Hospital Beds 住院

There's nothing to do here
Some just whine and complain
In bed at the hospital
Coming and going
Asleep and awake
In bed at the hospital
-Cold War Kids

Over 16 million babies are born every year in China. That means there are over 16 million mothers pregnant and/or giving birth in any given year. Such a populous country with access to cutting-edge technology in addition to thousands and thousands of years of history of childbearing...that should lead to the conclusion that childbirth here is a breeze, right?

Nope. The reality is that China’s hospitals are too busy to cater to the needs of worried mothers. Mothers leaving the hospital with a baby in tow are often scarred not only by a c-section but also by the entire experience.

My neighbor is one such mother. When her water broke at 33 weeks pregnant, she summoned an ambulance to take her to the hospital right away. Upon arrival, however, no beds were available. She was not scheduled for delivery for another seven weeks.* While the hospital did not tell her to go away, she was placed in the hallway. There in the hallway, without family, friends or privacy she labored. Hospital passersby were her only companions. Doctors examined her in the hallway with zero privacy. Nurses wouldn’t even bring her a glass of water. Meanwhile in the waiting area, her husband frantically called female friends asking for assistance (males are not allowed in the birthing wings). Finally, the baby’s heartbeat indicated he was in duress. The first-time mama ended up on the operating table for an emergency Cesarean. After the Cesarean and she was sewn up, the doctors told her to move herself to the gurney so they could take her out of the operating room. She was so traumatized that she flat-out says she will never give birth again.

To be fair, many mothers have relatively smooth births in Chinese hospitals. I, however, have heard too many traumatizing stories like my neighbor’s. I didn’t need to think long before determining that giving birth in a Chinese hospital was out of the question. I am adventurous, but not that adventurous. Western medicine was for me.

Fortunately, Beijing’s sizable expat community and rich Chinese desiring a not so Chinese birth experience means there's a market for plenty of international hospitals. These hospitals include Beijing United Family, Amcare, Baodao, and Oasis. I contacted a number of them and compared prices. Out of these, Oasis offered a free tour. In addition to taking a gander at the spacious birthing and recovery rooms, one of the obstetricians invited me into her office to discuss prenatal care and birth. They had me at the superb English, but I ultimately chose Oasis for the following reasons:

1. The facilities were gleaming clean and spacious
2. The atmosphere was chill
3. The staff was friendly
4. The doctor said my medical wishes would be respected
5. The cost is a little bit cheaper than BJ United Family (a very popular hospital for expats) 
6. They did not pressure me to get a 1,400 RMB consultation (uh-hum! BJ United Family) without letting me check out the facilities.
7. Did I mention everyone speaks English?

I dreamed of a semi-hippie-dippie-ethereal birth experience during which I would labor at home for awhile, eat a big meal, breeze into the hospital, and a few intense hours later, birdMAN would catch our little love. The three of us would then bond with skin to skin contact and descend into newborn baby bliss.

Yeah, that didn't happen. My water broke at 34 weeks and I had a few minor complications during labor. But what did happen is that Dumpling got born and both she and I got superb care.

Here are some general observations about giving birth and staying at Oasis:

1. Staff: Labor and delivery doctors and nurses were professional, reasonable, reassuring, and kind. During our two weeks stay, the pediatric nurses were so hospitable and aware of my needs. They would eagerly fetch anything I needed (towels or lotion for example). Everyday a friendly ayi would clean the room, always asking permission before entering.
2. Treatment: Born premature, Dumpling’s biggest obstacle was weight gain. She would nurse for a few minutes and fall asleep. To pack in the calories, she was syringe fed with calorie fortified breast milk every couple hours--even through the night. Because she was so sleepy, getting her to swallow just 10 ml was a laborious process. While birdMAN and I at times would feed her, the nurses did the bulk of it-- especially in the middle of night. They would tell me to rest and go to sleep. The staff also were very supportive of breastfeeding.
3. Room: On par with a super nice hotel. Impeccably clean. The bed and pillows were so comfortable. birdMAN slept comfortably on a couch with hospital provided bedding. The room was private and quiet and stocked with an air purifier. 
4. Food: Oasis provided breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack, and dinner. In the morning, I could choose out of two or three choices for lunch and dinner. I am not sure if because I was starving all the time or getting meals were a highlight out of a relatively uneventful day, but I really enjoyed and anticipated each meal. Four bowls - usually soup, salad, cooked vegetable, and main course- neatly arranged on a tray arrived in a timely fashion. Occasionally, some weird mystery meat resembling bologna speckled with white was served with breakfast. Otherwise, the food was more than satisfactory. 

That’s what I have to say about the hospital where my baby girl got born. Dumpling is now 18 months old, and continues to see the same pediatric doctors and nurses that cared for her when she was just a wee preemie. Every time, the staff makes a big whoop-dee about how fast and healthy Dumpling has grown.

The take home is: if you happen to find yourself pregnant in China, and you can’t or don’t want to go back to your home country to give birth, you need not fear. There are international hospitals (like Oasis) in major cities that match and/or exceed the care of western hospitals.

Unless...you want to embrace the Chinese birth experience and take your chances at a Chinese public hospital.

Here is a helpful resource that compares Beijing International hospital costs:
https://issuu.com/beijingkids/docs/beijingkidsjulhealthguide2014 (see pages 24-33)

*In Beijing, mothers without Beijing hukou（户口）must reserve a space for birth in a public hospital by the time they are 6 to 12 weeks pregnant. If they miss that window, they will have to go to their hometown to give birth or pay extra at an international hospital. See China’s big baby bump puts the squeeze on hospitals and pregnant women 

Chinese Word of the Blog: 住院 Zhùyuàn

English Translation: to be hospitalized

The doctor gives me a back massage. Very nice!

Post birth Oasis swag

Dinner for two: part of Oasis birth package.

Dumpling gets fed

Hospital life

Fabulously Lazy 坐月子

I've hardly seen her likes before
Somewhere else, nowhere else before
The girl in the spotlight evermore
Like no one before, forever more
-Franz Ferdinand

Zuo yuezi (坐月子）literally means “sit one month”. The Sit One Month is the monthlong period immediately following childbirth during which a mommy must stay inside and avoid dangerous activities like drinking cold water (cold is bad), using air conditioning (wind is bad), taking showers (water is bad) or climbing stairs (moving is bad). All the aforementioned activities will further imbalance her body, which childbirth has rendered vulnerable and weak. Mommy's body is out of whack. Don't let the heat out, and don't let the cold in.

She lays on her back only to be disturbed to nurse her baby. Her mother or mother-in-law has moved into her home, not only to enforce the Sit One Month rules (no showers, ugh!), but also to care for the new child (perhaps for as long as three years until the child starts kindergarten). In addition to baby care, Grandma cooks special heat-restorative food, like eggs, rice wine porridge (米酒), and pig feet soup.

Rice wine porridge and eggs is on the menu for postnatal healing!

The above is typical of how the Sit One Month goes according what I've been told. While the Sit One Month rules vary from person to person, this practice is pervasive among all social classes.

China's educated, western influenced, city dwelling women are cutting their mothers and mothers-in-law out--and the inevitable family friction-- and opting for fancy Sit One Month rehabilitation centers. My hospital offers up to one month packages which includes a spacious, comfortable room with queen-size bed, a luxurious bathroom, 24-hour nanny service, massage, stretch mark fading, psychological treatment along with medical care. Month long packages range from 88,800 RMB (12,900 USD) to 138,800 RMB (20,200 USD). Other centers also offer baby care classes, baby acupressure, yoga, craft classes in fancy gated complexes for 27,000 USD per month [1].

Less affluent Chinese stick to traditional Sit One Month rules, strictly enforced by older generations. The dry-cleaning guy told me his wife spent the month laying on her back and drinking special soup. Another young mother told me that childbirth causes you to lose fire (or heat), and so showers are to be avoided because water is too cold. Another friend in her mid-fifties, barely literate and working as a nanny for a well-to-do Chinese family, was completely befuddled when I explained to her that western women do not do the Sit One Month. Another mother of a two-year old reluctantly adhered to the Sit One Month rules under her mother's stern eye. After the one month’s completion, a walk down the block left her out of breath.

I admit, I scoffed a little at the idea of a month long sequester. I am American, and American women pride themselves on rebounding quickly from something as mundane as childbirth. Proud mommies show off their little mini-mes at Starbucks or the mall. Nothing is cuter than a sleepy baby decked out in color coordinating hat and newborn onesie emblazoned with gold lettering, “Hello World” or “Brand New.” And no showering after childbirth? That's disgusting! Furthermore, not drinking cold water, or cold foods like fruit, to avoid getting a cold is scientifically unsound. If I want cold water, I am going to drink it.

As it turns out, I ended up sort of doing a Sit One Month. Because little Dumpling came six weeks early, weighing just under two kilograms, we spent the first two weeks of her life holed up in a hospital room to get her over her jaundice and fatten her up. During this time, I sat and sat only leaving my room to get water from down the hall. While I snoozed through the night, the nurses fed Dumpling expressed breast milk via syringe. The hospital provided breakfast, lunch, dinner, plus afternoon snack to my room, which I ate in bed. Yes, I sat and sat. And sat some more.

The weeks at home following the hospital stay were exhausting. Our lives revolved around getting our sleepy Dumpling’s weight up to 2.5 kg. I functioned on two hour increments between feedings, alternating between breastfeeding and syringe feeding Dumpling fortified expressed breast milk . She was such a sleepy baby, barely awake to eat. Feeding her 20 ml would sometimes take a half hour. Between feedings I--you guessed it--sat and sat. And sat some more.

The weather was also miserably cold and polluted, so staying inside was the attractive option. Dumpling was especially fragile as preemie and getting cold or sick could be dangerous. So I was thankful that because many respect the Sit One Month rules, most people stayed away and came only to drop off meals or fruit.

In retrospect, it would have been really nice to have my mother or mother-in-law around to help cook and clean for a while. Thirty days of Moomoo cooking would have been awesome. I would have been putting on the pounds along with Dumpling. Also, having time to baby bond undistracted by cooking and cleaning would have been nice. For a few weeks, I felt like Dumpling was a stranger that I needed to get to know.

Dumpling is coming up on three months old and gestational age of 1.5 months. I am glad to report that she's a champion breastfeeder, chubbed up and recently started smiling and cooing. We are best buds now.

And all that happened despite me taking showers.

Chinese Word of the blog: 坐月子 Zuò yuè zi
English translation: to convalesce for a month following childbirth, following a special diet, and observing various taboos to protect the body from exposure to the "wind"

[1] China Confinement Care for New Mothers now $27,000 a Month

Dumpling's personal nurse

Daddies are good at the sitting part

Xialian makes good dinner

Chinese friends make good lunch

Good eating during the Sit One Month

Sometimes we sleep instead of sit

Just chillin' at 4 weeks old

Two months old and getting big