Today we are thrilled to share a Spotlight Interview on Louise Hubbard Roy, presented by Dr. Jane Lee, GP and Chief Medical Officer of the Am-Sino Family Practice at Dingxiang Medical Center.

LOUISE: I am Australian, and I moved to Shanghai in 2005. My first venture into maternity care here was through developing Shanghai Doula with my co-partner Alison Nantz, offering Prenatal Classes, Breastfeeding Counselling, Infant Care Advice, and Birth Doula Support. 

Through this work, I experienced what it was like to birth in both local and international hospitals throughout Shanghai. During this time, I got to know Dr Michelle Lu-Ferguson, and in early 2016 I joined her newly established company - Ferguson Women’s Health - to integrate non-medical patient care supports into the Ob-Gyn service.  

In my role there as Director of Patient Support, I was able to gain a deep understanding of the medical system in both China and overseas (as we followed international medical protocols), as well as facilitating the implementation of many support services that are traditionally not integrated into hospital care (e.g. Birth Doulas, postpartum home visits, parenting guidance, perinatal grief support, etc.). Our team had a constant focus on patient-centered care, and our patient-satisfaction rates reflected this.

Over 7+ years, we clearly demonstrated that following well-defined protocols, slowing down the factory pace of hospital care, and providing integrated support services led to better outcomes. With a client base that was 80% expatriate, we realised this community required a different culture of care. As a 'platform service', we had offers from every international hospital in Shanghai to integrate, but finding a good understanding of our global clients' needs was difficult, and so we remained independent.

That changed in early 2023, when discussions with the new management of Am-Sino Healthcare reflected recognition of these different medical, financial and cultural expectations. We partnered to create the Am-Sino International Women’s Health & Birth Center- a unique department within American-Sino Hospital- where we continue maintaining the same high-standard of care and patient-satisfaction. 

I took on the role of Director of International Patient Services to ensure culturally appropriate care in patient interactions, education, insurance billing and more. Initially, this was to service our OB-GYN department, but we are expanding to integrate support for all international clients, in every department of the hospital. It’s a very exciting project, and one I believe to be quite unique from other international hospitals in Shanghai, who seem to condense the needs of their clients, regardless of cultural background, into one single service model. 

At Am-Sino International Health, we know for a fact that this "melting pot" strategy ultimately ends up neglecting, alienating or providing sub-standard service to some populations, and so we are embracing the unique groups in our care with differing service-models.

Somewhere in all of this I had my two kids, Anaïs and Luca, who were both born at American-Sino Hospital long before I worked there! They had the gift of growing up surrounded by many cultures and speaking several languages. But as they approached their teens (and after a difficult year of covid restrictions in Shanghai), they expressed more interest in experiencing life in Australia and wanted to go to an Aussie school. So, at the end of 2022, I moved to establish a home-base with my kids near my extended family in regional Australia. 

Previously, this would have been the end of my work in China, but thanks to the development of integrated online workplace technologies, I am able to fulfil my position with Am-Sino Healthcare remotely from Australia and still come to Shanghai in-person several times a year. It’s a privilege to continue serving this community, which has been part of my identity, and heart, for two decades.

LOUISE: In short, because the standard of maternity care in most places is still just not good enough. How often have you heard of someone who's birth did not go as planned, or was downright traumatic, and they're told "a healthy mum and baby is all that matters"? 

A healthy mum and baby is not all that matters. To aim only for mum and baby to be alive at the end of a delivery is a low bar indeed.

Imagine you took a plane trip where you were forced not to get out of your seat, given bedpans to urinate, restricted from eating or drinking, not told what was happening at any point, or simply being told not to worry if you did ask. Then imagine the pilot decides to crash-land in a different destination under threat of emergency, or simply because it was all taking too long. 

And then imagine that at the end of all this, when you try to talk about your experience you are told "An alive passenger is all that matters".

This sounds insane, but it accurately reflects the standard of care in many maternity settings.

Too often, birth is still seen as a medical event requiring strict control, with bed rest, fasting, limited movement and high surgical birth rates. The WHO recommends a 15-20% C-section rate, yet most developed countries are nearly double that. In China, rates exceed 40%¹. 

Within international communities in China, it's common to hear these high rates dismissed as a "Chinese problem", with the assumption that “it will be different for me because I'm choosing a vaginal birth.” Yet, in the same circles, you’ll often hear that 5 out of 10 people state they had an emergency C-section during labour— even though their expected C-section rate in labour should be around 10%. 

This is only looking at one example, but there are many other ways in which pregnancy and birth can be unsupportive, involve unnecessary interventions or be traumatic to the parents (and baby) for a host of non-medical reasons. 

Birth is one of the most powerful and transformative moments in a family’s life, and deserves to be protected. I believe families shouldn't have to settle for the low bar of "just safe" when they can have safe, satisfying, and empowering births instead - and that’s what keeps me in this work. 

LOUISE: This Birth Center is something I dreamed of for years. Typically, families must choose between an independent birth center with limited medical backup or a hospital focused on medicalised birth. At the Am-Sino International Birth Center, we've combined the best of both worlds: take your time using the giant water tubs & moving in labour as you wish, have doula and partner support and birth in a range of positions, while still having full emergency medical support if needed. Our obstetricians are comfortable supporting low-intervention, physiologically normal births, but can seamlessly step into their medical role if a complication arises. 

I would never put my name to a program that wasn’t evidence-based and family-centred. At The Birth Center we don’t see “healthy mum, healthy baby” as the goal; it’s just the baseline.

LOUISE: Absolutely. Our C-section rate is around 20%, with low intervention rates, while caring for a population that often has higher risk factors due to age and lifestyle. We don’t cherry-pick low-risk clients to keep our numbers low. Instead, we work with each family towards safety, satisfaction, and empowerment. We value transparency and publish our stats yearly (read them here).

LOUISE: I think it is obvious that I am passionate about providing families with the support and information they need for their best birth. Since starting in this role, I have been able to establish new programs and a wider range of birth packages, to better provide for our unique population. 

Is birth with us the cheapest option in Shanghai? No. But consider: 

We believe your best birth support shouldn't exist separately from your best medical care. If you're looking for a place that respects your choices and works with you as a team while providing excellence in medical care, let's talk.