Stressing over no beds during Dragon Year

S

sfolola

Registered User
My husband and I just found out we are pregnant with our first! We are due in late September. While it's very exciting, I have heard from nurses at our clinic and during visits to the hospitals that September is already booked up due to the masses of women trying to give birth during Dragon year.

My ob-gyn is Dr. May Mok at the Women's Clinic--a recommendation I got from this site, thank you ladies!--and during our consultation Dr.Mok told me we shouldn't have anything to worry about and that I would get a bed.

But of course, I can't help myself from worrying (new pregnancy trait?). Can anyone who has gone/is going through the Dragon year bed shortage share their experiences?
 
Though I havent gone through it ...I've had three kids...at threes different hospitals...but anyhow, if your doc gives you the word i am sure you will be more than fine. She probably delivered at more than one hospital so she will be bound to get you a space somewhere. She has the "connections" that will secure your place, no need to worry.
 
Trust what your doctors says. I am due in July and there was no problem with getting confirmed bed although as soon as you are confirmed to be pregnant they put pressure to make a booking.

For me, the doctor's office gave me a list of hospitals we could consider and said that Matilda and Sanitorium are fully booked for July. Anyway, they are too far from where we live. We went for a tour of a hospital closer to our home, at her recommendation, and decided to book a bed there.

So go ahead and make the booking for the expected date of delivery once you identify a hospital. We had to pay the deposit to get confirmed bed when I was 5 weeks pregnant.
 
Dr. Mok has a good relationship with Matilda and is a "resident" doctor I believe, so her patients get some sort of booking preference. Has her staff confirmed whether there are rooms available at Matilda? They will do the initial contact with the hospital (as early as 5 weeks I think) and then Matilda will contact you directly with details for payment of the deposit to hold your spot (of to let you know that you are on the waitlist).

ps. as soon as you can pay your deposit you should in order to reserve your space. I think you have up to 30 days, but have had friends who were initially offered a spot that were then waitlisted when they delayed paying the deposit...
 
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The shortage of private maternity beds in HK is a reality, so you're right to make sure you get an early booking. By your dates I figure you're only around 4-5 weeks, so you're well within the window to get a bed. My understanding is that you have to have a scan showing a viable pregnancy for Matilda to process your booking (although not quite sure what that means. I remember from my last pregnancy that my 4+4 scan was too early so I had to get another 2 weeks later and they used that). Your Obs will submit your request. You'll then get an email (via your Obs) giving the outcome. Either accepted (in which case you have 28 days to pay the $20,000 deposit so you can usually wait till after your 12 week scan and then pay), waitlisted, or declined.

Of course, Matilda is only one option, and depending on where you live might not be the best choice for you.
 
Congrats! I submitted my application to Matilda at 7 weeks, though they wont tell you if you've gotten a room or not until the prerequisite 9 weeks. I confirmed my booking with them by 10 weeks but they give you about for weeks to confirm by deposit once a bed has opened to you.
 
Matilda International Hospital maternity bookings

Hi Ladies. We (at Matilida International Hospital) have been reading various threads lately discussing maternity booking arrangements at our hospital. Some ladies have mentioned a ?waiting list.? We are writing to clarify that there is no waiting list, and any cancellation notification ladies received from our hospital is final. All obstetricians are aware of the number of their deliveries that we can accept and as such, ladies receiving such a notification are strongly advised to work with their doctors for alternative arrangements.

Having said that, we are currently (as at 18 Jan 2012) taking bookings at nine weeks for ETD around end-August. (ETD = estimated time of delivery)

Regards

Christine Lau
Deputy General Manager - Communications
 
Christine@MIH said:
Hi Ladies. We (at Matilida International Hospital) have been reading various threads lately discussing maternity booking arrangements at our hospital. Some ladies have mentioned a ?waiting list.? We are writing to clarify that there is no waiting list, and any cancellation notification ladies received from our hospital is final. All obstetricians are aware of the number of their deliveries that we can accept and as such, ladies receiving such a notification are strongly advised to work with their doctors for alternative arrangements.
Click to expand...

Umm, has the hospital changed its wait list policy since 2010? When we were "waitlisted" (when I was about 14 weeks along I think) our OB had a specific number of people waiting for beds at Matilda ahead of us (initially 6 people), and we were periodically updated with our position on the list as it moved up. We ultimately had a spot confirmed at 28 weeks or something.
 
Congratulations! I wouldn't worry about it. I go to the same clinic and see Dr. Doo. He delivered my first at Matilda in 2010 and I was confirmed as soon as he sent in the request. I am due with my second in May and was much later than you to find out. Because of this he thought I would not be able to get a immediate spot at Matilda and got me a confirmed spot at Aventis.

If the office has told you they think you will get a spot you likely will as she probably has a list and you are pretty high on the list. I think the Dr. and office has a good idea as the spaces they have available so don't worry.
 
elle said:
Umm, has the hospital changed its wait list policy since 2010? When we were "waitlisted" (when I was about 14 weeks along I think) our OB had a specific number of people waiting for beds at Matilda ahead of us (initially 6 people), and we were periodically updated with our position on the list as it moved up. We ultimately had a spot confirmed at 28 weeks or something.
Click to expand...

Maybe Matilda doesn't FORMALLY waitlist you, but your OB keeps going in to bat for you to see if spaces are available? I booked at Matilda at 5 weeks 5 days and unfortunately did not get offered a place until around 15 weeks which was way too late as i had already accepted and paid deposit at Adventist. Such a shame as i gave birth to my son at Matilda and was absolutely positive I would get a spot at less than 6 weeks with Dr Lord, but not in time unfortunately)-: Matilda should really think about moving their processing times to well before 9 weeks.
 
Thanks everyone! I am going to do my best to trust Dr.Mok's assessment; this being our first baby, I definitely feel overwhelmed all that is happening.
 
Trust is the most important thing I believe, there are too many "new" things and one less thing to worry unnecessarily about is always good for you.
 
"Matilda should really think about moving their processing times to well before 9 weeks."

I disagree. So many pregnancies fail before 8 weeks. If they start accepting at 5 weeks it's just a crazy scramble from finding out you're pregnant, finding an Obs and getting your booking in, and then probably loads of cancellations due to pregnancy losses. I think the 9 week rule is pretty sensible.
 
I'm 5 weeks pregnant and have been told by my clinic that Matilda (and a few other hospitals!) is full.... Just saw this thread - have things changed so much in the past 2 months that Matilda is taking bookings much earlier than 9 weeks now??.... **stressing out**
 
Hi Lost,

I received confirmation for Matilda about 3 weeks ago, right around my 9 week point. So, my Dr was correct that I shouldn't worry. I guess what I would tell you is too trust your Dr. If you have one who interns for the hospital of your choice, you are very likely to get a spot, provided you jump through all the hoops with document submission, and get your testing done on time.

Congrats and good luck!
 
I had no trouble getting confirmation for Matilda for Sept. My OB applied with all the requirements right on 9 weeks and I received the confirmation about a week and a half later via email. My OB had told me that I shouldn't have any problems getting confirmation and she was right. This is my second baby and both times I have been confirmed straight away. My understanding is that when you apply your application must include an ultrasound that has verified a heartbeat and a blood test result so these need to be completed before 9 weeks, but your OB should be on top of it all.
 
Hospital Booking

I'm pregnant 8 weeks now and new to these thread. Will go to Matilda Hospital to make some quires soon. My hubby suggest that if we need to make booking earlier, we should do so by now although my pregnancy is still early.
 
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Yes your husband is right...especially at Matilda. It will be easier for your OBGYN to book for you, if he or she is a resident doctor at the hospital of your choice, your chances will be better. Congrats!
 
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