Tag: having a baby in Tianjin

China

Having a baby in China: 12-week appointment

by turners0730Leave a Comment on Having a baby in China: 12-week appointment

This was our first official appointment within our package and we couldn’t have been more excited. Due to our anticipation and the fact that I was required to fast we made a very early start with an eight o’clock appointment on a Saturday morning.

We were greeted with the usual cheery welcome, despite our translator not being in sight. We were checked in and I received my hospital issue wristband which they use to scan me into each area of the hospital. Vital signs were taken right away, as well as a urine sample and we were left to wait in the cafe area. We could sense a bit of worry amongst the staff members, and it looked as if they were typing away into their phone translators. I was impressed when someone came over with a preprinted form with Mandarin and English and pointed to the line that said, “May I take a blood sample?”

The nurse taking my blood worked quickly and steadily as they took more blood than I had imagined they could take at one time. I believe about seven different vials! Next to even out my blood sugar I was given a boiled egg, a piece of cake and some warm milk.

Our translator arrived just in time to join us for the ultra sound, this was the bit we were most excited for and it met our expectations fully. It was an amazing moment to see the actual shape of a baby on the big screen and to hear the heart beat for the first time. Any worries were washed away and I enjoyed watching Mr T’s excitement and our translator’s amazement of a husband so eager and interested.

We met with our Dr who examined me and took a pap smear for a few tests. She did have a go at using the doppler to hear the baby’s heart beat but she couldn’t get it. We didn’t worry much as we had just heard it in the ultra sound.

She gave a few instructions to eat healthily and take pre-natal vitamins and that was it! We scheduled our next appointment four weeks from then and left the hospital feeling so pleased and excited about the future.

-Mrs T

China

Having a Baby in China: How to buy a baby

by turners0730Leave a Comment on Having a Baby in China: How to buy a baby

We realise that embarking on parenthood means the start of constant financial responsibility for another person, however we never thought we would have to leave a Saturday brunch with the words, “We’ve got to go pay for our baby!” Which is exactly what we did late in November.

As we mentioned before we have no insurance coverage for maternity care so our best option was to purchase a package, which covers prenatal appointments and birth. You can visit the hospital and pay for each appointment individually, though buying the package allows you a discount from the al a carte prices. Additionally as AmCare is fairly new to Tianjin they have been offering their packages at a further discount.

As 12 weeks marks the start of official prenatal care we were gearing up to make the purchase at our upcoming appointment. In preparation I had contacted our translator to request that the weekly appointment details be translated into English as so far she had only been able to show us the documents in Chinese. She told me that the documents were only available in Chinese after several times asking I gave up. I accepted I would have to go by the oral translation given when we met and could have a friend translate the page later. I did feel quite disappointed in this answer but decided to not make a big deal of it.

It was a week before our 12 week appointment and whilst out to breakfast with friends we received a call from our translator saying there was a sale on the birthing package but it must be purchased before December (it was the 29th of Nov). We were not planning on heading to the hospital but for a savings of about 2,000 rmb (£210/$320) we thought is was worth a taxi ride.

We were pleasantly surprised when we arrived that our translator had managed to get the documents detailing the prenatal appointments in English. All but two documents were provided to us in English. Our translator went through all the details and answered our many questions.

We signed on the dotted line and with a heavy hand gave over our credit card. 36,244 rmb (£3,813/$5,809) and we had purchased 13 doctors visits and a birth!

Though we weren’t expecting to make a special trip that day it was nice to get the business out of the way. The next time we would visit the hospital we would be able to focus on the excitement of seeing our baby for the first time on the ultrasound and getting to know our Dr and translator a bit better.

-Mrs T

(If you are interested in seeing any of the documents from the hospital please send us an email and I would be happy to share them with you: turnersabroad@icloud.com)

China

Having a baby in China: 7 week appointment

by turners0730Leave a Comment on Having a baby in China: 7 week appointment

The waiting from the confirmation of being pregnant until the first scan at 7 weeks felt just unbearable. Looking back it was just two short weeks however it felt so much longer. In that short amount of time there was such surge of emotions yet we mostly kept it to ourselves, which was VERY challenging. Of course we were desperate to share the news with our family but we didn’t to rush into it just in case. I did decide to confide in one co-worker. I felt I needed to have someone I felt comfortable talking to, if I had any questions, who would be as excited as we were and was a mother herself. It was a great moment sharing this news and I will always remember her kind words of support.

On our third visit to AmCare the main purpose of the visit was to have an ultrasound to see if the pregnancy had implanted properly. We were greeted at the desk, quickly taken back for vitals and straight into the ultrasound room. Of course there was no baby yet to be seen but it was clear that there was implantation and Dr was happy with what she saw. The gestational age was 7 weeks 0 days, and it measured 6 weeks 1 day. We had a short consultation with the Dr, where we were given some general pregnancy advice and prescribed another months supply of prenatal vitamins.

We were of course elated and still a bit shocked that it had happened so soon. There were smiles and tears as we shared the news with close friends and family.

This appointment again was paid out of our pocket 685 rmb (£72/$109), and 135 rmb (£14/$21) for the prenatal vitamins.

-Mrs T