Expat in Shenzhen, Mainland wife, thinking of birth in HK

[mrg9192]

Hi there,
I am an American in Shenzhen with a mainland wife who has a Shenzhen hukou (SZ residency). My wife is now three months pregnant with our second child. The first one was born in a hospital here (SZ Fu'er yiyuan) and holds both a mainland and US passport (although technically even before the age of 18, no Chinese citizen is allowed to hold a passport of another country). Because of the one child policy, if we register the second child as mainland Chinese we would have to pay a fine and I think the second child wouldn't have the same privileges for free schooling etc.--so really not much advantage to having the kid in Shenzhen.

Among other reasons, because of this mess the past month about China getting harsh on multiple entry visas, we thought it might be nice for the second child to have a HK ID to make it easier to stay in China.

--It looks like the public hospital delivery package for non-local women is HK$ 39,000 (normal delivery incl. doctors' fees). Has anyone gone this route? Or do most from outside of HK opt for private?
--Have the number of mainland women giving birth in HK, dropped a lot since the mandatory pre-payment rule of a year or two ago? Just curious.
--If the baby is born to a mainland woman does the baby get a HK ID with full benefits?

If we go public, we are thinking Prince of Wales because it has easy access to SZ, has generally good reviews, and is a comprehensive teaching hospital--QMH also is a consideration, though. If private hospitals are within HK$ 20,000 of the public package we are fine with private but would like the baby to with my wife after birth. My wife is fine with the no-frills of public as SZ was similarly no-frills (probably even more so).

From reading the forums, it would seem that my major complaint about the public hospitals is that 'you get who you get' with regard to antenatal checkups (as is the case in SZ). I wish that you could build up a relationship with the OB during the course of the pregnancy.

Any info is appreciated. Thanks.

 

[tikkunolam]

I can't help you with most of your questions regarding public costs for mainland women and the status of the HKID situation. However, if you want to have the same OB, you can always see one privately but still deliver in a public hospital as an option for continuity of care. I know of women who deliver in the public hospitals but still see a private OB. The private OB may not be able to deliver at POW (I think that depends on the doctor and the hospital) but for the 9 months including scans and such, it is nice to have the same doctor in case you need to call or have questions. It costs more for the visits but you get the convenience and peace of mind of having the same doctor and probably an easier time with scheduling appointments and not waiting so long to be seen- especially if you are coming from SZ.

 

[flickserve]

What you can do at PWH is ask their private packages for certain staff. You can follow one of the University staff. However, you have to expect that particular OB may be away for a conference. I think you can get to follow the particular OB of your choice.

 

[mrg9192]

Thanks Tikkunolam and Flickserve. We will be at PWH tomorrow, so we will ask about the private package. With our first baby we did have one checkup with Dr. Derek Lo so that I could get a non-mainland point of view from a doctor. I thought he was very good and he was patient about answering the many questions that I had accumulated from the quick in and out of the Shenzhen doctors. So the private package looks like an option as does going with Dr. Lo for checkups and then PWH for birth.

 

[little Kiwi Dad]

As a Shenzhen expat I just went through the whole process with a mainland wife giving birth in a private hosp in HK 3 weeks ago. Will give you some advice soonest.

 

[bekyboo44]

private doctors can not deliver at public hospitals.

 

[mrg9192]

Looked at a few hospitals on Friday

Kiwi Dad, Would appreciate any input. Thanks.

Bekyboo, yeah, thought that might be the case, but was still interested in building up a relationship with a doctor during the check-up phase.

We took a look at 4 hospitals on Friday, all fairly close to each other: Prince of Wales, Union, St. Teresa, HK Baptist. PWH said that we need a letter from a private practice doctor before they will admit us for the birth package. First I heard of that. I thought things looked fine but wife didn't like the idea of long waits for check-ups after crossing the border.

Next was Union Hospital, where they really seem to have a sales force that sells their product. A saleslady took us up to the delivery floor and showed us the delivery room. Couldn't see an overnight room because they were full. Union's all inclusive mainland package (4 nights in a standard room, incl doctors and food) was 56k for c-section and 46k for vaginal.

St. Teresa's definitely did not have a sales staff. The nurse on the obstetrics floor was nice, and answered questions but it was hard not to feel like we were interrupting. Never set up an appointment because they said they were full until December. Their room package prices for mainland women were 9k more than for HK people.

Hong Kong Baptist seemed quite a bit more cramped than the rest--small hallways and low ceilings--but we were able to have an appointment the same day with a Dr. Yan Choi Man. He seemed nice enough at least and answered our questions. HK$250 for checkup, 800 for ultrasound. He said for c-section it probably would be 55k total and 45k total for vaginal (assuming cheap room) for mainland. After Dr. Yan we went up to delivery floor and talked to a nurse who was quite helpful about our questions.

Now I know why c-section is so popular for mainlanders. Dr. Yan said they suggest mainlanders come in a month before due date if they want a normal delivery, and two weeks before due date for c-section, which will be scheduled that day.

Still undecided, but looking like Union or HK Baptist. One good thing about Union is that (for $200) a female can rent a cot to sleep next to the mother in the room.

 

[mrg9192]

We made a HK$ 40K deposit at Union a few weeks ago because my wife seemed to like the facilities of Union best (a bit quieter, 4 max to a room), but no strong feelings either way. We get 30K of the deposit back if we give them two weeks notice or show them the birth certificate (or something like it) to show the baby was born in Shenzhen.

Last Saturday we scheduled she will check in the hospital the night before and then have c-section the next morning and stay 4 nights post-delivery. If you check in after 8pm then the package includes one night pre-delivery.

The fetal abnormality scan was done in Shenzhen, and it looks like we are averaging that half the check-ups are in Shenzhen and half in Hong Kong. Although you can't schedule appointments ahead of time with doctors in the Shenzhen hospitals, my wife goes to the hospital when she knows a certain doctor will have visiting hours.

 

[megan2008]

Delivering at Union in September

Hello,
I will be delivering at Union Hospital in September. Not sure when your wife is due but if it is after me I can definately let you know how it went. It seems very nice so far. We are seeing a doctor for our check ups who will also deliver the baby. He is a very nice, patient and reassuring doctor and I can give you his name if you are still interested in seeing doctors in Hong Kong. He has an office in two locations, one of which is at Union hospital. Keep in touch.

 

[mrg9192]

Megan,
It would be great to hear about your experience afterwards. The female doctor we have been to at Union Hospital seems intelligent, but a bit less patient and more interested in setting up the date for the delivery.