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No experience personally, but DHs cousin was living in Asia and came back to Canada when she was 7 months pregnant and stayed until the baby was 4 months old... I think because she hadn't been over there long and didn't have the care she was hoping for.

Hope you can find some answers!

Hi! I'm a pregnant expat in Asia too. I am in Beijing. We moved here last October. Begore this we lived in Tokyo for 4 years. I had my 20 month old LO in tokyo. It was easy getting everything I needed in terms of baby care and supplies. I bought locally and also shipped over from the US. Things like car seat and crib, I bought online in the US and had shipped over.

With this current pregnancy, I don't need as much to buy since I kept a lot of things from before. I definitely am not comfortable buying local products here, so anything I need, I plan on buying from international stores here. I would love to order online from the US but getting packages hasn't been a great experience here. There is also a great expat mommy community here, so buying used is also an option.

For my prenatal care and birth, I've chosen an international hospital. Its just easier when everyone speaks English and I understand everything that is going on. My doctor is Getman and I'm really happy with him. They follow all western standards, do all testing has been according to what I am familiar with.

Overall, I'm not as comfortable having my baby here in Beijing, as opposed to Tokyo but there is nothing I can do about that.

I'm an expat in Hong Kong, and my daughter was born here. For me the experience was so positive that I hope to have baby #2 here in the near future.

Hong Kong is a major city, so we get plenty of imported products, though they are really marked up in price, and are sometimes scarce between stores' shipments (especially imported baby formulas). I tried to carry over big gear items, and definitely buy some things used to save on the ridiculous prices, from a local mommy Facebook group. I tried to disregard the typical American baby registry necessity list because so much of it didn't apply to my living conditions. For example, we didn't need a rock'n'play, because between her crib, Moses basket, and stroller bassinet, she had more than enough places to sleep in our one story apartment. And as live-in help is so common here, we didn't need nearly as many onesies and pjs as a new mama without help to do the laundry might.

I can't comment much on health care because I felt mine was fantastic, modern, and pretty westernized. I did come up against some more colloquial superstition a at times (ladies in more local restaurants wouldn't give me cold water in 90 degree weather because it "wasn't good for me" and told me spicy foods would ruin my baby's skin)...but I just smiled and nodded and consumed what I wanted to. Don't mess with a hungry pregnant girl, right?! I also did a lot of reading on my own to be sure I was getting the tests I thought I should get when I should get them. If I'd had questions about quality of local care, I might have tried to get a second opinion on a trip home.

Hope this is helpful - if I can share anything else to help, let me know. I think it's neat that our kiddos will have such a fun fact (their birth city) for playing silly introduction games.

@Mrs Rivera: Came across your post while frantically googling... I'm living in a small town in Cambodia and have just found out I'm pregnant. I also paid a visit to a local clinic / NGO linked with WHO, but unfortunately there were no English speaking staff there, which made the whole experience quite daunting.

My partner is Khmer and I've got some Khmer friends who have kids. I'm hoping to find some other ex-pat preggos locally, but being a small town it's proving tricky, especially since I'm not yet past 12 weeks and still wanting to keep it fairly secret for now.

I'd be really grateful if you'd be willing to share any tips for coping with pregnancy and motherhood in Cambodia?! Current plan is to head home to the UK for the birth, then back out here after a couple of months, but would love to hear your experiences of birth in Asia, maybe they will change my mind?

Nono
You might look up this lady--she would be an excellent person to talk to about your options!
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pregnancy-Birth-and-Beyond-in-Phnom-Penh/405139326250974?ref=br_rs

I think it depends on the country your in, too. My SIL was pregnant with their second while living in China. A few things I remember off the top I my head were that they couldn't find out the gender, and there were some really different rules regarding delivery than in the US. I think my brother was only going to be allowed in after she was like 3 or 5 cm dilated, and a few other delivery issues that I can't recall at the time. They were in a smaller city of about a million, and about 6 hours away from the closest western hospital. The other issue they ran into was that her due date was right around a time when many people take off for some time, and the doctor couldn't them that he would be there or that another doctor would allow them to have my brother in at all, etc. They considered going to Thailand, but eventually decided it would only be a little more expensive than going home, so they decided to fly home about 2 weeks before her due date and stayed for 6 weeks after my niece was born.

Hey Everyone!! My husband and I have recently moved from Hong Kong to Phnom Penh and just found out I am pregnant. I am debating on whether I will be going back to Hong Kong or Bangkok for the birth. This is my first pregnancy and I'm freaking out!!!! I am thinking Bangkok will be the better option as it is closer and easier to bring my helper and dogs with me but I have never been to Bangkok and don't know what to expect.
@Mrs Rivera how long did you stay in Bangkok? What were your challenges?
@nono have you decided to definitely go back home for the birth?

I am taking a trip back home to the US next week and wondering if I should bring stuff back with me as well. Any info or feedback would be greatly appreciated!!!!!!!