Reproductive Health Hospital

For people with reproductive health-related medical needs, formal public reproductive health specialist hospitals/reproductive departments of tertiary hospitals are a much safer choice than informal private institutions. The core criteria for judging whether an institution is formal or not are always whether it has the corresponding professional qualifications issued by the Health Commission and whether the treating doctor has legal professional qualifications.

Last week, I accompanied 27-year-old Xiao Zhou to go for a pregnancy test. She had seen advertisements from several private institutions through short videos, saying, "A full set of pregnancy tests for 388 yuan, the results will be available on the same day, and you will be pregnant within three months of conditioning." She almost made an appointment, but I forced her to go to a public reproductive health hospital near her home. The test result showed that she had ordinary polycystic ovary syndrome. The doctor prescribed two boxes of hormone-regulating medicines and told her to stay up less late and exercise more. She would just come back for a follow-up examination in three months. The examination and medicines cost less than 280 yuan. When she went out, she patted her chest and said it was a good thing she didn't go to that private hospital. During the previous online consultation, the other party said that she "most likely has a blocked fallopian tube and needs to have a drainage operation first, otherwise she won't be able to get pregnant." The price of one set cost more than 20,000 yuan, and now she breaks into cold sweat just thinking about it.

I know a nurse who has worked in a public reproductive health hospital for 11 years. She said that they encounter this kind of thing several times every week. There is a little girl who has not had her period for half a year. She was tricked into undergoing a lot of unnecessary physical therapy at an outside institution, which cost her 30,000 to 40,000 yuan. She also caused endometrial hyperplasia due to the indiscriminate use of hormonal products, and she cried when she came to the doctor.

Of course, not everyone in the industry recommends public funds. I have met a doctor who does reproductive assistance before, and he said that regular high-end private reproductive institutions are actually a good supplement. After all, it is difficult to get an appointment in a public reproductive department. Anyone who has been admitted knows that sometimes the ovulation induction cycle requires visiting the hospital every week for one or two consecutive months. Public ultrasounds have to wait two or three hours. For those who are busy at work and have requirements for medical experience, private ones are also available as long as they have complete qualifications. I have a friend who works as an Internet operator. She caught the last train to give birth at the age of 35 and had IVF. She chose a private hospital with formal assisted reproductive qualifications. The total cost was indeed nearly twice as high as that of a public hospital, but she didn’t have to get up at 5 a.m. to get an appointment. She had a fixed doctor for each visit, and the time of the appointment could be adjusted according to her business trip schedule. In the end, she got pregnant with twins smoothly, and the experience was very good.

Many people have an inexplicable sense of shame about the words "reproductive health hospital". They always think that if they go to see a doctor here, they have some shameful disease. In fact, this is not the case at all. Nowadays, the diagnosis and treatment scope of regular reproductive health hospitals has been extended. Adolescent girls with severe dysmenorrhea and irregular menstruation, couples of childbearing age who need to prepare for pregnancy, early pregnancy and miscarriage, and even menopausal women who need to adjust hormone levels and improve the aging symptoms of the reproductive system, can come here. In essence, it is no different from going to the respiratory department or the orthopedic department to remove sprains and sprains when you catch a cold.

When you really want to choose an institution, don’t trust the first few links marked “advertising” on search engines, or the “one-time win” advertisements on social platforms. Go directly to the official website of the local health commission. The scope of practice of all formal institutions is clearly announced on it. Whether artificial insemination can be performed, whether first- and second-generation test tubes can be carried out, each item is clearly listed and cannot be faked.

To put it bluntly, "reproductive health" itself is part of ordinary people's health management. There is no need to be secretive about these four words, let alone just find a doctor just because you are embarrassed. After all, it is about your own body, so it never hurts to pay more attention.