Giving birth in Beijing

 

 

Shelley Nania (UK) and baby Maya

 

Amcare hospital

We live here and there are good, international-standard facilities at the city’s private hospitals, such as Amcare. Also, I only had four months of paid maternity leave, which wouldn’t have given me enough time to travel back to the UK [pregnant women are at a higher risk of suffering deep vein thrombosis, so many prefer not to fly in the last month of pregnancy; plus, many airlines don’t allow women on board if they are eight months pregnant].

 

Most of my colleagues at the British Embassy had their children at Beijing United Family Hospital (Beijing UFH), but my insurance would not cover the high costs. A few had theirs at Amcare hospital and were happy with the overall experience.

 

I was very pleased with the hospital’s cleanliness and facilities, as well as the friendly and caring staff. Nevertheless, the doctors and nurses were not as forthcoming as UK ones in giving explanations for certain conditions or in showing you how to nurse your baby. Because of this, we had an Australian lactation consultant called Bronwyn Smith (135 2222 9077; breastfeeding.support.in.china@gmail.com) visit us at home after the birth. I also took Kathy Levitan’s prenatal delivery class at Beijing UFH (135 2007 8429; beijingchildbirthclass@yahoo.com) beforehand. Though there were also useful classes at Amcare in Chinese, I found that they did not go into as much detail.

 

Enjoy having your baby in Beijing. People on the street might criticise you for not keeping yourself (or your baby) inside for the first 40 days, as is the custom here, but it’s just because they’re concerned. You should buy an air filter for your home – it’s never unwise to guard against pollution. After speaking to other foreigners about what hospitals they used, in retrospect, I probably would have gone with Beijing UFH if my insurance had covered it. I would have preferred a doctor who spoke English.

 

Pre-pay prenatal care and delivery costs around 40,000RMB, but can vary according to individual cases. For example, a C-section costs an additional 20,000RMB.

 

 

 

Helena Li (USA) and baby Josephine

 

 

Because the standard of medical care is high and travelling back to America prior to the last weeks of pregnancy would have required too much time off work.

 

It was highly recommended by other expats and my insurance covered it. If it hadn’t, I probably would have gone with Amcare.

 

The midwife who attended the birth was caring and professional. The doctor didn’t arrive until the last few minutes, but that was fine with me. On the other hand, our prenatal experience varied wildly from doctor to doctor. I came in with high standards, given the costs involved at Beijing UFH, and was at times disappointed when communication fell short.

 

There’s no need to return to your home country. The care in Beijing can be just as good, but you also have to manage your expectations; paying more does not always ensure a better service. Make sure you have insurance as early as possible. Finally, I highly recommend the Beijing Mamas Yahoo group as a place to get good advice, as well as trade maternity and children’s items.

 

Delivery costs around 56,000RMB but can vary. Prenatal care starts around 450RMB a session, depending on the appointment length and the doctor you see, but with tests such as the ultrasound nuchal translucency screening, this can rocket up to 5,000RMB. You can prepay for the basic prenatal package, which costs from 12,600RMB.

 

 

 

Who?

Ivy Makelin (USA) and baby Gabriel

 

The hospital

 

Why did you decide to give birth in Beijing?
Because I live and work here, and it just seemed impractical to leave for a few months.

 

Well, I had my first baby at Beijing UFH. It was a natural birth, but I found it quite difficult. They had a Jacuzzi there, and I used that when labour became very intense – it really relieved the pain! However, I then had to get out and give birth on the bed. After that, I started reading up on water births. One book in particular, Gentle Life Choices by Barbara Harper, helped seal it for me. Ideally, I wanted a water birth at home, but that can be difficult to find in Beijing, so I went to Antai.

 

How would you describe the care?

I had a great experience. I went along to Antai when I was about 34 weeks pregnant and brought my birth plan – something they’d never seen before. It used to be a public hospital, so they still had a little of that attitude. It took a while for them to accept my plan, which didn’t involve medication. So I emailed the hospital director, Dr Chen, with my ideas; he was encouraging and promised they would do their best to follow my wishes. For example, I wanted my husband to join me in the tub; however, the one they had was too small. So, about a week before I gave birth, Dr Chen asked me to pick out a larger one. They installed it, and a few days after that, I gave birth. Antai have now come up with a multiple-choice birthplan, just in case you don’t want to make your own. That’s quite advanced for a local hospital.

 

Any advice for Beijing-based expecting mums?

I think that if a mother has a clear birthplan and philosophy, as well as reasonable Mandarin, it would be fine to go here. First, talk to Dr Gao, who speaks good English. Then perhaps have your birthplan translated into Chinese, too. Also, do your own reading on both water and natural childbirth, so that you can have more control; at any hospital there will always be a dynamic where the doctors think they know better than you.

 

Delivery costs around 17,000RMB but can vary. Prenatal appointments cost around 300RMB per session (a 3D colour ultrasound is 500RMB).