Having A Baby In Thai Hospital

[RueFang]

I was wondering if there's many farang women that have given birth in Thai hospitals. If so, only in Bangkok?? Not that I'm pregnant yet (but trying!), but I've had a quite a few traumatic experiences dealing with Thai hospitals/doctors as they tend to speak to my husband in Thai rather than try to explain to me. Would like to hear your experiences

[chanchao]

First of all, giving birth isn't exactly state of the art medical science. Most women give birth in the city where they happen to live, unless it's really a deserted island.

Where do you live? I live in Chiang Mai where there's many fine hospitals of course.

I would recommend you doing check-ups at/with the same doctor who will be doing the delivery, then you can make it known early to not pull that crap of speaking Thai when there's a Thai person present (your husband).

Can give a recommendation for Chiang Mai, but let's hear where you live then people can perhaps recommend a doctor / clinic / hospital.

[chanchao]

Oh wait, you're in Pattalung... is that correct? One of the few remaining provinces I know absolutely nothing about.

I would most certainly not go to Bangkok though in that case, just get a recommendation of a good English speaking doctor / gynaecologist in the area, then you will end up giving birth at whatever hospital he's associated with.

[RueFang]

First of all, giving birth isn't exactly state of the art medical science - I'm not worried about their medical skills. Worried about not understanding instructions about how to pass a human being through my body

I speak quite a bit of Thai but in such a situation, really wanting first language!

My previous experience with the best (apparently) gyno in Phatthalung (good to see you read Thai ) resulted in him trying to speak english with me, but due to not having spoken English in maybe 20 years, he was out of practice and couldn't sustain the vocabulary, giving in to speaking with my husband. I had a miscarriage and was informed "Your baby dead" amongst other horrors....hence my fear of Thai hospitals. That's why I would like to hear from women (farang) who have been there, done that.

[Shola]

I was wondering if there's many farang women that have given birth in Thai hospitals. If so, only in Bangkok?? Not that I'm pregnant yet (but trying!), but I've had a quite a few traumatic experiences dealing with Thai hospitals/doctors as they tend to speak to my husband in Thai rather than try to explain to me. Would like to hear your experiences

Yes this exactly hat I've had to deal with many times! The person you need to put your foot down with is your hubby, tell him 'only English' in the docs office and the doctor will automaticly speak English too, then he can translate to Thai if nessacary. Once I got this sorted things were fine!

[VitalGirl]

I was wondering if there's many farang women that have given birth in Thai hospitals. If so, only in Bangkok?? Not that I'm pregnant yet (but trying!), but I've had a quite a few traumatic experiences dealing with Thai hospitals/doctors as they tend to speak to my husband in Thai rather than try to explain to me. Would like to hear your experiences

Hi there... goog luck with the trying - I fell pregnant on our first "try" on my 40th birthday! We moved from Samui to Chiang Mai largely for the better hospitals. I had a reasonably good Thai female OB/GYN who spoke good English and endeavoured to answer all my questions right through. We nearly came unstuck over vitamin supplements with dangerous levels of red food colouring, but she came through that one OK in the end. 26 hours of easy natural labour in their natural birthing suite... and then... disaster. Rupturing uterous and emergency C section. We had definite issues with the supposedly excellent hospital (rather than the doctor) and I'd be happy to give you a "take care with these things" list if you (or anyone else) want to PM me. We survived the "your baby must have Downs Syndrome because you are soooo old and her ears are crooked" and gave in to the genetic testing in our shock - she was fine, just a croooked ear and dopey from the drugs post C section but 3 hellishly difficult days while we waited for the result. Had to fight to breastfeed her exclusively and we won in the end, but only thanks to my darling husband who finally taught her to suck on day 5 by trickling expressed milk patiently down the breast with an eyedropper (his own idea!) until she worked out how to lick it and eventually find more. Thinking of renting him out as a lactation consultant, by the way... My little girl will be 3 on Mother's Day (Aug 12) and we're planning to raise her here - she is already pretty fluent in both Thai and English and moderately OK in Thai Yai/Burmese (thanks to our diligent housemaid who doubles as our nanny and all the ladies at the local talaat).

Be in touch if I can help - we're pretty busy with our natural products export business but happy to make time for a fellow traveller on this exotic journey anytime.

[RJJ]

Sorry, I am a male posting in your thread; I thought you might be interested anyway.

When my Thai girl-friend (at the time, now married 3 years) was pregnant we went along to the Bangkok-Pattaya Hospital in Pattaya.

The Gynecologist was a 40ish lady who was very friendly and helpful.

At the time, my girl friend's English was limited and my Thai is still limited.

The Doctor explained everything to my girl friend in Thai, then would turn to me and explain in English.

If my girl friend asked a question, she would still explain to me in English, then spoke the question before replying in Thai.

I guess we were lucky to have a very courteous Doctor that made sure we both understood exactly what was happening and what our options were.

However she was quite unwell after the Ceasarian (planned) and took a long time to recover.

Our second child was born in a public hospital in Melbourne Australia. May's recovery time was so dramatically faster it was like a totally different operation had been performed.

In Thailand it was 1 week before she could walk without major discomfort, but in Melbourne she got out of bed 6 hours after the operation saying she needed to pee.

We don't know what was different between the two births, but the recovery time was about 20% that of the recovery time in Thailand. (I am talking about the weeks after...)

[VitalGirl]

Sorry, I am a male posting in your thread; I thought you might be interested anyway.

When my Thai girl-friend (at the time, now married 3 years) was pregnant we went along to the Bangkok-Pattaya Hospital in Pattaya.

The Gynecologist was a 40ish lady who was very friendly and helpful.

At the time, my girl friend's English was limited and my Thai is still limited.

The Doctor explained everything to my girl friend in Thai, then would turn to me and explain in English.

If my girl friend asked a question, she would still explain to me in English, then spoke the question before replying in Thai.

I guess we were lucky to have a very courteous Doctor that made sure we both understood exactly what was happening and what our options were.

However she was quite unwell after the Ceasarian (planned) and took a long time to recover.

Our second child was born in a public hospital in Melbourne Australia. May's recovery time was so dramatically faster it was like a totally different operation had been performed.

In Thailand it was 1 week before she could walk without major discomfort, but in Melbourne she got out of bed 6 hours after the operation saying she needed to pee.

We don't know what was different between the two births, but the recovery time was about 20% that of the recovery time in Thailand. (I am talking about the weeks after...)

I think I was up about 7 hours after my C section here in Thailand and had no trouble healing from the surgery whatsoever. Sounds like your girlfriend just had a rough time. Have to smile about Melbourne hospitals - having lived in Melbourne for over 20 years prior to moving to Thailand and also having worked for 3 of the big public hospitals there, I'd say the hospital care in Thailand is way, way better.

[RueFang]

Thanks for your replies VGirl, sounds very traumatic!!! Thank goodness all turned out ok. Is your husband Thai? During the emergency, were the doctors/nurses telling you everything that was going on? Would like to hear more about the "take care with these things" list.. Did they have to knock you out for the emergency C section or just the lower half?

RJJ - the reason I started this topic was because I'm seriously considering going back to oz for the birth (Brisbane). Taking into consideration the cost of good hospitals here, and the fact it would be free for me in oz. I've read it can cost 70 000 baht?? That's much more than 2 airfares return to Bris!!!

It's great to hear your stories thanks again

[MsFigure]

I had my daughter (c-section) at Bumrungrad in Bangkok and it by far exceeded my expectations about what it would like to have a baby in Thailand. I know that many of my family in Australia were shocked and worried (the ones that haven't visited still have preconceived ideas that this is a third world country) but even my mother was impressed with the how everything was dealt with when she arrived for the birth. My mother even went so far as to say that if I were to have another child, that I should definitely have it here in Thailand again (only at the Bumrungrad as the service and care was much higher than many of the top private hospitals back in Australia.

I can't say enough good things about the Bumrungrad, my doctor and nursing staff - and this was not only during and after my pregnancy, but the year before while we were trying to get pregnant in the first place. Our doctor (Fertility Specialist/Gynecologist/Obstetrician) was educated and trained both in Thailand and overseas, spoke fluent english to both my husband and myself - so there were never any issues with language there.

All I can say is, there is no need to worried about birthing in Thailand if you have a doctor and hospital that you are happy and comfortable with

[t.s]

leave your man at home until you have established a rapport with a doctor

[seonai]

I couldn't afford private in Thailand so I gave birth in London. My experience with Thai nurses, as a generalisation, is that they are quite harsh and don't do all the things Western nurses do - it's not my job to do that kind of stuff. You need a lot of relatives to bring you food and take care of you if you are in a Thai Gov hospital. I love Thailand with all my heart but I am glad I gave birth in UK - Thai hubby was present at birth too !!!!

[jubby]

My Thai wife had the first two kids in a UK hospital. The first birth was ok, probably about 8 hours labour pains and then she gave birth to a blue colured smirf. I assisted in that I held one of her legs and the midwife her other. The second was similar but very few nurses etc.. where about and they seemed to be rushing around alot. after the birth the midwife & nurse left us almost immediately and didn't return for an hour. My wife wasn't immpressed.

We had the third child in a private Hospital in Chiang rai. We found a good 'baby doctor' through word of mouth . we visited his clinic a few times and it was packed with expectant mothers, he obviously had a good reputation. the last time we visited the clinic he said the baby was ready. although it was a week early. he made the necessary arrangements. She went into the theatre about ten minutes before I saw the doctor , in training shoes arrive. 30 mins later it was all over , c-section, apendectomy, and sterilisation (which my wife insisted on not me), and her tonsils out. Only kidding about the tonsils. there were loads of staff in the operating theatre, and loads of nurses to take care of her. but the main thing that I could see was absolutely no trauma to the child, she was a nice pink colour and very content. No blue smirf features at all. my wife was then pampered for a night in a private room, with constant attention from the nurses.

I recall it was about 30,000 baht in all, but no contest. and no scar is visable .

Cheers,

Jubby

[keenok]

I had my daughter (c-section) at Bumrungrad in Bangkok and it by far exceeded my expectations about what it would like to have a baby in Thailand. I know that many of my family in Australia were shocked and worried (the ones that haven't visited still have preconceived ideas that this is a third world country) but even my mother was impressed with the how everything was dealt with when she arrived for the birth. My mother even went so far as to say that if I were to have another child, that I should definitely have it here in Thailand again (only at the Bumrungrad as the service and care was much higher than many of the top private hospitals back in Australia.

I can't say enough good things about the Bumrungrad, my doctor and nursing staff - and this was not only during and after my pregnancy, but the year before while we were trying to get pregnant in the first place. Our doctor (Fertility Specialist/Gynecologist/Obstetrician) was educated and trained both in Thailand and overseas, spoke fluent english to both my husband and myself - so there were never any issues with language there.

All I can say is, there is no need to worried about birthing in Thailand if you have a doctor and hospital that you are happy and comfortable with

nice hospital,we would all go there if we could . how much for the lot ??

[RueFang]

Wow...30 grand for all that! Is that because she's Thai do you think? I hear a lot of stories about hospital fees being quite expensive for the birthing package (3 days + procedure, etc) . Anyone else have any prices for comparison?

[Jared]

My wife gave birth in a Thai hospital just over 8 months ago now. I had the same problems as you regarding the doctors only speaking thai etc. Altough I wanted to know what was being said I guess it wasnt as important for me to know what was going on and aslong as my wife knew it was ok. Most doctors do or I would of thought should speak English so ask your husband to ask the doctor to speak in English.

A few things I wasnt to happy with regarding the whole procedure. The first was that they were very pushy at trying to get my wife to have our baby earlier. When it got close to the 9 months, every check up we had we were asked, do you want the baby now? At one point the doctor told us, i go on holiday next week so I want you to have your baby now. We managed to hold out until he was ready to come although thats what we thought but my wife was still induced when we went to the hospital to complain about stomache pains.

Another things is that they really try and push you to have a c section, my wife wanted a natural birth and managed to hold out for one, our son came out at 3.5 kilos. When we was in the ward with all the beds with all the thai mums in labour. One by one they were submitting to the pain of being and labour and begging for a c section. Of course the hospital happily carry out the procedure and then charge the family and extra 20,000 baht, maybe why they push it so hard.

Another thing that was a slight problem for me but maybe not your husband from what I have read about. They did not let me stay for the birth which i was disapointed about, i was kicked out in the waiting room. I really wanted to help my wife through the pain and also see my son come into the world.

This is just my experieince im sure people with agree, disagree etc. The hospital we were at was the Bangkok hospital in Korat and I have to say overal they were very good although i have no other experiences to compare it to. I think the total cost of the birth and everything plus 4 days in a nice room for my wife to recover was around 35,000 baht.

[jubby]

As for costs , they will probably try to bump up the prices for a Falang or foreigner quite significantly.

You just need to get a Thai to inquire about the costs and compare a couple of hospitals. Then you should be able to command the same price.

Jubby

[Jared]

Something else that is worth doing is when you husband goes to pay the bill, bring it to the doctor to check before he pays it. When my son was born he had jaundice and it got worse so we took him back to the hospital a few days later and they said he would have to be kept under a uv light for 2 nights for it to clear up.

They said the rough cost would be 700Baht per night plus extra for the doctor ect. After 2 nights, thankfully the little man was all better so we went to pay the bill which came to something like 5000 baht. It was all in Thai so my wife check it over and there were loads of extras which my wife argued about. They apologised and said they would redo the bill. They then came back with a bill of 9000Baht <deleted>. Anyway I gave in and paid it wishing I had kept my mouth shut and just paid the 5000Baht.

When we went to collect our son, my wife asked tht doctor to check over the bill and after scratching his head he made a phone call and gave someone an ear bashing. 10 minutes later the women at the admin desk came back up with the proper bill of 2000Baht and gave us back 7000Baht. I dont know how the hel_l they made a mistake like that.

There was also an very old thai lady next to us in the que who had been given a bill of 40,000Baht for her hsubands medical care, when she complained that she was being charged for a room that he wasnt even using they then came back with a new bill of almost 60,000Baht. Poor old girl nearly had a heart attack.

[joeuk1]

I had 3 kids born in Uk and 1 born in Thailand 2003 and i must say the Thai hospital was first class , to compare the two countrys care i would say that Thailand makes uk look like the 3rd world country . My brother had baby born in Usa and picked up a bill for 6000 bucks , my Thai baby was born by C section and i think the bill was 35k baht the best 35k i have ever spent .

JB

[RueFang]

Every time we see the doctor my husband asks them to speak English (after I've already asked them to speak english in Thai!!) and they do for a few minutes but then get lazy again and revert to Thai looking to my husband to translate. My husband's english is good but trying to translate some medical terms can be a bit beyond him!

Jared - your son and wife are both gorgeous!! Thanks for your story. I have also heard from several people that Thai hospitals don't allow the father to be in the room for the birth, but did read a thread on here that it depends on the hospital and the doctor. I have been present at the birth of my friend's baby and it really is the most magical experience...I hope that next time you're allowed in because it really is quite life changing to see life entering the world.

[KrisJ]

I had my second baby a few months ago at Srinakarin (can't spell it) in Khon Kaen. I had an awesome doctor for prenatal care, but unfortunately he wasn't able to make the delivery. The on-call doctor was good though, and my labor nurse spoke some English. They let my husband come in the delivery room, which was nice since he speaks Thai (he's farang though). I only stayed one night because I was eager to get home to my older child, and I felt great, but it was a little over 4,000B total. We had to go back and stay two more nights to have the baby treated for jaundice, and that was another 4,000B or so (for two nights in a private room). The nurses were fantastic, very supportive and helpful with breastfeeding and trying to speak English.

I think the key is deciding what kind of birth you want (natural, medical, planned C-section) and finding the right doctor for you. I wanted a natural birth and I got it, but I had to find the right doctor and hospital for it.

Good luck to you!

[hellohello]

Rue-Farang

Trang has an EXCELLENT Thai hospital (Wattanpat). We drive from Krabi to use it. Good Luck.

If I go in, I let my husband stay in the waiting area and they HAVE to speak english.

[Boo]

KrisJ are you living in KK?? Just ask as I thought I was the only western women who hung around them parts

[RueFang]

thanx HH, will keep that in mind as Trang's not too far

[GreenShone]

Goodluck Mate.

Please keep us updated when your little angel arrives.

[shadowy]

HI I have had 2 babies in thai hospitals, private ones . The first one was Nakornton , quite good, no english skills from any one,,,,and they shave you and give you an enema( like in the 50's) the next was bangkok 9 international, where everyone spoke english and they had a translater on hand 24/7.

Tried to shave me and i said no and they accepted it .

The last thing you want to be doing in labour is trying to speak thai.

About 35,000-40,000 baht

[Tatler]

Wow...30 grand for all that! Is that because she's Thai do you think? I hear a lot of stories about hospital fees being quite expensive for the birthing package (3 days + procedure, etc) . Anyone else have any prices for comparison?

My wife had our baby in a goverment hospital (c- section) but stayed in their private rooms (similar to a 4 star hotel) and we only paid 13,000 baht for everything. Check out hospitals in Nakhon Si Thammarat (Marharat hospital) or Hat Yai, we found them very clean and the staff were great.

Hope this helped

[skeets]

I was wondering if there's many farang women that have given birth in Thai hospitals. If so, only in Bangkok?? Not that I'm pregnant yet (but trying!), but I've had a quite a few traumatic experiences dealing with Thai hospitals/doctors as they tend to speak to my husband in Thai rather than try to explain to me. Would like to hear your experiences

[skeets]

Hello,

just had to register so i could reply to your question.

i had a baby in a Thai hospital just 6 months ago, im Falang and my husbands Thai i went to the private Samitivej hospital in Sriracha, my doctor was lovely and always spoke to me in English and my husband in Thai, i said i wanted natural birth which he totally went along with until id been having contractions for 2 days and not dilating! emergency c section was called for and, because im big before i was even pregnant they couldnt get the needle for the epidural in plus, i was still having contractions, in the end they gave me a general anathetic, my husband was with me all the time much to his great disdain!

the bill for a normal birth staying in for 2 nights was going to be 28,000 but emergency c section and staying for 3 nights (one of which i was in labour) came to 41,000. the only thing i didnt like is that during labour i had to stay on the bed and be monitored which i really didnt want to do.

my room was like a hotel room with remote controlled bed, cable tv and a sofa bed for my husband, the staff were marvellous showed us how to do everything for our daughter and were on call for me 24/7 they even fed her with a small cup untill i had come round enough to breast feed her so she didnt get used to the bottle.

although it is more expensive than a goverment hospital the quality of the treatment you receive is totally worth it and after paying for flights to australia and back wouldnt it work out cheaper anyway?

also for anything you need to know about getting pregnant and giving birth check out www.babycenter.com i found it really usefull,

have fun getting pregnant!

[MsFigure]

I had my daughter (c-section) at Bumrungrad in Bangkok and it by far exceeded my expectations about what it would like to have a baby in Thailand. I know that many of my family in Australia were shocked and worried (the ones that haven't visited still have preconceived ideas that this is a third world country) but even my mother was impressed with the how everything was dealt with when she arrived for the birth. My mother even went so far as to say that if I were to have another child, that I should definitely have it here in Thailand again (only at the Bumrungrad as the service and care was much higher than many of the top private hospitals back in Australia.

I can't say enough good things about the Bumrungrad, my doctor and nursing staff - and this was not only during and after my pregnancy, but the year before while we were trying to get pregnant in the first place. Our doctor (Fertility Specialist/Gynecologist/Obstetrician) was educated and trained both in Thailand and overseas, spoke fluent english to both my husband and myself - so there were never any issues with language there.

All I can say is, there is no need to worried about birthing in Thailand if you have a doctor and hospital that you are happy and comfortable with

nice hospital,we would all go there if we could . how much for the lot ??

It's unfortunate that some of the women here have had a not so good experience with birth in Thailand but if you find a good hospital and doctor, there is no reason why you shouldn't have the perfect ending to your pregnancy. All I can say is that I would not even think twice about using my doc and the bumrungrad again if I ever got pregnant again.

Bumrungrad is an excellent hospital and well worth the cost (and what we were quoted was exactly what we paid - no hidden extras).

These are the most recent package prices from their website

Normal Vaginal Delivery 42,900 Baht

Normal Vaginal with Epidural 52,900 Baht

C-Section 61,900 Baht

For more info about packages, clinics, docs etc at the Bumrungrad just visit their site