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All I’m currently writing a blog about becoming a dad in China. I know a lot of you in Chengdu have become fathers in the last few years and it would be great to get some input and support. Sascha series has been a great help, but obviously things have changed since it was written in 2010.
https://ianclavis.wordpress.com/category/becoming-a-dad-in-china/
“At not one point was this experience a good one. There was no care in the so called caring system.”
haha. Yep, good ol’ huaxi. Man, the worst thing about the place is all the men sitting on the chairs in the waiting rooms as the pregnant woman stood. Made my blood boil.
I saw a few guys smoking as well.
Sorry I should of linked Sascha article
https://ianclavis.wordpress.com/category/becoming-a-dad-in-china/
I did all the paperwork on my end, and the best part was when they required me to get a certificate of sorts from Canada saying I hadn’t other children equivalent to the Chinese one (which doesn’t exist) for the birth permit, running around the gov’t offices across from global center randomly poking in until someone helped me, and called basically all the gov’t phone numbers they had in a list to eventually get the response of ‘oh ok yeh you don’t need that now’. It was all great fun..the bedside support post-birth is pretty exhausting, but we were lucky enough to get a private room and I had a nice lil fold-out bed to sleep on for the week, many people were in a big group room the whole time (we were there for the arrival night.) and it seems horrendous.
This is a great idea, to document your experiences for others to refer to as they go through a similar thing. A lot of expats I know have been having kids in Chengdu in recent years, I think this will become a much more common thing in the next few years. Good luck!
I would suggest moving your blog away from WordPress.com though, since that is blocked in China.
AM did you have to do any paperwork yourself regarding the 准生证 (zhun sheng zheng) ?
Not that I can remember.
For which document, the birth permit? I do not recall getting my passport translated *ever*, the thing is, all of your relevant passport information is already on other gov’t issued documents, such as residence registration (from police station) and visa. Is the birth permit office you’re going to the one kinda south/southwest between 2/3 ring near the 2nd hand car market district where you gotta walk into a residential compound of sorts and there’s like 3 desks and an office to do the registration stuff?
@rick Zhun sheng zheng. Our office is near Wenshu Temple. I think they sometimes want the translation just to make more money.
The office I went to near the south train station didn’t require a translation of my passport. They made a few calls to confirm what documentation was required for a foreigner then processed everything as normal.
We got the license yesterday. They changed the rules this month you need to translate your passport and work visa 100rmb. Also you need a passport photo. Probably the easiest document I have obtained in China.
update https://ianclavis.wordpress.com/2015/08/11/echocardiography-causes-unwanted-stress
Interesting read. We also used new born maternity hospital. However because my wife would be >35 at the time of birth which is considered high risk for birth defects, they refused to offer any genetic screening tests and insisted that we have an amniocentesis at huaxi. I wasn’t happy about this due to the risk involved with the procedure and insisted on the screening test. They reluctantly agreed. The results came back after a week or so of anxious waiting, they called my wife and told her that the result was high risk, and asked us to come in to see the doctor to arrange an amniocentesis. We rushed in to find out that she had been labeled high risk only because of her age – she was 35 and 2 months when she gave birth. All the indicators on the test were completely normal. We then had to sign a disclaimer stating that we knew the risks involved but still didn’t want an amniocentesis.
My son was born healthy and perfectly normal last year. If we have another child, we will be going to HK for a NIPT test at 9/10 weeks. It avoids all the unnecessary worry as it is accurate, done early and non-invasive.
https://ianclavis.wordpress.com/2015/08/11/echocardiography-causes-unwanted-stress/
That sounds like a terrifying journey, you are brave to undertake all of that in China. It’s great that you’re publishing this information online for people who might find themselves in the same situation. Good luck!
Wow, that’s pretty terrible Ian.. I don’t know if we did that exam, we didn’t go to the hospital much during my wife’s pregnancy and there were no complications which warranted adhering to their schedule, we scheduled to give birth at a hospital in Luzhou and did some random tests here in Chengdu.. I do remember they had some sorta schedule to abide by (at “No.1 hospital” in Chengdu near our place, like, number 1 as in the hospital number not the best.. haha) but we didn’t really care since there weren’t any complications. Also, it seems there were some parts of the test where we had to stay in the ‘normal area’ or whatever and get standard testing, and sometimes we’d go to this sorta fancy carved-wood-hallway style no-wait area, I think wife opened some card thru a business relationship tho, but either way I do know we didn’t spend much time at all at the hospital.
I seriously don’t trust docs here and the advice they give in general, seems it’s often a lot of bullshit and like Ben said – cover their ass – or get more tests, make more money, etc. Rather get test results and do my own research or for anything serious, send specific tests back to family doc back home for advice.
Question to all of you Dads/ Moms out there to be or already have… How did you choose or decide on the passport issue.. Specifically America. I have read up on the leaving the country on one then switching and then using the other… The consulate basically said its up to the mood of the guy/girl at the counter if they grant a visa on a Chinese passport if you already have an American one.. I plan on being here long term.. So just curious what people have done or any advice they might have… 4 weeks to go until that paperwork nightmare starts.. lol…
The consulate basically said its up to the mood of the guy/girl at the counter if they grant a visa on a Chinese passport if you already have an American one
I made a mistake of rushing into getting the British passport then had to lie when applying for my son’s British visa. Didn’t really have any other option because he couldn’t leave the country on his British passport or Chinese passport with no visa.
Not sure about America but in the UK you can get a right of abode. It’s like a permanent visa in the Chinese passport allowing you to come and go as you please. It’s far more suitable for your situation and with hindsight it’s the route I should’ve went down.
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