New to SA, need advice for PTA area

Dr Trouw is really very good!

I have sent u a Pvt message too!

His office number is 012 998 8854 he is booked well in advance for new patients but will squeeze you in quickly if you are an existing client. So if I where you I would make an appointment asap for a check up so that you are a client when you get your BPF and want to go check out that little heartbeat.

Anina, that's the sort of reference I was hoping to hear. I may have to give his office a call. Thanks.

Normal hospital stay for vaginal delivery is 2 nights and for section 3 nights.

Dr Trouw said I could go home after 1 night especially with a second child.

Hi there, welcome to SA!!!

You are right in saying it is very hard to find a docter who is really honestly pro natural.

I have been lucky enough to find one! Its dr Trouw at Pretoria East Hospital. He is also a fertility specialist so he does c-secs but mostly for twins. Other than that he will do natural all the way. He is also one of the only docs I know that will support you in a VBAC situation (not that you need it, but maybe someone else reading this will need it.)

When my baby was born, the monitor showed that she was in a bit of distress, because of this, the doc broke my water to check for meconium. There was meconium and he let me stay on the monitor for another 20 mins to give baby a chance to calm down before he decides to do a c-section. Baby calmed down and he let me continue with natural birth!! And this was when I was 41 weeks pregnant, he never pressured me to do an induction earlier, we did discuss it and decided to do an induction at 41 weeks 3 days if baby didn't come before that. But baby did come before the induction date, so I had no problem. So I can say from my own experience that he will defnitly support you in having a natrual birth.

I also know from the staff at the hospital that he supports natural birth all the way and will only interfene in a real emergency.

The other nice thing about him is that his prices are medical aid rates, so you pay R244 for a consultation and R400 for a scan. He only charges for 2 scans per pregnancy even though he does a scan every time.

Most other docs at Pta East are pro c-section. So watch out for someone else if you are going natural. They might support you at first but then when the time comes, they will often pressure you into a early induction or section.

Dr Trouw lives right opposite the hospital and he comes out to see you if you go to the maternity ward even if it is 2 am and the midwifes says its a false alarm.

Hope you find a great doc!

Wow ladies! I'm impressed. I posted just before leaving to pick up my older one at preschool and by the time I returned I had 6 or 7 lovely replies waiting for me!

@MommyN- My older will be 3 at the end of April and my younger is 14 months. I have another expat friend who has children about the same age and we've been wanting a great playgroup to meet up with!

@Mumsy-Thanks for the tip about the expat board. This is my family's first time accepting an international assignment and so far we've been really happy. I'll have to check it out.

@2kidmomma- We've already started trying! I'll have to pop over. I'm thinking we may hae a bit more luck in the upcoming months as my 14 month old has offically weaned this month.

Thank you all for the suggestions and feel free to keep them coming! I hadn't heard of the Femina clinic or of Kloof hospital before juat now, so I guess that's a couple more to look into.


Also, here's another question. What is the typical hospital stay for post delivery? My husband and I actually prefer to get home quickly if I'm feeling alright and the little one is doing ok. In the US I had to stay 24 hours but I think I had up to 2 days for a vaginal delivery and 3 days for a c-section, but I can't quite remember. How does that compare to here in SA?

Welcome Tymichelle

I live in the EAST. I decided to go to Wilgers Hospital. What a lovely experience it was. All our doctors including the dentist is at Wilgers Hospital so just made logistics easier.

Unfornately my Gynae, Dr Shaw, is relocating so I also need to find a new one. But there are quite a few Dr's that are Pro Natural. You just need to ask