Sukumvit Hospital For Delivery

[yeti]

Hi,

My gf has her gynecologist at Samitivej Sukhumvit hospital, and a visit there today confirmed she is pregnant .

As our insurance doesn't cover pregnancy I'm doing some budget planning.

The delivery package at Samitivej is 55000 THB for natural delivery (epidural not included) and they told me to expect between 3 to 5000 THB for monthly visit if nothing goes wrong. The place seems to be good, read plenty of good reviews about it, and gynecologist seems fine (although she already gave my gf some medicine (Foliamin), before having the results of the blood test).

On another hand Sukumvit hospital is closer to our home, and has natural delivery package for 20000 THB. We did not visit the place yet and I couldn't find any review of their obstetric center.

So can anyone tell us about their experience there, and eventually recommend a doctor?

Thxs a lot

Yeti

[think_too_mut]

If I were on a budget, I would seriously consider the Sukhumvit hospital.

Been there only once, took a friend for a dental intervention and the place felt nice.

He is an American, while he was participating in (other) board discussions, he was recommending the establishment.

[yeti]

Well, the budget issue is important, but of course not as important as the safety and comfort issues.

I've tested the emergency service of Sukumvit hospital, which was ok, but that doesn't tell me much about their obstetric service.

And they have a list of doctors on their website, but not their curriculum, so if someone has experienced giving birth there it'd help me a lot to make a decision.

[think_too_mut]

Well, the budget issue is important, but of course not as important as the safety and comfort issues.

I've tested the emergency service of Sukumvit hospital, which was ok, but that doesn't tell me much about their obstetric service.

And they have a list of doctors on their website, but not their curriculum, so if someone has experienced giving birth there it'd help me a lot to make a decision.

That 55,000B package for natural delivery at Samitivej was 32,000B 4 years ago. For us, it suddenly went up to 120,000K baht, Cesarean. And they love doing it - 10 mins work and triple the money.

The only reason we went there was my insurance covering it all.

Delivery is a routine thing, my wife was born under the stalls at the market place at Choechangsao.

The Sukhumvit hospital would do it just fine, as any other.

[thailand4me]

Hi,

My gf has her gynecologist at Samitivej Sukhumvit hospital, and a visit there today confirmed she is pregnant .

As our insurance doesn't cover pregnancy I'm doing some budget planning.

The delivery package at Samitivej is 55000 THB for natural delivery (epidural not included) and they told me to expect between 3 to 5000 THB for monthly visit if nothing goes wrong. The place seems to be good, read plenty of good reviews about it, and gynecologist seems fine (although she already gave my gf some medicine (Foliamin), before having the results of the blood test).

On another hand Sukumvit hospital is closer to our home, and has natural delivery package for 20000 THB. We did not visit the place yet and I couldn't find any review of their obstetric center.

So can anyone tell us about their experience there, and eventually recommend a doctor?

Thxs a lot

Yeti

[thailand4me]

My son half English/Thai was born Sukhumvit Hospital 3 months ago and ill reccomend the full services for the price of 20-000baht to anyone wanting their baby to be delivered. My son was born by ceaserian section for 30k and my Thai wife had everything catered for.

Paul Slack

[yeti]

Thxs Paul for this feedback.

Would you recommend the doctor which took care of the delivery? Was he the same who followed the pregnancy? If yes I'd like to have his name.

One more question: did the hospital take care of all the paperwork asked by the thai government?

[ginkao]

I can also recommend Sukhumvit Hospital, especially if you stay close. We were staying just 2km from there, so it was very convenient for my wife to go to the check-ups etc. Our son was born there in 2002, even though my companys insurance would have paid the birth in any other Bangkok hospital. But my thai wife liked the less Hi-so environment. Everything went perfectly fine, and they took good care as well. We had single room for not so high price at all.

The doctor names were

Obstetric: DR. WORAPOLE CHIRANANONDH

Pediatrics: DR. PANEE AEIMTHITIWAT

[yeti]

I met Dr. Worapole Chirananondh, but somehow we did not like each other (wife had the same feeling), and as he is the only doctor which is there often enough we will go Samitivej instead.

[too true]

Have absolutely no experience with this hospital, but clicked on the the link to check them out. Under the special offers for the delivery packages it says that :

When undergoing Ceasarian Section and wanting to get vasectomy done, an additional 2,000 Baht will be charged and 6,000 Baht will be charged for appendicitis.

When delivering naturally and wanting vasectomy done with anesthesia applied through the spine, then an additional 8,000 Baht will be charged and 10,000 Baht will apply when anesthesia is applied by smelling.

Surely they don't mean what it says they mean. They mean tubal ligation, right?

[onethailand]

That 55,000B package for natural delivery at Samitivej was 32,000B 4 years ago. For us, it suddenly went up to 120,000K baht, Cesarean. And they love doing it - 10 mins work and triple the money.

Ouch. I paid between 60-75K Caesarean for each of my three kids, spread out over a 6 year gap.

[silverliner]

Have absolutely no experience with this hospital, but clicked on the the link to check them out. Under the special offers for the delivery packages it says that :

When undergoing Ceasarian Section and wanting to get vasectomy done, an additional 2,000 Baht will be charged and 6,000 Baht will be charged for appendicitis.

When delivering naturally and wanting vasectomy done with anesthesia applied through the spine, then an additional 8,000 Baht will be charged and 10,000 Baht will apply when anesthesia is applied by smelling.

Surely they don't mean what it says they mean. They mean tubal ligation, right?

Right !!! Vasectomy is for the men while tubal ligation or resection is for women.

So nobody there cared for the words they used. And it's Caesarean section not

Caesarian section.

[seonai]

I saw a great Doc at The Mission Hosp in BKK when I got pregnant and eventually came to give birth in London for personal reasons

[emmick]

I met Dr. Worapole Chirananondh, but somehow we did not like each other (wife had the same feeling), and as he is the only doctor which is there often enough we will go Samitivej instead.

My wife and I also had the same similar experience at Sukumvit Hospital Soi 63-65 and in particular Dr. Worapole Chirananondh. I did understand from researching him on the internet that he would not win any personality awards , but I assumed that he might have been a good doctor. By our fourth visit with him I also discovered that his personality what others have written is terrible, and for the coming of your child which should feel like a happy time in your life he makes you feel like your being treated for cancer. What finally came to a breaking point for us is when we asked him if he can delay the clamping of the cord until it is no longer pulsating so that the baby can receive all the blood. This I feel is a very simple request and if you do your own research you will also find the benifits or the liability of premature clamping of the cord. Well a simple request but a request that he said that he can not do , when I asked him the reason why he replied by saying that you would not ask a chef to change the receipe. Imagine that a doctor saying that there is a connection to ordering a meal to the delivery of a new born baby. I assumed that because this doctor has been at this hospital many years that he might have been good, but now I feel that he has been there to long. My disappointment is with this doctor , there might have been another better qualified doctor but he gave us such a bad feeling that we could no longer trust him or the hospital and my new arrival is much to important to take a chance. To make a long story short I took my wife to Samitivej Srinakarin Hospital and the entire experience has been outstanding, besides our new Doctor ( Siripat Preechasanongkit MD ) assuring us that she will not prematurely clamp the cord , she asked if I would like to cut it. The Hospital Rep. Chayada also gave us a wonder tour of the Hospital in addition to the facilities and explained in detail of what we will be expecting . Im sure that if you visit this hospital you will also see as we did that there is no comparision between these two hospitals in every aspect . This Hospital also gives us the parents the decision to refuse any or all shots or vaccines. As parents there are many decisions that need to be made , please take the time and research any hospital that you decide. In Thailand they are still using the OPV vaccine which is no longer being used in the more developed countries in addition to putting silver nitrate drops into the babys eyes at birth. There is a wealth of information out there but you will need to research it because no two doctors or hospitals are the same and there proceures do differ . One very informative book that I read is " How to raise a healthy Child, Despite of your doctor " and also one of many links is " thinktwice.com " My wife and I are not planning any shots or vaccines for our baby , if you though decide to vaccinate your baby check each and every vaccine out first because Thailand unfortunately gets the vaccines that other more developed countries are no longer using. All the very best and good luck

[yeti]

Thank you for this feedback Emmick: I don't regret that we did not use this doctor.

I don't regret that we didn't use Sukhumvit Hospital with another doctor either, because the delivery was not exactly a piece of cake, and I'm happy that we had an hospital with the facilities and people able to take care of my gf. Especially as during our all stay they were really nice and helpful with all of us.

[polecat]

Good luck at Sukhumvit. We were gong there until my partner and I (both farang) decided that the language barrier was becoming a problem. We ended up going to Samitivej and felt really good about the pre-care.

However, when that 4am alarm went off, the ambulance went to our old flat instead of the new one -- despite my having repeatedly confirmed our new address. Then, in the hospital, after 20 or so minutes when my partner said she couldn't hold on any longer (no doctor yet), the nurses were surprised we wanted a water birth. So much for our ''birth plan'' and assurances that everything would be ready. They said she might have to give birth on a bed. They didn't pull me aside and talk about the options, or wait for the doctor to give an opinion, but the nurse just blithely said it between my partner's yelps. It didn't exactly put her mind at ease.

The after care was great, and the actual birth went smoothly, but I didn't get the impression that they really offered much more than Sukhumvit other than Starbucks and better English skills.

Edit: oops, just realised you must have had the baby. Congratulations

Edited April 29, 2008 by polecat

[Orangutan]

Hello,

My wife is expecting our first baby and we have had four appointments with Dr. Worapole Chirananondh. To say that he is a cold fish is a understatement. From the very first meeting up to our last encounter we have felt uncomfortable with his manner. I have some questions I'm going to ask next month regarding natural birth, vaccines, and premature clamping of the cord. Even though I have already paid a 5000 deposit for the delivery package we are ready to walk if we are not satisfied with him. The nurses and assistants are very nice there, and a couple that are close friends of ours had their baby girl delivered by Dr. Worapole a few months ago. They said that that received very good care by the staff.

[onnut]

Hi,

My gf has her gynecologist at Samitivej Sukhumvit hospital, and a visit there today confirmed she is pregnant .

As our insurance doesn't cover pregnancy I'm doing some budget planning.

The delivery package at Samitivej is 55000 THB for natural delivery (epidural not included) and they told me to expect between 3 to 5000 THB for monthly visit if nothing goes wrong. The place seems to be good, read plenty of good reviews about it, and gynecologist seems fine (although she already gave my gf some medicine (Foliamin), before having the results of the blood test).

On another hand Sukumvit hospital is closer to our home, and has natural delivery package for 20000 THB. We did not visit the place yet and I couldn't find any review of their obstetric center.

So can anyone tell us about their experience there, and eventually recommend a doctor?

Thxs a lot

Yeti

My wife gave birth last week at the BNH hospital, in total it cost 73,000 baht.

that was for C section and 5 nights stay. very good service, and if we have another one we will go back to the BNH.

dont forget at any private hospital, if things dont go as planned the cost will rise, and it will rise fast. there is nothing you can do about it. so dont go to a hospital that offers it cheaper than another, just pick the hospital you feel comfortable with.

good luck

[emmick]

Hello,

My wife is expecting our first baby and we have had four appointments with Dr. Worapole Chirananondh. To say that he is a cold fish is a understatement. From the very first meeting up to our last encounter we have felt uncomfortable with his manner. I have some questions I'm going to ask next month regarding natural birth, vaccines, and premature clamping of the cord. Even though I have already paid a 5000 deposit for the delivery package we are ready to walk if we are not satisfied with him. The nurses and assistants are very nice there, and a couple that are close friends of ours had their baby girl delivered by Dr. Worapole a few months ago. They said that that received very good care by the staff.

Hi, The Staff as you written were all very nice and we were pleased with there service. The sole reason that we decided to find another hospital was that Dr. Worapole could not accommadate our simple request which was very important to us in that we did not want the cord clamped before it stopped pulsating and he seemed to forget that we are the paying customer. I was overlooking that his personalty may not be the best but when it came to my baby I will not tolerate his faults. The delivery should not be rushed and should be a memorible time and not have us feel like we are going thru the drive thru window to get a meal . We are now finding Samitivj Srinakarin Hospital to be everything that we wanted and more and for 39,000 Baht , there sister hospital off of Sukumvit for the same services was 55,000 Baht. Which ever hospital you decide please get yourself involved in there procedures because there are decisions that you will need to make and if you do not they will make them for you. We opt-out on the Vit K Shot, the Hep B vaccine and also the BCG vaccine, in addition we are not having the silver nitrate put into the baby eyes ( http://www.rbs2.com/SilvNitr.pdf ) ( http://www.givingbirthnaturally.com/silver-nitrate.html ) or having the PKU test at birth . I have many links but here are a couple that may help you : ( http://aromatherapy4u.wordpress.com/2008/0...ct-of-interest/ ) ( Thinktwice.com ) ( http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2...on+For+Disaster ) . We also read a very informitive book named " How to raise a healthy child in spite of your doctor " you may also like it as we have. All the very best !!

[emmick]

Thank you for this feedback Emmick: I don't regret that we did not use this doctor.

I don't regret that we didn't use Sukhumvit Hospital with another doctor either, because the delivery was not exactly a piece of cake, and I'm happy that we had an hospital with the facilities and people able to take care of my gf. Especially as during our all stay they were really nice and helpful with all of us.

I read what you written before we went to Sukhumvit Hospital but to be honest I thought that my experience would have been better , well my experience was not and a month before my wife is do to give birth I needed to find another doctor and hospital because there was no way that I was having this doctor deliver my baby. This being our first child I did not fully understand that there are so many decisions that need to be made and the more that you learn the more that you understand that these doctors know less then you think and are not current with latest procedures in addition to the vaccines that they inject into your babys. Natural child birth is good but once you decide to have your baby delivered in a hospital it may no longer be natural unless you get involved and make some decisions .

When I was a child we had four shots and this was when we entered school, these hospitals now in 2008 and moments after the childs birth are prepared to give your new born a Vit K shot, BCG vaccine , Hep B vaccine PKU test , silver nitrate drops for the baby's eyes that were first used in the year 1881 and also are using the OPV vaccine which is no longer used in the more developed countries. Be well and all the best !!

[tourleadersi]

We had our baby at Sukumvit Hospital about 3 months ago, and I have no complaints. The doctor that took us all the way through from the pregnancy test to delivering the baby was excellent. I can see how his character might bother some people though. I found the whole pregnancy time to be a superb, enjoyable experience and he certainly contributed to it. I did a little research on the internet about various issues and he was always happy to discuss things with me. He also informed me that he not only worked at Sukumvit Hospital, but also Bumrungrad so I guessed he knew what he was on about.

Anyway, my wife went in to pre term labour 4 weeks early and he was very good at discussing the pro's and cons of doing a c-section at the time. They tried to delay the birth but to no avail, he wanted out. So our son arrived 4 weeks early and he did and excellent job, well he must have as all went fine. Owing to the complications, the final bill came in at 49 000 baht. Excellent service all round, but not too much English spoken.

Suggest you buy glass baby bottles if you are worrying about your babies health, aparently the plastic ones, even Avent etc leach harmful chemicals into the baby milk. Also I should imagine that living in BKK is at least a 5-10 a day habit right off the bat for the little one. Personally, I do read up from time to time about the hazards, but as the doctor told me, too much knowledge is not always a good thing. Seems like most of us were brought up with all of these 'nasties' as babies, and if you ask my friends I am confident that at least some of them will confirm that I am normal.

I wish all of you new parents out there the best. Isnt being a parent just the most fun, fabulous thing? Surprisingly I used to worry a lot more about things before becoming a dad, my son has provided me with clarity, focus and endless hours of enjoyment (and toxic nappies).

[Orangutan]

Me and my wife have had several meetings with Dr. Worapole Chirananondh at Sukhumvit Hospital since my last post in April. After my last posting, and a few by other individuals that followed I sent this discussion to Sukhumvit Hospital. In fairness I wanted to see if the behavior of Dr. Worapole Chirananondh might change if he was privy to opinions of people that were contributing to this thread. When my wife and met with the doctor again he in fact did appear to have read the for mentioned posts and was very friendly and informative. His bedside manner was completely changed and he answered all my questions, and has been a great doctor throughout my wifes pregnancy.

You have to be direct with him, and let him communicate with your wife in Thai, then ask him to fill you in, or ask him any questions.

After I read an earlier post about the cutting of the cord early I had some concern about that. I was going to ask Dr. Worapole Chirananondh if he coud delay cutting it until it stopped pulsating. However I watched a two hour Discovery Channel documentary about the the conception and birth of several babies, and in every instance of several births the cord was cut as soon as the baby appeared. I was satasifed by that and have not posed the question.

All-in-all for a birth package offered for 19,900 baht it is the best value for the dollar. We are very pleased with Dr. Worapole Chirananondh and I highly recommend him, and the wonderful staff at the birthing center.

-O

-O

[yeti]

If the doctor has indeed changed and is more friendly then this could be one of the best deals for delivery.

[esprit]

First a bit of background so that you can make your own mind up as to whether or not you wish for a package, or not or it was expensive.

Our 4 year old son was born in the UK. Throughout pre natal my wife insisted on no drugs and indeed was so determined that this philosophy carried into everyday life during pregnancy. she also became interested in giving birth using self hypnosis, we both trained away for a weekend in this method. Of course we prepared a birth plan which was strictly followed to the credit of the nurses and the result was a perfectly natural birth, with minimal discomfort for my wife.

Whilst appreciating that self hypnosis may not be for all, for her it was no problem. Whilst of course it would be extreme to say that she enjoyed the birth, she did maintain that it was an experience within her control.

At that hospital she was the first person ever to practice self hypnosis during child birth and as a consequence she permitted "an audience" of trainee midwives.

Moving on in time my wife gave birth to our daughter 6 months ago in Samitivej. We researched which hospitals actually specialise in natural child birth and only Samitivej popped out. Whilst the rest all claimed they did, statistical research direct to other hospitals indicated a natural delivery ratio much much lower than we considered acceptable.

At the initial visit we made very clear that it was to be a natural birth and again my wife would undertake self hypnossis during labour and delivery. Again this would be a "first" for Samitivej we were given to understand and her gynocologist was more than supportive and also appeared extremely delighted with my wifes "no drug" during pregnancy approach as well as wishing for a natural birth.

We did not enquire about the birth package, my fault as like holidays I always consider if you buy a package they will always be trying to penny pinch to maximise margins. Much prefer to pay as and when. There were many many similarities between here and the UK with respect to the actual birth but the main differance here was that there were always her gyno in attendance plus nurses whereas only a midwife in the UK ( plus onlookers). Because they were not versed in self hypnosis I was required to address the nurses more during labour and delivery here in BKK than the UK to ensure my wife was able to maintain her concentration for hypnosis, apart from that no differrent. Again all respected our birth plan and hence followed our requirements. The only differance in professional thinking was that here in BKK her gyno did not recommend oral vitemin K for the little one rather woud have preferred their routine injection - at the end of the day of course it was oral drops as we instructed.

Extremely pleased with the service. From the word go it was made very clear that we shall be involved in any medical decision and no procedure carried out without first discussing the risks and options should the worst happen. No arguments or issues there from them, in fact acknowledgement that that is how it should always be, rather then assuming doctors know best and allowing them to proceed unchecked. Fortunately everything went perfectly again.

So given that we bought no package from start to finsh it cost 142,000 baht including all pre-natal consultations, birth and post natal care everything. this cost also included a 4 night stay in a VIP room for her which I believe was 11000 per night so guess you could deduct that if you wanted a normal room. I consider that very good value for money. Gues at the end of the day you get what you for. Hope it helps.

Edited September 5, 2008 by esprit

[Orangutan]

One free ultrasound included in the 19,900 birth package. Subsequent ultrasounds (we've had 3 total) 1,200 baht a each. Most of the monthly check-up charges are 390 baht.

As I said we are very pleased with the doctor and the staff. Be sure to ask to see the individual waiting rooms, and the birth room (OR).

-O

[Fang]

Hi esprit! Thanks for your post. The infomation definitely helps.

I am now expecting my first child and is considering to deliver my baby at Samitivej Sukhumvit. Can I find out from you the name of the doctor who attended to you? or you can also pm me.

Thanks so much! =)