Travelling to Bangkok for birth

Considering Bangkok as a place to birth?

Bangkok attracts expats from around the region because of the high quality of medical care and the relatively affordable cost of living and accommodation. If you’re considering birthing in Bangkok, please check the information in our birth, preparing for baby and breastfeeding sections – this should give you an overview of what to expect.

For accounts by other expats in similar situation, check this practical advice by a blogger who traveled to Bangkok twice to have her babies. Also, visit our birth stories section, and click on the tag “visiting birth”.

To exchange ideas with other parents, visit our forum for parents travelling to Bangkok to give birth.

For other practical issues that you might face, read on…

Finding a place to stay

Bangkok has serviced apartments and hotels at every budget. One note about location, however: if easy access to the hospital is a big concern for you, just remember that distance is less important than traffic time. Even if a hotel looks close on the map, just check how you are going to drive there. Do you have to make a u-turn on a major road to get to the hospital? In rush-hour traffic, this can add a huge amount of time to the trip — and if you’re in labor, you will not feel like crossing the street to get a taxi going in the right direction (which might mean having to find the nearest BTS or overpass and climbing stairs).

For specific hotel suggestions, share your thoughts with others on forum threads like this one.

Finding help

If you have older children to take care of, you may want to organize short-term childcare. The BAMBI classifieds are a good place to start, and you can also check our directory for nanny agencies. Some hospitals, such as Samitivej, also hire out baby nurses to help in the early days – contact your hospital for more information.

Visas & red tape

Please see our passports & paperwork section for more information.

Also, if you need to extend your visa during your stay, many private hospitals can take care of this for you for a reasonable fee (this is by far the most painless solution). Please check with your hospital directly for more information.

Connecting with other parents

While you’re abroad, you can already connect with other parents via our Connect page. In addition to our forum for parents traveling to Bangkok to birth, we also have birth month clubs where you can connect with other parents due in the same month.

After arriving in Bangkok, check our our events calendar for playgroups and gatherings for new parents.

Regional parents, do you have more information you’d like to see on this page? Suggestions to share with other expecting parents who will travel to Bangkok to give birth? Please add your ideas in the comments below.