Nakrob

My wife and I are currently considering a 2 year work transfer to Kuala Lumpur. We have one daughter who is one year old and are currently trying for a second. We are trying to find information on having a baby in KL so we are clear on the situation before we move.

We should have health insurance provided by my company but it excludes pregnancy related benefits, and from searching the Internet it appears most policies available in Malaysia do.

What are the costs involved in having a baby in KL if we don't have insurance coverage, or what insurers should we speak to to either arrange coverage through work or directly by ourselves? From what I've read private hospital delivery fees can be ~MYR5,000. If this is the case then it's cheaper than having a baby privately in Australia anyway!

Nakrob

Bumping this message for any advice please.

ajw

Hiya, no personal experience of having a baby here, but it sounds like you've already done some research on costs. If you want to contact some KL hospitals directly for more info you could try Pantai, Glenegales or Prince Court hospitals, these are the main ones. Obs tend to work out of clinics based within hospitals here so its convininent when you need to have scans and bloods done.

For insurance, I cannt help on policies which cover pregnancy, but I would be fairly certain that pregnancy would not be covered within the first 12 months of holding the policy similar to Australia.

In general, you will find healthcare much more affordable here than in Australia. I think paying privately here would be doable for a birth whereas in Australia, without insurance, you'd probably need to take out a loan!

Good luck

Ajw

ThomasK

Sime Darby Medical Centre (SDMC) in Subang Jay is a good hospital to look at.

http://www.simedarbyhealthcare.com/c...mc-subang-jaya

heidilonglegs

Anyone on a temporary visa in Australia is required to take out medical insurance, hence your fees would be paid. The rest of us are covered by Medicare and that takes care of all our medical needs/ deliveries. I have just had our triplets on Medibank private and the service was outstanding... I wouldnt even contemplate going private otherwise as you say prohibitive costs lol.. It is dentistry that you need to take a loan out on

ajw

Yep, I understand how it all works in Aus. My point was that paying for delivery in a private hospital here is achievable and therefore lack of insurance coverage shouldn't be too much of a concern.

heidilonglegs

[QUOTE=ajw;10322976]Yep, I understand how it all works in Aus. My point was that paying for delivery in a private hospital here is achievable and therefore lack of insurance coverage shouldn't be too much of a concern.[/QUOTE.....

lamlha

i'd recommend hopping over to singapore to have it delivered before coming back, its a bit more consistent although kl is fine for a broken leg, tooth decay, etc, something as serious as delivering a baby should be given every chance of success

ajw

Really? I know loads of expat ladies who have given birth here and who have been more than happy with the experience overall. But maybe you've had a different experience?

Suggest you visit a few different obs here to get a feel for how they work and ethos in relation to the kind of birth experience you are after (eg. gentle, vbac, etc).

The IBU organisation is a good resource for all things baby and child related and may be able to help with dr recommendations.

lamlha

No, its fine, its just a bit safer in my experience, but that was 15 years ago, things might have changed, but Malaysia seemed to have deteriorated slightly over the changes of several administrations over the last decade, someone has yet to step up as a revolutionary leader for the obsolete cabinets

but i do tend to take things on a more polyyannish basis, don't listen to my wafflings, everything is still ok if you do not compare it to what it used to be, actually to be honest, pretty much everywhere seems to be deteriorating somewhat

bakedbean

Well you obviously spend a lot of time in Singapore and have been immersed in the propaganda. We used to get sucked into all that too when we lived there. Now we know better.

Was down in Sing last week and stopped watching the tv and reading the paper after Day 1. Unbelievable.

TopHattedCat

WoW!!!!!

You are the master of ambiguity by proxy.

If you have got a political axe to grind just state it.

I doubt this is the forum to actually garner political (or otherwise) opinion, I for one am definitely not interested in any form of polititcs.

Do you actually mean 'pollyannaish'??? Because if you do that does not really reflect the message you are trying to project.

My wife gave birth to a healthy boy in 2008 in Penang & we have nothing but the highest praise for all the medical staff that were involved in the birth of our wonderful little boy.

Apart from that I have been unfortunate enough to have been in 2 separate accidents that required major medical treatment & in both cases I received 1st class care in Malaysia.

Shame on you for trying to portray the medical services of Malaysia in such a poor light.

TopHattedCat

Please remind me never to break my leg in Singapore, or even heaven forbid, suffer the complete indignity of ever having to comprehend the social pariah status that tooth decay may impede on my social standing in your beloved Singapoor.....

Sorry, but I actually like Singapore. So why are you doing a fantastic job at degenerating the place..... It makes no sense???

lamlha

ok, good to hear, i had 2 medical incidences with the malaysian medical community at different locations over the last few months, the first was me having a simple fever condition made out to sound as if i had a genetically engineered mutant virus, 5 separate tests had to be done at rm 200 per test, then i had the inkling that maybe i'm being done for being the only patient in that clinic for a while, so i went to a mate's gp and told him i was recommended by so n so, n it was only rm 50 for consultation n supplies

anyway, maybe i'm wrong, but singapore seems less likely to pull a stunt like this even in this degenerate age

no i'm not bashing singapore at all, in fact, singapore has done relatively well comparatively to malaysia, don't forget they were both from the tunku's regime, and they were both identical only 40 or so years ago, 1957 to be exact, so credit has to be given when it is due, but again, this is all just my opinion, i do not mean it as the be all and end all guide to malaysia's political history

Nakrob

Bumping this thread for various reasons!

Does anyone have any specific experience with giving birth at Prince Court medical centre that they can share? We've yet to go in there but it seems from the outside that its the top place to go. Gleneagles looks a bit shabby from the outside.