Delivery at Queen Mary

Posted by RachRobin (133 days ago)

I will be having my baby at Queen Mary in July. I would like some advice from any mothers that have had their babies there.....
Once admitted, is my husband allowed to stay with me all the way through labour until after the birth?
When would he have to leave the hospital?
Am I allowed to have a birth plan of any sort (i.e. pain med choice, choice to/not to have episiotomy, IV drip etc. etc.) or are those decisions usually made without consultation of the mother?
I am curious to know if there is a standard proceed ure straight after birth - do they place the baby on the mother or take it away to clean it up!?
Can my husband cut the cord?
Do they encourage or allow the mother to breast feed straight away (in the delivery suite)?
Will they allow me to keep the baby next to me when I am back in the ward (24 hours or as long as I wish)?
If I have problems breastfeeding, do they have people that can help?
Is circumcision something that is done / rarely done in HK? (I am not considering this, just curious on the general status quo)
Lastly, assuming it is a low risk, straightforward birth (fingers and toes crossed!) would my baby be delivered by an obstetrician?
I am only 10 weeks along with a very happy but surprise pregnancy - so I am feeling a little out of my depth with processing all the information out there! Any advice would be most appreciated!

(I am based in Hong Kong)

Posted by cara (133 days ago)

Once admitted, is my husband allowed to stay with me all the way through labour until after the birth?

the husband is allowed in the delivery suite. NOT in the main ward. if you arrive before you are ready to go to the suite, if it is not visiting hours, your hubby will have to wait outside. if you are able to walk around, then you can wait out in the "father's room" too.

When would he have to leave the hospital?

he wouldn't have to leave the HOSPITAL, just the ward. he is allowed to visit during visiting hours: 12-1pm; 6-8pm

Am I allowed to have a birth plan of any sort (i.e. pain med choice, choice to/not to have episiotomy, IV drip etc. etc.) or are those decisions usually made without consultation of the mother?

of course you are allowed a birth plan, but they will tell you what they think is best for you and the baby.

I am curious to know if there is a standard proceed ure straight after birth - do they place the baby on the mother or take it away to clean it up!?

having delivered there twice in the past two years, i have to say, i'm not really sure. i had c-sections both times. the last time was under general anathesia.
sorry

Can my husband cut the cord?

not sure on that either. both my cases (emergency c-section, under general) hubby was not allowed to accompany me.

Do they encourage or allow the mother to breast feed straight away (in the delivery suite)?

they do not actively encourage you to bf, they do not discourage you. if you tell them that you want to bf ASAP, then re-iterate it again right after the birth, i'm sure you will find them amenable.

Will they allow me to keep the baby next to me when I am back in the ward (24 hours or as long as I wish)?

yes.

If I have problems breastfeeding, do they have people that can help?

the nurses are very overworked. if you have problems, i'd call someone from LLL. they might be able to send someone out to help.

Is circumcision something that is done / rarely done in HK? (I am not considering this, just curious on the general status quo)

don't know. wasn't even asked if i wanted my son circumcised. didn't matter to me as the answer was no.

Lastly, assuming it is a low risk, straightforward birth (fingers and toes crossed!) would my baby be delivered by an obstetrician?

both my c-sections were done by ob-gyns. don't know about natural delivery. sorry

congratulations!

(I am based in Hong Kong)

Posted by axptguy38 (133 days ago)

AFAIK circumcision is only common for religious reasons with the notable exception of the US. So it's probably fairly uncommon here. I may be wrong.

(I am based in Hong Kong)

Posted by sharmane (133 days ago)

I am curious to know if there is a standard proceed ure straight after birth - do they place the baby on the mother or take it away to clean it up!?

YES, THEY WILL GIVE YOU THE BABY ONCE THE BABAY CLEAN.

Do they encourage or allow the mother to breast feed straight away (in the delivery suite)?

ONCE THE BABY CLEAN, THEY WILL ALLOW THE MOTHER TO BREASTFEED STRAIGTH AWAY.

When would he have to leave the hospital?
FOR NORMAL BIRTH WILL STAY TO HOSPITAL AROUND 3 DAYS BUT FOR CS WILL TAKE ABOUT 7 DAYS TO STAY IN THE HOSPITAL

(I am based in Hong Kong)

Posted by cara (133 days ago)

both my c-sections i was released within 3 days.

(I am based in Hong Kong)

Posted by hueylenl (125 days ago)

HI,

I had both my boys delivered in Queen Mary. Both were natural birth. I just gave birth in November 07. They encourage breast feed. If you have any questions/problems on breast feeding, you can always attend their 1 hour course they offer in the ward itself. It is very useful course and I strongly suggest that you attend the course. They also provide other courses such as how to bath the baby etc. Try to attend, you will find them useful.

Take care and Good Luck!!

HL

(I am based in Hong Kong)

Posted by RachRobin (125 days ago)

HL,
Thanks for your advice.
Do you attend the courses before or after the birth?

(I am based in Hong Kong)

Posted by hueylenl (125 days ago)

Attended the courses before AND after birth.
Courses given after birth is good, for example, they will ask you to bring in your baby and teach you how to breast feed where else the courses before birth are normally conducted using a baby doll. I found it more practical and useful as the 'real' baby will cry if the position is wrong etc.

By the way, they are also conducting after birth exercise course twice a week. They will inform you during your stay in the hospital, if you don't want to join during that period of time, you can always call them and arrange another time after you have been discharged from the hospital.

:)

HL

(I am based in Hong Kong)

Posted by cara (125 days ago)

neither time did they tell me about after birth exercises.

(I am based in Hong Kong)

Posted by hueylenl (124 days ago)

Hi Cara,

They didn't mention to you regarding the after birth exercises? That's strange. I joint the course 6 years ago and last november, when I gave birth to my second bb, although I didn't get a chance to attend during my stay in the hospital, on the day I left, they passed me a leaflet asking to call the hospital IF i would like to join the class.

I found it useful.

Cheers.

HL

(I am based in Hong Kong)

Posted by cara (124 days ago)

nope, neither time... and i was there A LOT... (13 times over 2 pregnancies, in 2 years!)

(I am based in Hong Kong)

Posted by omaharrison (107 days ago)

Don't expect for much assitance from the nurses. Make sure you bring EVREYTHING with you, even a cup to drink. My wife had an operation done there and after it, since she had to fast for 24 hours, wanted a glass of water, they didn't give her. It took 4 hours untill I could get there and when I asked them, they gave me the most logical answer "you were supposed to bring one from home".
The doctors there are very very good but most of the nurses seem to miss the class where they tought about all things about the human being in the bed.
They don't do cirumcision there unless it's for medical reasons-infections etc.

(I am based in Hong Kong)

Posted by cara (106 days ago)

i NEVER had any problems with the nurses. they were WONDERFUL! but extremely overworked.

it is a public hospital and completely no frills though. i even took my own toilet paper, just in case.

if you happen to be in and out a lot, as i was, an ipod video was invaluable for a little bit of entertainment.

(I am based in Hong Kong)

Posted by Sarah99 (105 days ago)

I second Cara's opinion - the nurses are great and do really well given how overworked they are. Do remember they are human after all therefore you will connect better with some than others (and this will depend on what kind of day they have had as well). This will happen whether you go private or public. At the end of the day you are in hospital for medical reasons it is not a hotel and if you want the best possible care with the most up to date equipment then the QM is the place to be (all private hospitals in HK "bounce" their patients down there in case of "real" emergency or problems). They will try to accomocate you in all that they can - cord cutting by partner / breastfeeding / birth plan (although hardly anyone I know has had their plan go as intended!). They will also bend the rules a little and look the other way for things like cord blood banking if you want to arrange that privately as well.

Cara I also was not given any info on the after birth classes and exercises ....but I believe this is because they only carry them out in Cantonese, whereas they do schedule some ante natal courses in English at the Tsan Yuk

(I am based in Hong Kong)

Posted by omaharrison (105 days ago)

With all due respect, I wasn't talking about "hotel service". I am aware it's a public hospital, and the reason we were sent there all the way from N.T. was because of risks.
I am talking about minimum human behaviour. Like, if you just came out of an operation and ask for a glass of water, they could give you one and not say that you won't get one if you didn't bring a cup from home! Or another example is when the newly born is very cold regardless of clothing and the doctor says to check temperature first from forehead, because it's not wise to get the baby naked if he is cold. The nurses insist on rectal one and say that the doctor "doesn't know". I can give you more examples.
I understand that they are over worked but a nurse's job is to do as the doctors say and also take the "human" care of the patients. Especially in maternity wards where the patients are not 'desease' carriers but 'life' carriers with fears and emotions.
I have been to many hospitals and unfortunately for many times In several countries and never saw nurses that behave that way.
If a patient feels sick after an operation and asks for a cup of water, in my opinion, you give him one using even a paper cup and tell him that he should bring one from home. You don't let him wait over 4 hours!
Maybe I am expecting too much but are patients to get that only in private hospitals?

(I am based in Hong Kong)

Posted by cara (105 days ago)

i'm sure that you are not exaggerating what happened to you.

but as i said, after 13 hospitalisations at QMH, i have nothing but the utmost respect for *most* of the nursing staff there. i NEVER encountered any problems such as those that you have mentioned. as a matter of fact, on a couple of occasions, they even let me put something in the staff fridge and on more than one occasion they brought me milk for morning cereal, even though they usually only put that out at night time.

there are times though that things may get lost in translation a little bit.

(I am based in Hong Kong)