I'm pregnant with my second child and this is my first pregnancy in HK. I have private insurance but fairly quickly ruled out a private hospital because I'm not happy with the policies of our nearest private hospital (Union). So I decided I would go through the public system, but then started thinking about how I wanted to have a non-medicalised birth as much as possible. I don't really want to give birth is a hospital full stop (unless I become high-risk of course). I couldn't see a way around this in HK. So my alternative is to go back to my home country and attend a birthing centre instead.
Unfortunately its quite a long flight (12 hours) and I think I'd need to be back home by about 34 weeks (I don't think I would comfortably fly after that period). I'm guessing I'd need to stay for about 4 weeks after the birth before returning to HK. So all up that would be about 10 weeks. It will probably work out more expensive then having baby in a private hospital here!
Has anyone else traveled this far to give birth elsewhere? How did you find it? Any regrets and would you do it again? Thanks.
For the birth of my first child I chose to go back to my home country to give birth for the reasons you mentioned above. Also, I wanted to be around my family at the time of the birth. I wanted to have a 100% natural, medication-free childbirth that was directed by my husband and I. I wanted to have a midwife present at my birth instead of a doctor. I basically wanted the birthing center experience. We didn't have any insurance at the time so private hospitals in Hong Kong were out of the question. I had major problems with the doctor-centric attitude here in HK where women often are told they're crazy or foolish or don't know as much as the doctors so they should just sit back and do as they're told.
I chose to go back. I left Hong Kong when I was 27 weeks pregnant and my belly barely fit behind the meal tray on the airplane. My flight was 26 hours with three layovers that totaled more than 8 hours of waiting in airports. But, I was determined to go back and I did. Actually, I had to have a note from my doctor stating that I was fit to fly and I had to present it at check-in. The airport staff, seeing how big I was told me that they would contact the pilot as he had the final say in whether he would allow me on the flight--so until I actually boarded the airplane, I didn't know if I would be allowed on the flight. As far as I know, flying at 34 weeks is probably a little too late for any long flight--I guess it depends on the airline but I was told that I needed to fly before 30 weeks in order to even be considered to board the flight.
My experience with the midwives, nurses and the hospital where I gave birth were amazing. My husband joined 38 weeks so I spent 10 weeks separated from him overseas. I went into labor naturally on my due date at exactly 40 weeks. My labor was long and tiring and in many ways difficult but I was able to do it 100% naturally with the encouragement and support of my "team" (husband, mother, midwife and nurses).
I hemmorraged after I gave birth but my midwife had anticipated that and when she saw my face for the first time at my 28-week appointment she said in her southern drawl, "Honey, you have red hair and fair skin, in my 30+ years of experience working in birth centers, hospitals and doing home births I've seen so many women like you bleed. But don't worry, if that happens, I know what to do." She also gave me a hug at the end of that appointment and thanked me for choosing natural childbirth. And she did know what to do and she saved my life after the birth of my son. She stuck by me and kept my birth intervention-free. I doubt I could have had that same experience here in Hong Kong.
My husband was coached on how to "catch" the baby when he came out and got to cut his umbilical cord. We experienced the utmost in dignity and care where I gave birth.
So, I have never heard of any experience quite like this in any of the HK hospitals. When my son was born the midwife asked, "So, would you like to sing a song or say a prayer? Many families like to do some sort of thing like this to honor this special moment."
It just depends on how one sees childbirth. From reading the posts on this site sometimes I get the impression that many women in HK see birth simply as a physical act and as long as neither the baby nor mother die in the process things are successful. But, birth can be traumatic--because of unforseen circumstances or just the insensistivity of hosptial staff. I think it is important to take into account the profound emotional and spiritual consequences of birth as well as the physical realities before deciding where you will give birth.
For us, because of my blood loss, I had some extra complications that took awhile to heal. I also tore quite badly and had a lot of stitches. In total we spent an additional 6 weeks after the birth in my country and then as a family made the trek back to HK.
It was not easy. It was a very stressful time because we were staying with relatives and felt a little unsettled with a newborn. Coming back to HK with a newborn on a plane for that many hours and that many layovers was difficult as well. I was still swollen from the IV fluids (which I reacted not well to) even at 6 weeks post-partum so flying on a plane was misery.
If I had to do it over again, I would. However, this time around, for this pregnancy (I'm 6 months pregnant now) we're staying in HK to give birth. I feel like after making it through 43 hours of natural, unmedicated labor, there is nothing the HK system can throw at me that I can't handle. We are fortunate that we can give birth in a private hospital this time so that my husband can be by my side throughout labor and having gone through it once at least we have a game plan for this go around based on what we experienced before. I wish I could be back with my previous midwife (whom I'm still in regular contact with) in the wonderful hospital I gave birth to my son in but know I'm strong enough to handle the "less-than-perfect" (in my opinion) options in HK.