Pregnancy in Ho Chi Minh City

Dear Christine,
I would recommend the best hospital in HCMC which you can trust and feel good to give birth. SIHOSPITAL (Vietnamese name: Benh Vien Phu San Quoc Te Sai Gon = International Hospital for Pregnancy in Sai Gon)
Address: 63 BUI THI XUAN, DISTRICT 1, HCMC.
Some of my friends have come there and gave birth to their babies in this hospital and all give good comments on its services and facilities, especially its staff can speak English and serve you well.
For more information, you can visit its website: sihospital.com.vn
Hope you feel happy with this information. When you give birth to your cute baby, can you share with me your good news and send me a photo of your baby. I love babies as I am a mother with 2 children.
Cheer,
[email protected]

Hi minh_vn,

Thank you for this info.

[Moderated]

Cho Ray is also an excellent in-town hospital (5,000 beds) with the latest equipment and doctors retrained regularly. They do transplants so they have experienced staff.

It also has dedicated Foreigner sections. Nguyen Chi Thanh / Thuan Kieu / Hong Bang.

minh_vn wrote:

Dear Christine,
I would recommend the best hospital in HCMC which you can trust and feel good to give birth. SIHOSPITAL (Vietnamese name: Benh Vien Phu San Quoc Te Sai Gon = International Hospital for Pregnancy in Sai Gon)
Address: 63 BUI THI XUAN, DISTRICT 1, HCMC.
Some of my friends have come there and gave birth to their babies in this hospital and all give good comments on its services and facilities, especially its staff can speak English and serve you well.
For more information, you can visit its website: sihospital.com.vn
Hope you feel happy with this information. When you give birth to your cute baby, can you share with me your good news and send me a photo of your baby. I love babies as I am a mother with 2 children.
Cheer,
[email protected]

Seconded, great reputation.

There is another international hospital with French doctor call HANH PHUC hospital.
They have clinic at 37 Ton Duc Thang street.
The French doctor is Dr. Riche.
You can find more information at their website www.hanhphuchospital.com

exactly the VINMEC of the Vingroup (Vincom and Vinpearl's owner). Expensive but qualitative!

http://vinmec.com/

rojamin wrote:

exactly the VINMEC of the Vingroup (Vincom and Vinpearl's owner). Expensive but qualitative!

http://vinmec.com/

But Vimec is in Ha Noi

Anyone attended and can recommend good prenatal classes in HCMC? Thanks!

Aquagirl wrote:

... can recommend good prenatal classes in HCMC?

Personally, I'm not into this any more but you should check out:

Family Medical Practice
< www.vietnammedicalpractice.com/en/Our-s … -hcmc.html >

As in most things they do, they have an excellent reputation and several offices around town.

Funny how the Vietnamese seem to manage quite fine without these luxuries. The average annual birth rate between 2006-2010 was 1,472, 000 (Source: < https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Vietnam >).

About registering junior:
When you get your long-form birth certificate, have junior registered as Vietnamese. THEN GET A VN PASSPORT.

ONLY AFTER GETTING the VN passport, register junior with your country/ies.

(Doesn't work in the reverse order)

This way you will have your very own ASEAN citizen who might appreciate having more than one passport in the future! I have three passports, great for minimising visas, etc.

Good luck.

hi Christine.
for me, i think you can go to "Benh vien phu san quoc te sai gon". it's a good hopital for pregnancy in Ho Chi Minh city.
address:63 Bùi Thị Xuân, Q1, TPHCM
tel: (08) 9253619
if you have any question, you can call them or go to the hopital and they will consult to you.
best regard.

Christine wrote:

Hi,

could you please share advice and tips about pregnancy in Ho Chi Minh City?

Who are the best gynecologists for pregnancy follow-ups?

Which hospitals or clinics would you recommend to give birth in Ho Chi Minh City?

Thanks a lot in advance for your advice !

Christine

Hi ledinhhieu2008,

Thank you for your input.

see you around,
Melissa

Hi Christine,

I am in my first trimester and so far going to Hanh Phuc Clinic for the follow-ups. Nothing to complain about. Staff and doctors are kind and care a lot.
Nevertheless I wonder why some women talk bad about Hanh Phuc and recommend FV Hospital - some others talk bad about FV and recommend Hanh Phuc! I didn't have bad experiences in any of those hospitals so far. Went to FV for other reasons before pregnancy.
So I am curious about more opinions, pro's and con's about Hanh Phuc and FV from other pregnant women. :-)

Thanks for your contribution Kari31.

Harmonie.

Christine wrote:

Hi,

could you please share advice and tips about pregnancy in Ho Chi Minh City?

Who are the best gynecologists for pregnancy follow-ups?

Which hospitals or clinics would you recommend to give birth in Ho Chi Minh City?

Thanks a lot in advance for your advice !

Christine

Từ Dũ hospital

traitao

Kari31 wrote:

Nevertheless I wonder why some women talk bad about Hanh Phuc and recommend FV Hospital - some others talk bad about FV and recommend Hanh Phuc! I didn't have bad experiences in any of those hospitals so far. Went to FV for other reasons before pregnancy.
So I am curious about more opinions, pro's and con's about Hanh Phuc and FV from other pregnant women.

A Vietnamese acquaintance, who is employed by a very large international company, and has a gold plated health insurance plan, was booked to go into FV Hospital (just follow the sound of case registers opposite the Crescent Mall).

Just before she left on maternity leave, she mentioned she had switched from FV to the hospital on Bùi Thị Xuân.

I inquired why and she replied "Haven't you read the newspapers (Vietnamese) recently? Seems that FV Hospital has had some problems with infant mortality, along with their unlicenced doctors and adult mortality.

I reckon if Vietnamese won't even go to FV Hospital, there has to be one hell of a good reason - and it's nothing to with money.

P.S. I am neither pregnant or female.

I have a positive experience in the FV Hospital.

Hello Amerlin and welcome to the forum!

I invite you to share your experience with us. It could be helpful to other mothers who need informations and advices.

Thank you,
Aurélie

Hi Christine

I had a very good experience with Hanh Phuc Hospital!  Totally recommend it. It's a little far out though and the journey to the hospital is sometimes congested, but allow yourself good time to get there.

However, before I discovered Hanh Phuc, i did my check ups etc at FV clinic (45 Vo Thi Sau) with doctor Hung. He was ok.

Let me know how you go and good luck with the pregnancy!

Myco

Hi, friends:)
My daughter was born 5 years ago in FV Hospital. My pregnancy follow-ups doctor Mrs. Thao still works there. I seems to me she is a good doctor. It's turn out  unplanned C-section was made doctor on duty (unfortunately cannot find her name).
Me and my baby are healthy and I have only good impressions from FV.
Besides, I had the gynecological surgery some years ago at this hospital. I can recommend the doctor Mrs. Hieu, she is really skilled.
Good luck!

Hello Myco & Amerlin.

Thank you both for your contribution.

PS: Christine forms part of the Expat.com Team. These questions are asked to help members seeking informations on Pregnancy in Ho Chi Minh City.

Aurélie

Hello,

I'm looking for pregnant women here in Saigon. I'm 3 months pregnant and expect twins. This is my first pregnancy. I plan to give birth in HCMC (FV Hospital).
I live in D7 and would be happy to share this experience with other moms to be, make activities together (yoga, pool, childbirth preparation class,...).

See you soon!

Anne

Just to refute the huge defamatory publicity the poor FV hospital has had this year - it has no more mortality than other hospitals, neither has it  had "unlicensed doctors". VN only this year started to register foreign Drs as up until now the country had no medical council and no doctors licensing available.  A few of the doctors could not get their licence becaues they had to have a special paper form their board in home country which stated they had studied medical english. As they were french, they didnt have it !  (i know this as I know a doctor there).  There were many other clinics in HCMC with the same problem for foreign drs and some had to leave from all around.  It awas about time that VN got its act together with Drs registration across the board.  FV is a sitting duck really, as its the only international standard in terms of service, the most expensive and the most transparent in terms of statistics.  Most public hosptials would cover up their mistakes and medical errors and patients dont bother sueing as they know they wont receive any favourable outcome. FV on teh other hand are easy to attack in the press.
People die in ALL hospitals, (yes, there have been fatalities at FV, and Hanh Phuc) there are good and bad Drs in ALL hospitals, and having had many surgeries and a few children at FV, I am certain that they are no worse, if not much better than others.

Anne, if you are having twins I would absolutely stick with your choice of FV.  You risk a premature birth and the NICU at FV is in my opinion much more experienced at taking care of premmies. You also have an excellent french Dr, Dr Didier Decamps, who is a great neonatologist, and a lot of experienced OBGYNS. 
Rather go for medical expertise, and dont be taken in by newer hospitals. It takes a few yrs for medical teams to get their procedures running smoothly.
check your medical insurance for your newborn care as many policies dont cover much for the first 2-3 week period which is when the bill can hit 5 figures easily..
if you have any sign of trouble before 32weeks you had better get yourself to BKK quickly.  After that, FV can take care.

I work for FMP and would recommend both FV and Han Phuc for their surgical skill. Some of our patients prefer to go to Bangkok or Singapore for the actual birth but as has been said earlier all hospitals will have some horror stories.

We have antenatal classes at our District 2 clinic run by Karen - an English midwife. I can also do the basic antenatal checks there if you want to save some journeys in the latter stages of your pregnancy.

Hi All,

I recommend FV hospital. My wife and I tried 3 different hospitals before deciding on FV. For me it was important to have a safe, clean, and western standard hospital. They are very professional. We had all our check-ups here and gave birth here. Great experience even if the cost is higher than other hospitals. The Dr's speak Vietnamese, English and French. As the husband, I enjoyed going with my wife to her appointments and in the room for the sonograms and the birth of our son. Many of the Vietnamese hospitals would not allow this for the husband.

-Chris

Hi,

FairyJo : thanks for your posts. I'm confident with my choice of giving birth at FV. I trust my doctor there. I also attended birth preparation classes there and the midwife is really great.
My doctor told me that in case of trouble before 29 weeks they would transfer me to either Bangkok or Singapore. After 29 weeks the NICU at FV can apparently take care of prematured babies. But you seem to say that it's not exactly true and they can't take care of prematured babies before 32 weeks?
I don't have to complain regarding the fees. They are more or less the same as the ones that apply in France during pregnancy and my insurance works with FV (and covers all the fees), so it's really easy for me to manage.

JulesVN: I wanted to try HypnoBirth with Karen but as I live in D7 it was not really convenient for me to move to D2. Now I try to avoid car travels (just started the 7th month).

Jayhawk: I agree with your comments. Husbands are really welcome there.
We are currently working on a birth plan to share with my doctor. However I'm aware that we have to be more flexible here, some of our “birth wishes” may not be accepted by the medical team but I guess it's the same for all the hospitals in Vietnam (and in Singapore / Bangkok too?)

So far I have the feeling my follow up is the same as the one I would have had in France. The checks are the same, infrastructure and equipment are really modern...

Anne

and also forgot to add that the medical team is very professional (especially OBGYNS).
Having said that, it doesn't mean that there is no risk at all. Even if you chose the best rated hospital in France, you can always experience troubles there...

We had our daughter at Hanh Phuc 2 months ago and had an awesome experience. I would recommend them over any other hospital for giving birth. I was welcomed into the birthing room and was allowed to cut my daughters cord. It was a great experience

Jaitch wrote:

[Moderated]

Cho Ray is also an excellent in-town hospital (5,000 beds) with the latest equipment and doctors retrained regularly. They do transplants so they have experienced staff.

It also has dedicated Foreigner sections. Nguyen Chi Thanh / Thuan Kieu / Hong Bang.

Cho Ray not for give birth. Sincerely.

Hi
actually the 32 week cutoff was a few yrs ago and it really does depend on the actual medical expertise at the time.  I suspect with Dr decamps around its fine at 29 weeks right now.
Having had recent information from some medical colleagues, I would say that right now,  FV are definately offering much more of a "western" experience in terms of birth experience, dealing with mothers wishes to have their birth plans followed, and post natal support for breast feeding etc.  Not saying that the other hospitals are bad, but some colleagues who regularly see post natal mums said that those coming from FV were far more well supported than others, requiring less help for breast feeding etc.

My wife is a VN doctor. When her patients ask, if they have money she recommends Benh Vien Phu San Quoc Te Saigon or Hanh Phuc International Hospital. She says that Hanh Phuc is a little farther away, but it is also a good hospital. If you are looking for more budget-friendly options, send me a PM and she can give you different recommendations.

Here are my own experience. The first time i checked in the benh vien phuc san quoc te saigon to make sure if i,m pregnant, i picked here just cause it,s closd to my home. Most doctor here can,t speak english, and you have to wait in very narrow space, not so much privacy .

So for normal check i changed to hanh phuc hospital, the clinic looks pretty good, closed to center, clean, doctors there are kind,  but after knowing for giving birth have to go to binh dinh, that,s really far, and once i went there om my pointed time, on the way to hospital the reception girl called me to tell the doctor were on leave that day, asked me to change to another day, that,s annoying, but anyone such yhings happened in vn often, also in next fv hospital.

Fv hospital, most popular among foreigners, it,s clean, convient, staying in hospital  they really care you. But i wouls say, the doctor there are not patient talking to you, feel they are always in rush, and not so professional if your case is complicated, i had one miscarriage, and the doctor can,t tell why, after once big bleeding, the doctor told me the baby was gone, asked me to stay hospital one night , next day can take some pills to make the baby out, then next day they told me the baby were still alive.... but anyway i still pick fv this time, i think for giving normal birth it will be a good place, just if your case are complicated,  better go to other country.

Hi jay hawk, may I ask which doctor you would recommend at FV? I went to the head of OBGYN for my first appointment, but his English is very limited. Any doctors specifically who have fluent English skills, seem thorough, respectful of birthing plan, etc would be greatly appreciated.

I gave birth my daugther at Si Hospital and really dislike the service there. Though they are good, but it too crowded and they cant take real care for you and your baby. Doctor not friendly too. For post-natal, i went to Hanh Phuc Hospital and stick with it until now. i will mostly recommend Hanh Phuc hospital to everyone.

Dr Huong was my OB in FV and, despite his limited English, I would highly recommend him. FV has a high C-section rate but Dr. Huong totally supports natural births and he follows and respects birth plans and really respects women and our needs. He did everything he could to give me the best delivery under the circumstances and I ended up giving birth naturally, despite 2 other doctors on duty telling me i'd most likely end up in theatre for a C-section. I like his gentle nature and attitude. For me, that's more important than having the best English and he can communicate everything that you need to know.

traitao wrote:

Christine wrote:

Hi,

could you please share advice and tips about pregnancy in Ho Chi Minh City?

Who are the best gynecologists for pregnancy follow-ups?

Which hospitals or clinics would you recommend to give birth in Ho Chi Minh City?

Thanks a lot in advance for your advice !

Christine

Từ Dũ hospital

That is the hospital we decided to have the baby born.

There is a foreign hospital near Tu Du should any complications arise can be transferred to Tu Du immediately. TU Du I heard have top notch doctors but the lack of privacy can be a problem.

I am thinking spending the thousands I would spent at a foreign hospital to get her comfort and private room at Tu Du.

Hi everyone,


I just created a Facebook group for pregnant women, mothers and their babies in Ho Cho Minh City. The aim of this group is to exchange useful information and advice, like pregnancy and delivery in Vietnam, kids friendly places in the city, things to do with babies and toddlers and everything else you can think of!
I gave birth in Vietnam less than 1 year ago and found it difficult to gather useful information before and even after giving birth.
You're also welcome to join if you want to buy / sell babystuff.

The group is called: mothers and babies in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) and here is the link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1492460994308849/

See you soon there!

Anne