Wife Having A C-section In Bkk

[leftcross]

my wife is due in six weeks and it looks as though it's going to be a c-section.

at the moment we are set for bangkok christian at 36,000 baht for the procedure and the room for three days.

however, the costs are starting to mount with buying pushchairs, cots, stockpiling nappies etc and i'd like to know if anyone has experience of the govt places (good or bad).

chulalongkorn is 200m up the road and looks ok but i'd rather have a recommendation or someone telling me it's no good before going to have a look......

has anyone used bkk christian? i did a search on here and there were a few horror stories about costs spiralling out of control at samijtev and bumrumgrad. i need all the money i can save for when the baby is born so i need somewhere that is reputable.

hope someone can help.........

[lannarebirth]

my wife is due in six weeks and it looks as though it's going to be a c-section.

at the moment we are set for bangkok christian at 36,000 baht for the procedure and the room for three days.

however, the costs are starting to mount with buying pushchairs, cots, stockpiling nappies etc and i'd like to know if anyone has experience of the govt places (good or bad).

chulalongkorn is 200m up the road and looks ok but i'd rather have a recommendation or someone telling me it's no good before going to have a look......

has anyone used bkk christian? i did a search on here and there were a few horror stories about costs spiralling out of control at samijtev and bumrumgrad. i need all the money i can save for when the baby is born so i need somewhere that is reputable.

hope someone can help.........

If there aren't really valid medical reasons for doing a C-section, consider scrapping the idea. It's very common suggestion here for running up the bill.

[Unknown]

i did a search on here and there were a few horror stories about costs spiralling out of control at samijtev and bumrumgrad. i need all the money i can save for when the baby is born so i need somewhere that is reputable.

hope someone can help.........

My wife had a c-section in Bumrungrad and the costs were defined and known in advance, was a package.

Expensive but not really spiralling out of control.

I have friends who went to Samitivej and they were very happy with it and it is cheaper.

So, if I was you, I would negotiate a package price before the delivery and I think Samitivej is the best choice.

[leftcross]

how much did you pay? how much did your friend pay at samitivej? thanks

[Neeranam]

My wife had a c-section at Bamrungrad. The package was 40,000 but the final bill was double that

200 baht a time to use the breast milk pump - bloody rip-off.

The birth certificate and stuff was all done very well and easily.

One good thing about Bamrungrad was the clinic they have for the baby for the first year - good service and not too expensive.

[Maizefarmer]

Bkk Christian - have heard similar (i.e. some not so pleasent stories).

Personally, my family and I have had little experianc of Bkk private hospitals, and tend to use government hospitals.

I cant speak for Bkk, wher the Gov hospitals will be snowed under with people and work, but out in the coutry where I am they are pretty good and have never had a problem with them.

While the private hospitals may be able to offer a range of srvices that are high tech and very modern, on something likea c-section, which is as standard and as common a procedure as taking out tonsils - I dont beleive the private hospitals offer much btter than the gov hospitals - except nicer rooms and better food.

I have always been treated in gov hospitals (using my Baht 30 hospital card) - and they saved my leg for me, not to mention my life after been bitten by a ###### cobra.

Dont dismiss government hospitals - UK friends tell me that they get far quicker seervice at Gov hospitals in Thailand than they do at NHS hsopitals in the UK!!

Tim

[Unknown]

how much did you pay? how much did your friend pay at samitivej? thanks

At the end I paid about Baht 65,000 and my friend paid about Baht 40,000 in Samitivej.

But for his wife, it was not a C section.

Edited October 1, 2006 by Unknown

[dgoz]

My gf mentioned that when she gets around to having a baby it will definitely be by C whether advised or not.

She's very petite and worried about pushing it out!

Any other Thai girls feel like this?

[daleyboy]

My gf mentioned that when she gets around to having a baby it will definitely be by C whether advised or not.

She's very petite and worried about pushing it out!

Any other Thai girls feel like this?

My wife felt like this, but unfortunately for her, we are in the U.K where they wont do a c section unless it is absolutely necessary.

She as bricking it as i am 6"8 and 150kgs, but like the midwife said that doesn't mean the baby will be huge. In the end the wife gave birth just using gas and air in 6 hours. Although she was screaming towards the end, the really painful bit for her was over in less than an hour. Little Joe was a bit above average size, but now at 4 months old he has grown so quickly he is the same size as a 1 year old

At the end of the day any medical procedure carries a risk, no matter how many times it is carried out, there is always the chance of complications, and for this very reason hospitals in the UK wont carry out a c section unless it is for a very good reason. I would urge your wife to go natural, they can always perform the c section if necessary at a moments notice

[Unknown]

My gf mentioned that when she gets around to having a baby it will definitely be by C whether advised or not.

She's very petite and worried about pushing it out!

Any other Thai girls feel like this?

In my wife case, it is not that she was worrying about it, it is just that the natural way was not possible.

The baby was bigger than the 'gate'...

[Dont Panic]

My wife recently quit working as a nurse at Siriraj to look after our baby daughter. She had worked there for 10 years so of course she wanted to have the delivery there. We paid 10k after a 10k discount and for that we got a private room for 5 days and had excellent care. I would like to think that even if my wife had not been a nurse at the hospital it would have been the same - except for the amount of visitors!

[Heng]

You might inquire at Vejthani Hospital on Ladprao (we usually use Vichaiyuth but want the trip from hospital to home -on Sukapibal 3- to be as short as possible). 4 recent Hengs and counting have been born there, not including the one I will personally have to raise on the way in May. It's a private hospital that also accepts social security patients and offers gov't hospital rates as well. The standard room rate for 3 days including C-section is 38,000. The suites in Mum Villa are 11,000 extra. It's likely cheaper in the gov't/social security section in the social security wing: from what I can tell it's the same doctors, fewer nurses perhaps, the recovery rooms are likely double or larger combined rooms.... oh, and it's located under the parking garage, and looks a bit inconvenient to get to. Otherwise might be worth a shot for savings.

[lopburi3]

Daughter-in-law had c-sections at Chula in 91, 96 and 02 with no problems. Don't know the cost.

[GuestHouse]

I'd start by getting a second opinion on if a C-Section is really necessary.

I believe there was an article in the BKK Post a while back that revealed Thai Private Hosptials where performing C-Sections at something around 5 times the rate per delivery of European hospitals.

For comparison, in the UK a C-Section is only going to be declared necessary in the final days of pregnancy where there is a clear medical need.

[samran]

how much did you pay? how much did your friend pay at samitivej? thanks

April this year, we paid 85K at Samitvej. We had Dr Sankiat who is renowned as a natural birth Dr, though he'll do whatever is best for the baby, and he'll tell you straight out if a C-section is actually needed or not. Even if you go visit him, just for a second opinion, then you can decide from there.

Trust me, I never thought I'd say this, but the 85K was the best money I've ever spent (and we had to worry about the money!). It got us top class medical care, a fantastic doctor, 2 nights in a private room, great post natal care etc etc.

[leftcross]

thanks samran.

we went to check out a govt place today who said they would do it free because of my govt card, but the wife nearly passed out when she saw the place! they told her they had a navy doctor come in and do the deliveries ..... i've never seen her go purple before ......

looks like it will be a private place ..... Samitvej sounds good....

[bina]

two cents; the reason for doing the c section should make u decide what type of hospital u need:

if its for health reasons for the baby or thw mother (high risk) then u have to see that they do meet your standards

if its because the mother chooses a c section (leaving her at greater risk of infection etc) then that is an other kettle of fish ... high risk pregnancies need different equiptment (preemie, heart probls...etc)

btw i am 42 kilo and all kids were naturally out, the gate was wide enough, but i was high risk for other reasons, so was monitored with c section possible as second choice during birth (not in thailand but all the medical stuff needed for making choices are the same)

u need more recovery time with a c section (depending on type of anesthesia/epidural), etc...also different types of c sections (the type of cut- check what they do in thailand if its not an emergency c section- this could make a difference to your wife)

good luck whatever

bina

[think_too_mut]

Samitivej: quoted 36K, the bill piled up to 120K. Everything, to the last cotton but was charged for.

A rip off.

My Thai colleague laughed at me (he has same the insurance, fully refundable whatever it cost, he could have sent his wife to Bumrungrad or Samitivej), said the doctors there are good in one thing - English language and not much else.

His choice was Phaya Thai hospital.

[Thaiboxer]

Our baby son was born via C-section at Ladprao hospital (next to Foodland on Ladprao Rd.) and the total bill was somewhere around 35K Baht. This was last year in October. This was a package deal which included all the pre-natal checkups, medicine, delievery and postnatal care (4 days, three nights). The doctor, staff and service were excellent. We looked into Samitivej and it was A LOT more expensive. I would recommend Ladprao Hospital to anyone.

[Topprofile]

2½ months ago we had a baby (C-section) at Bangkok Christian.

Nothing to complain about. Everything wonderful!

We paid about 36.000THB in total for 3 nights.

Doctors are great and so are the nurses!

We went to BNH to start with but quickly moved to BC after beeing overcharged on anohter issue.

[chatette]

My daughter was born at Phramongkut Klao Hospital, the military hospital on Rajvithi Road down from the Victory Monument. The experience was excellent, and the cost was less than 20k baht for a private room and 3-day stay. A 2-bed, 4-bed or open ward would be cheaper. Not surprising since it is a teaching hospital, the labor ward staff are very well trained, including specialist sessions and stints abroad. They support birth with only warranted intervention. There should be no reason for a C-section unless medically required. Avoid any hospital suggesting C-section as a routine to `avoid complications;' the doctors are only instilling fear for their own convenience. You can consult the Childbirth & Breastfeeding Foundation of Thailand for details on more hospitals that only use appropriate technology and intervention for births, details at http://www.bambi-bangkok.org/cbft.php

I would not recommend Chulalongkorn Hospital. The labor ward is very regimented in its notion of how birth should proceed. Ironically, the army hospital is extremely flexible, has private birthing rooms and can cope with individual birth plans if discussed ahead of time with your doctor and labor room staff.

[mek]

My wife had a C-section done at Thainakarin 3 month ago. Everything included 4days 3nights in private room. Plus we got a few exstra optional services. Very helpfull staff no worries. All ended up around 42k.

Anyway good luck with the baby

[Unknown]

I'd start by getting a second opinion on if a C-Section is really necessary.

Actually it is seldom necessary but the doctors and very often the patient prefer the C-section for 2 reasons:

- It is faster

- You can fix the delivery time and date

And well, at least for the doctors, the fact that is more expensive does not hurt...

[baitoey]

Agree completely with Chatet. My daughter also born at Pramongkut Klao, Victory Monument.

Nurses and doctor were great. Natural delivery was 3,000B for the lot. C-section around 10,000B.

Chulalongkorn was horrible, production line and rude doctors.

[baitoey]

Sorry, Chatette.

[PeaceBlondie]

My wife had all our our six children born naturally, and I think my sisters had all ten of their kids naturally. But in the USA in the 1980's and 1990's, C-sections were so common that all 9 of my grandchildren born in the US (7 of them by my daughters) were done by C-section. Go figure.

I'd give the little lady whatever she wants. If she doesn't like the facility or the tone of the staff, take her elsewhere.

[leftcross]

thank you so much for all your replies, they have put my mind at ease a lot and help me rule out some choices we were considering.

thanks.

[jesse89148]

my wife is due in six weeks and it looks as though it's going to be a c-section.

at the moment we are set for bangkok christian at 36,000 baht for the procedure and the room for three days.

however, the costs are starting to mount with buying pushchairs, cots, stockpiling nappies etc and i'd like to know if anyone has experience of the govt places (good or bad).

chulalongkorn is 200m up the road and looks ok but i'd rather have a recommendation or someone telling me it's no good before going to have a look......

has anyone used bkk christian? i did a search on here and there were a few horror stories about costs spiralling out of control at samijtev and bumrumgrad. i need all the money i can save for when the baby is born so i need somewhere that is reputable.

hope someone can help.........

[jesse89148]

My wife had c-section in 2003 but it was in Sakon Nakon(forgive spelling).

The hospital was Raksakon Development Hospital Co. Everything went fine

but I was in the U.S. at the time and never saw first hand the facility. From the

pictures I saw everythying looked clean. The bill I believe came to around 25,500

baht for all tests and the delivery.

[jing jing]

We had several prenatal exams with Dr. Sankiat at Samitivej but when he informed us the previously advertised package price of 39K was no longer available and the price would likely be between 80-100K for a normal birth with no complications, we decided to consider other options. My wife never got a very warm fuzzy feeling from Sankiat, anyway.

After investigating every place we could from Phaya Thai to Bumrungrad to BNH and several others, we finally decided on Paolo Memorial, which is located just off the Saphan Kwai BTS station on Paholyothin Rd.

Our experience there was very, very positive. We had a young female OB-Gyn whose name escapes me at the moment, but she was everything an expectant mother could ask for and more, and although she looked young enough to still be a uni student, I was in the delivery room and watched her in action and she was just phenomenal every step of the way.

The room was much nicer at Paolo than at any other hospital we visited - more like a good hotel than a hospital - and the package price was around 25K sans epidural and circumcision. Total bill was just over 30K including an extra night for the baby to recover from his "snipping."

I highly recommend checking out Paolo Memorial. The only drawback, if it even could be considered one, is that English is not as widely spoken there as at Bumrungrad or Samitivej, but that didn't matter to me as the wife was happiest there, and that's what counts.