kannon99

My experience with reporting something kinda similar was that the authorities refused to act because it was not a slave/sexual/horribly physical kind of abuse. As for being anonymous, that's almost impossible with the way things get blabbed.

The only time I've seen it work successfully was when many neighbors together took it on as their "village problem" and had it taken care of. In general though, most Thai don't want to risk harm to themselves or their property if they make an anonymous report which isn't really anonymous. Also, what happens in the family, stays in the family, not my problem. Very very sad.

I have several production machines here on the ground floor. They are actually everything I have in matter of money.

If they mean that much, have you considered shutting up shop for the duration and bricking up doorways/entrances? If it floods there'll be no production anyway. Also, wrap em up in clingfilm.

The problem with bricking up, sandbagging, etc. is that it doesn't usually work. The water manages to seep through the shoddy construction or just comes up the drains instead. Friends in ChiangMai won the battle against flooding ... or so they thought. Until it starting coming in through the middle of the building.

It's not a farang myth at all. It's coming from someone living in Thailand who has been working extensively in the birthing field for a long time, including at both of these hospitals.

"Normal deliveries" at Piyavate don't happen.

I urge you to go down on a little tour of the labor and delivery ward and have a little private chat with the nurses on duty. Ask them how many vaginal births they see a month. That should be an eye opener to what it's really like there.

A client of mine intending to birth there did just that and the nurse told her "pretty much 0 percent vaginal birth". You won't get the truth like that from a doctor or the hospital admin.

The World Health Organization says that hospital C-section rates should be 10-15% MAX. And even that high of a number is debatable. That puts Piyavate at let's say 99%. Bumrungrad isn't much better. Overall, it's around 90%. If you're Western and birthing there, it's still 60%.

Yes, the other option of sending your kids to be brainwashed by a bible bashing international school is more abhorrant than forking out 500-700k a year for an 'education'.

Which ones are the Bible bashing schools?

Why not stay with Charter. It has a good reputation, and she is already accustomed to the school.

Thanks for the answers.

Yes, all Thai government hospitals (under the Ministry of Public Health, I don't know if there are any that aren't under this ministry) are supposed to comply with the BFHI, at least according to this article in the Journal of the Medical Association of Thailand: http://books.google....spitals&f=false

We aren't set on this particular hospital but there are only 2 hospitals in CM that are on the list I d/l'd from a website called breastfeedingthai.com (as being breasfeeding friendly), Suan Dawk and Maharaat Nakorn Chiang Mai, both of which are government hospitals as far as I'm aware. I don't think my gf would be that keen on going to a government hospital and apparently it is quite hard to get a space in them (I don't know that for a fact, just what I have heard)....

It's probably something we should have thought about a lot earlier but she has had around 6 miscarriages in the past, all at 3 months (baby's heartbeat just stopped), so I think we have both been expecting something to go wrong and not quite daring to hope that everything would be OK, until fairly recently

Thanks for that link. Unfortunately, I have yet to see a hospital that compeletely follows this.

I contacted a doula friend of mine in CM and she said that in her opinion the best hospital for natural birth with the best hospital policies is Suan Dawk. She recommends Dr. Supreeya.

Is it legal to BF in public here ?

I check on various sites (esp.baby center )and call my grandma on a regular basis for advise and/or help. I do not need or want their advice,

do you guys have a baby sitter ???

It is legal to BF in public.

BabyCenter has some really crappy advice though. Mothering.com is way better for information.

Babysitter... you mean maid or nanny? It is VERY difficult to find someone that you can trust. And hard to find someone competent enough and willing for you do extra training if needed. Good luck on that!

Yep, NO soy. Only in fermented form is it helpful. Here's a good link that breaks down the dangers of soy. http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/12/04/soy-dangers-summarized.aspx

Not very common. The adults that I've known to have gotten the vaccine had bad reactions. One of them (my friend) ended up with an immune disorder that was directly linked back to the mouse serum used in the vaccine. Look at the risks of the disease vs. the risks of the vaccine. Look at the vaccine ingredients.

Well first, it depends on what type of birth she wants.

Also, some hospitals have 90-99% C-section rates when the WHO says it should be 10-15%. Don't think you'll be one of those that bucks the system and gets the vaginal birth. I've seen it happen too many times where someone thinks they'll be the one who gets that one natural/vaginal birth a month that a hospital does, and of course they don't.

Near Emporium, the obvious choice for quality of care, English, and lowest C-section rate of the private hospitals would be Samitivej Sukhumvit Hospital. Dr. Sankiat, Dr. Nissarat, and Dr. Yaowalak are the most supportive of vaginal birth.

Hope that helps.

Yes, unfortunately most hospitals do separate babies. And 6 hours is nothing compared to the 24 hours of other hospitals!!!

Yes the Baby-Friendly Initiative that hospitals sign is broken by every single one from what I have seen over the years of working with birthing and breastfeeding women. I was not aware that ALL gov't hospitals had signed this.

Women should be able to breastfeed within the first hour and never be separated from the baby. The baby should be allowed to "room in" for this purpose, unlike many hospitals that require women to go down to the nursery themselves if they want to breastfeed. This leads to extremely high rates of formula use.

If you are set on the doctor/hospital then you need to go to the hospital administrator and work out a compromise, including using that Initiative if they have signed it. Also be willing to sign a waiver or have them make one for you to sign that you would not hold them responsible if you refuse to have the baby taken for observation. And really, observation can easily be done in the mothers room and is actually better for baby than sitting in a heating box with no food (they'd give formula! or sugar water!), no holding, and really not all that much observation. Studies show that babies do better in mom's arms than in observation.

K99

Cow milk is harder to digest. Goat milk would be a better option. And yes at 2 yr old, they don't need milk at all but it's hard to get the required caloric intake. All of my kids are vegetarian, but they eat tons of beans, lentils, etc. NO tofu, as it has estrogens and is highly processed.

I was actually surprised to see 2 Thais reading over the last few days. On Sunday on the BTS, a grandma reading what looked like fiction. And today when picking up my kids from school saw a nanny sitting there reading. But the fact that I actually NOTICED means that it is something out of the ordinary.

No public libraries (what average Thai can really afford decent books if there are any out there), no parents demonstrating reading = no reading

Don't know specifics, but here are 2 ideas:

thaibreastfeeding.org is all Thai and has some basic resources, though not all specific to birthing. This will be a great resource for education on breastfeeding and for help if she needs it. What I like about this site is that it does not give in to the Thai myths and specifically tries to follow the international recommendations for breastfeeding.

contact Khun Meena at Samitivej Sukhumvit Hospital. She does childbirth education and would know of better websites/books for Thai expecting moms

29 weeks is not late for traveling by any means... for most airlines the absolute cutoff is 36 weeks. The likliness of any complications is low if she has been fine up until now. Pregnancy is not an illness!

Your regular health insurance may cover emergencies in other countries; something you can easily find out. As for hospitals there, you really don't want to give birth there if you can help it.

All totally normal!

How can you be in the 36th/37th week and due in 2 weeks? First time moms usually give birth between 40 and 41 weeks! It's miserable in the end but better to wait it out

It bothered me with my first kid here but now that I have 4 here I'm kindof used it. I don't care for the touching but sometimes it happens so fast I can't prevent it. Photos, what can you really do?

My kids usually do the following:

7 yr old daughter: she says "Mai ow" and then poses anyway lol

5 yr old son: crosses his arms and scowls

3 yr old identical twin girls: one screams a high pitch scream and hides behind me, and the other one puts her hand on hip in a pose.

It was really bad when the twins were smaller; like think paparazzi in the mall. My husband and I had a rule that whoever is pushing the stroller with twins DOES NOT STOP. If you stop, you're surrounded!

What a great way to add to the already high rates of teen pregnancy and now adding STI transmission and more.

It seems that someone sat down and thought, hmm what could I do to help improve the system, how about we get rid of the condom machines to reduce kids having sex, aren't I smart with this great idea? Aren't I original?

Why not have these lame-brains go look at the research and programs that WORK in other countries and just implement these instead of trying to reinvent the wheel and start back at square one?

Spicy and sour are fine. Baby will let you know if you are eating foods he/she doesn't agree with.

BKKMikey, I really appreciate hearing about your experiences with the hospital. BUT that was one good experience, quite lucky really. I've attended many births there and it was not like that.

Every OB and pediatrician is different, so it's good to interview a few and make sure the hospital's policies line up with want you want with a birth.

I do have a question about your experience. You said, "After a good night's sleep for my wife the nurses started to teach my wife the proper way to breastfeed and all nurses we met emphasized the benefits of breastfeeding". Does this mean that if your baby was born at 18:40, that your baby was not given an opportunity to go to the breast until the next morning? If so, this is againt the UNICEF standards. Babies should have immediate access to the breast for a minimum of the first hour of life. Thanks!

Like James above said, yes you can buy organic veg here but is it really organic? Who knows.

I've never seen organic formula here and doubt you can find any with no sugar.

As for carseat, it is way cheaper to get in your home country and more likely to meet all safety regulations. Also, what good is a carseat for taxis if none of them have seatbelts?

If baby is underweight, giving more solids/formula is inferior to the breastmilk, which is higher fat content and easier for the body to assimilate. Breastfeed more often and for longer, including at night, when breastmilk production is higher. Ideally for the first year, the MAIN SOURCE of food should be breastmilk with solid foods little extras.

The WHO says, breastfeed for a minimum of at least 2 years and no solids until at least 6 months. There is no rush at all to start a baby on formula when breastmilk is best.

Some others, featured in the BAMBI mag this month:

Angela Stott. www.angelastott.com

Carolyn O'Niell http://carolynoneill.com

Sometimes female OB/GYN are not great just because they are female. It is good to ask many questions of a variety of OBs to find one that will be open to your questions, beliefs, requests, etc. for the birth. In my experience as a labor assistant, the female doctors are more bullying to their female patients.