How to Have A Baby in China?

For those moms who decide to have a baby in China, we are here to give you a general introduction to having a baby in China.

Private Hospitals

In Private Hospitals, they offer a much better service and environment. A lot of these maternity hospitals have English speaking staff that can help you take care of basically everything about pregnancy. However, private hospitals do come at a much higher price compared to public hospitals which everyone can go to. Most private maternity hospitals allow you to live there for longer than public hospitals, before and after birth. You can have your own room or even suite during your stay at the private hospital, which would make your experience a lot more better if you do not like noisy environments.

Public Hospitals

On the contrary, in public hospitals, you are very likely to share a room with a couple more patients. Other than this, a lot of public hospitals only allow you to move-in at a scheduled date that they assign you, due to the large population. You should also know that public clinics usually don’t provide linens or hygiene products. You would need to prepare everything including pajamas before you move into the hospital and wait for the baby to come out.

What's different in China?

1. Men are usually not allowed in the delivery room in Chinese hospitals.

2. Some Chinese hospitals may recommand cesarean section birth over other delivery conduction. Cesarean section charges for higher fees both because of the procedure itself and that mother will need to stay in hospital for a few more days after the birth.

3. According to Chinese custom, mothers who just gave birth are expected to rest at home for a month or even longer, to quickly recover from the delivery surgery. Most new mothers prefer to stay in a warm environment and not eat raw or cold food. In this way, they believe that they will be able to avoid further health problems and complications. 

4. Women are entitled to a paid meternity leave of 90 days after the birth. Some local regulations allow mothers to leave work for appointsment. Besides, some employers also allow mothers to leave ten weeks before the birth.

Cost

Although local Chinese hospitals charge way less than private hospitals, the cost is still between 8000 CNY to 50000 CNY for delivery and accomadation. The cost is depending on the ward and type of delivery mothers choose to have. Like we mentioned before, cesarean is going to cost more than others. 

Private or international hospitals have excellent facilies. However, the fees can be really high. Prenatal care costs between 18000 CNY to 23000 CNY. Delivery is even more expensive that it can cost up to 63000 CNY depending on the facilities used. 

What do you need to give birth at local hospital?

Standard procedure before delivery:

- Check at the hospital and get Pregancy Certificate.

- Create your file at the hospital chosen. 

- Go to the Street Office of residence registration for Birth Permission, Birth Control Service Permission, and Voucher for medical treatment. You are required to bring your ID, Marriage Certificate, preganancy certificate and Insurance related materials. 

Material required at delivery:

1. Marriage Certificate

2. Pregancy Certificate, from the hospital

3. Birth permission, which you can get at the Street Office of residence registration.

4. ID and Insurance Card

5. Cash

You will get the birth certificate for the baby at the hospital after delivery, which you will need when processing identifications for your baby.

Afterwards

Make sure you sign up for immunizations in a private or public hospital. 

Babies that are born in China will have same citizenship as parents. If parents have permanent residency in China, they can apply for Chinese citizenship. One thing to watch out is that, China does not allow dual citizenship.

If you would like to bring your baby to your home country, you will need a passport from the home country for your child, which can be assigned by home country embassy. Before you leave the country, you also need a Visa assigned by the Exit-Entry Administration for Foreigners. 

So when you leave the country, you can take the baby, along with his/her birth certificate, passport and the Visa. 

Comment below to share with us your experience of haivng a baby in China!

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