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Any advice on where to go for ante- and post- delivery maternity care? any OBGYN place to avoid? Hospital and Dr's names would be appreciated.
Thanks

american hospital was pretty good; worst experience at welcare hospital.... my wife actually walked out on the dr. even after i had pre-paid for the whole thing up front!

Where do you live? Do you have med ins? Sorry but whats your nationality?

i have insurance but doesn't cover maternity. US citizen. Alhamdulillah I can afford a package in one of these private hospitals, but I want to avoid a bad experience.

i can sign up for gov't insurance but i know the quality of public hospitals.

I was asking where you live to account for convinience factor...anyway..

1. Ante Natal - Prime Medical Center - Dr. Dorothy Fernandes - she is available in the Jumeirah and Deira clinics - their Deira number is 2720720. She is quite popular and even won an award in 2004. I went to her for both my pregnancies.

2. Hospital - well sometimes the public hosp are better than the pvt one's out here. I have heard horror stories about Welcare and American...I think one about American hosp got posted today. Al Wasl is a good public hosp for maternity, although you'll not get the service of the pvt hospitals and the worst part is the shared toilet if you don't manage to get a pvt room - which these days are in short supply. If you do go to Govt which is also not really cheap - I had a few probs in pregnancy and paid well over 15K. At pvt I would have ended up with a 30K bill at least though.

In case of severly pre-term delivery or any complications you get sent from the best pvt hosp to the Govt hosp anyway!!! Al Wasl may not have the most polite nurses or the best rooms but deft they are the best equipped for maternity.

Zulekha Hospital is a more affordable pvt hosp it's in Ghusais area and doctors are mainly Indian. My SIL delivered there and she loved the service and place. Doctors I have met, seem experienced and know what they are doing.

I would suggest meeting with Dr Dorothy Fernandes and if you are happy with her she does deliveries in Welcare and American and Canadian (I think).

Hi Luckybee,

I am 28 weeks pregnant and have been in Dubai for a couple of months. I've done my own research through this forum and now I've met mums who have delivered their babies here. By the way, I am Italian/Venezuelan/British (you choose!) but had lived in London for the last 7 years.

I am having my prenatal care with Dr. Dorothy Fernandes, she's ok, not really GREAT (I had probably too high expectations afetr so many recommendations) but I'm sticking with her. I will have my baby delivered at the American Hospital.

My case is just like yours, have insurance but as I arrived already pregnant won't cover maternity. It is expensive (I had my first baby in the UK, where everything is free) so this is the other side of the spectrum for me, as I feel that you are asked to take some unecessary tests, just for the sake of it (again, this is my second baby, so I am familiar with delivering a baby). That's what really infuriates me, as I feel they are just trying to get your money at all costs, but well, no much I can do, so have to get used to the local style...and empty my pockets with a smile!

But I guess that going to a public hospital is not an option in my book. I've met some people who had their babies there and they said it was ok, no frills, but not horrible. As someone already mentioned, if there are complications with the baby, you'll ned up there. I am sure that medically they are great, but I particularly want/need/demand some comfort while giving birth.

I haven't been to the American hospital just yet (I have been too busy settling down!), but everybody agrees it's very nice and you feel like in a hotel. Having said that, have a couple of friends who recommended Welcare and Dr. Sant. I looked into it, but even though it was a little cheaper, I found the antenatal care so much more expensive and the hospital was so far away, so I didn't change after all.

You should also take into consideration where you live. I live in Emirates Hills (west) and both the American and Welcare are east. But as I am having my antenatal care in Jumeirah is not that bad, as I only have to go to the hospital when I'll deliver...and as I am having an elective cesarean, it's easy to plan and not having to worry to be stuck in traffic while in labour!

If you need any more details, you can PM me.

So don't be too worried about delivering your baby here, I was also a little aprehensive (to say the least) and I am more relaxed now.

So good luck!

wow thanks guys u r making me feel better just by being more informed. this is my first pregnancy and it is so scary being here so far away from home, family, friends, etc.

anyways thanks again.