Certainly I would be more than happy to give more information... I have sent several emails to several people asking questions, so to save some time I am just going to post my email response with the most detail of QnA:
Yes, living abroad certainly has it's perks and Manizales is a nice place to live, especially if you like a relaxing life. There isn't too much to do for young families though. However that is starting to change.
Q - How did you find care throughout the pregnancy? Did you have regular visits and just generally how did you find the care in comparison to what you might experience in the States?
A - We used both public insurance and paid out of pocket for the DR of our choice because we didn't have private insurance at that point. We went to the public insurance only because IF something happened the insurance company would help cover costs. The public insurance wasn't anything special; just your basic check up and care. Our specialist Dr who we paid out of pocket for (about 50 mil per visit) was great; very attentive, knowledgeable and answered our calls at any time of the day, night or morning. Nothing less than I would expect from a well paid, profession Dr.
Q - If there were any complications with the pregnancy, did you feel they were adequately addressed?
A - My son was born about 8 days early because my wife's embryonic fluid was low. The public insurance refereed us to a specialist who we visited and quickly followed up with our own Dr. Both DR's said the birth would be sooner, but our private Dr reserved the operating room for C-section for the following morning 6 am. He even agreed to induce labor before performing the C-section (to simulate a more natural childbirth), but wasn't needed as my wife Nidia went into labor at 1 am. By 3 am we where checked into our own private room getting prepped. The hospital staff was very friendly and attentive. Of course we paid cash, out of pocket for their best service and I feel we received it. The total birthing service with 2 days in a private room and excellent care came to roughly 1.900.000 mil pesos.
Q - Did your doctor(s) speak English?
A - Our private Dr. spoke English and the Dr who delivered Martin spoke English. A few of their staff spoke some English and their client care specialist spoke English. Someone was always near by to help translate for me when needed.
Q - Did you and your wife explore other labor options (home or water birth) and if so, how did you find the options in Manizales?
A - We asked around but there wasn't much information available. The hospital did say that they would research and try and set up for a water birth if we wanted, but my wife wasn't really that interested in doing anything out of the norm.
Q - If the labor happened in a hospital, how did you find the conditions? We lived in Costa Rica before Colombia and the birthing rooms in the hospitals there were large rooms with the potential to room 30 laboring women AND husbands were not allowed to come. I am really asking if the hospital rooms were private, if the husband was allowed to be present, and how sterile or home-y did the environment feel?
A - There were other couples having children and I must admit I felt bad that the mother went through it alone. A nurse came into our private room (big enough for 2 couples) and asked if we would allow another expecting mother to wait in our room because there wasn't any room in the other waiting room. Of course we said yes, but they wouldn't allow her husband to join her. There was about 15 minutes that my wife and I were separated while they prepped her and I got ready. And there was about 20 seconds I was separated from my son when they insisted that I exit the room through a separate door so I could change back into my clothing but I waited until my mother in law was able to wait with my son while changed faster than a nascar pit team.
Q - What was your experience with pain medication during labor? I am interested in a natural birth (if it works out that way) and I want to be able to make my own choice about whether or not I take medications during the birth. Did you find that the doctors were particularly pushy with medication?
A - Our private Dr made his recommendations and was more than happy to answer questions and work with us with any special requests. The hospital staff couldn't answer my questions about the different medications they would use, etc and said that I was the first person to ever ask. Nidia never even knew she was having contractions, so pain was never an issue for her. But I can't be sure if they honored our wishes or just said they did and still did what they wanted anyway because it all happened so quickly.
Q - We have pretty good health care coverage through our jobs. Did you find that your insurance covered most medical expenses during the pregnancy and birth? I have been told by coworkers that had children here in Colombia that they did not pay "a dime." I would just like to see if this is a common experience.
A - We didn't really use the public insurance and didn't have private so anything that wasn't public I paid for out of pocket and the hospital gave me a cash discount. All in all with all expenses out of pocket including 3rd sonograms I paid less than $1,800 USD. I think the total hospital bill was about $1K USD. I was told IF we had private insurance everything would be cover except maybe for some co-pay fees. We only used the public insurance for more for "if" something happens, the public insurance would cover it.
Q - How did you decide on which doctor and hospital to use?
A - From what I am told there are a handful of good doctors in Manizales. We chose the doctor that delivered my wife other family members. I can't recall his name but I will get you his name and telephone. My sister in law is an ER doctor and helped us with getting all the best Dr's, offices. clinics, etc. We had a private tour of the hospital and I wasn't 100% impressed with their facility but I was satisfied and comfortable enough to trust them. Overall I was very satisfied.
Q - Did your hospital have a lactation specialist to help with nursing (if you chose to nurse)?
A - I don't know if there were any specialist or not but there was a nurse that came in to help as we had some complications.. Martin didn't take right away and had to be fed from a glass, but quickly caught on. We visited another Doctor who was able to help us further. I believe he was a public health care doctor, part of our regular check up visits.
I am sure you will have some more questions that come up. Feel free to ask and I will get you the specific information soon.
Regards,
Michael
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