New father to be!
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Regarding the certificate of birth from the hospital. Yes, I was referring to having the names translated - also I had to get a translation for my occupation. Think that was it. If either Cambodia or Thailand I'd ask for the form well in advance so you can get that done. I ended up paying over $100 to have about 5 words translated for the form.
As for the facilities at Royal. I found them to be clean and satisfactory. The nursery appeared to be well kept and always staffed (I wasn't allowed in it but can see through a window). And the nurses were mostly very attentive. The only negative comment I'd have is our newborn's pediatrician was never around and I literally had to track him down to ask a few questions before being discharged. As I had stated previously I was very pleased with the doctor that did the delivery (he was not my wife's primary doctor - we had met him once when she was away and we had an appointment). My wife gave birth somewhere around 1:30-2am and I felt she receive proper care from entering the ER to giving birth.
One thing that caught me out was that I didn't bring clothes for the baby to the hospital - so I had to leave and get some clothes for the baby before they would transfer him up to the nursery.
One nice thing for myself about Royal was that there is a small restaurant in the basement and that allowed me to get my wife and myself food anytime we were hungry during the day. And there was a large sofa in he room that I slept on a few times for a few hours and I was allowed to use the shower in my wife's room to freshen up (they provided extra towes).
Hope that helps.
As for the facilities at Royal. I found them to be clean and satisfactory. The nursery appeared to be well kept and always staffed (I wasn't allowed in it but can see through a window). And the nurses were mostly very attentive. The only negative comment I'd have is our newborn's pediatrician was never around and I literally had to track him down to ask a few questions before being discharged. As I had stated previously I was very pleased with the doctor that did the delivery (he was not my wife's primary doctor - we had met him once when she was away and we had an appointment). My wife gave birth somewhere around 1:30-2am and I felt she receive proper care from entering the ER to giving birth.
One thing that caught me out was that I didn't bring clothes for the baby to the hospital - so I had to leave and get some clothes for the baby before they would transfer him up to the nursery.
One nice thing for myself about Royal was that there is a small restaurant in the basement and that allowed me to get my wife and myself food anytime we were hungry during the day. And there was a large sofa in he room that I slept on a few times for a few hours and I was allowed to use the shower in my wife's room to freshen up (they provided extra towes).
Hope that helps.
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How do pregnant wives of expats get transported to the hospital when their water breaks? Tuk tuk?
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On the back of his motogavinmac wrote:How do pregnant wives of expats get transported to the hospital when their water breaks? Tuk tuk?
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"We, the sons of John Company, have arrived"
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You've been spying on me, haven't you?Playboy wrote:On the back of his motogavinmac wrote:How do pregnant wives of expats get transported to the hospital when their water breaks? Tuk tuk?
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I see you !Kachang wrote:You've been spying on me, haven't you?Playboy wrote:On the back of his motogavinmac wrote:How do pregnant wives of expats get transported to the hospital when their water breaks? Tuk tuk?
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"We, the sons of John Company, have arrived"
I assume they don't need transport as they are already in hospital, well my wife was anyway. Prior Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance, or Prior Preparation Prevents Panic! or something along those linesgavinmac wrote:How do pregnant wives of expats get transported to the hospital when their water breaks? Tuk tuk?
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These videos from Seth Meyers about the birth of each of his sons are pretty funny:
https://www.facebook.com/LateNightSeth/ ... 813217568/
And then even better:
https://www.facebook.com/LateNightSeth/ ... 813217568/
And then even better:
i rememberin the good old days you could blits the threads in 10 imns
Rated R for Ricecakes
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Huh?ricecakes wrote:i rememberin the good old days you could blits the threads in 10 imns
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Old school RHS conqueringFatherTime wrote:Huh?ricecakes wrote:i rememberin the good old days you could blits the threads in 10 imns
"We, the sons of John Company, have arrived"
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I wanted to follow up and share some of my experiences at Samitivej.
First off, I know that everyone is curious about the price. To be honest, I cannot tell you from start to finish how much it cost. We were going for monthly checkups, which included a sonogram. Those each ran in the $150 range. Towards the end (in the last month), it was weekly, with a "non stress test", which brought the total over $200 a visit. So, before birth, we probably racked up about $1500-$2000 in total visit charges (rough estimate).
The birth itself came in packages: natural birth, c-section, and a 3 or 4 night stay. The natural birth was 95,000 baht I think ($3,000), with a 3 night stay, and the c-section was 119,000 baht ($4,000) with a four night stay. What they failed to mention was that if you went in for a natural birth, but it then turned into a c-section, you had to pay the c-section price (obviously), plus a fee for using the natural birth room, so the total came to 145,000 baht ($5,000).
Costs didn't stop there, though. The additional costs after birth, but during the stay, included about $1000 for normal checks on the baby -- I would have thought they were included in the package, but no. Then of course there's the fees for the birth certificate and translations, and some other random fees. All-in, after four nights in the hospital our total bill was about 200,000 baht ($6,500).
So, I would roughly estimate that it cost $8,500 to give birth at Samitivej. I don't know the real numbers, nor care, as I didn't pay a penny, but our health insurance did. On that note, I would point out two things: 1) If it's a new policy you need to wait 12 months before she can get pregnant (unless you get added to a large group plan, but check that first); and 2) most plans limit birth expenses to $6,500, which we would have clearly been over, however if there's an "emergency" they'll cover more.
Now, the experience itself. All of the checkups were great, but I do think they were adding more than necessary to rack up the bill. On the day of the birth I was very unimpressed with how a few things went down, which all centered on a lack of communication. However, they did a great job with the actual procedure and medical care, just lacked in the bedside manner. The nights in the hospital were also great, with the nurses really taking care of everyone and providing great support. Once, when walking through a door, a nurse said to me: "customer's first". This sums up a lot of their thinking - we were customers, not patients.
In the end, we felt 1000 times safer doing it there than here. I know there are good facilities here, and even if an emergency happens I am sure they could get the baby out -- but there we felt that the mother was also in very safe hands, and that had something gone really bad, they have all of the facilities for both baby and mom. In Cambodia you might find a great doctor, but what if he's busy at that moment? In Bangkok we knew there was also excellent back up, plus a great Neonatology unit. Also, before the birth, there were classes in English that I don't think exist here, and support networks, dulas, etc.
Another thing to consider on the costs are the flights, hotels, etc. So, even though the hospital was free, we did have plenty of out of pocket expenses. You would need to account for her being there a month early, and 3-4 weeks after. Secondly, I know of a friend that gave birth here at a top facility, and the total cost was about $5,000. I know, I know, plenty of $200 options, but for the "comparable" level the prices weren't so off.
If we were to do it again in a year, I think we'll go down the same path, if not for the peace of mind alone. Plus, some time in Bangkok never hurt anyone... too badly.
Thanks for all the advice above.
First off, I know that everyone is curious about the price. To be honest, I cannot tell you from start to finish how much it cost. We were going for monthly checkups, which included a sonogram. Those each ran in the $150 range. Towards the end (in the last month), it was weekly, with a "non stress test", which brought the total over $200 a visit. So, before birth, we probably racked up about $1500-$2000 in total visit charges (rough estimate).
The birth itself came in packages: natural birth, c-section, and a 3 or 4 night stay. The natural birth was 95,000 baht I think ($3,000), with a 3 night stay, and the c-section was 119,000 baht ($4,000) with a four night stay. What they failed to mention was that if you went in for a natural birth, but it then turned into a c-section, you had to pay the c-section price (obviously), plus a fee for using the natural birth room, so the total came to 145,000 baht ($5,000).
Costs didn't stop there, though. The additional costs after birth, but during the stay, included about $1000 for normal checks on the baby -- I would have thought they were included in the package, but no. Then of course there's the fees for the birth certificate and translations, and some other random fees. All-in, after four nights in the hospital our total bill was about 200,000 baht ($6,500).
So, I would roughly estimate that it cost $8,500 to give birth at Samitivej. I don't know the real numbers, nor care, as I didn't pay a penny, but our health insurance did. On that note, I would point out two things: 1) If it's a new policy you need to wait 12 months before she can get pregnant (unless you get added to a large group plan, but check that first); and 2) most plans limit birth expenses to $6,500, which we would have clearly been over, however if there's an "emergency" they'll cover more.
Now, the experience itself. All of the checkups were great, but I do think they were adding more than necessary to rack up the bill. On the day of the birth I was very unimpressed with how a few things went down, which all centered on a lack of communication. However, they did a great job with the actual procedure and medical care, just lacked in the bedside manner. The nights in the hospital were also great, with the nurses really taking care of everyone and providing great support. Once, when walking through a door, a nurse said to me: "customer's first". This sums up a lot of their thinking - we were customers, not patients.
In the end, we felt 1000 times safer doing it there than here. I know there are good facilities here, and even if an emergency happens I am sure they could get the baby out -- but there we felt that the mother was also in very safe hands, and that had something gone really bad, they have all of the facilities for both baby and mom. In Cambodia you might find a great doctor, but what if he's busy at that moment? In Bangkok we knew there was also excellent back up, plus a great Neonatology unit. Also, before the birth, there were classes in English that I don't think exist here, and support networks, dulas, etc.
Another thing to consider on the costs are the flights, hotels, etc. So, even though the hospital was free, we did have plenty of out of pocket expenses. You would need to account for her being there a month early, and 3-4 weeks after. Secondly, I know of a friend that gave birth here at a top facility, and the total cost was about $5,000. I know, I know, plenty of $200 options, but for the "comparable" level the prices weren't so off.
If we were to do it again in a year, I think we'll go down the same path, if not for the peace of mind alone. Plus, some time in Bangkok never hurt anyone... too badly.
Thanks for all the advice above.
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