public vs private?

[matrix1]

Hi,
my wife is pregnant and we are considering private vs public.
My latest thoughts are to go public but with some extra private scans.
We dont have a lot of spare cash but are not so badly off.
I know a friend who went public, she had a bad time with it, with not getting an epidural, BUT she cant speak any cantonese and also whe is not married and public hospitals i dont believe give equal access rights to unmarried partners.
So, as we are married and my wife can speak some fair cantonese, that should help?
Im a westener, my wife is indonesian.
Then also, i have friends who went 100% private, they got pushed into a CS, and the hospital they chose would not let the husband hold the baby in the first 3 days! so private doesnt always sound perfect to me.

any suggestions?

 

[reei]

which public hospital are u looking at? I went to QE and had fairly good experience there. I had c-section. Ppl who went to Kwong wah speak highly of it, so.. it really depends , I guess. Which area u r at and which public hospital you are looking at. Good luck!

 

[Sazzy]

I am booked in for Queen Mary in Pokfulam. I am going public with some private scans / appointments. I am English and speak no Cantonese. So far, im happy with my experience with the public system.

 

[starbucks2]

I can only speak for Matilda (private) and is was great if you have insurance/are willing to spend your own money. No issues with husband holding the baby (in fact he was offered the option of cutting the cord and went with the baby for the weigh in etc straight after the delivery). I had two normal deliveries at Matilda - no pressure to have a CS although I think that would come down more to the obstetrician rather than the hospital.

 

[matrix1]

Queen Mary in Pokfulam, got antinatal checks at Tsan Yuk in a couple weeks....

 

[lesliefu]

QM is good - but like sazzy i would definitely follow up up with private scans/appointmnets. I am with QMH private and even if I am willing to pay, they are so busy I will probably only be seeing my Dr twice - max. 3 times before I give birth! Scary! but my outside OBGYN is great in a sense I have the "best of both worlds"

 

[Nic]

I gave birth at QMH but back in 2008 but will definitely be going back later this year. Last time I did do some extra antenatal appointments with my private Dr. and will do so again this time.
Both my husband and I are western and speak next to no chinese, but I had an epidural at my request despite my original birth plan stating I didnt want one (little did I know when writing it!)! There was never any question/issue about my husband not being in the delivery room with me.

Short story: I found QMH respected my wishes and I had no problems getting any medical assistance I required. If your looking for a hospital with staff that 'hold your hand' then perhaps the public system is not for you but otherwise I would highly recommend it.

 

[banane76]

I went public too at Queen Mary with checkups starting around week 28 at Tsan Yuk hospital. I was pretty happy with my experience. Just be assertive but respectful when you've been admitted. I also didn't want an epidural in my birth plan, but asked for one in hour 40 with back labour. The staff are professional and most are nice. I had one crappy nurse who wasn't so great...she looked 18 and told me that labour is supposed to be painful...thanks for letting me know. Anyways, best of luck! We did our checkups with the private system (less waiting time). And everyone speaks at least a bit of English at QMH. They're used to having foreigners there.

 

[Aava.Wong]

i gave birth in QMH last year too and as the above posters, i agree that QMH is ok at handling foreigners. they were mega busy while i was in the labour room but the doc stayed with me (and hubby) throughout the 3 hours and only got one nurse to help her at the final stage. i got offered an epidural without me asking for it but one of my friends didn't get it even when she asked for it...i dont know what happened there!

definitely better to get some extra private checkups done along with tsan yuk appointments.

@banane76, a nurse told me the same thing - labour is supposed to be painful...!!?!!

 

[fhurley]

I had my baby in Prince of Wales in 2008 and I cannot speak highly enough of the staff there. My partner and I speak not Cantonese and the care was excellent. They tried to follow my birth plan to the letter, dimming the lights and making sure I didn't have an episiotomy. They helped me with breastfeeding and I was allowed to have my baby with me for the duration of my stay in hospital. (You can have your baby taken to the nursery if you wish to rest but I didn't want that) I had private ob visits before hand mainly for the scan pictures and lack of waiting time but was very pleased with the service offered by POW except at the front desk where they can be a bit abrupt.
The thing that swung it for me is that both POW and Queen Mary have the neo natal units. If you go private and something happens to the baby and it needs neo natal care it will be taken to one of these hospitals and you will pay private prices for all the care it receives there as well as your own hospital bill ! No Thanks. My whole birth cost $150 - the car park fees were more $180 !! and I was confident throughout that we were both very well looked after. The only thing missing was the private luxury room....and my choice of Dr for delivery.