Nuk in VN

Can't find it at Target in the States, but you can find it in Vietnam.

Kid's a Video Star

Pullin' back the curtains a bit on this here sorta anon blog. But the kid's worth it. For those interested, two words: Code Pink.

Pregnancy Costs In Vietnam

So one of the things we checked out prior haphazardly doing some family planning was the medical quality, and medical costs, for having a kid here.

As foreigners, one is able to buy medical insurance through internationals such as AIG or its affiliates, but medical costs are low enough that we chose to pay out of pocket - no need to potentially navigate forms in a foreign language when one needs some care.

The big foreign hospital in Hanoi is the French Hospital (L'Hospital Francais or some such) - in HCMC it is the Franco-Vietnam Hospital (FV Hospital). We checked it out but weren't so enthused by the service, and sometimes it was like playing telephone with the French doctor speaking to the local french speaking nurse, who then retranslates into a English/Vietnamese mix for us.

So instead we chose an upper end medical clinic, Family Medical Practice (how generic!), which has outposts in both Hanoi and HCMC. Here we have a foreign trained local doctor who's English is far superior to the folks at L'H.

The cost for the maternity package, without delivery, at the clinic was $800USD. The cost of the maternity package, inclusive of delivery, at L'H is something on the order of $2,000 and change. Delivery at the hospital is another $800 or so, but we're planning on having the kid qualify to run for president, so doesn't matter.

One thing that frustrated me was that the maternity "package" did not include blood tests to check for chromosomal defects - yeah, it should be an option to check whether your kid has Down's Syndrome. I'm sure plenty of parents-to-be, when presented with that option, decide 'nah.. it's not in the package so it must not be important.' Nickel and dime'ing is constant across cultures in the medical profession, apparently. So add $150USD to the above package price.

So medical costs here are substantially lower than what we would experience (without insurance) in the States. The quality seems fine, but who the heck knows ('what do you call the person with the lowest GPA in the graduating class? doctor.').

I did read in the local paper today that Viet-Duc Hospital (Vietnam-German hospital, another foreign one in Hanoi) got fined by the government for illegally disposing of medical waste. Instead of disposing it per their agreed regulations, the hospital sold the waste (being syringes, medicine bottles, IV tubes, etc.) to recyclers - so basically it gets back out into the marketplace. Now, medical instrument recycling happens in the States too, and it's a very big and profitable business there, but somehow I doubt all the recyclers here adhere to an ascertainable sterilization standard. Just pay and pray.

And We're Back..

Been a bit since the last post, due mainly to work and boredom on this side of the world.

Being pregnant is interesting (probably *more* interesting for VA, because the "being" is not me). We learned a few things, such as VA can predict when it will rain the next day - like a person who can sense barometric changes in their creaky knees, VA gets headaches these days from impending pressure changes. Sucks for her, but at least we can forecast the weather.

Also, we've (unfortunately) recently learned that women can get carpal tunnel syndrome from the water retention and hormonal changes during pregnancy. We learned this after VA had pain and numbness in an entire limb. Having carpal tunnel is slightly better than thinking you're experiencing a stroke, I guess.

More pregnancy stuff later..

Times Are A' Changin'

Hmm, this is different. I guess the times are a' changin' for us, in a good way.