Having a baby in cancun

[isa]

Hi there so i am a us citizen living here with my mexican husband. I am 3 months pregnant and we have been using his IMSS up to this point for medical care but the seemingly substandard medical is making me a bit nervous. this is my first pregnancy and all seems to be going well so far. we live on a mexican not US income which is why we are using IMSS but we have been trying to find information on better healthcare. any suggestions?

[Steve]

Congrats on your pregnancy (and welcome to our forum)!

My wife gave birth to our new son via Caesarian 2 months ago, we used Galenia and I couldnt fault it. It's certainly a bit on the expensive side though.

There's quite a few people here who have had kids in Cancun, so hopefully they'll chime in with their thoughts.

Any specific questions feel free to ask away.

[V]

Most people, given a choice, would probably opt for Galenia and its staff over IMSS. Although things can fall short of optimum anywhere, you go into IMSS with certain disadvantages- a heavy patient load, a medical culture in which the doctor makes all the decisions, and the constraints imposed by institutional cost considerations in the choice of procedures and treatments, just to mention a few.

Costs in obstetrics can easily escalate, if any complications should arise: with IMSS, this would not be an issue as all treatments and drugs are provided free, and they certainly have ample experience with labor and childbirth!

Whatever your choice, may all go well with both mother and child!

[mz_teedee]

Hello Isa! Congrats on your pregnancy. I too am pregnant and actually due any day now. Through my husbands job we have coverage at Galenia Hospital. So far its we´ve been happy with it. Although we do have coverage, which basically just covers doctor visits and you get discounts on other services it does not cover any hospital stay or my doctor´s bill when I give birth, which like Steve says makes it a bit on the expensive side.

I must say that being pregnant here and being pregnant in the states is very different, or for me it is a least. They don´t do as many prenatal testing as they do in the states like gestational diabetes nor does my doctor do a pee sample at every visit to test the levels of protein, etc. like they do in the states. Though I do get an ultrasound at every doctor´s visit, which wasn´t done back in the states.

As you may have heard already here in Cancun c-sections are very "popular" not only amoung the future mothers but also amoung many doctors here. So if you do plan to have a vaginal birth make sure you speak to your doc about it and make sure he/she does do vaginal deliveries. I have heard stories of some doctors who do not do vaginal deliveries at all. Galenia seems to be vaginal deliviery friendly, with packages for vaginal and even natural water birth deliveries.

Well, if you do have any questions I´d be happy to answer them, if I can of course and I now there are mommies on this board that would be more than happy to answer your questions as well.

Good Luck!!

[TraceyUk]

Hi
well I am a Doula - which means I help women give birth as naturally as possible. I have attended births here both in hospital and homebirths attended by a Dr ( from Clinica Victoria) and an excellent midwife from Germany.
Feel free to call me if you have any questions or want some birth preperation classes.
Cancun has an 80% c section rate and is not vaginal birth friendly!!!!
Private message me for my phone number if you wish
Good Luck
Tracey
ps In the uk I trained Doulas and set up Doula Uk www.doula.org.uk
xxx

[isa]

Thank u for all of your responses and well wishes. of course given the choice i would love to go with galenia vs IMSS but financially i just dont think its going to be possible. especially if we have to pay for the labor or hospital stay. i think i am going to travel to the states for a couple of weeks so i will get a check up there just to calm my nerves a bit. the c-section rate here does have me a bit concerned but i have also heard that if you wait til u are in full active labor meaning 5 minutes or less apart to go to the hospital that u avoid the doctors trying to speed up the process with a c-section. basically i have heard that its more about them not wanting to wait out the process. i have also heard that no one is allowed in the delivery room except the patient and medical staff does anyone know if this is true? additionally i am all about vaginal birth but natural im not so sure about. is getting an epidural here unheard of or what?

[Steve]

Again I cant speak for IMSS policy but I was with my wife for both of my kids births.

[V]

If time permits, I'll see if I can learn something more about IMSS practices with regard to C-sections, and epidurals. I'd be very surprised if they did not favor vaginal birth, as they follow WHO recommendations for much of their mother-child practices.

I find the IMSS OB-GYN clinic/hospital (Kabah at Lopez Portillo) a rather attractive facility, open air as it is, though no one would mistake it for a thoroughly modern facility in an American city.

IMSS standards of care are modeled on the U.S., but they have cost constraints; and, the medical culture is not twenty-first century. There it's still the old, "I'm the doctor and you're the patient," attitude. That makes it hard for the patient to maintain control of the situation, especially if their Spanish is not 100%. I'm no wallflower but I've felt swept along by the system, just a little, when I've sought treatment there.

Being lucky enough to have a caring and sympathetic physician in charge, at the time of delivery, especially if it were one who spoke English (not common, in my experience, at IMSS, but there are some), would go a long way to solving these problems.
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[CancunCanuck]

Hi and welcome, congratulations on the upcoming bebecito! I had my baby here in Cancun, but it was all private doctor and hospital, no IMSS experience, sorry.

The numbers on C sections are really quite astounding and yes, they are true. I often hear people ask when the surgery is scheduled instead of asking a woman when she is due. I insisted and insisted on a vaginal birth and my doc was in agreement, but in the end, I too had a C. I think of all the women I know who have had babies here (a good number), I can only think of one who had a vaginal birth. All had desired one but they ended up being convinced that they needed a C. Stick to your guns, get a second opinion before jumping into the OR. Docs are pretty good at scaring women into it, they save time and make more money. :S

[Steve]

Just to join the debate really of natural birth vs C section.

Our first child was born C section. The umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck and would have added unneeded risk to a natural birth. We saw that on the ultrasound ourselves, so we were happy to take Doctors advice.

Our second child was also C section, but that was through personal choice. My Wife's Dr didn't suggest C section as a preferred option, in fact she didnt even discuss it until we brought it up since all was progressing nicely. Jannet already had a C section scar and we have to say convenience played some part in the decision. An antsy 5 yr old and a preference for our son to be born before Sept 1 instead of after (cut off of UK school year) played a part in that.

At the end of the day it's the womans body that is involved, not mine so I was quite happy to go along with whatever my wife wanted. Whichever way round, as long as it's the Mothers decision and not the Dr's or the Husbands then surely that's the true spirit of Mothers/Womens rights

[TraceyUk]

Spot on Steve- it is totally the womans right to choose- unfortunately here that is not the case !
Tracey
xxx

[V]

Undoubtedly there is more data available, but this paper makes the point that the c-section rates in Mexico are the highest at private hospitals in urban areas, as I would expect.

http://ecommons.txstate.edu/cgi/view...text=honorprog

[CancunCanuck]

Here's a pretty recent article about cesareans in Mexico, with a rate of 50%, it's one of the highest in the entire world....

Mexico

[V]

In this study, conducted at IMSS, Aguascalientes, the c-section rate was 28%, lower than the overall rate in the U.S., at 32%.

[Demographic impact of cesarean section] [Ginecol Obstet Mex. 2009] - PubMed result

It wouldn't make sense for a government sponsored, comprehensive health program, following WHO Guidelines, to run a higher rate than private hospitals do, and the statistics seem to indicate they do not.
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I've always thought it made sense to try to stay within your means and Isa, if you haven't yet visited the IMSS OB/GYN Hospital, I'd be happy to pay them a visit with you and see if they'd let us have a little look around, and meet the head of the department and some of the staff doctors there. Maybe they'll surprise us. How's your Spanish?

[isa]

thanx V. I have already started receiving care at IMSS in el centro as you must go to the center that you zoned for. I have my first appointment at IMSS/OBGYN this week so i will keep u posted. My spanish is pretty good however when it comes to medical terms ect. i am at a loss so my husband has been attending all the appointments with me. I guess the fact that i have no idea what i am doing in general is just compounded by the mexican medical system. just the couple of visit we have had have shown me how different things are here. One of my main fears is that what if something goes wrong when i am in the hospital and i dont understand what they are trying to tell me? if my husband is no where to be found will they even bother to find someone to translate?

[V]

Good luck with everything. You can help prepare yourself for your doctor visits by going online to get some medical terms you know will come up. You can find online medical dictionaries and, I'm sure, websites that would talk you through pregnancy and childbirth, written in Spanish, which you could read to familiarize yourself with things that might come up in the hospital, and how to express yourself about them, in Spanish.

This could be the most important Spanish Language studies you're done so far! I doubt if 1/10 doctors in IMSS speak English reasonably well, and the nurses even less. (This is based on my experience working with them.) Friends are allowed to visit, but there will be treatment areas to which no one is admitted other than patients, and the staff, as you can imagine, and those expressions you can learn now could come in handy.

[KTDLP]

The best OBGYN in Cancun is Dr. Medellin. I too am 3 months pregnant and after interviewing 5 doctors here, I decided Medellin was the way to go. He is, however, the most expensive OBGYN in Cancun.

He speaks perfect English, has state of the art equipment, one of the lowest c-section rates in Cancun, and a clean and comfortable office. Also, the labs are in the same building so you don't have to pick up and drop off results like some other doctors. My husband's brother's both chose Medellin for their 5 children. I resisted a little because I wanted a female doctor but in the end I decided quality was more important.

It sounds like your concerns are value and cost, but in Cancun you will have to sacrifice one for the other. There are plenty of women that have healthy babies through IMSS every year. Unfortunately, you will have to deal with the language barrier and questionable ethics.

[V]

Isa, do you have an update for us, with your impressions gained from your visit to the IMSS GYN-OB Hospital, corner Lopez Portillo and Kabah?

[Steve]

Originally Posted by KTDLP

The best OBGYN in Cancun is Dr. Medellin.

Of course, "best" is pretty subjective, unless you've personally tried them all Certainly I (and more importantly my wife) would recommend Dra Angelica Falcon Isunza at Galenia.

On a related baby note we are having a torrid time using IMSS for vaccinations.

We decided to go the IMSS route thinking we might as well get the vaccinations for free since they are the same wherever plus some vaccinations are not often available through private paedatricians due to the small number of babies available to 'consume' them before the vaccines outlive their shelf life.

Despite the TV campaign advertising that vaccinations are a birth right and free for all, this doesnt seem to be the case. We've been denied the pneumococcal vaccine 3 times now at 3 different IMSS hospitals. Each time with poor customer service, enduring dirty conditions and long waits.

The pneumococcal vaccine is an expensive one (1200 pesos privately). From speaking with various people in the know it seems the supply of vaccine given to public hospitals is being misappropriated and resold to private practitioners resulting in shortages. As a result they'll only administer the vaccine to babies with 'insurance' which excludes a huge chunk of the population.

It's OK for us we'll go private, but what about the thousands of parents that cant afford 1200 Pesos to immunize their kids? Makes me sick to think someone is profiteering from this.

[4NSPY]

Yip I agree. The Best in Cancun?? Kinda a personal choice. Medellin is popular, I agree. Doesn't make him the best though. We switched from him during a pregnancy a few years back and are happier with our current.

And the cost of kids vaccines in any of the private Hospitals are horrendous. That's not too surprising though as the cost of most things here in general are way over what they should be.

Now if I could just figure out how to claim family allowance - that would help ease the burden!

[Steve]

Originally Posted by 4NSPY

Now if I could just figure out how to claim family allowance - that would help ease the burden!

I doubt you nor I would qualify any more, with the latest Con-Dem cut backs. Something Cameron 'conveniently forgot' to mention before the election:
Child benefit: I should have warned you, admits PM - Telegraph

[V]

Steve, which FMU (Family Medical Unit) are you assigned to with IMSS? Tell me, and I'll go talk with them to see if I can learn more about how to access this.

[KTDLP]

[QUOTE=Steve;345750]Of course, "best" is pretty subjective, unless you've personally tried them all Certainly I (and more importantly my wife) would recommend Dra Angelica Falcon Isunza at Galenia.

Since this is a public forum, I think "best" is relative to your own experiences and opinions. When we went to Dra Falcon, we waited for an hour after our scheduled appointment before leaving. When my husband talked to the reception, they told us the people in front of us were late for their appointments which were scheduled 30 minutes apart.

One of the reasons I find dr. M to be the best is because he schedules his appointments much farther apart, so that he can give each patient more attention.

We also found Falcon's office to be dusty and poorly maintained.

[KTDLP]

And additionally, dr. M is also one of the 4 obgyns that can practice medicine in Europe and the states. That and his level of English proficiency make me feel much more comfortable.

Before we found him, we were ready to go back to Chicago to have the baby.

[CancunCanuck]

Yes, "best" is subjective. I personally did NOT like Medellin, he made me very uncomfortable and I found him to be cold and rude. He barely looked at me while we were speaking, his "bed-side manner" was definitely lacking on my visit. He had asked me to come back for a follow-up but I couldn't bring myself to go. Everyone has different expectations and needs and experiences, you have to judge for yourself.

[KTDLP]

I'm sorry to hear about your experience with Dr. M. I'm not sure whether your visit was for gyn or ob services but I found him to be very excited about my pregnancy. This could be because he has delivered 5 of my nephews, all naturally except one.

[CancunCanuck]

Maybe he was having a bad day. I had gone to him for a second opinion after another doc told me I would need a hysterectomy and wanted to schedule surgery, without so much as an ultrasound, simply on taking a history! His brusque behaviour really turned me off, I swear he stared at his computer screen and sent texts while I was telling him my story. Not even a smile or word of reassurance. :S Glad he's working for you, other friends loved him which is why I went to him in the first place.

[Steve]

Originally Posted by V

Steve, which FMU (Family Medical Unit) are you assigned to with IMSS? Tell me, and I'll go talk with them to see if I can learn more about how to access this.

How do you mean assigned? AFAIK we're not assigned anywhere.

Jannet has visited 3 different places - IMSS Avenida Tulum, Centro Salud Region 222 and Centro Salud Region 110

[KTDLP]

Wow CC, that must have been a pretty scary time for you. My aunt just went through that same thing. After second and third opinions she got the surgery and ended up being completely happy with it. Being only 50, she claims to have skipped menopause and brags about how low her chances are of getting certain cancers.

I hope all turned out well for you.

[V]

Steve wrote:

AFAIK we're not assigned anywhere.

Have you and your family completed the enrollment process? At the end of this process, the family is assigned to a primary care facility, Unidad de Medicina Familiar (FMU, hereafter), and that is done according to what part of town you live in. You are then supposed to report there for primary care, and for referrals for specialist treatment, if needed: that is also where they will do immunizations.

At the conclusion of the enrollment process, you will be given a "Carnet," and go through a preliminary check of your health, have routine immunizations, and be given an appt for your first doctor's visit. (The Carnet is the booklet in which your appts and other details are kept for each patient: you present it each time you go to make an appt or receive treatment. On the "photo" page, it shows which FMU you've been assigned to.)
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