Give a Birth in BKK - Which Hospital

[Guest Jerry787]

we just moved in BKK .

 

My lady its at her 5th month we are deciding which hospital would suit us by good practice and standard as well not being too expensive.

 

any advice ?

 

thank you

[Sheryl]

Pretty much all the hospitals have "good practice and standard" with regard to delivery in terms of medical safety. It would help to know if you have any specific requirements such as wanting the father in the delivery room etc as thast usually means a private hospital as well as just certain doctors. Also please advise if the mother is Thai or not  i.e. if English speaking is required.

[Guest Jerry787]

The mother can speak Thai fluently being originally from a neighbor county, for me doesn't really matter to be in the delivery room not a particular requirement, as long the place is safe and clean, indeed, we looked at the prices of Bumrungrad and Samitivej , we wish to spend less, considering the mother being young and very healthy, any other good private hospital with lower prices ? 

[Sheryl]

I suggest either St Louis or Bangkok Christian Hospitals.

 

One TV member just delivered at Bangkok Christian using  Dr Chotima na Ranong and was very happy with her.

 

Also heard, but indirectly, positive feedback on a Dr Sawai  at Bkk Christian.

 

Note that both of these experiences/recommendations were from farang women, and Thai attitudes/behavior can sometimes differ (for the worst) when dealing with Lao, Burmese or Cambodians.  (Sad but true). I think you'd quickly get a sense of whether this is the case with any particular doctor upon consultation with them.

 

I have been favorably impressed with  Dr. Petcharat Pitahongnun at St Louis, she is from Issan and speaks Khmer and was very welcoming of a Cambodian patient I brought to see her, and I would expect the same would be true of a Lao.

 

 

[Guest Jerry787]

very appreciated...

i was already talking  with Paolo Hospital, Vejthani and BNH, but i missed the ones you suggested, will get in touch with them too also as i see personal experience are a key input for final decision. 

I am european and i speak a quite decent Thai too, so language its not a barrier as well being around this part of the globe for over 25 yrs, i have seen the way local (Thais) think of Cambodian, Laotian, Burmese.. indeed here there is "the Falang" behind (me), so hopefully it will be almost fine... 

Thanks Sheryl you help has been grateful.

 

cheers

 

 

[lopburi3]

Believe you will find Sheryl's suggestions much more reasonably priced than the 3 you mentioned - I have been a long term user of Vejthani (but recently changed most services) and it is likely the cheapest of those you mentioned but expect still well above the not for profit private hospitals (although found Vejthani not too bad for medication price from a private hospital source - which is always high).  As you both speak Thai a large government hospital as a paying customer might also be considered (but wait times can be very uncomfortable in bus stop seating at some/most).   

[NYGuy816]

My friend's wife gave birth at Samitivej Srinakarin. English speaking staff and impressive building and facilities.

[Sheryl]

One very important point to consider when choosing a facility is the cost of care if something goes wrong. While that occurs in only a minority of cases, it cannot be predicted in advance. The mother being young and healthy with no known risk factors in no way rules it out. Most obstetric complications are not related to factors known in advance.

 

I've seen many cases over the years where couples selected a hospital because the delivery package fee was within their means, only to end up with a newborn in intensive care and their savings wiped out within a day or two. Arranging transfer from the hospital of delivery to a government NICU is far from easy and costs can mount while trying to do this. Hence one is well advised to choose, from the beginning, a hospital where in worst case you would be able to afford the costs of prolonged intensive care.

 

Ideally one should deliver in a hospital with its own neo-natal ICU. However in the case of government facilities, if they lack a NICU they usually have the ability to effect transfer to a higher level fairly quickly and smoothly, provided distances are not far.

[Dagnabbit]

Bumrungrad was where I had my 2 kids. It was not expensive.

 

Last one, 7 years ago was a C-section, 4 or 5 nights in hospital, all the care for mother & baby and it came to 125,000 Baht - they had a package there. 

 

I also walked out with 5,000 Baht in Central vouchers too...

 

I'd check out the packages/special offers the various hospitals are running.

 

 

[lopburi3]

12 minutes ago, Dagnabbit said:

Bumrungrad was where I had my 2 kids. It was not expensive.

 

Last one, 7 years ago was a C-section, 4 or 5 nights in hospital, all the care for mother & baby and it came to 125,000 Baht - they had a package there. 

 

I also walked out with 5,000 Baht in Central vouchers too...

 

I'd check out the packages/special offers the various hospitals are running.

 

 

As posted above by Sheryl - the issue is if something goes wrong.  If you have full insurance that would fully cover you and child is one thing - but most people would not have such coverage so using a low price package at a high priced hospital could be a real gamble and if anything were to happen beyond a normal delivery you might never recover financially.   

[Dagnabbit]

Just now, lopburi3 said:

As posted above by Sheryl - the issue is if something goes wrong.  If you have full insurance that would fully cover you and child is one thing - but most people would not have such coverage so using a low price package at a high priced hospital could be a real gamble and if anything were to happen beyond a normal delivery you might never recover financially.   

 

Why on earth would someone be living in Thailand, pregnant with no health insurance???

 

Best bet is to buy a plane ticket home in that case.

 

[lopburi3]

All insurance is not equal and most available here have very real caps and limitations.  And the fact is a great many people indeed do not have insurance for one reason or another - and a plane ticket home is often not a real possibility or solution.  

[Sheryl]

We had a horrific situation on this board a few years back of someone who chose to deliver at Bumrungrad because the delivery package price was affordable. Baby had complications and had to go into NICU. costs reached $10,000 USD within a day or two and kept mounting for there, and they had a very hard time arranging transfer to a government hospital; by the time they did the bill was so big it took them over a year to pay it off.

 

I totally agree no one should be here uninsured -- least iof all nto someone pregnant or with a child. But peopel do it.

 

Actually, if the woman in question is Thai  (unclear) then she already had free health care cover, though the couple may prefer to deliver in a private hospital.

[shady86]

I'm in same situation and looking for advice. I'm going to Bangkok hospital for antenatal care with regular monthly checkup ranging from 1-4K. They quoted us about 65k for natural birth which I find a bit expensive. After checking with Bumrungrad and Samitivej Sukhumvit, they are even higher. I'm living at Sukhumvit area, any recommendations for good private hospital with reasonable cost? I'm thinking of Samitivej Thonburi but I'm afraid it takes Long time as traffic will be unpredictable. My Wife is Thai and she's 37 weeks pregnant now. We think about government Hospitals such as Chula or Sriraj but they do not allow Husband into the operation room during delivery so government Hospitals are out of question.

[lopburi3]

You are talking about what are probably the 3 most expensive hospitals in Bangkok so yes, childbirth would also be expensive.  And as said many times if there were requirements for extra care it could become extremely costly.  I suspect Saint Louis would be close enough and a lot less expensive.

 

That said our son did not have the husband in OR requirement for 3 grandaughters and found Chula very good.   

[shady86]

Thanks for the advice, we'll do a quick check with them. Some hospitals rejected us due to my wife is expecting soon and we do not have any records with them.

We found out Chula and Siriraj are probably the best government hospital here but my wife wants me to be at her side all the times as this is our first child.

[Sheryl]

Bangkok Cristian will allow husband in the delivery room though for an extra fee, I think maybe 6,000 baht. Other TV members have been happy with delivery services there. St Louis also a possibility.

 

Even at St Louis or Bkk Christian, in case of any complications with the baby insist immediately on transfer to government hospital.

[Guest Jerry787]

Been last 2 days at BKK Christian and its good, Dr Chotima na Ranong did a good impression and we signed up for the package there !
 two days of visit and Echo (including 4D echo) and others costed almost 10,000thb, plus the package varies from 46,000thb to 67,000thb for a C cut.

 

forecast the whole thing will cost around 80,000+ THB as even the basic they told us there is always some thing more then extra charge.

 

overall impression seem positive.