How to have a baby in Hong Kong: Part 2a

At the doctor's orders, I went to the Maternal & Child Health Clinic (MCHC) today. It is only open at the Mui Wo Clinic on the 2nd and 4th Mondays of the month. As far as I can tell, they do well-child visits, routine cervical screenings, and the meaningless prenatal visits that consist of peeing in a cup and measuring your belly.

I presented my referral letter from the doctor and the lady at registration gave me a paper and told me to call Tsan Yuk Hospital. She informed me that before I could be seen at the MCHC, I had to attend an initial appointment at the hospital.

Thankfully, I already knew this (from information friends had shared) and had already called to make the hospital appointment, which is set for August 4th.

Silly doctor. He could have told me himself that I just needed to call the hospital. I suppose most local women probably know this already. Maybe he sent me to the MCHC first because I didn't tell him which hospital I wanted to deliver at? When he asked me where I wanted to deliver, I didn't have a ready answer for him because I didn't think I had a choice. And I don't think I do. He presented me with choices and then told me I didn't have to decide until I visited the MCHC. But the MCHC certainly did not present choices, which is what I suspected. The public health care system is divided into regions and you are supposed to attend the hospital in your region.

Now, though I say I don't have a choice, when in comes to actually being in labor, friends tell me there are a couple of options:

Option #1: Labor starts normally and slowly and I take myself via ferry and taxi to Queen Mary Hospital, where I am supposed to deliver.

(Yes, my prenatal visits will be at Tsan Yuk until 35 weeks when I will start doing visits at Queen Mary. I am not exactly sure why this is, except that Queen Mary is a big delivery hospital and Tsan Yuk seems to be an OB-GYN type smaller hospital that doesn't do deliveries, only prenatal stuff.)

Option #2: Labor starts and I call an ambulance and instruct them to take me via road to Princess Margaret Hospital, on Kowloon side. I don't really know why I would do this, because if I need to get to the hospital quickly, option #3 is clearly the best, for a variety of reasons.

Option #3: Labor starts and proceeds quickly (or I wait at home too long with the hope of needing option #3!) and I get taken by helicopter to Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital because Queen Mary doesn't have a helipad. This option would, of course, be motivation to do a VBAC and not schedule another c-section because how awesome would it be to have a baby in a helicopter while flying over Hong Kong?! But I realize the chances of this happening are slim.

So anyway, there you go. Nothing happened today. I'll give you Part 2b on August 4th when I go to Tsan Yuk. The paper informs me to "Please take your breakfast before attending as procedures take time." Don't worry, I never leave home without breakfast!