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Davao Doc has good facilities but you can avail in brokenshire with a Doctor from Davao Doc.. (Choose your OB-gyne for prenatal) and let your doctor suggest a hospital..  brokenshire has reasonable prices as compared to Davao Doc.

Good luck!

Without philhealth that would be around 100k, for public hospitals will be around 30k.

Thanks very much for the info and well wishes.

Wayne

cesarian is often done whitout enny medical reason ,just to up the bil.choose the genacologist careful ,demand to explain the reason for the procedure in writing and get second opinion

greets Dirk

Thanks. Yes, I have heard this also. My wife, who is small built, is worried about getting a C-section. Me also, for her.

Since you are expecting twins.. It will be safe to deliver by C-section.. If she has philhealth it will be advantage.

dophened wrote:

Since you are expecting twins.. It will be safe to deliver by C-section.. If she has philhealth it will be advantage.

is this a dokters opinion or an uneducated gues???

having twins is NOT a medical reason for c-section.

dirk c wrote:

dophened wrote:

Since you are expecting twins.. It will be safe to deliver by C-section.. If she has philhealth it will be advantage.

is this a dokters opinion or an uneducated gues???

having twins is NOT a medical reason for c-section.

Not between the two (I am not a doctor educated) as I am working closely with nurses and mommies.. That depends actually on her prenatal during prenatal, they can predict based on history on these days.. Besides, it will be a bit conservative to prepare money for C-section.. If his wife is strong enough to deliver it normal, that's is so good. As I read on the thread she is slender and if her blood pressure is stable.

Dirk c, it is doctors opinion that a C-section is inevitable. My wife is usually about 45 kilos and 5'2". I am 6'1, 101 kilos. Yes her bp is quite normal. And she is healthy. Just small in stature. They also said our twins would probably come early.  Our doc is at Davao Doc, and has privileges at Berkenshire. And yes, she has Phil Health.

For the costs:

Ask your wife's gynecologist how much her fee is for both natural childbirth and c-section delivery.

Ask the hospital for options on hospital rooms (semi-private, private, suite, etc.) and how much they cost per day. Do remember that the higher the room cost, the higher the hospital fees. I wrote a blog post about this:
Natural childbirth is usually 2-3 days' stay at the hospital. For c-section, around 5-7 days.

Hospital fees vary depending on how much supplies, equipment, services you used, and the room you stayed in. You will know your total hospital fees once you've checked out. So ask your wife's gynecologist how much on the average it costs.

In addition to PhilHealth benefits, your wife can also get maternity benefits through SSS after she gives birth. Not much, but it's still something.

I would recommend getting a private room that would allow for your wife, the twins, you and 1 other companion (a trusted relative who knows how to take care of a child or a trusted yaya) who could cover for you when you need to rest or eat or in case the nurse can't understand your English accent. It would be best if the room has a refrigerator.

If you want to economize a bit, I would suggest bringing self-bought diapers, soaps, pillows, baby bottles, water, etc. if the hospital allows it.  Beddings are changed only once a day. If you need them changed in between, you will be charged extra. So bring extra bed linens.

Security in some hospitals is lax. If you decide to room-in the babies, do not let them out of your sight. For example, if the nurse needs to give them a bath outside of your room or for check-ups / tests, you or your companion should follow them.

I'm 5' tall and my husband 5'10".  For our first child, my doctor in the states recommended a c-section. She said that the baby might be too large, that I might eventually end up having a c-section anyways. But I insisted for natural childbirth. We even took birthing classes. Close to the due date, there were complications in the pregnancy discovered through ultrasound. The safer option for the baby was for a c-section. We opted for the c-section. With my second pregnancy, I had placenta previa. C-section was the only option.

I've read in many forums about people bashing women who opted for c-sections and for having epidurals. It really hurts moms when someone says that their c-section kid is less smarter than a natural childbirth kid. (there's one such comment in this forum from a male expat) or that women who have epidurals are weaklings. That's just bs.

In reality, c-sections are actually more painful. It takes a longer time to recover, longer time to get back in shape. Epidurals help women who have a family history of having long labors. to give them the strength to push the baby out when it's time so that they don't need to undergo an emergency c-section.

Do what's best for your wife and babies.

Our total hospital bill for a 5-day stay at a private hospital in Quezon City, including doctor's fees, 6 years ago for a c-section for our second child: PhP180k. Cheaper than US health insurance co-pay of US$3,600 + 900 for anaesthesiologist for our first child born in California. (Without insurance, hospital fees for our first child would have been US$43k.)

When you register your child's birth, make sure everything is spelled out correctly. In the Philippines, your middle name is your mom's maiden surname. Your children's middle name is your wife's maiden surname.

Wow....this is really good. And so very helpful. We will probably do the birthing suite at Davao Docs. It seem like the best option for me to be allowed inbthe room with my wife as she is having our babies. Not sure why hospitals here in Davao, at least the one's I've checked don't allow fathers in the room. Especially when the few birthing centers I've talked with do. They should know that the more content the wife is the better her experience. We'll see. Our OBGYN could not promise that even Davao Docs would permit it.

Yeah, your right about that C-section v natural comment. I just let it go.....

Thanks again for taking the time to give us counsel. God bless.

Wayne and Lina

ElGatoNegron wrote:

Not sure why hospitals here in Davao, at least the one's I've checked don't allow fathers in the room. Especially when the few birthing centers I've talked with do. They should know that the more content the wife is the better her experience. We'll see. Our OBGYN could not promise that even Davao Docs would permit it.

It baffles me too.

Back in the US, my husband was permitted to go to the OR. He was dressed in a "space suit" of course. He was the one who trimmed the umbilical cord. If I had natural childbirth, he would have been allowed to be with me in the delivery room to give me support and do those birth and breathing techniques for which we took lessons.

But hospitals here, the husband is not allowed to stay with the wife while she's giving birth. I hope they change that. It really makes a woman happier and have a better birth experience when she's with her husband, or at least a close relative or friend, to be there to support her in her labor and share that magical moment.

One thing I didn't like here too was the hospital staff washed my baby with soap. So, when she was brought to my room, she smelled like soap. Unlike my first child born in the US, the staff I think just rinse him off with water or maybe with a gentle cleanser. So he smelled great. I don't know how to describe it. We sniffed him all the time during our stay. When we smelled him, it evoked a happy feeling like smelling freshly baked bread at dawn, or getting a hug when you're feeling down, or clean dewy mountain air in early morning.  I felt that too when I smelled my second child just right after she was born. Then they washed her with soap. 

At our hospital here, the baby is allowed to room-in with the parents with the doctor's consent. But once the parents opt to do that, they can't bring the baby back to the nursery or NICU (neonatal intensive care unit). You really have to have an extra person in the hospital to relieve you when you're too tired or need to sleep. (Maybe even get a back up / reliever for your companion.) Unlike in our hospital in the US, when we were just too tired and sleepy, we can bring our baby back to the nursery, and the nurses will take care of him.

Then there are the nurse interns, who come in and out of your room to check blood pressure and ask all sorts of questions, and might wake up your sleeping wife. When your wife is in stable condition, you might want to request not to be disturbed except for routine checks by regular staff. (I wish I had done this. It was really annoying to be wakened up when you just started to fall asleep or be asked "when was your last menstruation" when you're either undergoing a scheduled  c-section that day (which means the baby is full term) or already gave birth. I gave different answers to this question.)

Ask your hospital about their policies. Inquire also about their policies on blood transfusion. Ask if you or your family members need to donate blood  prior to surgery.