I heard there are many expats here in Yunnan go to Thailand baby birth, and I am looking to do the same thing, for the benefit of better facility and medical care. the questions are : How difficult is it and what might the procedure looks like, such as when to go, which hospital to contact and shall we drive or fly? how much money

are expected etc, thanks.

If you have not done so, it might be an idea to post the same question on other expat forums like tho in Beijing, shanghaiist.com and asiaexpat.com (it has pages for other cities as well as HK). The wider audience might get you more hits, and the tier one cities will have more expats and some with larger incomes who are more likely to have looked at this option.
Just a thought.

@culture - we are headed to Chiang Mai, Thailand next month to have our 4th baby (we've had one in the US, and two born in China). It is not difficult at all to go to Thailand and have a baby. I would suggest first seeing if you have any connections in either Bangkok or Chiang Mai (two most common places for expats to go to have a baby). If you know people living there, they can help check out possible birth options. You can also look online for the larger hospitals and check out their facilities. Figure out what type of birth you're looking for (more natural, water birth, etc.) and see which hospitals support those types of birth. Check with your insurance to see what would be covered.

As for traveling there, flying will probably be a lot easier on you/your spouse. You can get really decent-priced flights from Kunming to either Bangkok or Chiang Mai. Check with the specific airline on their restrictions for pregnant women and how late in the pregnancy they can travel. The two airlines that fly direct from Kunming to Chiang Mai (China Eastern and Thai Airways) require a medical note for the woman to travel.

Depending on which country you're from, you'll need to check into the requirements for receiving your baby's passport, and then the subsequent Chinese visa before you can come back to Yunnan. We are planning for 4-6 weeks after birth to complete all of this information. If you do fly to Thailand, maybe just buy a one-way ticket so you can ensure you'll have enough time to get all the paperwork done.

You'll also need to factor in living expenses while you're there. Where you'll stay, how you'll get around, etc. That's where knowing someone living there can be very helpful. If you go to Chiang Mai there is a Christian retreat center called Juniper Tree that offers reasonable prices for long-term stays (many families stay there to have a baby). Air bnb would be another place to look for longer stays (2+ months).
Hope that helps a little bit...

It's ultimately your choice but please consider having the baby in China. You don't want to be travelling countries with newborns. Hospitals deliver babies fine here. With a fraction of the money you would spend going abroad you can get a private room in a hospital here. You must consider yours and the babies comfort post birth.

thanks guys for your help, especially bluegrass, it was very detailed and thorough, thanks a lot

We live in Kunming and had 2 babies in Bangkok.

I can't say enough how great it was.

The level of care was excellent and the service was great too.

Our babies were born at Samitivej Hospital Sukhumvit which is a private international hospital.

We've also had medical at Bumrungrad International Hospital.

Both were great.

Both hospitals have NICUs if anything were to go wrong.

At Samitivej Hospital Sukhumvit there is a natural birthing wing that is awesome.

You will get a private room during labor, delivery, and postpartum and dad is in the room the entire time.

The care you receive at both hospitals will meet and perhaps exceed western expectations.

All doctors and nurses also speak English.

You'll need to fly to Thailand around 36-37 weeks.

It's only an hour and a half flight and I had no issues at all.

We came home with our new babies when they were 2 weeks old, and had no issues there either.

It was no big deal at all flying back with a newborn.

We are American and the embassy is in Bangkok, so it was super easy to get a passport for them as soon as they were born.

We went to the Chinese embassy and got a visa for them right before we came back.

For us it was a great experience and I'd be happy to answer any questions for you.

yeah that good info seahorse, I appreciate that, it is what we were looking forward to, it sounds like a good experience to have a baby in thailand since we were disappointed with the service here in china, thanks for the name of the hospital it helps for us to further our research.