Bled to Death after giving Birth
- 04-18-2008, 07:23 PM #9Registered User
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Barbwong thanks for those figures, really interesting to see where all the different countries are placed.
I would assume that there are possibly stories in both public and private hospitals that we don not read about in the paper, so I'm not sure we can condemn one system or the other.
- 04-18-2008, 08:55 PM #10Registered User
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I agree with Rebekah and Smiles. Even though death from childbirth is rare in developed countries that doesn't mean it doesn't happen at all. Doctors are not infallible and patients are not always going to have the best outcome regardless of being at low risk. The article does not give much information regarding the patient's condition. This article appears to only be writing about the private hospitals and not giving any facts or figures for public facilities.
There are so many successful births yet we hear of so many horror stories dominating the media. I try to focus on the positive as I rapidly approach my due date and try to tune out the negative stories that seem to always buzz in my ear during pregnancy. Unfortunately, shocking and sad stories sell news papers and keep the coffee chats going.
- 04-18-2008, 09:38 PM #11Registered User
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I've found another web site which has statistics for just Hong Kong and gives a very positive image of our health system (both public and private together).
Hong Kong 2006 Year Book – Health – Introduction
http://www.yearbook.gov.hk/2006/en/08_01.htm
2006 Figures at a Glance
Infant Mortality Rate: 1.8 per 1,000 registered live births
Maternal Mortality Ratio: 0.0 per 100,000 registered live births
(Nil cases of registered maternal death)
Life Expectancy:
2006 - 79.5 (Male) and 82.5 (Female)
2033 - 85.6 (Male) and 88.0 (Female) projected
This infant morality rate was reported as the lowest in the world in 2006.
Hong Kong 2005 Year Book – Health – Introduction
http://www.yearbook.gov.hk/2005/en/08_01.htm
Vital Statistics in 2005
Infant Mortality Rate: 2.4 per 1,000 registered live births
Maternal Mortality Ratio: 1.8 per 100 000 registered live births
(One case of registered maternal death)
Life Expectancy:
2005 – 78.8 (Male) and 84.4 (Female)
2033 - 82.5 (Male) and 88.0 (Female) projected
- 04-18-2008, 11:54 PM #12Registered User
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While I'd agree that both mistakes and unavoidable deaths happen everywhere and HK's record is relatively good, it still seems alarming that the necessary doctors at Adventist were not available when needed. I would imagine that this problem is less likely to happen in the major public hospitals in HK. The fact that private doctors routinely refer difficult cases to the public system is an indication that mothers and babies do carry a higher risk delivering in private hospitals should something unexpected happen.
- 04-19-2008, 12:01 AM #13Registered User
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konradsmum - if you have a medical condition that makes a VB inadvisable, then you'd be able to get a CS at a public hospital. If it's a personal preference, maybe not so easy - but you'd probably get your wish. HK is notoriously CS happy - even in the public sector.
In the experiences of me and my friends who for 100% medical reasons simply cannot have a VB - they make you wait until 34/26 weeks before they will confirm a CS.
- 04-19-2008, 10:57 AM #14
One of my friends knows the lady who died in Jan, and apprently she told the nurse that she was in pain and they told her it's normal and being her first baby she trust the nurse who only gave her some pain killer then it wasn't until her mum came to visit that they found out she was bleeding really bad.... this is so scary cause to a first time mum you just don't know what to expect and you trust the professionals to take care of you.
- 04-20-2008, 06:40 PM #15Registered User
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My friend is a doctor who worked in peadiatrics at Queen Mary hospital, she said that the public hospitals in HK are much better than the private. Queen Mary is one of the best as they are a teaching and research hospital of HKU and have all the best equipment and facilities. Private hospitals do not have adequate facilities for serious complications, e.g. mothers and babies are transfered from matilda hospital to Queen Mary if there is an emergency situation.
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