Whether it’s an anxiety-inducing onset of coronavirus-like symptoms, or simply succumbing to the cabin fever borne from weeks’ long quarantine, a few of Beijing’s international hospitals have created English online support hotlines to help expats cope with the current situation.

Photos: unsplash, Hong Kong International Medical Clinic Beijing, Beijing United Family Hospital, Oasis International Hospital, Raffles Medical

Recently there have been many new regulations introduced in light of Coronavirus. For expecting mothers, one of those new things might be finding out that you can’t bring your partner into the exam room.

AmCare Women’s and Children’s Hospital has insisted that spouses wait in the waiting area or literally outside the door during exams. For the expecting moms who don’t speak Chinese, the hospital will send in their own translator to assist, but will not allow your spouse to translate even if they’re Chinese locals.

This adds extra stress for expecting mothers. While it’s disappointing that you can’t share the experience of seeing your baby’s heartbeat for the first time with your partner, it’s still manageable. Smart phones can take relatively decent videos, after all. But what about the moms who are due any day now? Will they really have to go through it alone while their partners are asked to wait outside?

While a bit of panic and annoyance has rippled though a few expat mom-to-be WeChat groups, we reached out to a few hospitals to clarify the situation.

AmCare has insisted on the no spouse policy, but not all hospitals are following suit. Beijing Oasis International Hospital has issued the following public announcement:

各位领导，同事，质量安全部和护理部在近两日对预检分诊情况巡查时，发现探视者、陪同就诊家属较多，而目前我市新冠肺炎疫情防控形势依然严峻。为进一步降低交叉感染风险，强化疫情防控，从今日（2020/2/13）起我院对陪诊、陪护、探视限制如下：
1. 门急诊就诊每位患者仅限一位家属陪，儿保患儿原则上仅限一位家长陪同；
2. 住院部停止探视，如需家属陪护，每个房间仅限一位家属陪护，且尽量固定陪护人员；
3. 所有患者、家属、陪护到院后均需接受体温检测及筛查
质量安全部在市场部、总务部的帮助下别在南门外、儿保门口、二层和三层病房外设立了水牌告知患者及家属我院疫情期间探视和陪护制度进行告知，也将我院在疫情期间探视和陪护制度告知客服部及Call Center，请他们在进行预约时对患者及家属进行宣教。恳请各位协助落实！
质量安全部
2020/2/13

Quality and Safety Department and Nursing Department inspected the triage of pre-examination in the past two days and found that there were many visitors and accompanying family members. However, the prevention and control situation of coronavirus in our city is still severe.
In order to further reduce the risk of cross-infection and strengthen the prevention and control of the epidemic, from today (2020/2/13), our hospital will impose the following restrictions on company, nursing, and visiting:
1. In outpatient and emergency treatment, only one family member is allowed to accompany each patient. Only one parent is allowed to accompany the pediatric patients;

2. The inpatient department shall stop visiting. If patients are needed to accompany, only one family member shall accompany in each room, and the accompanying staff shall be fixed as far as possible;

3. All patients, family members, and escorts shall be subject to temperature detection after arriving at the hospital

With the help of the Marketing Department, General Affairs Department, Quality and Safety Department set signs in the south gate, outside the pediatric gate, the second, and third floors ward to inform people who are visiting. Also inform the customer service department and Call Center of the visiting and accompanying system of our hospital during the epidemic when making appointments. Please help to implement!
Quality and Safety Department
2020/2/13

Oasis will continue to allow spouses in exam rooms as well as delivery rooms, but limit the number of family members to just one, including dad in every step of the pregnancy journey.

Beijing United Family Hospital has commented that while they have taken extra measures to ensure the safety of the mom and baby, they are still allowing one family member to be the accompaniment in exam rooms.

It’s worth noting that the spouse ban is not a confirmed city-wide regulation for maternity hospitals, it’s recommended that you call your hospital in advance to inquire what your hospital’s own policy is.

Photo: Tim Bish on Unsplash

I recently had a friend that was in a pretty bad accident on Chunxiu Lu – she was in a rickshaw that flipped over in the rain. She was left in shock and didn’t know who to call or what to do. When accidents like this happen, they serve as a good reminder that we are not invincible, and most importantly, that preparation is key. I’ve compiled some simple suggestions, just in case.

The most important thing is to know where to get help nearby. Take the time to visit the nearest hospital(s) to your home, which are best suited to the needs you might have. Carry the address of the hospital you’d like to go to in both English and Chinese.

It’s also a great idea to carry a copy of your passport. Obviously it doesn’t make sense to always have your passport on you, but there’s no harm in having a copy. God forbid you are in an accident and unconscious or unresponsive, it’s helpful information for anyone helping

In a real medical emergency, know that oftentimes ambulances in Beijing can be slow on arrival, so your best bet may be to find a taxi and make your own way there.

The best thing one can do, of course, is to be prepared in the event of an emergency. Taking a first aid class or learning CPR is a great idea. There are a number of places around town that offer classes. Look into it at your hospital the next time you go to for checkup and see what they have to offer.

Lastly, if you have children, in the event that both you and your partner are in an accident and are unable to take care of your children, have a plan of action set up with friends or neighbors for temporary care. Hopefully, you have someone close enough who would be willing to take care of your kids and make some calls home. 

Remember to have these important emergency numbers saved to your phone:

Ambulance – 120
Fire -119
Police -110
Car Accident –122

Theresa Pauline is a yoga teacher, social entrepreneur, momma, wife, and beijingkids contributor. You can find out more about her at www.taozitreeyoga.com