On Jul 23, at 9.17pm, my second little baby girl was born in Beijing. I know firsthand the tornado of question marks that swirl in the mind of any mother-to-be, whether pregnant, trying to conceive, or just planning. The experience is already daunting enough, but add being an expat away from family in a country where you don’t speak the language and cultural differences peak and it’s next-level.

Then there’s the eternal debate: private vs. public hospitals. I’ve done both – first baby in public, second in private – and there are a few things I learned.

For me, it wasn’t just “Can we afford private?” but “Is the price difference worth it?” The first time, I chose public because

• The most experienced doctors usually work there.
• Private hospitals may transfer you to public if complications arise (and as a clueless first-timer, that safety net mattered).

But! Public doesn’t have to mean overwhelming hospitals where you queue for hours while struggling with your translating app to decode the doctor’s rushed comments. Smaller, pregnancy-focused public hospitals exist, some with English-speaking staff and even husband-friendly policies (yes, he can join for check-ups and labor!).

Why I Switched to Private for Baby #2

• Logistics: My old hospital was now a cross-city trek, and dragging a toddler to appointments felt like an Olympic endurance event.
• Experience: This time, I knew what to expect – low-risk pregnancy, low odds of complications.
• Negotiation Wins: In true Chinese fashion, you can haggle birth package prices. With birth rates down, hospitals are eager to deal.

Through a series of “only-in-Beijing” twists, I landed at New Century Women and Children’s Hospital in Wangjing. Set in a park, it felt like a wellness retreat. The experience I had was incredible, from being able to have check-ups on weekends, to having them being comfortable, calm, and special.

The really important part, however, is, of course, the birth, and having something to compare it to, I was blown away! Let me be frank, I have heard and seen stories both good and bad from all kinds of hospitals, and so I do not believe that the likelihood of things going as you hope depends on whether you choose private or public. That being said, there were several things at this birth that contributed to an amazing experience.

1. Constant communication:
   The staff constantly updated us, from letting me know how far I was dilated and telling me when they would check again, to letting me know what each test or check was for, making sure I was comfortable and always checking whether I needed anything. One of the complaints I hear most from moms, especially here, was not always knowing what was going on or why, and not understanding why things were done or not feeling understood. While I was being checked for active labor, the anesthetist and midwife both came to introduce themselves and to find out if I had any concerns or requests for my labor.
2. Being heard:
   While this is essentially part of communication, I decided it deserves its own little rant only because of how important it is that your team not only understands you but also takes you seriously. My first birth, I did not feel taken seriously about most of the concerns or requests I had. Of course, knowing more clearly what I wanted to advocate for this time helped a lot, but what really blew me away was how easily I could request for things without any push back. From asking to have local anesthesia in case of a tear (should the epidural stop working, as it did first time around), to letting them know when I felt pain that I shouldn’t and having it promptly dealt with. Whatever I had to say was listened to, and either action was quickly taken, or an acceptable and thorough explanation was offered (like when I experienced nausea… totally normal btw!)
3. Professional caring staff:
   Every single nurse, doctor, sales lady or liaison we dealt with was kind, gentle and experienced. The expertise was obvious and the warmth of being treated gently and with kindness was an essential contribution to making the whole experience a calm and focused one. By 9pm (which means night shift staff) I was 6cm dilated, and the doctor got me to 10cm fully dilated within five minutes simply by guiding me on how to push in a certain way. When it was time to start the second stage of labor, suddenly every staff member was scurrying about, preparing me, preparing the instruments and the baby-checking station etc. Thanks to this doctor’s very clear instructions, experienced techniques and expertise, by 9.17pm my daughter was born. We went from being just over half-way dilated to holding our daughter in under 20 minutes, and it was totally stress-free.
4. Comfortable facilities:
   From checking in to checking out, I did not once see (nor was I seen by) any other patients and family members, which was a refreshing change from the group of curious gawkers that rushed into our hospital room during my first labor as soon as we were wheeled back from the labor hall. Everything was kept wonderfully clean, good meals and a water dispenser were provided, and we had a call button if we ever need anything from someone holding the baby for a moment while I used the loo to a replacement of tissues or pajamas.
5. Bonus features:
   While the prenatal and birthing experience was more than enough to convince me to go back to this hospital again, there were added extras that definitely sweetened the deal, some of which we didn’t even know were included! On the last night of our two-night stay, we received a five-course meal complete with a full-sized rainbow cheesecake (that’s right, people, no dry sponge with heaps of cream and fruit!) all nicely set-out on a beautiful table wheeled into our room. A yuesao was provided for the first 12 hours (crucial for catching up on sleep!), and on the last morning, a professional photographer came to take some photos that were sent to me later on in a beautiful leather-bound album. The same photography company will then do an almost Anne Geddes-style photoshoot at your home with three outfits/scenes of your baby for a secondary album. And while all meals and even snacks are provided, you can also order waimai and the hospital will have it brought to you. In the end, nothing can be guaranteed, and experiences are often specific to people. However, due to the practices in place at this hospital specifically, I feel confident that I was given the best chance at success and comfort. While I am not sure if I will be having any more kids, I am sure I would go back to New Century if I did.

Images: Janita Shahsavari

Let me start off by saying, if your thighs gap and don’t clap, this might not be the article for you!

But for those of us who are a bit curvier all around, summer is a time for outdoor brunches, dresses, shorts, and oh yeah, chub rub! Chub rub is just another term for chafing, particularly right between your thighs and in the soft, tender bit of your arms. While chub rub sounds kind of cute, it can be super painful, and feel like your skin is ripped off your body piece by piece, leaving you with patches of red rashes that don’t heal for days.

When I was pregnant, I felt big, everywhere… My hands, feet, and ankles are swollen, and my legs have started to resemble tree trunks. And on particularly nice sunny days with low AQI, when a nice walk around town would usually be nothing but bliss, the heat and humidity of Beijing made it impossible to walk more than 10 minutes without the irritation of the chub rub stopping me dead in my tracks.

Most pregnant women will gain between 25-35 pounds during their pregnancy (the jianbing and midnight hot pot cravings definitely don’t help) and this weight gain is one of the causes of increased thigh chafing. Weight gain can also cause chafing even in women who’ve never experienced it before. So, sisters, you’re not alone! Luckily, I’ve learned a few handy tips on how to reduce and manage this painful side-effect of my pregnancy.

How to Prevent Chub Rub

Who Wears Short Shorts

While it’s not as breezy to wear pregnancy spanks under your cute maternity dress, the added layer of fabric from these control underwear helps to prevent skin-on-skin rubbing. Retire the pre-pregnancy spanks that help you suck in your belly for after you deliver and invest in some pregnancy spanks that leave room for your growing baby bump. On Taobao, they cost about RMB 30 a pair. Look up 孕妇短裤 on Taobao for a wide range of shorts from spanks to bike shorts to cute summer short shorts.

Lather On The Oils

Massage oils, Vaseline, and lotions are a good way to eliminate friction. Depending on what you use and how active you are, it may only need to reply every few hours. Just choose your lotion bottles wisely: you don’t want to risk a big bottle of massage oil spilling in your purse, and while Vaseline might sound like a great idea when you’re packing your purse at home in the morning, if you’re planning to spend a day outside in the sun, it’s no match for Beijing’s relentless summer. If you’re out in the sun, that little jar of petroleum jelly will melt in no time.

Powder Dry

Another approach to reducing friction is to eliminate moisture on your skin by using talcum powder. Talc is a soft, naturally occurring mineral that’s used in baby powder, makeup, and deodorant. It’s one of the most comfortable hacks against chub rub since it doesn’t leave your skin feeling oily. The downside to talcum powder is reapplying it when you’re out and about. Oh, and accidentally drop a dab of white talcum powder on your black pants and you’ll be dealing with the headache of an impromptu dry cleaning over a hutong squatty potty.

No Sweat

A clean and highly portable alternative to either talc or lotion is a slick of antiperspirant deodorant. Easy to carry and very unlikely to spill, it reduces sweat and increases glide, and can be an absolute lifesaver on a hot day.

What to Do Once You’ve Been Victimized by Chub Rub

Sometimes, there’s just no avoiding it. Here’s what to do if you’ve been stricken by painful chafing.

1. Use a mild cleanser on the area, and don’t scrub. Using harsh soaps can aggravate your chafed skin and make the situation a lot worse. Wash gently with warm water and a pH-neutral body wash or soap.
2. Switch up your wardrobe. Wear soft, breathable cotton clothing during the day, and breathable cotton pajamas. This protects your thighs from further irritation.
3. Moisturize. Use plain Vaseline to soothe, protect, and heal the raw skin. Avoid creams with fragrance or fancy ingredients as they will likely irritate you more.
4. Invest in anti-chafing shorts. Learn your lesson and prevent yourself from chafing in the future.
5. Call your doctor. If the chafing isn’t getting better, you may have an infection. When the skin is broken, yeast and bacteria can settle in and you may have to use a medicated cream.

Photos: Unsplash, Mariah Aro Sharp @mightymooseart, Freepik

Whether you are a seasoned veteran expat or as fresh in the ‘Jing as this season’s mozzies, we can all agree that living in Beijing is a colorful, surprising, and exciting experience. No matter how much research you have done in advance, we have all encountered cultural differences that blew us away, and the differences between our child-rearing ways are no different.

If you plan on having babies, have babies, or even if you don’t, here are some of our favorite (and not-so-favorite) cultural occurrences when it comes to little ones to look out for during your time in Beijing!

Bummed OUT!

Quite literally, in fact. It is not uncommon to see babies or toddlers running around wearing split pants (开裆裤 kāidāngkù), which, if you haven’t seen them yet, are pants with an open crotch, more often than not without any diapers! So, yes, you have a little baby bum wiggling about in public. And while my first split-pants sighting made me do a double-take, the Chinese (especially grandparents) have quite logical reasons for this practice. Besides saving on the costs and waste of diapers, an air-dried bum prevents diaper rash, especially during the hot summer months, and they believe it encourages early potty training by getting the baby used to squatting and doing their business, not in a diaper. Consequently, this also means that it is completely normal for someone to hold their baby in a squatting position over a trash can, drain, or bush while they go potty.

As this practice is so different from the culture of most expats in Beijing, people come across this and react in all kinds of ways. Some have called it unsanitary and unsafe; others applaud the frugality and sustainability. I have even experienced foreigners joining in on the bare-butt action with their own babies! What do you think? Yay or nay?

Locked In!

Giving birth is such a monumental moment that, of course, there are a multitude of practices around this milestone all over the globe. While the Huichol in Mexico have the woman tug on a rope tied to her partner’s testicles with every contraction, and some people dressed as devils jump over infants in Spain to absorb original sin and protect the babies from evil or sickness, in China they have the confinement month or 坐月子 (zuòyuèzi). This means that the new mom is not allowed to go outside, bathe or shower (although those things are less common now that there is AC and blow dryers), eat or interact with anything cold, and will often hire a confinement nurse (or yuesao) to help take care of her and the baby. For those who don’t want to hire a confinement nurse but still want to do a traditional confinement month, there are confinement centers 月子中心 (yuèzi zhōngxīn) that offer the same service, but you get your own private hotel-like suite where you can rest and a nurse is always on call to help take care of your newborn.

Expat moms often suffer at the hands of this practice, as Chinese locals will sometimes criticize, lecture, or even scold them when they do something considered a “no-no” during the confinement month. I have been hit on the shoulder before by an old lady for being outside with my baby within the first month, while other moms have been told by their ayis or Chinese in-laws to immediately cease their showering ways. Of course, eating an ice cream is completely out of the question! (Though that is a rule I will be breaking repeatedly after giving birth this summer, for sure!) While some of the customs might seem annoying or unnecessary, there are also perks! If you registered your birth at the local clinic in order to get the free vaccines and check-ups for your baby (available to absolutely any pregnant mom), then you will also benefit from two medical professionals – one for you and one for your baby – coming to your home for a check-up.

Since moms are expected to remain in pajamas and not do any physical activity during confinement month, you don’t even have to get dressed! They will come and see that everything is progressing normally, ask you a few questions (in our case via translator), and finally give you some tips and information about caring for a newborn – all for free!

Bundle Up!

No matter the weather, hot or cold, Chinese babies in Beijing are always in layers and layers of clothes and blankies…even in July. If I had RMB 1 for every time a Chinese person (of any age and gender) told me that my baby is cold and I need to put more clothes on her, I would probably be able to buy all the naughty ice creams I’ll need during my first month postpartum.

The biggest struggle for expat parents – particularly those with a Chinese partner or who have hired a yuesao or ayi – is the endless cycle of you taking extra layers off your baby, and them putting them back on again. Anyone who has lived in China long enough knows that cold is basically the enemy. From drinking hot water (to cure ANY issue short of death) to eating food as soon as it is cooked and still scalding, locals will do whatever they can to avoid the cold – even when we expats think there isn’t any cold to avoid.

100 Days Down!

While some of the cultural differences you’ll experience in Beijing are cute, some are beneficial, and others possibly frustrating, this next tradition is something I love about being here. In ancient times, when child mortality rates were quite high, reaching 100 days was cause for celebration. Despite it not being such a feat anymore, the tradition, like the babies, lives on! And who doesn’t like an excuse to have a party? The family will often shower the baby with gifts like baby items, gold jewelry, and hongbao (red envelopes).

This is often also when they give the baby their first haircut – to encourage thicker hair regrowth. Included in this is a super sweet tradition of making a calligraphy brush with the cut hair. There are plenty of shops (also on Taobao) that will inexpensively make the brush for you and frame it with wishes of prosperity written in Chinese calligraphy, along with the baby’s name, which makes an adorable keepsake. In my culture, we also sometimes keep a lock of hair from the first haircut. Turning it into a framed calligraphy brush definitely makes it easier to keep and cherish.

First Birthday, Final Bearing!

Another very cool tradition is what Chinese families do with their babies on their first birthdays: the item grab, or 抓周 (zhuāzhōu). The baby is placed on a mat surrounded by items that represent careers, and whichever item the baby grabs could then predict what their future career path or traits will be. The items and their represented careers could include:

Pen = scholar
Money = wealth
Stethoscope = doctor
Garlic = savvy businessman
Microphone = performer

There are zhuazhou kits online that include a red cloth and the basic essentials for different career paths.

Things to consider if you are invited to a zhuazhou: It is customary to bring a sincere gift. While some more modern parents take the tradition lightly, many families still take the item grabbing very seriously, so avoid laughing at the results or making the tradition out to be silly. Go the extra mile and offer a true Chinese congrats by saying, “祝宝宝健康成长” (Zhù bǎobǎo jiànkāng chéngzhǎng) – “Wishing the baby a healthy growth.”

From how we dress to what we believe, when encountering different cultures, we are bound to find differences that intrigue us. One of the great benefits of expat life is seeing all the different ways things can be done, and sometimes we even end up adopting a few practices into our own ways of doing things. Let us know in the comments which of the cultural confetti shocked or impressed you the most!

Images: Stock, Janita Shahsavari

For most expatriates, it seems like a clear cut decision to go private for our healthcare needs, much less when it comes to our maternity needs. That’s why it’s so refreshing to hear from two expatriate mothers who made the unique decision to give birth at local public hospitals in Beijing. What’s more, after going through the whole shebang, with its share of ups and downs, they would do it all over again. We at jingkids just had to talk to these two moms who dared to be different and demystify the process of giving birth at a Chinese public hospital. 

We last spoke with Rebecca Carter in an interview welcoming her family to Beijing, and she has since delivered her second baby at the Sixth Medical Center of the General Hospital of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) (中国人民解放军总医院第六医学中心). Funny story though: Until her 36th week of pregnancy, she had all her doctors’ visits and appointments at a different public hospital – Beijing Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine Hospital (北京中西医结合医院) – which abruptly announced its closure at the end of August. With her baby time bomb ticking down, Rebecca scrambled to find a different public hospital in which to deliver her baby and managed to settle on the PLA’s hospital.

Thankfully, Alfred Carter was born happy and healthy on Sep 12 after a somewhat smooth Caesarean operation. There were a couple of hiccups, which we will delve into later, but nothing major. The best part? The bill came to RMB 11,500, inclusive of a four-night stay in the hospital, epidural, surgery, all medications, and even the hospital pajamas. Once the bill was paid, the deposit of RMB 30,000 that was required upfront was refunded in full. Including the pre-delivery medical bills at the now-defunct hospital, the total cost of welcoming Alfred Carter into Beijing was under RMB 25,000. 

In comparison, the standard maternity packages at private hospitals in Beijing start from RMB 100,000 and can go up exponentially. But it wasn’t just the cost that swayed both Rebecca and fellow expat mom Janita S to go public; it was that both expat mothers believe Beijing’s public hospitals are better equipped to handle any emergency medical issues. And in my research, this belief is echoed by many local mothers, especially those above the recommended age of having babies.

Janita told us: “I had a friend who was told by her doctor that she should go to the local hospital to have her baby due to the likelihood of complications in her pregnancy. It does make sense to me. After all, public hospitals have more varied resources like the neonatal intensive care units (NICU) and some of the best doctors in the country.”

For Janita, giving birth to her first child in the Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital in Chaoyang was more straightforward than Rebecca’s experience, since she managed to stay at the same hospital for the entire process. The labor still came with its own challenges, though, namely that she went into labor earlier than anticipated, so the English-speaking gynecologist who had been with her the whole pregnancy was not available and she ended up with a new doctor. Maybe something was lost in translation, or there was a clash of cultural differences, but the new doctor who delivered Janita’s baby did not see eye to eye with her about certain things, such as the need for anesthesia while getting stitched up after tearing during labor. 

Both Rebecca and Janita faced unique challenges at different public hospitals in Beijing, but certain aspects of their experiences overlapped, which leads us to believe these might be the norm in public hospitals. These are the similarities:

1. Nobody else was allowed to accompany them into the delivery room –not even their husbands. During the pregnancy, their husbands weren’t allowed in the OBGYN room during check-ups, either.
2. Rebecca and Janita were subject to varying levels of nakedness in front of several strangers as they were wheeled into the delivery room, while in the delivery room, and as they were returned to their hospital beds. Janita had a hospital gown, but Rebecca was quite naked and felt like “everything was on display for everyone.” 
3. Mobile devices were not allowed in the delivery room.

Having said that, we must acknowledge that Janita has been shopping various public hospitals to choose where she will deliver her second child in eight months. Armed with insights from her first experience, she is much more confident in what she is looking for and knows how to advocate for herself. She has now found two public hospitals – Beijing LiYing hospital of Maternity and Gynecology (北京俪婴妇产医院) and Peking University First Hospital – that permit husbands during medical check-ups, as well as in the labor room! 

It is precisely this sort of knowledge that she wants to share with us in order to address the mistaken preconceived notions many of us hold and to help guide us through the process of having children at public hospitals in Beijing.

Firstly, know that there are dedicated maternity and childcare hospitals in Beijing that are not nearly as crowded as general public hospitals. All the hospitals mentioned in this article are purely devoted to pregnancy and medical maternity needs. To ensure you choose a maternity hospital, Janita suggests searching “妇产医院” (fùchǎnyīyuàn) in your maps app to find one in your neighborhood. 

Secondly, language isn’t as big of an issue as you think. While a majority of the staff and doctors at public hospitals may not speak English fluently, there are some who can, as evidenced by Janita’s personal experience. At another public maternity hospital she visited recently (as part of her hospital shopping), the staff and doctors were perfectly happy to communicate in English with her. 

Having said that, it is best that you have a local friend who can be your translator, especially if things go south. It also helps if you have some basic Chinese skills and a translation app at the ready! 

Images: Courtesy of Rebecca Carter & Janita S.

KEEP READING: A New Club for Your Teenage Aspiring Doctors

Gender reveal parties were all the rage amongst expecting parents a few years ago, and a well-planned creative one is still super cute to watch online now. But if you’re having a baby in China, you’re going to have to miss out on it. Why? Well, because in China, it’s illegal for doctors to reveal the sex of a baby.

This law dates back to 1979 when China established its one-child policy. Chinese families desperately wanted boys over girls, leading to sex-selective abortion, which in turn affected the human sex ratio – the relative number of males to females in a given age group. To try to mitigate the practice, hospitals in China forbade doctors from telling parents the sex of their bundle of joy. But if you think it’s totally impossible, you should know that just because disclosing the sex of a baby is not allowed, it doesn’t mean curious parents haven’t been finding ways around it.

At my international hospital in Beijing, while my doctor still technically isn’t allowed to tell me the sex of my baby, it’s an open secret that we can ask in some sort of indirect way. The most common questions to ask are “Doc, do you think we should buy pants or dresses for our baby?” and “Doc, do you think we should paint our nursery blue or pink?” And for the parents with a sense of humor who aren’t afraid to watch their doctor crack up during the ultrasound, there’s always “Doc, does my baby come with a handle?”

Recently friends of mine who ended up having boys shared that during their ultrasound, after they asked the doctors about the sex of their baby and the doctors blatantly said they can’t tell, they’d freeze the ultrasound screen during times when it’s relatively easy for even the untrained eye to see a small penis.

Then, there’s always the old midwife tales of telling whether you’re carrying a boy or girl. Granted, these have zero scientific basis and are purely superstitions passed down from past generations. In no way should you base any of your pregnancy on any of these. These old midwives’ predictions are just for your amusement.

Some of these tales suggest that if a pregnant woman has a smooth pregnancy with minimal morning sickness, it might indicate a boy. On the other hand, if she experiences more fatigue and stronger food cravings, it could supposedly mean a girl. From personal experience, I had a smooth pregnancy and delivered a healthy baby girl.

Another one believes that if you’re craving a lot of meats and high-protein foods during your pregnancy then you’re likely to be carrying a boy. If you’re craving fruits and leafy foods, it’s a girl. This one’s hard to tell since your cravings change during the nine months you’re pregnant, so when are you supposed to be paying attention?

Then there’s how you look. If you’re glowing the dewy porcelain skin, it’s believed that you’re carrying a girl. But if you’re breaking out with pimples during your pregnancy, you might be carrying a boy.

When your baby bump gets big, if your baby tends to be on the left side and is relatively still, then it’s believed that you’re carrying a boy. If it’s on the right side and tends to have wavy movements, then it’s a girl. And if you’re still relatively mobile even with a giant belly, you’re carrying a boy. But if you’re waddling like a penguin, it’s a girl.

Then there’s one that I really don’t get. It’s believed that if you dream of flowers, you’re carrying a girl but if you dream of melons you’re carrying a boy. Do they mean you’re supposed to dream of these things every night or just once during the nine months you’re pregnant?

Finally, the last one is that the shape of the pregnant woman’s belly can be a clue. A pointed belly is thought to signal a boy, while a rounder one is said to suggest a girl.

Enjoy guessing!

Images: Pexels

Christopher Louis Cascianelli

Italian, Born Mar 16 to Elisabeth Boccalatte and Michael Cascianelli at Beijing United Family Hospital.

Dylan Marco Patrick O’Connor

Irish, Born Dec 22 to David O’Connor and Laura Malone at Oasis International Hospital.

Ertai Gao 

Chinese, Born Oct 28 to Ashley Gao and Emre Demir at Yuquan Hospital.

Isabel Valera

Multinational, Born Jan 25 to Romer Valera and Linda Valera at Oasis International Hospital.

Lian Josef Xin Uhl

German, Born Jun 8 to Laiyu Xin and Bernhard Josef Uhl at Beijing United Family Hospital.

Images: Courtesy of parents

This article appeared in the jingkids 2022 Teen Takeover issue

Any mom can attest that having a baby is the most amazing experience. Moms-to-be usually have it all figured out: Once they get their cute bump (or chub, but who cares?) they’ll start painting the nursery, making a birth plan, going for prenatal massages, going shopping for cute little baby clothes, getting their nails done, and taking an infant CPR course.

But when things actually get going and your hormones start wreaking havoc on your body and mind, you are in desperate need of information and support to get you through delivery. And then you find a solution: You’ll take a birthing class and it will make you feel confident and a little less scared.

Unfortunately, due to everything that has been happening lately, in-person classes are not an option right now. Most future parents have to make changes to their original plan and find other ways to make the experience as perfect as possible. As overwhelming as it may be, navigating pregnancy during the pandemic can still be a joyful experience. Thanks to modern technology, endless resources and information can be found online, and there a ton of effective ways to get prepped.

Seriously, taking the time to educate yourself and your partner about what to expect can reduce stress and anxiety of venturing into the unknown. So, if you’re getting ready to welcome your bundle of joy during these uncertain times, fear not – because even though most hospitals in the capital have suspended their birthing courses, there are classes you can take sitting comfortably at home. It’s probably not what you planned for, but these virtual lessons are there to help you through the journey, all the while staying safe and comfortable. All you need is a credit card and stable Wi-Fi. So, without further ado, these are some of your options.

Lamaze International Online Birthing Classes

Lamaze International has developed an online course for expectant parents to help them prepare for the safe birth of their child. The classes have been designed by trusted Lamaze certified childbirth educators, focusing on all aspects and stages of pregnancy and labor. The Lamaze technique is based on the idea that controlled breathing during contractions decreases pain and makes women more comfortable and relaxed during the birthing process. The virtual classes are grouped into five categories: Pregnancy, Labor and Birth, Breastfeeding, Baby Care, and Parenting. You can also search for classes by trimester. The Labor and Birth category includes three courses: Labor Pain Management, Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC), and Safe and Healthy Birth. The courses include audio and video content and quizzes, as well as various interactive activities to raise your comfort level and help you achieve your desired childbirth outcome. You can either pay for a single course (each includes ten lessons) for USD 29.95 or USD 34.95, or buy a bundle for USD 84.95.

Tinyhood Online Birthing Classes

Tinyhood offers online courses for all stages of pregnancy, labor and parenting, as well as virtual group meetings for new parents. With the Childbirth 101: From Labor through Postpartum course you’ll learn how to prepare for childbirth both mentally and physically, how best to manage aches and pains that lead up to labor, what’s normal and what’s not, as well as how to cope with prenatal anxiety and stress. The course also covers the questions you might have about the first days postpartum. The classes are taught by a labor, delivery and postpartum nurse as well as a psychotherapist specializing in perinatal mental health. You can get this prenatal course for USD 90, or you can buy a bundle (Childbirth 101 plus the Baby 101 course) for USD 159 and make sure you’ve got everything covered by the time your tiny one arrives.

WeeHuman Online Birthing Classes

While maybe not exactly the same as in-person classes, WeeHuman online courses are as close as it gets. The courses include a number of lessons where new parents get everything they need to know to feel confident and prepared for their new role. The courses range from USD 35 to USD 99, with an option to buy the Full New Parent Program bundle ( includes three courses: Modern Childbirth, Newborn Care and Breastfeeding) for USD 149. If you’ve been worried about not getting the support that comes with face-to-face classes and meeting people who are going through the same, WeeHuman has got you covered.

Apart from interactive on-demand lessons that deal with everything pregnancy and parenting related, WeeHuman also offers live zoom sessions hosted by childbirth education experts/doulas where you get to connect with other parents and have all your questions answered. The virtual parent meetups are repeated monthly, and participants get access to an extensive database of resources. If you’re not comfortable in a group setting and just seek professional guidance and support, WeeHuman also offers private classes with certified experts and educators. These can be scheduled for an additional cost.

KEEP READING: Secrets to Choosing the Perfect Name for Your International Child

Images: Pexels

“We didn’t worry at all about if people will be able to pronounce our daughter’s long name,” says Divan, a dad of one. “Actually, there is a guy we met when we moved to Beijing. His name is Gregory and we asked him if he introduces himself as Greg cause it’s easier to pronounce. But he said no, he wanted to be called by his full name. That always stuck with me.”

Choosing your baby’s name is never a simple task. There’s so much to consider when picking the perfect name for your child: family traditions, potential nicknames, siblings’ names, initials, meanings, how well it fits your last name, and the list goes on.

It gets even more complicated for people living on foreign ground. As expats, we are influenced by (at least) two cultures. So how do we honor our homeland, our host city, and the culturally diverse community Beijing has made us a part of when choosing a name for our baby? Do we err on the side of caution and keep it short and simple to improve our chances of pronunciation success, or do we go with a hard-to-pronounce baby name and not mind it being butchered each time we try to make a doctor’s appointment?

There’s no way to fully avoid the cross-cultural headache that foreign names of expat kids will most likely cause. Living in China and naming your child anything other than Peter or Amy often do not mix well, so we wanted to find out what Beijing parents have to say about this topic. What made them choose their child’s name, and do they think they made the right choice?

I’ve never been very traditional with anything, and naming my kids was no exception. Both of them were born in Beijing, one pre- and the other post-Covid ( well, not really “post-” because it seems we’ll never get to the “post-” part), and both times I knew we were not going to take the traditional route.

We’d been living in Beijing for so long, and made so many friends from different parts of the world, that it only made sense we would want them to be able to pronounce our children’s names. But let’s be clear. We didn’t choose their names so their preschool teachers, friends’ parents, or distant cousins could pronounce them easily. We chose their names because we thought they were perfect.

The first time, with Noa, we had it all figured out – we were going to go with an international name with a traditional spelling, in this way keeping the connection to our country of origin. Things got a bit more complicated the second time around with Noel, but we finally got to the point where we narrowed it down to two names. But I was so indecisive that I told my husband we should wait until the baby is born to pick the name. And that’s exactly what we did.

Now we have two perfect children with two perfect names.

Because that’s the only thing that matters: The names we choose for our children have to suit us, not anyone else. So how did Beijing’s littlest get their names?

For expat dad David and his family the choice was obvious: “Too many letters in my last name for the hospital computer. Used my wife’s three-letter Chinese family name instead.” The administrative headache factor is definitely a factor that cannot be disregarded. “[The Beijing Family Hospital] computer handled my husband’s long last name fine,” said Lisa Hwang. “Also, we thought at the time the birth certificate and passport names needed to match. We did finally decided to give up on any middle names because we already totaled 21 letters with our son’s first and last name together. It has proven helpful now with [the]daily community Covid testing manual passport input process,” she explains. “We now walk in with a printed paper with our details [in]large fonts.”

While for some it’s a practical decision, for some parents the name they choose needs to reflect their faith and religious identity. ”When we learned that we were pregnant, we knew it from the very start that if a boy, we would name him Jibreel, the angel of revelation,” says Crestie Ilagan, a Filipino mom raising a multicultural child. “In Arabic, Jibreel means ‘God is my strength.’ Our son is a daily reminder of God’s love for both of us. He is our miracle.”

For some others the choice was affected by different factors. For instance, Anja Nesovic, a mom of two, had different concerns about naming her children: “My first one was born in 2017 and my husband and I settled on her name pretty quickly. Our son was born two years later and it was quite a process, picking out a name for him. I’d say that living here had definitely had a big impact on our decision. We wanted traditional names that can be easily pronounced by Chinese people, and I think we found the perfect ones. I think that living here made us not even consider names that we would have normally considered, living back home. There are a few sounds in our language that sound very funny when pronounced by non-natives so we decided not to go with names that contain these sounds. We didn’t want our kids’ names mangled.”

Alison Lemos says that, since his wife’s and his name have the same initial letter, they wanted their kids’ names to start with the same letter, too. However, it wasn’t an easy ride for them. ”We always agreed on the first letter of our children’s names,” he said. “But we argued both times about the actual names, even more the second time. There was one name that I liked because it means happiness and good luck in my language, but has a completely opposite meaning in hers – it means ‘widow.’ So in the end, we went with a name that is uncommon in both countries.”

How about you? How did you pick your child’s name? Tell us in the comment section below.

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With the lockdowns in Shanghai, quite a number of people here in Beijing have started stocking up on food and daily supplies, in case we go into lockdown here. But for expecting mothers and their families, there’s a much more pressing concern than how much toilet paper and instant noodles to store at home.

“What if I go into labor and my compound is locked down?”

According to Oasis International Hospital, there are procedures in place specifically for this. However, they’d like to stress that these procedures might be specific to Oasis International Hospital. If you’re delivering at another hospital, it’s best to contact them immediately and have a backup plan in place just in case.

Oasis has the following plan in place for their patients:
1. Call the Oasis maternity ward at 13810688466 or speak to your Account Representative.
2. Pregnant moms will need to confirm that they don’t have any of these 11 symptoms: fever, dry cough, fatigue, loss of smell or taste, nasal congestion, runny nose, sore throat, conjunctivitis, myalgia, and diarrhea.
3. If a mother doesn’t have any of the 11 symptoms, she will ask her 社区居委会 (shè qū jū wěi huì) to call 120 (the number for an ambulance) and take her to Oasis.
4. If she does have fever or any of the 11 symptoms, she will also need to talk with the 社区居委会 to call 120 and go to Civil Aviation General Hospital (航空总院 háng kōng zong yuàn) for medical assistance.

Currently, one person is allowed to accompany the mother during delivery, but it’s best to check with the specific hospital where you’ll be delivering for that hospital’s rules and regulations, as they might be different than those of Oasis.

Images: Pexels