The first time you see that small heart beating on an ultrasound screen, and the first time you feel a gentle turn inside you, the most patient kind of waiting begins.
And somewhere inside that waiting, a group of people has already quietly started getting ready. They are the pediatricians who are standing behind you while you are still going through prenatal checks — while you are still worrying about what will happen once your baby arrives.
When you are admitted: our preparation has already begun
When you are admitted to await delivery, your obstetrician completes an Obstetric–Pediatric Handover Record, documenting your pregnancy and handing it to the pediatric team.
So our preparation begins from the moment you are admitted.
- We learn the basic condition of mother and fetus, and put the right preparations in place ahead of time.
- We find a moment to visit you and to tell you that a pediatrician will be watching over your baby’s safety after birth.
- If there are high-risk factors, we talk them through with you in advance — what your baby may face after birth, and how we would respond. That way you already know what comes next.
When you deliver: we are beside you
In the delivery room, alongside your obstetrician and midwife, a pediatrician stands quietly nearby.
After your baby is born, the pediatrician gives them the first test of their life — the Apgar score, assessing breathing, heart rate, muscle tone, reflex response and colour.
If everything is normal, your baby is brought to your chest very quickly, for the first skin-to-skin contact of their life.
If anything is abnormal, there is no need to panic — the pediatrician deals with it immediately. If it is needed, a dedicated transfer corridor carries your baby to the neonatal department or the NICU within minutes. Incubators, ventilators and monitors are ready there, along with a team of pediatricians and nurses on duty around the clock.
In the postpartum ward: we come every day
A pediatrician visits your baby every day, assessing the small changes that mark each of those days: whether feeding volume is enough, whether jaundice is rising, whether breathing is steady, whether responses are good.
We come to your bedside on our own initiative and tell you where things stand each day.
If your baby needs special care: you are not an outsider
In the neonatal department and the NICU, you are not only a visitor — you are a participant.
- You can enter the ward to visit your baby at any time, 24 hours a day.
- You can touch your baby, talk to your baby, and hold your baby against your skin for kangaroo care.
- Your body warmth, your heartbeat and your voice are the best medicine your baby has.
- Nurses teach you hand by hand: how to hold, how to watch the breathing, and how to tell whether your baby is comfortable.
You will find that you are not simply waiting for your baby to get better — you are accompanying them while they do.
Before discharge: we put the skills in your hands
Discharge is not the finish line. It is another starting point.
Before your baby goes home, we teach you how to feed, how to bathe, how to watch for jaundice and how to perform newborn resuscitation.
You may be nervous. Your hands may shake. You may ask “is this right?” again and again. That is fine — we practise with you until you can smile and say that you think you have got it.
After discharge: we keep walking with you
After you go home, you can still reach us at any time.
Preterm infant clinic, high-risk infant follow-up, growth and development assessment, child health care, vaccination — we stay with you and watch your baby grow from delicate to strong, from lifting their head to rolling over, from a first smile to a first “mama”.
This is our pediatric team
We do not appear only when your baby is ill. We take part before the birth, we protect from the delivery room onward, we accompany you through the ward, and we follow up from the day you go home.
We are not here to “deal with problems”. We are here to welcome a healthy baby together with you, and to walk with them through the most important first years of their life.
Because from the first time you heard that heartbeat, we have already been walking with you.
Guangzhou United Family Hospital's pediatric team — protection across the whole journey, starting from a single heartbeat.
This article was written by Zhou Yuanli, Director of Neonatology at Guangzhou United Family Hospital.
Getting to Guangzhou United Family Hospital
Guangzhou United Family Hospital sits at No. 31 Pazhou Avenue in Haizhu District — on the north bank of the Pearl River, close to Canton Tower and Modiesha Park, and easy to reach from Liede Avenue, Huanan Bridge and the Huanan Expressway.
- Address: No. 31 Pazhou Avenue, Haizhu District, Guangzhou
- By metro: Line 8 — Chigang station or Modiesha station
- By road: Liede Avenue and Liede Bridge from the north; Huanan Expressway and Huanan Bridge from the east
- Landmarks nearby: Canton Tower, Haixinsha and Modiesha Park, with Pazhou Hotel a short walk away
What this means for international families
The pediatric and neonatal teams at Guangzhou United Family Hospital care for newborns from the delivery room onward, including babies who need NICU support. Families arriving from outside China can arrange a prenatal consultation before travelling, and MedTourChina's care coordinators support the practical side of the stay — airport pickup, accommodation near the campus and translation at appointments.
Planning a birth in Guangzhou? Ask us about pediatric cover in the delivery room, NICU capacity, English-speaking rounds and follow-up appointments for preterm or high-risk babies, so you know exactly what is arranged before you travel.
Source: Guangzhou United Family Hospital WeChat article, 28 Sep 2026.