Natural Birth Doctors In Bangkok

[georgehill]

I have seen a few posts about delivering babies in Bangkok concerning Bumrungrad and Samitivej (i think that's how you spell it). But I haven't seen many doctor's names used in regard to who specifically is a natural birth advocate. Maybe I should define what I mean by natural birth--not just that the baby is not born by c-section but also that no drugs are used throughout the whole process, I come in when I'm dialated to about an 8 or 9, and I have the baby. I not only want a doctor who is willing to do this but also advocates for it. I've heard there are some at Bumrungrad, but they have 53 OBGYNs and I'm not willing to have ten appointments just to try to figure out who is most an advocate for this. I had thought about just emailing three or four doctors at random and asking who in their department is most an advocate of natural birth. Thoughts about doing that?

I'm due to deliver my third child in February. My first child was delivered at Bumrungrad; second in the states with a midwife (which was awesome experience). Bumrungrad hospital was nice, the staff were ok, and the doctor we had was awful.

I hate to use her name b/c I know that she is not an awful doctor per se, but she is self-absorbed (like most doctors who studied in the USA; they become like those who mentor them). I had a scheduled appointment at 10am, but that morning at 2am, I started contractions, light and easy. By 10am, they were still light and easy. What did the doctor say? "you are going to have this baby today." Great, we thought and went on about our day. At 5pm, my contractions were intense, my husband was 'trained' in the Bradley method and was helping me as much as he could. I knew I was probably a 6 or 7. At that time (5pm), we get a phone call from the doctor, "well, is this baby coming today?" My husband told her, "we hope so." This was her response: My house is quite a ways from here, and if I get home after driving through traffic and I'm sitting down to eat dinner and get a phone call to interrupt my dinner so that I have to drive all the way back, I'm NOT going to be happy. My husband's repsonse: we don't know when the baby is coming, so we'll come in as soon as we think it's time. Two hours later, we went in, she had been waiting. Why? Because there was another lady who was having a baby. She wanted us to come in so she could get both babies delivered at the same time and by dinner. She immediately strapped me down to the bed; you could tell she was irritated to no end. I was dialated to a 9. 30 minutes later I started pushing, and we had alread talked with her (in our appointments) about working with me to not get an episiotomy. After I pushed for about 20 minutes, she just pulled out the knife without asking me or my husband and started cutting. Why? Just so the baby would come out faster. At that point in time, she refused to speak English to my husband any more and only spoke Thai to her nurses. I've lived in Asian society for four years, and it's easy to see in the faces of those around me when someone is causing me to 'lose face' in a language I can't understand. I had the worst tear that it's possible to have, deep into the flesh and all the way down to the anus.

She is self-absorbed, and so if you want a doctor that doesn't care about anything but their time, then go with her. If you want a doctor who is going to control and manipulate the situation and ultimately your body to get that baby out when she chooses, then choose this lady. I'm not the only one. I had two friends at Bumrungrad at the same time as me; the all had the exact same experience. Then later I had other friends who went there; same experience. I only know of two or three people who had a good experience and that is because they wanted an epidural and all that entailed. (which is every women's choice; i'm certainly not saying one is better than the other; it's your body; it's your choice). If you really want to know her name, send me a message or give me your email address. Otherwise, I'd rather not slander her and use her name in the forum.

So, all that to say, that is not the type of doctor we are looking for. So, if anyone was any specific names of doctors at bumrungrad or the Samitivej who advocate for natural child birth, I would love to her them.

Thanks!! (by husband is georgehill, not me )

[samran]

I can only go on personal experience....

We had a guy name Dr Sankiat at Samtivej. He is a US trained Doctor and worked in the US airforce for at least two decades. We went to him as a natural birth advocate, as many friends before us all had their babies with him, all non-c section (can't say about the drugs though). Our experience was the same and we didn't get to the stage during the labour where any drugs were needed, even though at one point my wife my wife was "asking" (ie screaming) for them!

In the checkups he comes across as Mr Fluffy a little, a bit like an old uncle or something. But in the delivery room (at 3am) he was nothing but Mr professional, and he was there the entire time.

So he may be an option. I think all hospitals have a good doctor, you just have to hunt them down and see who you feel comfortable with.

All the best!

[stoneman]

Our son was born in Bumrungrad 4 years ago...The doctor was Dr Dejaphongs Bhucharoen...He practiced in Texas for many years and returned to Thailand and handles many of the farang births.. He was great..Highly recommend him...He is also a big Dallas Cowboy and Barry Switzer fan and since I graduated from Okla University and lived in Dallas, we got along well.. He believes in natural childbirth...My wife was not sure about that but he took care of everything and it was a good experience..

If we have another child, Dr Dejaphongs will be our doctor..

Stoneman

[georgehill]

Our son was born in Bumrungrad 4 years ago...The doctor was Dr Dejaphongs Bhucharoen...He practiced in Texas for many years and returned to Thailand and handles many of the farang births.. He was great..Highly recommend him...He is also a big Dallas Cowboy and Barry Switzer fan and since I graduated from Okla University and lived in Dallas, we got along well.. He believes in natural childbirth...My wife was not sure about that but he took care of everything and it was a good experience..

If we have another child, Dr Dejaphongs will be our doctor..

Stoneman

Hey Stoneman,

Boomer Sooner! Although, you graduated from OU and still lived in Dallas?...that's as far south as I'll go. My wife and I are both graduates from OU as well, so if we choose him, we'll definitely have that topic to exhaust. Thanks for the tip about this doctor. One question about Dr. Dejaphongs. Did you feel from him that he felt the need to be in control of the timing of the birth, or do you think he was okay with the baby coming when the baby was going to come? Thanks ahead of time for answering another question.

Also Samran,

Thanks for the tip on Dr. Sankiet!

[Irene]

I have seen a few posts about delivering babies in Bangkok concerning Bumrungrad and Samitivej (i think that's how you spell it). But I haven't seen many doctor's names used in regard to who specifically is a natural birth advocate. Maybe I should define what I mean by natural birth--not just that the baby is not born by c-section but also that no drugs are used throughout the whole process, I come in when I'm dialated to about an 8 or 9, and I have the baby. I not only want a doctor who is willing to do this but also advocates for it. I've heard there are some at Bumrungrad, but they have 53 OBGYNs and I'm not willing to have ten appointments just to try to figure out who is most an advocate for this. I had thought about just emailing three or four doctors at random and asking who in their department is most an advocate of natural birth. Thoughts about doing that?

I'm due to deliver my third child in February. My first child was delivered at Bumrungrad; second in the states with a midwife (which was awesome experience). Bumrungrad hospital was nice, the staff were ok, and the doctor we had was awful.

I hate to use her name b/c I know that she is not an awful doctor per se, but she is self-absorbed (like most doctors who studied in the USA; they become like those who mentor them). I had a scheduled appointment at 10am, but that morning at 2am, I started contractions, light and easy. By 10am, they were still light and easy. What did the doctor say? "you are going to have this baby today." Great, we thought and went on about our day. At 5pm, my contractions were intense, my husband was 'trained' in the Bradley method and was helping me as much as he could. I knew I was probably a 6 or 7. At that time (5pm), we get a phone call from the doctor, "well, is this baby coming today?" My husband told her, "we hope so." This was her response: My house is quite a ways from here, and if I get home after driving through traffic and I'm sitting down to eat dinner and get a phone call to interrupt my dinner so that I have to drive all the way back, I'm NOT going to be happy. My husband's repsonse: we don't know when the baby is coming, so we'll come in as soon as we think it's time. Two hours later, we went in, she had been waiting. Why? Because there was another lady who was having a baby. She wanted us to come in so she could get both babies delivered at the same time and by dinner. She immediately strapped me down to the bed; you could tell she was irritated to no end. I was dialated to a 9. 30 minutes later I started pushing, and we had alread talked with her (in our appointments) about working with me to not get an episiotomy. After I pushed for about 20 minutes, she just pulled out the knife without asking me or my husband and started cutting. Why? Just so the baby would come out faster. At that point in time, she refused to speak English to my husband any more and only spoke Thai to her nurses. I've lived in Asian society for four years, and it's easy to see in the faces of those around me when someone is causing me to 'lose face' in a language I can't understand. I had the worst tear that it's possible to have, deep into the flesh and all the way down to the anus.

She is self-absorbed, and so if you want a doctor that doesn't care about anything but their time, then go with her. If you want a doctor who is going to control and manipulate the situation and ultimately your body to get that baby out when she chooses, then choose this lady. I'm not the only one. I had two friends at Bumrungrad at the same time as me; the all had the exact same experience. Then later I had other friends who went there; same experience. I only know of two or three people who had a good experience and that is because they wanted an epidural and all that entailed. (which is every women's choice; i'm certainly not saying one is better than the other; it's your body; it's your choice). If you really want to know her name, send me a message or give me your email address. Otherwise, I'd rather not slander her and use her name in the forum.

So, all that to say, that is not the type of doctor we are looking for. So, if anyone was any specific names of doctors at bumrungrad or the Samitivej who advocate for natural child birth, I would love to her them.

Thanks!! (by husband is georgehill, not me )

You could do a great service for future patients by reporting your experience with that doctor to the Managing Director of Bumrungrad Hospital or eventhe Thailand Medical Council.

[georgehill]

You could do a great service for future patients by reporting your experience with that doctor to the Managing Director of Bumrungrad Hospital or eventhe Thailand Medical Council.

Irene, Thanks for the thought. I did try to report it (at different levels) at the hospital, and unfortunately, they didn't believe me or my husband "she would never do anything like that!" was their response. She's been there a while and it seemed as though just didn't want to hear any negative feedback about their doctors. But I didn't realize there was a Thailand Medical Council. I will try to connect with them and report. Thanks again!

[leisurely]

TBH, I think a lot of the autocracy that the Thai doctors suffer from is due to people not questioning them. I am a total nightmare it would seem. I had knee surgery about a year ago and scrutinised the consent form. The anaesthetis told me that I was the first person to read the form which was made much harder because I had already been given the premed so was a bit woozy. Naughty practice I think.

I have used Dr Sankiat several times for ladies problems. As someone else said, he is a bit daft (both in looks and manner), but he knows his stuff. Three of my friends have delivered baby's with him - two naturally one by section when labour was failing to progress and the child was getting distressed. He would be my choice if I were in the market for more children which luckily I am not.

Another doctor I have heard good reports about is Nopadol, he is based at Bumrungrad too.

Good luck

[bkkmei]

Hi

firstly, sorry to hear your birth experience...

as far as I know, Samitivej has the reputation for being 'natural birth' orientated. Yes, I've heard Dr. Sankiat's name mentioned by many mothers. Personally, I didn't really take to him - but I'm sure this has nothing to do with his ability and other people have raved about him.

I'm going with Dr Nopadol at Bumrungrad cos I want someone who is straightforward with info. Note, he told me Bumrungrad itself has a 70% Caesarian rate (not sure what % is elective), but that he would not perform one unless baby / mother absolutely needed it (as per conditions similar to the UK). For episiotomies, he told me that I would be the one screaming out for it if I wanted it!

Edited July 1, 2007 by bkkmei

[stoneman]

Our son was born in Bumrungrad 4 years ago...The doctor was Dr Dejaphongs Bhucharoen...He practiced in Texas for many years and returned to Thailand and handles many of the farang births.. He was great..Highly recommend him...He is also a big Dallas Cowboy and Barry Switzer fan and since I graduated from Okla University and lived in Dallas, we got along well.. He believes in natural childbirth...My wife was not sure about that but he took care of everything and it was a good experience..

If we have another child, Dr Dejaphongs will be our doctor..

Stoneman

Hey Stoneman,

Boomer Sooner! Although, you graduated from OU and still lived in Dallas?...that's as far south as I'll go. My wife and I are both graduates from OU as well, so if we choose him, we'll definitely have that topic to exhaust. Thanks for the tip about this doctor. One question about Dr. Dejaphongs. Did you feel from him that he felt the need to be in control of the timing of the birth, or do you think he was okay with the baby coming when the baby was going to come? Thanks ahead of time for answering another question.

Also Samran,

Thanks for the tip on Dr. Sankiet!

He lets the baby come when the baby feels it is time...no intervention at all...Our son was born at 2:30 on a Saturday morning...not a time a doctor would choose...We got to the hospital about 10:00PM, hospital called the doctor and he got there about 11:00PM..

Lived in Dallas because I was with Zale Corporation for many years.. Lived in far north Dallas ..

Graduated from OU in 1969..My brother and sister also graduated from OU...My brother's two children both graduated from OU...My sister's 4 boys all graduated from OSU...what can I say...

As a matter of fact, I am going back to OK on vacation in Sep..We have tickets for the OU vs Miami, OU vs Utah State and OU vs Tulsa....great way to plan a vacation..

Oh yes, a friend in Nong Khai got his masters from OU..

Stoneman

Edited July 1, 2007 by stoneman