Best hospital for 'very high-risk' birth in Thailand?

[sallecc]

Hi all, I'm looking for very important advice, hope the people who are familiar with Thai hospitals can help, thanks ????

 

My Chinese fiancee is pregnant with twins, and she has a health condition which makes it a very high-risk pregnancy. Her condition is causing low blood pressure and oxygen in brain, most of the time she is fine, except occasional headache, and she has semi-annual treatments. Apart from that, she lives completely normal life without any limitations. But the pregnancy, especially unexpected twins, change the whole story and could lead to a very serious complications during birth.

 

Doctor who treated and are treating her condition (respectable neurosurgeons in USA, HK and SG, some of them are our friends) all agree that any complication or blood loss during birth could lead to a coma, so we need to find the place with best specialist and equipment for this very special and very high risk birth.

 

Our 1st choice is HOAG California (our daughter was born there, they were both in ICU and NICU, I cannot praise their service and team enough, Dr. became our friend), 2nd choice is Singapore (she had treatments there, top-notch service and care), 3rd and last choice would be here in Thailand - if I cannot get USA visa (no enough time) and if she cannot get SG visa (longer than just 30 days TR) - that's why I'd like to hear if anybody knows what is best hospital in Thailand for very high-risk birth?

 

I heard praises about Bumrungrad in BKK, and I know Bangkok Hospital here in Phuket, but I don't know they really compare with hospitals in USA and SG in case of very high-risk birth, so if anybody could give any suggestions or experiences, or know the best specialists and facilities, we would be very very grateful  ????

 

(P.S. while the price is not the most important factor, it would be good to know approximate ICU, NICU and other special expected or unexpected fees, so we could compare with USA & SG, and make financial plans in advance)

 

Thank you all!

 

Cheers,

Alex

[sallecc]

(P.S. sorry no idea why some paragraphs are in bold fonts, wasn't me)

[richard_smith237]

Sheryl will be along to answer this with the best advice you will receive on this forum. 

 

 

IMO - Of key importance are the doctors themselves and some doctors work at a few different hospitals, covering different days at each - I imagine when you find a doctor you are satisfied with ensure that they are there available all the time rather than being on the other side of Bangkok at a public hospital when you need them.

 

Bumrungrad is the best hospital in Thailand, it has the best reputation and this is why we chose this hospital for our child's birth. 

 

As an international hospital its not cheap - but the costs at Burmrungrad are unlikely to significantly exceed other international hospitals in Bangkok.

 

Go in, see them, start asking a lot of ‘what if’ questions and see how they respond. 

 

 

Edited January 31, 2022 by richard_smith237

[Sheryl]

I would if at all possible have her delivery in the US or Singapore in that order.

 

At a private hospital in Thailand, should both she and the baby end up requiring intensive care,  this could easily run into the equivalent of several hundred thousand dollars US.

 

She might possibly deliver at a government teaching hospital on a semi-private basis but this requires arriving well advance and is very difficult for a non Thai speaker. In addition, one cannot know in advance which hospitals will have an available NICU bed and these are often full. While that can happen in a private hospital too, odds of an available NICU bed are better.

 

In terms of doctors I suggest

 

https://www.bumrungrad.com/en/doctors/Tuangsit-Wataganara

https://www.bangkokhospital.com/en/doctor/dr-tuangsit-wataganara

http://www.siphhospital.com/en/medical-services/doctor-biography?id=38

 

Same doctor, different hospitals. The last one listed would be somewhat less expensive and is a private wing to Siriraj Hospital, the country's leading teaching hospital so all else being equal I would try ti deliver there, the proximity to Siriraj's overall resources would be advantageous.

 

It is very important that you get a detailed medical report for her in English as I could not follow your explanations (here or in the PM).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[sallecc]

9 hours ago, Sheryl said:

I would if at all possible have her delivery in the US or Singapore in that order.

 

At a private hospital in Thailand, should both she and the baby end up requiring intensive care,  this could easily run into the equivalent of several hundred thousand dollars US.

 

She might possibly deliver at a government teaching hospital on a semi-private basis but this requires arriving well advance and is very difficult for a non Thai speaker. In addition, one cannot know in advance which hospitals will have an available NICU bed and these are often full. While that can happen in a private hospital too, odds of an available NICU bed are better.

 

In terms of doctors I suggest

 

https://www.bumrungrad.com/en/doctors/Tuangsit-Wataganara

https://www.bangkokhospital.com/en/doctor/dr-tuangsit-wataganara

http://www.siphhospital.com/en/medical-services/doctor-biography?id=38

 

Same doctor, different hospitals. The last one listed would be somewhat less expensive and is a private wing to Siriraj Hospital, the country's leading teaching hospital so all else being equal I would try ti deliver there, the proximity to Siriraj's overall resources would be advantageous.

 

It is very important that you get a detailed medical report for her in English as I could not follow your explanations (here or in the PM).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sheryl thank you so much for your advice, that's exactly what I need, a particular doctor so I can check further with them.

 

We are still checking if it's possible to do it in USA or Singapore (depending on visas situation), but if we decide on Thailand then I will fly to BKK in advance to visit that doctor (and maybe others too), show them her medical records and discuss about best options and plan.

 

Sorry if I wasn't so clear about her particular condition. While I can speak English well, my medical vocabulary is not the best, especially for some rare words. Her best friend is taking care of that because some records are in Chinese (will be translated by HK doctor to English), she has all the records about her condition and treatments from China, HK, USA and SG hospitals, it's a lot like several books, and doctors understood it well.

 

Again thank you Sheryl for your advice and insight, and @richard_smith237 as well, I really appreciate it.

 

Cheers,

Alex

[Sheryl]

14 hours ago, sallecc said:

Sheryl thank you so much for your advice, that's exactly what I need, a particular doctor so I can check further with them.

 

We are still checking if it's possible to do it in USA or Singapore (depending on visas situation), but if we decide on Thailand then I will fly to BKK in advance to visit that doctor (and maybe others too), show them her medical records and discuss about best options and plan.

 

Sorry if I wasn't so clear about her particular condition. While I can speak English well, my medical vocabulary is not the best, especially for some rare words. Her best friend is taking care of that because some records are in Chinese (will be translated by HK doctor to English), she has all the records about her condition and treatments from China, HK, USA and SG hospitals, it's a lot like several books, and doctors understood it well.

 

Again thank you Sheryl for your advice and insight, and @richard_smith237 as well, I really appreciate it.

 

Cheers,

Alex

Good luck to you both.

 

I assume you are aware of the various requirements for travel to Thailand? Assuming fully vaccinated you would both have to obtain a "Thailand Pass" and to quarantine 24 hours on arrival and then again for 24 hours on day 5 with PCR tests on days 1 and 5 (some hotels will let you leave in less than 24 hours if a  negative test result comes i n before then). So it is not as simple as her just flying in and going to a hospital. While in theory hospitals can do "hospital quarantine" it is so complex to arrange that most seem not to want to bother and tell you instead to do it yourself before 4coming to the hospital. So if you decide on Thailand should come well in advance (she'd need to anyhow to be allowed to fly, many airlines will not allow pregnant women to board if in the 3rd trimester).

 

 

[sallecc]

16 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

Good luck to you both.

 

I assume you are aware of the various requirements for travel to Thailand? Assuming fully vaccinated you would both have to obtain a "Thailand Pass" and to quarantine 24 hours on arrival and then again for 24 hours on day 5 with PCR tests on days 1 and 5 (some hotels will let you leave in less than 24 hours if a  negative test result comes i n before then). So it is not as simple as her just flying in and going to a hospital. While in theory hospitals can do "hospital quarantine" it is so complex to arrange that most seem not to want to bother and tell you instead to do it yourself before 4coming to the hospital. So if you decide on Thailand should come well in advance (she'd need to anyhow to be allowed to fly, many airlines will not allow pregnant women to board if in the 3rd trimester).

 

 

Thanks Sheryl, yes. I'm in Thailand long time already, she was as well, just last month she went to China to do her semi-annual treatment, and found out she's pregnant. She already got her new STV Visa to come back, if we decide on Thailand, but not sure yet... This month is decision and action time, while she is still fit to fly... Thanks for good luck ????

[Adumbration]

Best of luck.  What is the sex of the twins?

 

[sallecc]

46 minutes ago, Adumbration said:

Best of luck.  What is the sex of the twins?

 

Thanks... Boys, identical twins.

[Adumbration]

6 hours ago, sallecc said:

Thanks... Boys, identical twins.

That is wonderful.  Best of luck with the birth.  Please revisit this thread to let us know how you go.

[sallecc]

15 hours ago, Adumbration said:

That is wonderful.  Best of luck with the birth.  Please revisit this thread to let us know how you go.

Thank you. I will report here if it goes well.

[dddave]

15 minutes ago, sallecc said:

Thank you. I will report here if it goes well.

My nephew and his wife had twins.  I remember his wife saying the most useful gift they received was a nursing bottle kit designed for twins so the mother can feed both at the same time.  Just look online.