How to have a baby in Hong Kong: Part 1

I know most of you don't care.

This series of posts is for any of you who are interested in how maternity care happens in Hong Kong and differs from maternity care in the States. It is also for the 2 people in cyberspace who might ever type the phrase "how to have a baby in Hong Kong" into google and come across this blog. I hope this helps you!

I'm about 15 weeks pregnant and the only reason I've waited to see a doctor until now is because we were waiting on our HK resident visas. With a HK resident visa (ID card) you can use the public health care system, even if your passport is from a country other than Hong Kong. The public health care system is WAY cheaper than the private system and as far as I have heard, just as good.

(For example, none of the private hospitals actually have a neonatal intensive care unit. So if your baby is premature or needs intensive care for some reason, the baby will be transferred to a public hospital, even if you give birth in a super expensive private hospital. So enjoy your recovery in a 5 star room with a fantastic view on top of Victoria Peak while your baby gets moved somewhere else.)

Since I found out I was pregnant, I have been searching the internet and asking specific questions about what to do first when seeking maternity care. And I never got the clear answers I was looking for.

Two Australian friends plan to deliver in the public system, but went to a private doctor first to have their pregnancy confirmed. The private doctor then gave them a referral letter to go to the public hospital for initial blood work and ultrasound. This is what they told me I had to do... except that didn't make sense to me. Why should I have to go to a private doctor first?

I asked one of our HK office staff what she did when she was pregnant. She referred me to the Hospital Authority website (which is generally quite helpful) that said I needed to go register at the hospital and bring identification documents and the results of my pregnancy test... which I was supposed to get from a doctor or pharmacy.

So clearly I was supposed to see a doctor (or pharmacy?) first.

I decided that the best thing to do was simply go to the public clinic in Mui Wo and ask questions. So this morning Josiah and I went down to the clinic. The staff were quite helpful and I got more than just my questions answered. This is how it went:

1. I checked in with registration. I paid HK $45 (US $5.84) for a consultation with the doctor. Registration gave me a number to see the doctor and then sent me to the nurse.

2. The nurse gave me a small paper cup and told me to go pee in it. (Truly it would have been more convenient to not have Josiah along for this.) I brought my pee back to him and he put some on a pregnancy test. Turns out, it was positive.

3. The nurse put the pregnancy test in a tiny ziplock and told me to take it to the doctor. (The doctor didn't keep it though, so I'm not sure how long I'm supposed to!)

4. Josiah and I did the exercise video playing in the waiting room while we waited for my number to be called. And he generally ran around like a wild little white boy. Thankfully there were not many people there.

5. The doctor looked at my positive pregnancy test and asked some questions... when was my last period?... was this pregnancy planned?... did I want the baby?... was I vomiting much?... etc. Then he printed out a letter - my proof of pregnancy. He explained a bit about my choice of hospitals (by ferry, road, or helicopter... more on that later) and interacted with Josiah very well.

6. So now I wait until Monday, July 25 when the Maternal & Child Health Center is open. The MCHC (and presumably the OBGYNs) are only at the Mui Wo Clinic on the 2nd and 4th Mondays of the month. Unfortunately, there won't be an ultrasound on this date because that is done at the hospital. So I suppose going to the private doctor might have saved me this step, but that's ok. I think the MCHC will do a general prenatal checkup and refer me to the hospital to have the other stuff done. Maybe by the time I have my first ultrasound, we'll know the gender of the baby! :)

So there you go... my first visit to the doctor. Overall, a very positive (and cheap) experience. We'll see how Part 2 goes in a little over a week!