[echance]

I have read several messages about the cost of childbirth here in Hong Kong. My wife and I want to go with public hospitals and general wards but I am a bit confused and have several questions:

1. What are the costs for prenatal care?
2. What are the costs for delivery in a public hospital?
3. When you go to a public hospital does simply any doctor available perform the birth? Or do you have to specifically ask for your doctor? Do you have to pay the doctor separately from the hospital?
4. I have seen messages stating that public hospital delivery is HKD 400. What actual service is HKD400? Just the facilities or also the doctor's fees? Can you go to a public hospital for both prenatal and antenatal care?

[carang]

answers to your questions....

1)costs of prenatal care?
-nil...if you use the public system...you don't even pay for any needed medication(i was on blood pressure meds for the last two months and didn't pay for anything)
2)costs of delivery in pub hospital?
-nil....it's all included in the per day charges
3)any doctor available?separate charges?
-a)yes, any doctor that's there...
-b)no, everything is included if you use general wards
4)$400?
-that is the estimate of total charges...
-you pay the hospital on a per day basis(+$50 admission charge)...so if you're there for 3 days, you pay $350 EVERYTHING INCLUDED!....you do not pay for follow up visits generally...however, there may be a nominal fee for follow up for mum($60)
-i had a complicated pregnancy, was hospitalised 4 times throughout it, the last time was for 15 days(including the birth)...totally i paid $2400(that's for 25 days for me and 3 for baby)
-i had an emergency c-section obviously with epidural and that was my total paid including antenatal and so far post natal visits!


i hope that helps!

[JennyB]

I paid $250 total for delivery 16 months ago, everything included. There were about 3 times during the prenatal care that I had to pay $80, like for scans maybe. And the medical care is really good, if a little old-fashioned at times by western standards. You can search this forum for other threads about what the public hospitals are like and how to register. Good luck!

[intrigue]

Hi,

I paid HK$630 for a ten day stay at Queen Mary (I stayed longer as I was being induced... several times before the baby figured on making an appearance).

Other than that... pre natal was at Tsan Yuk and that was free except when I had a scan and they cost $60 a go... but if you pay something like $250 you get a picture to take home.

If you have any other questions on Queen Mary feel free to ask!

[carang]

you must have had your baby before they raised the prices... it used to be $68/day... it's now $100/day....
the photo of the scan is $290....i had my baby on feb 12, 2005, so my info is quite up to date...

[intrigue]

gosh yes! but still well worth the money!

[kashismum]

My husband is quite anti-public hospitals, but as we don't have insurance, I'm trying to convince him that delivering in a public hospital will be ok. His main concerns are:
- will he be able to stay with me during labour?
- will he only be able to visit me and baby for 4 hours a day during visiting hours. He wants to spend time with us in the first few days which he feels is critical.
- will they let him hold the baby as soon as he/she is born?

I've read previous threads on similar topics, but things seem to have been very different pre-SARS. I spent 3 months in PYNEH last year and we found the visiting hours to be difficult and the staff to be very inflexible.

Appreciate recent experiences that can answer my questions.

Cheers

[carang]

QMH is very strict with visiting hours... they are 12-1pm and 6-8pm...he would not be able to stay with you outside of those hours unless you leave the ward and sit in the "fathers' room"