Forum

After having three children in the
US and feeling a bit squeamish about delivering the fourth in China, I am
pleased to say that my delivery experience in China was very positive and at
least as good as in America. I delivered at Ren Ji hospital in Shenyang. This
is a new hospital who prizes themselves on patient oriented care. They have
delivery packages you can choose from that are comparable to US prices. At the
time they had a promotion and I was able to choose the second cheapest package
and only pay the cheapest package price (about $3000 US dollars). Their website
is: http://www.syfuchan.com/  They are located at:
Taishan
Road, Shenyang, Huanggu District No. 15 (across from Beiling Park main entrance)

The package included:
toiletries, clothing for you and baby, towels, personal bathroom with shower,
two rooms (guest room and your room), pediatrician, midwife, delivery doctor,
nanny (who is there 24 hours a day to meet any of your needs; such as ordering
your food, washing your clothes, caring for your child while you shower or try
to sleep, etc. etc. you can also ask her to leave if you want) a scrapbook
photo album professionally made of your child, your family and the hospital,
delivery basics (meds, and other stuff you typically would need during
delivery), vaccines for your child, daily housekeeping and I’m sure other stuff
that I am probably forgetting!

Pros:

• They are a private hospital which will listen to your
  birth plan and are able to be more flexible than the government ones. I
  asked to have no IVs, no episiotomy, no unnecessary antibiotics, to be
  allowed to walk, squat, or lay as I want during labor, to not be forced to
  lay flat on my back during delivery, to have my husband present and to
  breastfeed directly after delivery; they accommodated all of these things
  (they didn't allow me to have my son as long as I wanted after delivery,
  but I was allowed to try to breastfeed him, and after he was cleaned up
  they gave him back to me)
• They provide meals of your choice (I even ordered
  McDonalds one day!!)
• They provide a very large clean room with two beds
  (King size and smaller hospital one) and an adjacent guest room that is
  fully equipped with a fridge, microwave, TV, computer, and couch…perfect
  for welcoming your guests.
• They allowed my husband to be present during every
  stage and allowed him to stay overnight. He was also able to take pictures
  in the delivery room.
• I was able to opt out of things I felt were unnecessary.
  Example: twice a day they would come in to clean my vaginal area. Since I
  had no stitches and no tearing, after the second day the nanny suggested
  they stop doing that and I was grateful for her suggestion!
• They had internet access and a computer to access it
  with. I used my own laptop with wireless, but it was great to have internet in order to
  download pictures and post them for relatives.

Cons:

• They currently do not have anyone that speaks English
  well. I was told in the future they hope to have one of their nurses learn
  English, however, they did allow me to have my International clinic’s
  doctor present and she was able to advocate for me, remind them of my
  birth plan, and translate.
• I had to wear "delivery pants"! Just when
  they thought the baby was about to come, they put a pair of sterilized
  pants on me with a hole in the center. I was instructed to not touch
  them…I had no idea this was going to happen and so was not able to
  discuss it prior to the delivery.  I didn't like being interrupted in
  the middle of labor to put them on and having to wear the cumbersome
  pants. I was also very hot and this just added to my heat index!
• They did not use the delivery bed to it's full
  potential.  My husband in hindsight wishes he had been more aggressive
  about asking them to use all of the functions we were shown during the
  tour.
• My husband had to wear scrubs, face mask and hair net
  as did all those present except me. I could wear anything I wanted to,
  until they had me put those pants on! But, my husband was vey cumbersome looking
  and hot.
• You do not deliver in your room. After you are dilated
  to 3 cent. you are taken upstairs to the private delivery room. This is
  unfortunate in my opinion since you are no longer in your cozy relaxing
  room to labor. I did not feel rushed by the doctors, but just being up
  there made me feel anxious to have the child so I could go back to my
  room.
• They do not do circumcisions
• The delivery room was very hot and my doctor had to
  convince them that I would be okay if they turned on the air conditioner
  ;0)
• They did not tell me of the sacral dimple my son has. I
  believe they did an overall health check and perhaps found the sacral
  dimple my son had, but they never informed me of it and so I have to
  wonder if they even seen it. It was brought to my attention at the
  International clinic by our American doctor during his 2 week check. I did
  not watch their newborn care closely and so this is something you will
  want to ask about. They have a Pediatrician on staff at the hospital, but
  again, I didn’t watch her in action to be able to have an opinion of her
  level of skill. They also did not do the hearing test that is routine in
  American hospitals. However they did do all other typical stuff if you
  wanted it (blood screening, Vit. K, eye drops, vaccines, etc.) They did
  offer him an oil massage and swimming which I opted out of. They did check
  in on him and ask the typical questions about his diapers.  Since I did not go with him when he was
  given a bath, I can not say for sure if he was given a physical then too.
• They don’t accept credit cards, need to bring cash or a
  Chinese bank card.