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Tsuen Wan Adventist Hospital-My Experience

  1. #9
    TheQuasimother is offline Registered User
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    We've used the TW Adventist (not for maternity) and will only choose it as a last resort. I'd rather go to a public hospital than be there!

    It is exactly as you said, dirty toilets, poor ward etiquette, poor communication - we were always avoided because we didn't speak Cantonese and there was always a wait for someone who could speak English, and nurses who don't seem to have their act together. Even the Drs who were too busy with private patients (or at their clinic) to consult inhouse patients.

    It was definitely a public hospital experience at private hospital prices.

    Good Luck Thanka2! I hope your experience works out better than your current impression (and my experience)!

    “If you want to get to the castle, you’ve got to swim the moat.” Richard Jenkins in Eat Pray Love

  2. #10
    thanka2 is offline Registered User
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    Quote Originally Posted by TheQuasimother View Post
    We've used the TW Adventist (not for maternity) and will only choose it as a last resort. I'd rather go to a public hospital than be there!

    It is exactly as you said, dirty toilets, poor ward etiquette, poor communication - we were always avoided because we didn't speak Cantonese and there was always a wait for someone who could speak English, and nurses who don't seem to have their act together. Even the Drs who were too busy with private patients (or at their clinic) to consult inhouse patients.

    It was definitely a public hospital experience at private hospital prices.

    Good Luck Thanka2! I hope your experience works out better than your current impression (and my experience)!
    Wish someone had warned me that it's pretty much "the ghetto" there. But, as I said, I don't think that I can give birth there at this point as the information we were originally given has changed literally 2-3 times in the past 2 days.

    If I could get on a plane and go back and give birth at the hospital I gave birth at in the States, I would do that but for now, we have to make lemonade with these lemons. Such a silly, outdated system going on here in HK.

  3. #11
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    carang is offline Registered User
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    oh, no! i'm so sorry... this is NOT what you need when you're about to pop!

    is there any other hospital that you can go to?

    really, public hospitals are not as bad as some make them out to be. i wonder what would happen if you showed up at QMH in the midst of labour? i don't think they'd turn you away, even if you are not in their catchment area...maybe you'd have more luck there? only problem would be getting your medical records there in time...


  4. #12
    thanka2 is offline Registered User
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    Quote Originally Posted by carang View Post
    oh, no! i'm so sorry... this is NOT what you need when you're about to pop!

    is there any other hospital that you can go to?

    really, public hospitals are not as bad as some make them out to be. i wonder what would happen if you showed up at QMH in the midst of labour? i don't think they'd turn you away, even if you are not in their catchment area...maybe you'd have more luck there? only problem would be getting your medical records there in time...
    Well, good for me that I am actually registered in the public hospital--at Pamela Youde in Chai Wan--Thank God for that! Originally, I had planned to give birth there actually but then my parents-in-law raised some concerns and we honestly were told that it wasn't a for-sure thing that my husband could be with me in the public hospital (told this by the staff there) so...

    But, then we were reading documents from PY tonight that say that the husband is allowed. So, I hope what's in print overrides what we've been told when we asked. So, I've actually attended quite a few prenatal checkups at PY and they have all my files. But PY is waaaay over in Chai Wan which is just about as far as you can get from our house. Also, thankfully my parents-in-law live like about 5-10 minutes by taxi away from the hospital (in Shau Kei Wan) but I'm not so sure about actually going through labor at their house.

    I was telling my husband tonight that maybe we just kick them out of the house and give them money to go stay in a nice hotel room :) Then we stay at their house and labor until I'm pretty much in pushing mode and then go to the hospital. For me, the big deal is being there after the baby is born so that if I bleed like I did last time someone can stick a few shots in me and make my uterus clamp down. Otherwise, I probably would just "accidentally" give birth at home. :)

    It has been a bit stressful but honestly, I'm glad to find out now that the doctor is pretty flaky (even though he's a really nice guy otherwise) than to get into labor and realize he is way out of his depth.

  5. #13
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    carang is offline Registered User
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    i've only ever heard good things about PYNH! i am sure you will be fine. AFAIK, husbands are allowed unless there is an emergency c-section and even then it seems to be the luck of hte draw and i was unlucky...


  6. #14
    Shenzhennifer is offline Registered User
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    Yeah, save your PILs 50-60k and go public. At least you'll be able to do more what you want, AND have unlimited access to her afterwards, for me, a match point.
    As you know, my experience at PMH was far from the horrors I expected. Pre and post care(in hospital) were great, 90% of staff were great, and if you don't mind crying babies all around you for a day or two, I really don't see the downside for a natural delivery there.
    I've been to TWAH quite a few times, and my husband stayed there for surgery for a few days. Their 5 bedrooms are more cramped than the public wards(by half), the single rooms are ok(there is more than one i thought), but not luxurious in any way, but right next to the nursery. The food is indeed vegetarian, is expensive and tastes disgusting(pmh waaaay better). The staff I came across was ok, not great, not terrible, but the public servants did speak more English for sure. The doctors are blood suckers(but I think that of most privates I have experienced here) and will charge your for unnecessary things.
    It's a heck of a lot of money to spend for something that you are unsure of, regardless of who is footing the bill.
    Oh, and you wondered where all the money went there. I'd have a look at the cars in the parking lot. The money clearly goes in the docs pockets:)
    Whatever you decide, just know that it's only for a couple of days and that the end result is a healthy baby. You will most likely get over everything else when you bring home your little girl.


  7. #15
    thanka2 is offline Registered User
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    Quote Originally Posted by Shenzhennifer View Post
    Yeah, save your PILs 50-60k and go public. At least you'll be able to do more what you want, AND have unlimited access to her afterwards, for me, a match point.
    As you know, my experience at PMH was far from the horrors I expected. Pre and post care(in hospital) were great, 90% of staff were great, and if you don't mind crying babies all around you for a day or two, I really don't see the downside for a natural delivery there.
    I've been to TWAH quite a few times, and my husband stayed there for surgery for a few days. Their 5 bedrooms are more cramped than the public wards(by half), the single rooms are ok(there is more than one i thought), but not luxurious in any way, but right next to the nursery. The food is indeed vegetarian, is expensive and tastes disgusting(pmh waaaay better). The staff I came across was ok, not great, not terrible, but the public servants did speak more English for sure. The doctors are blood suckers(but I think that of most privates I have experienced here) and will charge your for unnecessary things.
    It's a heck of a lot of money to spend for something that you are unsure of, regardless of who is footing the bill.
    Oh, and you wondered where all the money went there. I'd have a look at the cars in the parking lot. The money clearly goes in the docs pockets:)
    Whatever you decide, just know that it's only for a couple of days and that the end result is a healthy baby. You will most likely get over everything else when you bring home your little girl.
    Y'know, actually none of what I'm concerned about has anything to do with how comfortable the hospital is. I don't care how hard the beds are or how yucky/good the food is because in my mind, all those things can be overcome. (And in labor with my first, I couldn't eat at all I was so nauseous so food didn't have much importance to me--afterward, my husband brought me food that was yummy). I do, however, care about the amount of true respect that's shown to me as the one in labor and my husband. I do care that my wishes are followed (barring true medical emergencies--and of course we've adjusted for those in our birth plan). Because, giving birth to me, isn't "just another medical procedure." I think I could give birth in a barn on a stack of hay (like my ancestors were doing, ha!) But, it's definitely more of a philosophy about what birth is for me.

    Yes, of course, everyone's goal is a healthy outcome for mother and child but from my own experience, I believe that the best way to ensure that for me and my child is to do things the way I've prepared to do them. It works. I've experienced it. I do have the advantage of this being my second birth so I'm not just dealing with theoretical concepts here. The evidence is there.

    So, I don't care about crying babies or things like that--but in order for me to make it through childbirth the way that it needs to be done, I do need certain non-negotiables--maybe totally fine for other people to compromise--but to me, these are extremely important--just as important as rooming-in or breastfeeding are to some people, honestly. These non-negotiables (and I'll repeat again--everything changes in a true emergency--but often true emergencies can be avoided by not messing with the birth process in the first place) are:

    -My husband is with me for the entire labor and birth--not only is he my birth coach, he is my advocate--I refuse to be left in the hands of doctors whom I don't know (and they may be the best in the world) without someone to speak on my behalf while I'm in labor. He is my security and my sense of calm and just as much a part of this baby-making and birthing process as I am.

    -I will not be strapped down to a bed and tethered to a fetal heart monitor or IV (which my doctor admitted to me the other day--when the heart monitor shows that the baby is doing well it means the baby is well but if it shows any signs of distress the statistics show that the heart monitor is usually wrong 50% of the time--those are some sad odds, I'm afraid for a machine that many doctors put their full faith in).

    -I will not be forced to give birth in a position that is not conducive to actually birthing a child (lying on your back) but is instead convenient for hospital staff. It's not rocket science to "catch a baby" when the woman is in an upright position. I mean, heck, my husband, who is not a medical professional "caught" my son when he was born--there isn't much too it. So, basically, the staff needs to adjust to what works for me--not the other way around--especially when the position they prefer is known to increase my incidence of complications--why do something that is unhealthy for mom and baby just because it's "traditional" (actually, giving birth upright has a far longer history around the world) and convenient for hospital staff (because they can sit on their nice little stool and don't have to actually move out of their comfort zone--I mean, heck, if I'm the one going through the discomfort of childbirth, the least they can do is be "inconvenienced" a bit)

    -I will not be bullied or manipulated into inducing or augmenting labor just because a doctor pulls out the "fetal distress" card (which has a 50% chance of being wrong anyway). I will not be pushed to take medication--instead I need staff that respect and stand by me in my decision.

    -I will not be put under stress because of arbitrary time limits. I realize that HK is a busy place and that maybe someone is waiting for my bed but, they'll just have to wait. Birth is something that should NEVER be rushed (and I'll repeat for the third time, except in case of true emergencies but again, sometimes it's hard to tell which came first--the intervention or the emergency--there is clear clinical evidence showing that interventions increase the risk of emergencies). It is absolutely counter-productive to the physiological requirements of labor (relaxation so that the body can dilate and open up etc.) to put a proverbial stopwatch in front of a woman's face while she's in labor.

    So, for this reason, I honestly plan to arrive at the hospital as the baby is emerging from my body. There's not much they can do at that point except allow the baby to be born and then manage any bleeding I might have. I guess it will be win-win then :)

  8. #16
    swiflet412 is offline Registered User
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    I was booked to give birth at TW Adventist Hospital, but eventually gave birth at PYNH in Chai Wan because I was on an outlying island, accessible only by ferry, when the labour began (at wee hours, around 10 days earlier than expected date) and I had to be helicoptered to the nearest hospital with a landing pad. They considered this as an emergency, so they had to take me in.

    Nonetheless, I was a bit pissed that everybody told me not to scream despite I was so much in agony. (The pain of the contractions was so intense, and I was told it was too late for me to take anything to reduce the pain.) I was reprimanded many times -- during the check-up at the island's clinic and also later at the PYNH. After I gave birth, another mom was wheeled into the birthing room, and she whined a bit -- and she was also reprimanded! I wonder whether it was the custom here??

    The nurses, the midwife and the doctor were very encouraging though when the baby began to come out. But before that, they were quite sharp!

    BTW, yes, my husband was allowed to come along in the birthing room...
    Not sure if you planned to save your baby's cord blood? Right after the baby was born, I asked the staff at PYNH about it, and they flatly said no.

    PYNH has some private or semi-private rooms (more spacious than TW Adv.) and I was lucky that day they had one bed in a three-bed room. The food was very good. Half of the nurses could speak English, and the other half not. The drawback is really the distance from home and where my friends and relatives live.

    thanka2, does TW Adventist Hospital allow you to do whatever you want when the labour comes? I discussed the options with my ob-gyn at the hospital, and I was told I had to go the conventional way. (Though in the end, it made no difference for me, because I could barely stand anymore after the contractions began.)


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