Having A Baby On Samui

[BasementCat]

So, I was thinking complications would lead to pitocin drips or c-sections, what 'complications' would send a woman in labor off the island?

...the BKK samui doc said that I 'have to stay on the bed as soon as the water breaks so I don't compress the umbilical cord'... as far as I have read, that is a load of bs and I should be able to be mobile as sometimes the water breaks up to a day or more before the fetus is even ready to come out!

Samitivej looks good on the website and by email, but I have yet to talk to or visit one of their docs... anyone else been there?

Pitocin drip is for labor induction, almost routine in many hospitals. By serious complications I mean uterine hemorrhage/rupture, umbilical cord issues, eclampsia, mother's kidney failure, to name but a few. If a uterine hemorrhage is not treated within minutes, blood loss can be life threatening. If a baby - God forbid - needs intensive care after birth, there is no NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) in Samui. I agree with previous posters that bad complications are rare, but it happened in my immediate family and therefore I try to plan in advance for possible trouble.

I agree that BKK Samui doc is talking bs, but many hospitals in Thailand will tell you the same. Mira, take a look at Family and Children forum at ThaiVisa to read more about natural childbirth in Thailand, it's very informative. There are even a few doulas and an RN participating in discussion.

[NALAK]

Thai inter seems ok, my thailand lords wife went there and said it was good., my friends wife died giving birth in Nathon doctor messed up the ceasarian big time. spent years trying to sue. gave up and went back to UK.

no wife of mine would have a baby in Nathon, no doctor worth his salt is going to work for a goverment hospital.

[BasementCat]

Thai inter seems ok, my thailand lords wife went there and said it was good, my friends wife died giving birth in Nathon doctor messed up the ceasarian big time. spent years trying to sue. gave up and went back to UK.

I also heard about a similar case in Nathon, probably the same one. Don't know details, however. A friend who told me this story went herself to BKK to deliver her baby, she said there was no way she was having her child in Samui. Thanks for warning, NALAK.

As for government hospital doctors, I understand that many combine half day in gov. hospital with a half day in private practice. Therefore I disagree that no qualified doctor is going to work for a gov.hospital.

[carmine]

Thai inter seems ok, my thailand lords wife went there and said it was good, my friends wife died giving birth in Nathon doctor messed up the ceasarian big time. spent years trying to sue. gave up and went back to UK.

I also heard about a similar case in Nathon, probably the same one. Don't know details, however. A friend who told me this story went herself to BKK to deliver her baby, she said there was no way she was having her child in Samui. Thanks for warning, NALAK.

As for government hospital doctors, I understand that many combine half day in gov. hospital with a half day in private practice. Therefore I disagree that no qualified doctor is going to work for a gov.hospital.

I think you are right there. The do practice in govt hospitals and private.

I also think its unfair what another member said that decent doctors would'nt work in government hospitals. I'm sure most feel poorer people deserve healthcare as much as others.

[sbk]

The ob/gym in Nathon practices at Nathon hospital and has delivered hundreds of babies, I am sure. No local woman would use the Koh P hospital to deliver if she can make it to Nathon on time and almost all of the women I know who have had kids in Samui have used this ob/gyn and hospital with no ill effects. And after all these years, yes I know alot of women who have had babies. alot.

[ESB7]

Get a private room for her at Nathon hospital. Rooms are fine, view from window very nice and they can deliver a baby just aswell as they do at Bangkok Samui hospital and you won't have to take out a second mortgage.

(Please don't use Bangkok Samui hospital. They are a boil on the arse of healthcare.)

2nd that, although a few years ago they were excellent. At the time of the wifes birth 2 other women were driven over from Samui hospitol in Chaweng and after their births taken back to Chaweng. The private rooms 5 years ago were 800 baht a night and nurses checked hourly...I think our bill was just around the 2500 mark whereas the private hospitols wanted in excess of 35,000

[Boater]

You cannot put a price on the safety of your new born child , I would pay int he millions to have a sure safe birth .

My two cents

1) 2 months before due date , go back to england

2) 1 month in bangkok before birth ,

[smokie36]

You cannot put a price on the safety of your new born child , I would pay int he millions to have a sure safe birth .

My two cents

1) 2 months before due date , go back to england

2) 1 month in bangkok before birth ,

Maternity services don't make money for hospitals is the sad truth and consequently have been woefully underfunded in the UK over the years.

Overall if that was the choice I'd opt for Samitivej or Bumrungrad well before a return to the UK unless guaranteed a room at say Chelsea & Westminster or any other good teaching hospital....and none of the others in London would do except maybe Charlottes.

[MSingh]

just to clear my girl friend and wife to be in having a baby. just would like to know of good places on the island that don't rip u off with having un nessecary opertations just to boost their pay package. there again i would like a good doctor who knows what they are doing.

any suggestions please. Then after that it is off to war with the Romains

What does that mean, honestly ??

[sbk]

just to clear my girl friend and wife to be in having a baby. just would like to know of good places on the island that don't rip u off with having un nessecary opertations just to boost their pay package. there again i would like a good doctor who knows what they are doing.

any suggestions please. Then after that it is off to war with the Romains

What does that mean, honestly ??

bigC translation: fiancee.

currently his gf but he plans on marrying her.

[MSingh]

just to clear my girl friend and wife to be in having a baby. just would like to know of good places on the island that don't rip u off with having un nessecary opertations just to boost their pay package. there again i would like a good doctor who knows what they are doing.

any suggestions please. Then after that it is off to war with the Romains

What does that mean, honestly ??

bigC translation: fiancee.

currently his gf but he plans on marrying her.

Ok, comprende, just..

Thanks SBK..

[Tracer Round]

just to clear my girl friend and wife to be in having a baby.

I was thinking the same thing, MSingh. And I am thinking you are still thinking what I am thinking.

Samui Hospital is like a sprog mill. I have been there to visit someone having an operation. In the same room were three old folks who had fallen or were sick, a couple of newborn babies with their mothers (alone), and an empty bed which was occupied briefly in the hours before I came by a man whose girl friend or wife to be had left him and he'd poured petrol over his body and set himself alight. He died.

In the adjacent room were more new issues and a foreigner who had been in a fight the night before. There were newborns scattered all over the place.

My friend's (Thai) operation was free, so I assume if the girl friend and wife to be is also a native, she must be covered by national health insurance, so it would be either free or nearly so.

[limbos]

Get a private room for her at Nathon hospital. Rooms are fine, view from window very nice and they can deliver a baby just aswell as they do at Bangkok Samui hospital and you won't have to take out a second mortgage.

(Please don't use Bangkok Samui hospital. They are a boil on the arse of healthcare.)

Agreed. A friend of mine went there to have the baby. They told him it was overdue and induced it. Turned out they were wrong and it was premature. So they put the baby on an incubator but set it wrong. This caused cysts to occur on the baby's lungs and water started to fill the lungs. Emergency ambulance to Thaksin hospital in Surrat where they stabilized the poor baby. Back to Samui. He refused to pay the bill so the hospital refused to give his wife's passport back. he contacted his embassy and an official came to Samui to meet with hospital admin. They agreed they had made a mistake but still wanted to be paid or no passport. My friend is now suing the f**king hospital with the help of his embassy and has flown back to Europe with his wife and baby to sort out this whole mess. Don't have a baby on Samui. Thaksin hospital is a better bet!

Can you please be a bit more specific where your friend exactly had the baby. In Nathon or BKK-Samui? That's not very clear from your post.

[limbos]

I don't know the ins and outs of the maternity care in Samui's private hospitals but I have plenty of experience having worked in private places in the UK such as the Portland etc.

While the privacy, fluffy pillows and better catering services are most welcome the level of support should things go badly wrong during the late stage of pregnancy are limited in my view and would likely require transfer to another hospital.

If my partner was giving birth I would want to go to the busiest maternity unit with proper regular experience of dealing with any eventuality and the resources to act swiftly The only hospital which fits the bill on Samui is Nathon. The only reason the hospital's public areas aren't as plush as the others is that they spend all the money on patient care instead.

Pay for a private room there and all the cash you spend will go to help other people on Samui as well as yourself rather than line the pockets....

Bear in mind serious complications are rare......have an epidural......just my few satangs......good luck!

:jap:

Excellent post and hits the nail on the head about the Samui situation.

My Thai wife had both our babies born in Nathon and everything was well taken care with private rooms.

There seems to be a lot of resentment about even Nathon hospital by some posters, just keep in mind that unfortunately in all hospitals all over the world mistakes are made and very sadly, babies and mothers die, not only in Nathon hospital. Maybe it would be interesting to see statistics on how many babies are born per year in Nathon hospital and how many problems arise, not that it is likely to get insight into such stats.

Although I wouldn't be too keen to share a common room with plenty of other peoples in Nathon, so far my experiences have been very good with this hospital.

[sbk]

I worked for ob/gyns in the US for a while and they have the highest malpractice insurance out of the lot because, regardless of the cause, they will get blamed and sued when the baby comes out not perfect in every way. They had been sued for downs syndrome babies and other genetic problems when, clearly, it had nothing to do with the birthing procedure. Yes, mothers and babies can die, and while the infant mortality rate has certainly dropped drastically with modern medicine and procedures, its not a fail safe thing and despite the efforts of even the best hospitals, sometimes kids will die.

However, smokie and limbos are both right, Nathon is a hospital that delivers alot of babies. Most of the local women from Phangan use it as well as the women from Samui. So, given that, if I were having a baby, I would choose it over a risky flight to the UK or US (alot of airlines, btw do not allow 8 month pregnant women to fly) and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommends women don’t fly after their 36th week of pregnancy. High risk women or women with complications should not travel at all.

[smokie36]

I worked for ob/gyns in the US for a while and they have the highest malpractice insurance out of the lot because, regardless of the cause, they will get blamed and sued when the baby comes out not perfect in every way. They had been sued for downs syndrome babies and other genetic problems when, clearly, it had nothing to do with the birthing procedure. Yes, mothers and babies can die, and while the infant mortality rate has certainly dropped drastically with modern medicine and procedures, its not a fail safe thing and despite the efforts of even the best hospitals, sometimes kids will die.

However, smokie and limbos are both right, Nathon is a hospital that delivers alot of babies. Most of the local women from Phangan use it as well as the women from Samui. So, given that, if I were having a baby, I would choose it over a risky flight to the UK or US (alot of airlines, btw do not allow 8 month pregnant women to fly) and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommends women don't fly after their 36th week of pregnancy. High risk women or women with complications should not travel at all.

An excellent post again. I forgot to mention if the mother had multiple previous caesarian section or pre-existing medical conditions or serious worries over premature birth then a hospital in Bangkok would be the best option. Both for neonatal and adult Intensive Therapy Units.

I've no idea whether true but someone mentioned Bangkok Samui delivers a baby a week which is a joke to be honest a 300 bed hospital would be expected to deliver 1500 babies a year and that's a conservative estimate. The more the merrier is the general rule here.

Edited October 30, 2010 by smokie36

[BigC]

You cannot put a price on the safety of your new born child , I would pay int he millions to have a sure safe birth .

My two cents

1) 2 months before due date , go back to england

2) 1 month in bangkok before birth ,

sorry i don't see the reason why u would want to travel t the uk and back 2 mnths before the baby is born. not sure why and what positive ppints u can get from it. also wouldn't it be worse to sit on a 10 hr flight 2 times. then after the baby is born u have to wait a while before u can travel again. so u would have to make yr way from bangkok to samui. bills going up and up. not that i am a toght git but i will need tome money left over after the baby is born.

i reckon or 2 people to go back to england about 60 k then 1 month before the baby is born have to rent somehwere in bangkok for 2 months. probably about 20 or 25 k. then hopsital expensives. then fly 2 people and 1 baby down to samui another 10 k plus the prigoinnal 10 k for flying up to bangkok

total estimate 60 k + 25 + 10 k + 10 K + misc another 10 K = 115 THB.

seems expensive

[BasementCat]

Smokie, if you meant me mentioning one birth a week in this very thread, I was referring to Thai Inter, not BKK Samui hospital. I have no information about the latter.

BigC, you can cut the costs by taking a VIP bus to/from BKK i/o flying. It seems safer for the newborn as well. As for other expenses, major government hospitals in BKK (like Praram 9) are a great option. Your partner is Thai, she probably will get their services for free. You still have to pay for accommodation though. But if you already decided that the baby is to be delivered at Samui, than opt for Nathon hospital, that's your best bet.

[BigC]

Smokie, if you meant me mentioning one birth a week in this very thread, I was referring to Thai Inter, not BKK Samui hospital. I have no information about the latter.

BigC, you can cut the costs by taking a VIP bus to/from BKK i/o flying. It seems safer for the newborn as well. As for other expenses, major government hospitals in BKK (like Praram 9) are a great option. Your partner is Thai, she probably will get their services for free. You still have to pay for accommodation though. But if you already decided that the baby is to be delivered at Samui, than opt for Nathon hospital, that's your best bet.

ok i understand half of it. Not sure why i need to go to england and back. I just don't get it ? u can register as the farther in the english embassy so the dust bin lid can have dual passports

if u don't beleive me then u will have to ask geeves though he might not understand the word dust bin lid

[BigC]

I worked for ob/gyns in the US for a while and they have the highest malpractice insurance out of the lot because, regardless of the cause, they will get blamed and sued when the baby comes out not perfect in every way. They had been sued for downs syndrome babies and other genetic problems when, clearly, it had nothing to do with the birthing procedure. Yes, mothers and babies can die, and while the infant mortality rate has certainly dropped drastically with modern medicine and procedures, its not a fail safe thing and despite the efforts of even the best hospitals, sometimes kids will die.

However, smokie and limbos are both right, Nathon is a hospital that delivers alot of babies. Most of the local women from Phangan use it as well as the women from Samui. So, given that, if I were having a baby, I would choose it over a risky flight to the UK or US (alot of airlines, btw do not allow 8 month pregnant women to fly) and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommends women don't fly after their 36th week of pregnancy. High risk women or women with complications should not travel at all.

An excellent post again. I forgot to mention if the mother had multiple previous caesarian section or pre-existing medical conditions or serious worries over premature birth then a hospital in Bangkok would be the best option. Both for neonatal and adult Intensive Therapy Units.

I've no idea whether true but someone mentioned Bangkok Samui delivers a baby a week which is a joke to be honest a 300 bed hospital would be expected to deliver 1500 babies a year and that's a conservative estimate. The more the merrier is the general rule here.

If u have twins would u need a twin room lol

[BigC]

well i am think that it is my misses that is having a baby. the doctor came in the room and told us ( we ) that we are having a baby. now i assume the doctor means me and my missess but the doctor who gave me the news is female and i might have leacher onto her a while ago. u know what that say about assumption being the mother of all f

[Boater]

Bin lid bigc not dustbin lid lol

[BigC]

Bin lid bigc not dustbin lid lol

thanks u have inspired me or a name. Bin liden

[Tracer Round]

well i am think that it is my misses that is having a baby. the doctor came in the room and told us ( we ) that we are having a baby. now i assume the doctor means me and my missess but the doctor who gave me the news is female and i might have leacher onto her a while ago. u know what that say about assumption being the mother of all f

So, if I can translate what you say, it is possible that you had an affair with the doctor who gave you this pregnancy news and you think she might be lying just to get back at you. Is that right?

As for the person suggesting that you go back to your own country if this woman is actually going to have your baby, to which you said it was too expensive and couldn't understand the need, the crux of this was that any amount of money you spent to ensure the safety and after-birth care of the infant was worth the expenditure.

Sort of the idea that if you had a unique, priceless watch, would you pay the extra to have it repaired in Switzerland or in Nathon?

Having seen the conditions in Nathon, I'd say that they are fine for a developing country, and generally speaking having a baby is not a complicated procedure, BUT I have no idea of the emergency care equipment or expertise that might be needed in the unlikely event of a serious delivery problem.

Of course there is a clinic in Chaweng that will perform abortions if that avenue is still open. ...or has this entire thread been some sort of red herring?

[BigC]

well i am think that it is my misses that is having a baby. the doctor came in the room and told us ( we ) that we are having a baby. now i assume the doctor means me and my missess but the doctor who gave me the news is female and i might have leacher onto her a while ago. u know what that say about assumption being the mother of all f

So, if I can translate what you say, it is possible that you had an affair with the doctor who gave you this pregnancy news and you think she might be lying just to get back at you. Is that right?

As for the person suggesting that you go back to your own country if this woman is actually going to have your baby, to which you said it was too expensive and couldn't understand the need, the crux of this was that any amount of money you spent to ensure the safety and after-birth care of the infant was worth the expenditure.

Sort of the idea that if you had a unique, priceless watch, would you pay the extra to have it repaired in Switzerland or in Nathon?

Having seen the conditions in Nathon, I'd say that they are fine for a developing country, and generally speaking having a baby is not a complicated procedure, BUT I have no idea of the emergency care equipment or expertise that might be needed in the unlikely event of a serious delivery problem.

Of course there is a clinic in Chaweng that will perform abortions if that avenue is still open. ...or has this entire thread been some sort of red herring?

no i did not have an affair with the doctor. This baby is mine. i do not want an abortion and abortions are illegal in Thailand and carry the death penalty.

If is not only about the money for going back to england. I just don't understand how it would help the baby.

[smokie36]

Forward planning is crucial. You should have the baby born in Poland then it'll be much easier for your son to get a job as a plumber in the UK later in life.

[Rooo]

. I do not want an abortion and abortions are illegal in Thailand and carry the death penalty.

I think you should have a look here . It is for information only, nothing else intended, just bringing some facts & law changes to light.

[goatboy]

Firstly congrats.

I am the proud owner of a baby boy born 3 months again in Nathon. V happy and no complaints but left it late to book a VIP room.

I paid an extra 4000b for Dr Pisanu to deliver who has the baby practice in Nathon. Luckily my girlfriend was the only one delivering at the time so I got to go in for the birth and with shaky hands managed to cut the umbilical cord before retiring outside to drink myself stupid whilst waiting for for both to go to the baby ward.

[Tracer Round]

OK, but can you have a friend who understands how to write English please translate this for me:

"... the doctor who gave me the news is female and i might have leacher onto her a while ago. u know what that say about assumption being the mother of all f ..."

Thanks to a moderator for pointing out that abortion has been legal for years.

BigC wrote:

"If is not only about the money for going back to england. I just don't understand how it would help the baby."

If you read my past post, you'd see that I said that it was the "fact" that the standard of care and equipment in the West is better than anywhere on Samui. It isn't about money, it's about how much "insurance" you want in the form of medical expertise and technological backing available for your child, in the event that something goes wrong.

Personally, I think you could just have the woman give birth at home. It's been done since the beginning of the human race.

By the way, does any man (farang) actually get married before knocking up their girlfriend here? Seems a large percentage skip that step in the relationship.

[BigC]

OK, but can you have a friend who understands how to write English please translate this for me:

"... the doctor who gave me the news is female and i might have leacher onto her a while ago. u know what that say about assumption being the mother of all f ..."

Thanks to a moderator for pointing out that abortion has been legal for years.

BigC wrote:

"If is not only about the money for going back to england. I just don't understand how it would help the baby."

If you read my past post, you'd see that I said that it was the "fact" that the standard of care and equipment in the West is better than anywhere on Samui. It isn't about money, it's about how much "insurance" you want in the form of medical expertise and technological backing available for your child, in the event that something goes wrong.

Personally, I think you could just have the woman give birth at home. It's been done since the beginning of the human race.

By the way, does any man (farang) actually get married before knocking up their girlfriend here? Seems a large percentage skip that step in the relationship.

unfortuatly it is part of thai culture. Marrages cost money. specially out here. now u can call me tight if u want but i hate it when people call me Key nio. It is like they think that us forangs have an endless amount of money and a pot of gold at end the end of bed to wake to every morning. the reality is that we do have money but it run s out quick. anyway it doesn't matter because my girl friend is not a with me for money so she does not call me key nio. though she gets trouble with other thai ladies and people in her village. they pass on there comments. like " yr daughter have forang boy friend. why he not build u a house yet." her dads answer is simple then quiet. he just says. " why i want forang to build me a house. why i need to use forangs money to build me a house. " then he walks away and blanks them. sometime it is hard to be good out here. u have to be very strong.

So when our birds get knocked up. my finicial situation changes from a stupid fancy wedding to consirns about a new memeber of family about to come.

Anyway this is 2010 not 1945. Marrage for me just adds moree problems. i jave found that marriage is more about face for the families than about the actuall relationship.

Anyway the jist is taking 2 people to england to go to a crap national health hospital and waisting about 200 k on travel cost just seems completly pointless. i am sure that 200 k would get u a pretty decent birth out here. English hospitals are dirty. understaffed and they left my granny to die in the corridor because of lack of bed due to immergrants taking up beds ( non tax payers ) un like my gran who lived through world war 2 and paid tax all her life along with my grandad who was tready terribly before he died.

so all to each opimums but i'll stick with my dission. thanks

ps all that nonsense about mia nois was only joking. i think that is obvious though just to clarify