Need advice please!

[Polly]

Hi Polly

Just read your thread.

I wondered where you intend on having the baby - which hospital that is? You seem as though you're identical to me - I too am 14 weeks. I have just had a 12 week OSCAR scan but don't have another appt scheduled until 20 weeks, which makes me a bit uneasy. I've seen on other threads that most are visiting their doctor every 4 weeks.

Also, I haven't registered at the local maternity health care centres yet - the hospital gave me a list and quite frankly, I'm not sure what they are for. What do they offer that I won't be getting at the hospital.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

Hi, I'm planning to have the baby at the Queen Mary Hospital but actually I've never been there so far. I will sign up for a hospital tour at some stage but I registered directly with Tsan Yuk Hospital, who manage all Queen Mary's ante-natal care. I had my first ante-natal appointment there at 13 weeks and because my pregnancy is regarded as low risk my next appointment is at the Sai Ying Pun Maternal & Child Health Centre, which is just next door. That appointment isn't until 4 December, which is a pretty long time. My scan isn't booked until 18 December, when I'll be 5 months pregnant, which seems really late. But I figure I'll go with the flow, thousands of other women go through this system and have beautiful, healthy babies, so I'm not stressing about it. It would have been nice to have a scan already and, I suppose, if I really wanted to I could pay and have one done privately, but I'm happy enough.

What's been your experience? Where about do you live?

 

[Polly]

Oh, tutor1, should have added that I'm not familiar with registering directly with the hospital so I can't really comment on what the differences might by, maybe none. Which hospital will you be using, maybe they do things differently?

 

[tutor1]

scans n' things

Hi Polly

I had the OSCAR at 12 weeks. I can have an amnio next, I think at 16 weeks, but I'm not sure if I should or shouldn't. While I'm over 35 and therefore considered "advanced maternal age" my test results came back low risk (or they said 'no risk' but I don't understand how they are saying no risk when they give you a 1 in whatever figure). So my next scan, apart from the unscheduled amnio, is on 20 December when I will be 20 weeks. This is when they apparently do the more extensive 'structural' scan and they said, "Be careful to make sure you are at this appointment because it's very hard to get another." I'm at PWH at Sha Tin by the way.

So, as I said, haven't registered for any maternity centres yet. I better get on to it but they are pretty far away from the Sha Tin hospital.

It was great to see the scan at 12 weeks though. If this is your first, it's worth seeing.

 

[Millerwhisk]

anne01

Only just got your message have PM'd you back

 

[Millerwhisk]

Hi tutor1

When I was in the UK having my first child I only saw the doc/midwife at 12 weeks, then 20, then 30, then every week(for about 5 mins) until the birth. If things seem normal - no probs - they tend to leave you to get on with it. Perhaps it is same here.

Anne01

If you go the public route I believe it is pretty much the same as uk with scans at 12 and 20 weeks and then midwife appointments. If you go private you get a scan everytime here - which is lovely but obviously you do pay for it.

One thing I have been told is that regardless of whether you go private, if there is something wrong or complications which the private hospital cannot deal with then you will be sent to Queen Mary anyway.

 

[mocha]

when i was pregnant, i went both private and public for check ups. I think most of the HK women do so.

One thing I have been told is that regardless of whether you go private, if there is something wrong or complications which the private hospital cannot deal with then you will be sent to Queen Mary anyway.

this is what i have been told as well, at none of the private hospital has the child ICU.

 

[greatimp]

Dear tutor1,

The amnio increases the risk os miscarriage by quite a large margin. Since your OSCAR test came back as 'low-risk', don't do the amnio. I'm sure that's what your OBGYN would suggest too.

The OSCAR test does not have positive or negative test results, it's not straightforward like that. If your risk ratio is 1:250 to 1:300 you are considered high risk and that's when an amnio is recommended. Anything like 1:301 and so on is considered low risk and no amnio is needed.

The ratio changes with the age, so check your OBGYN's chart. That ratio I quoted above is for the age of 30.

 

[eos]

Millerwhisk
Have PM'd you again. sorry for late response. was sightseeing with guests!!!

anne01