Posted by
robbieudo
16 yrs ago
Hi, I only found very old threads concerning giving birth in Baptist, St. Teresa, Union or any other hospital on Kowloon site.
I am mainly interested in english speaking staff and support for breastfeeding.
I also need a doctor who delivers in one of this hospitals.
I am very grateful for advice.
And as I pay private cheap options are most welcome:-)
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I visited all three hospitals in April 2007 before deciding on Union because their staff seemed very attentive. They have a hostess who will give you tours and answer questions you may have about the process. At Theresa, they didn't really pay any mind to us, and at Baptist, they were quite busy, even though they did try to answer our questions.
My birthing experience at Union was alright for the most part (you can read my previous response from the older posts), but what annoyed me the most was that my baby was labeled a breastfeeding baby. The nurses gave him formula anyways, which really hindered my ability later to exclusively breastfeed.
I'm now 10 weeks into my second pregnancy, and I've discussed hospital options with my doctor. Union is already booked (but I knew I wouldn't be going back), and she decided to reserve Theresa for me because once they fill up in bookings, they won't add any additional patients. Baptist, on the other hand, will take bookings beyond capacity, making the staff more stretched, and you may be in a general ward as opposed to the OG/GYN ward and farther away from the nursery.
However, this time around, I am leaning towards delivering at Queen Elizabeth, although I haven't visited yet. I am a resident and should be entitled to subsidized care, so I'm not sure as an expat, what the charging scheme would be. I have heard that QE is very pro-breastfeeding, which is my top priority. I would be able to feed in the comfort of my bed as opposed to having to go down to the nursery. I'm not sure if my baby would be sleeping next to me (policies may have changed after SARS), but that's a question I'll also ask when I visit. Another thing I noticed about private hospitals is that there are a lot of mainland mothers, who tend to be more demanding (and sometimes annoying, particularly when they're constantly calling out for the nurses during feeding time).
In terms of English speaking, I noticed a bulletin board at Baptist that displayed a bunch of thank you cards and postcards from expat mommies who delivered there. When I was at Union, there was one expat mommy, and there didn't seem to be an issue with communication.
Lastly, my doctor (in Argyle Center) now has a new policy that she will only take new patients who wish to deliver via c-section. She typically charges about $700 per visit (not sure how cheap that is compared to doctors on the island). If you want her details, let me know and I can PM them to you. If I refer you, she may be lenient on the new policy, but no promises. Her English is pretty good.
Hope this helps!
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Hi bluetapestries, I send you a pm already. I am interested in QE too for the same reasons. Someone told me the dad is not able to hold the baby in Baptist or St. Teresa and you have to go to nursery to feed the baby. Did anybody make personal experience and can let me know. I hope its a wrong information:-)
Very interested in Queen Elizabeth experience too. Can my husband stay with me all the time? Is it possbile to get a private or semi-private room? How about POW in comparsion? Or are public hospitals all the same?
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bluetapestries, as an resident expat you would be entitled to the same subsidy as any other resident. So basically HK$100/day in public hospital.
Most public hospitals are pro-breastfeeding and babies are allowed to sleep next to the mothers. Feeding is done in bed. The husband is allowed to be with you throughout the birth and when you first go to the ward. Other than that it's visiting hours only but these have been extended recently. Since the charges came in for mainland women the public hospitals have become much more relaxing places to be. Remember if there are problems in labour you will end up going to specialists in public hospitals anyway.
Private hospitals do tend to be more detached in experience but obviously more comfortable as the room choices are more varied. But they are filled mainly with people from the mainland who can be loud and demanding.
We researched both choices and last year settled on PWH as they are well known for maternity, English is good and they were friendly even though they are a public hospital. We'd certainly go back there again.
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