vitamins, eats local fare, doesn't get as much sleep as he needs etc.

there are more cases of asthma, i believe, and possibly eczema, but really i don't think it should be such a consideration at this point... maybe once the little one is born, you may decide to move out of HK or at least to a less polluted area.

good luck!
 
Thanks for the replies. Carang, I am sure you are correct, maybe its our excuse for cold feet. Our little man (nearly 3) is just such a great character, healthy, easy going etc... that it is hard to imagine ever being able to have another kid as fantastic.

Wow I sound besotted... and I dont even look after him fulltime (dad does). He was born in NZ and everything was so easy, so healthy and quite accessible, I love Hong Kong but cant imagine it being so easy here. And well, I lived on fresh fish when I was pregnant in NZ (the Omega 3 oils are meant to be great for development.)
Over here we arent so keen on trusting the local fish produce, my diet here in HK is so very different, I do wonder if we should wait.
 
i would be thinking more of the age difference, the education system, the distance from family more than the "safeness" of hk....
 
If you are really concerned about pollution, food safety, etc. here, there are things you can do even if you aren't trying to concieve. You can get an IQ Air Purifier, eat organic, eat things shiped in, etc. Also, I've only heard wonderful things about Matilda Hopsital. Good luck!
 
PS. i think that every parent fears that they couldn't possibly love their 2nd, 3rd, 4th....child as much as their first... but that's the funny thing about love, you never run out and your heart and the amount that you love only gets greater!!!

(i, too, worried that i might not love my second as much as my first absolutely awesome son! but my daughter, although completely different, still lights up my life in ways i never thought possible... and she's only 6 months old!)
 
How do you think us locals grew up? A lot of kids are born everyday and they have so little - they wouldn't even know where to start, let alone buy organic food and an IQ Air Purifier.

Do you know what those families are like that live in Govt. Estates? They don't have SPACE, they don't have a maid, sometimes their kids can't afford university and are pushed to work right out of high school. I don't think everyone has our luxuries!

Maybe you shouldn't even LIVE in HK if you are so concerned. Breathing the air may be dangerous, the heat might give you a heat stroke when you are pregnant, the water you drink might posion you, you might get run over by a bus tomorrow? The list can endless.
Half the stress is the worry itself...kids are born all over the world.
 
I find this a weird post and a little insulting - ok, a lot insulting:haha: . Are we all bad mothers for having children here? Are our children less wonderful, less intelligent, less lovable because of it?

The pollution in HK is not great but you can choose to live in areas where it isn't so bad. We buy all our fruit, veg, meat etc from Australia and other countries with better quality control - I'm sure you can get your NZ fish though you might care to know that too much fish during pregnancy has shown to be a bad thing.

But most perplexing is that you worry about what living in HK would do to the health of your unborn (and not yet conceived) but don't seem to worry about the health of your son. He's already breathing the air in and chances are he WILL get allergies and he WILL be sicker a lot more often than he would be if you stayed in NZ.
 
Can't agree more! Wake up and smell the flowers for crying out loud? Its actually sad that you think "our country" is so dirty that you shouldn't breed here. Do you live in the dark ages or maybe in a cave?
 
Of course u always have the option of going back to your beloved New Zealand and breathe the pure air there. Also u have the option of not having a second child if u think u couldnt love your own flesh n blood
 
though i do not agree with artistinhk, i am sure she is not the only one who feels this way about hk. there many couples i know in hk, who refuse to have children because they think hk is not a place good enough to have children, extremely high cost of living, air pollution, extreme pressure to achieve everything,, from kindergarten till university, everything is a competition..
but u know, in this environment u can have a great kid or a spoilt brat, whatever, depends on how u raise your child. that's what i think..
 
i think that artistinhk, although sounding a little.... ummmm.... condescending...actually is truly worried about what it would be like. i do agree that if it was such a huge concern, then why is her son here?

try to keep the "advice" constructive. i'm sure she expected the negative responses, but you would do more for your case setting her mind at rest with all the positives about having and raising kids here than berating her.
 
I have to say that I don't agree with the original post - but this is my experience as a local 9born adn bred) . Sure I dind't grow up with the fresh air and great food that other countries offer . I was stressed as a child trying to match my peers when it comes to academics, remaining competitive etc. I didn't have the luxury of being able to spend time with my mom that much as she had to work full time - heck those days parents were too busy trying to keep the family afloat I pretty much brought myself up - whoever heard of playgroups amd after school activities ?

But the flip side is I don't suffer from allergies,asthma etc ( my friends who grew up in very clean countries had a hard time getting used to more polluted countries) - as I probblay have enough toxins in me already ! The competitive enviroment in HK made my transition abroad ( I went overseas to study) a piece of cake. I didn't even have things like hay fever - something many US /canadian people suffer from.

I guess there is an upside to gorwing up in HK :gl: after all.
 
Wow, what a response.

My apologies to those that are offended, that is a real shame as it was not my intention.

Of course logically we can leave Hong Kong, however as I said in my post, actually we are here because we love Hong Kong, especially the people.

The question was a honest question to find out if this thought has crossed any ones mind and how they personally dealt with it, I think maybe I needed to soften the wording.

Yes, we choose to live here now, with our child and all are healthy and happy. I realise by posting this log that actually it is my fears of parenting 2 children but initially this fear was masked by our concern of the environment.

I understand now that perhaps this is not appropriate to post such a question.

Interesting that such offence is taken when I am simply asking?
 
I think it's a perfectly valid concern and it's one I shared. I decided to go ahead and have a baby because the timing was right, but would much prefer to have been pregnant (and raise a baby) in clean air. Nothing wrong with that.
 
artistinhk said:
Interesting that such offence is taken when I am simply asking?
Click to expand...

It's not interesting that offence was taken, it's predictable - we are all mothers who love our children and would do anything for them. Even you forsaw that offence would be taken - you said your question wasn't 'politically correct'.

I still find it interesting to know why HK is ok for one of your children but wouldn't be for a second one...

I think it is as you say - you are really just undecided about having a second child. This is the real question that needs to be answered.
 
The air may be wonderful in NZ but it's still an isolated, oft times insular place. Chldren in HK are exposed to a range of different cultures, nearby countries, languages and influences - all invaluable experiences. I loved my childhood in NZ, but am pleased that my child (soon to born in HK) will grow up bilingual, with a diverse outlook and will appreciate NZ all the more having seen those far less fortunate at close quarters.
 
There are so many considerations when bringing a child into the world. I sometimes feel that expat children have a rather sheltered life and wonder if my children will have an understanding of the 'real world'. I'm from a working class background and wonder if they will have the sense of identity and social responsibility that I was raised with. On the other hand, would I want my child to be brought up where I was with high crime, street violence and limited choices? Probably not.

I know that this is a little off the original thread but the fears are the same: Are we doing the best for our offspring?

I'm not sure anyone can claim to have had a perfect childhood but we love and respect our parents for doing their utmost with whatever means they had. While, I might add, ensuring their own happiness is highly considered. I think that happy parents make for happier children.

So my response is that you should go ahead and have your child here because HK makes you happy. You will have to do your best to counteract the negative aspects of this particular place (like you would in any environment - limited friends in a rural place, for example), and that's what will make you a good parent.

Just my two-pennies-worth.
 
will your children have a sense of identity and social responsibilty???


ONLY IF YOU TEACH IT TO THEM!
 
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