booking hopsital and doctor for baby

[michad]

Hi
My husband and I are relocating to Singapore early next year (Feb). We will be 6 months pregnant with our first baby. In Melbourne, you need to book hospitals and doctors very early. Is this the case in Singapore? I have looked through the forum and have decided to check out TMC when we are sent on our visit and Dr Paul Tseng seems very popular with good remarks. Will it be okay to book when we get there or should I book in now?
Any comments (other than what has already been written) would be appreciated.
Thanks.

[Thaiclan]

No harm in booking early so why not... However if time catches up with you Singapore seems fine for late bookings. I didn't see a Dr here until 32 weeks and have met many women in a similar situation..you should be fine. Good Luck.xx

[cbavasi]

i consulted with dr tseng on a look-see before we moved here based on recommendations. he is lovely and so is his staff. make a call and tell them when you are due, when you are planning to visit and they will schedule something. i was very concerned that he would be fully booked - but even though he is very busy it seems he is used to people arriving later in their pregnancy.

[here_i_am]

Congratulations on your pregnancy and soon to be delivery!

I got here when I was around 5 months and I can understand how much more reassuring it will be get your doctors and hospitals lined up esp with a relocation also to manage.

Personally, I've had an excellent birthing experience here in Singapore. I delivered in Mt. Elizabeth, and I absolutely loved the facilities and the staff there. The doctors I got since I landed are the same ones I'm still with to-date. Here are their names:

1) Healthway Novena (Novena Square - 3rd Level) - I love their in-house GP. She's absolutely lovely, patient, and smart. I think she's Dr. Christine but may be wrong as I hadnt gone back for a year already. Price is very manageable and because the mall isnt very populated, you should be having short waiting times. She was the one who recommended both Dr. Yeo and Dr. Ee (see below).

2) Dr. Motoko Yeo (Paragon Medical Center - Motoko Clinic) - She's an OB-GYN. Its normal here for an OB-GYN to do the delivery for you then to have your pediatrician receive the baby and do the checkups in the same delivery room. She was absolutely patient and sane despite my begging her to "yank the baby" during my weakest moments.

3) Dr. Kenny Ee (Paragon Medical Center - Kinderclinic) - He's just wonderful. I had a pre-meet with him before my delivery and liked him right away. The staff in the hospital took care of calling him up when I was ready to deliver, and he assisted during my delivery then he made the first checks on my son as soon as my son was born. He has received evening calls and long distance calls from me, but he always responds kindly, promptly and efficiently. He is a bit pricey, but I trust him with my son's life esp as he's helping my son go through some medical conditions. He used to head the emergency dept in KK Women's and Children Hospital.

[cbavasi]

like here_i_am i had a really good experience here in singapore (as opposed to my not so pleasant one in london)... singapore is a very popular place for giving birth (i've had several friends do so from neighboring countries). do a search on this forum for OBGYNs and hospitals - there is a wealth of information. i ultimately gave birth at glen eagles and absolutely loved my doctor (brenda low). but don't feel pressured to stay with the first doctor you see - i made my switch at 32 weeks and it was seamless. as mentioned - several people come from other countries to give birth here and will arrive around 32-34 weeks so it's quite common.

[michad]

Thanks everyone for your comments. I will definately have a closer look at the other two hospitals and doctors mentioned. I feel happy that people didn't write back saying "what - you haven't aready booked!!!"

[realthomo]

I arrived here when I was 7 months pregnant with my second child (after giving birth to my first in Tokyo - would never do that again!) and saw a doctor in the private suite at KK. She was rather nice and KK Hospital was fantastic! My eldest had some health issues when he was born so we wanted to make sure we had all the facilities and peds just in case our second had similar issues. The staff were wonderful and the rooms were really comfortable.

I thought it couldn't get any better in Singapore until I got pregnant with my third! I wasn't thrilled with my KK doctor the second time around (I had 4 miscarriages in 8 months and she wasn't terribly sympathetic) so I did some asking around and research and found Dr Yew Gee Tan at Raffles. This was the best experience of all!! Apart from the fact I was unfortunate this time to have a c-section (due to breech presentation from a VERY STUBBORN little girl) I cannot say enough good about this hospital, and especially this doctor. My appointments we easy to make, he rarely ran late (and I was never waiting more than 20 mins when he did run late) or and he took his time with me on EVERY visit. His bedside demeanour was wonderful and he was so sympathetic and compassionate in regards to my previous pg history. My son also has a serious and terminal disease and so we needed to organise genetic testing to ensure this baby didn't have the same disease, and he was able to synchronise everything for me. My husband can't talk highly enough about this man! It wasn't always like this though - when I first met him I was concerned because he is an older doctor (prob in his 50s or 60s) and wore a different coloured safari suit each time I met him (we called him Dr Safari Suit King), but oh my god he was/is a wonderful doctor! We are now moving from Singapore, but if I had to do it all over again I would do it at Raffles in a heartbeat! The staff were so nice I actually went back to visit them (mainly nurses from the Philippines - wonderfully helpful and caring bedside manner), and my room was like a hotel room. Plus, there was a coffee bean downstairs, which made my weeklong stay (my baby was in NICU for a week) that much more bearable.

One more thing, don't think that just because you are an expat you have to go to the "expat hospitals". The best hospitals in Singapore are KK and NUH, and Raffles is wonderful too. Don't limit yourself just to Mt Elizabeth, Gleneagles (I, personally, would never go to this one) and Thomson (though I have heard many good things about this hospital). Just come with an open mind and have a look at a few. The one thing about arriving late in your pregnancy is that it is hard to establish a real relationship with your doctor in the lead up to the birth, so just get a few recommendations and go with those in the hope of finding a really good one you are totally comfortable with. THis was the case with my doctor from KK - I was pretty much forced to go with the first one I could find (with no recommendations from anyone as I knew noone who had given birht here), but I developed a really wonderful relationship with my Raffles doctor.

Good luck finding a doctor/hospital. Singapore is one of the best places in the world to give birth. The care you get here is fantastic!

[MinniMe]

I just had my no 2 baby at Tomson Medical and my OB/GYN is Paul Tseng. I have nothing negative to say about the hospital (the nurses were absoltely WONDERFUL!!) or Dr Paul. At Tomson they are renovating the rooms, I was in a executive suite (due to fully booked cheaper rooms) and it was very nice and spacious.

[Thaiclan]

Just out of interest realthomo, why didn't you like Gleneagles? Im having a home birth but Im having a room on standy at Gleneagles just in case as they seem to be the only hospital that will allow my dh and dd to stay overnight with me in the suite as well as "allowing" many of the other preferences I require (cut the cord myself after pulsation, dh to baby bath, baby not taken to nursery etc).
So I would be very interested to hear any other first hand or real views......

[cbavasi]

Thacian - I gave birth in Gleneagles and had a seamless admission, birth, aftercare and discharge. I'm not sure if this is the case with all the other hospitals but there is a registration office on site to register the birth of your child. I have heard there are concerns about the amount of construction next door - but I've had two friends recently give birth and didn't have any complaints.

[MaddyJay]

helloo,

i had my baby girl at KK hospital.. but i did check out raffles hospital first.. it was really very nice..but so was the price! haha.. i'd recommend seeing Dr Waat. She was very helpful and was willing to answer all my questions..even about other hospitals!
We finally decided to go to KK hospital after seeing the price difference coz we were trying to cut a few costs. If your willing to go there and stick to one doctor, then see the private clinic. I'd recommend Dr Jeanette Chan. She was awesome. and i still go back to have my routine checks with her. i had a c-section and the scar is not noticeable at all. i had a few complications too and she helped me thru a lot.
Also, if u go thru KK, pls take a or b ward.. the c ward is a heck of a lot cheaper but the food is very very bad...

take care and good luck with ur second baby!
-maddyjay

[mei_ling]

Hi,

I had my baby girl at Mount Elizabeth Hospital right on Orchard Road. So it was very convenient to reach and also my Gyn/Ob was there at the Paragon. She was named here before (Dr. Motoko Yeo) and I had the same pediatric (Dr. Kenny Ee). There are both wonderful! Very patient and calm! I loved them both and if we get back to Singapore (hopefully) I will definately have my second baby there as well. I highly recommend them!

Have a wonderful move to Singapore! It's such a lovely and perfect place to live. I loved our time there and miss it a lot. Especially with kids it's a great place to be. Enjoy your pregnancy and don't shop so much before you leave. You will have so many opportunities to do so in Singapore.

regards, Mei

[mrsli]

My husband and I moved here in June when I was 23 weeks pregnant and I ended up seeing Dr. Paul Tseng at about 26 weeks. It wasn't too late at all. I think they have you book your hospital stay at around 32 weeks. It seems the medical system here is very last-minute. Many times you can just go in to see the doctor and not even need an appointment (although having one will usually mean less wait time). You shouldn't have any problems booking Dr. Tseng and TMC when you get here at 6 months pregnant

Also -- I just delivered at TMC with him 2 weeks ago, and it was a really great experience. Dr. Tseng is probably the most natural birth friendly doc on the island. I found him to be very gentle and in the end of my labor when I was in horrible awful pain and was sure there was no way I could get the baby out on my own, he and his nurses got me through it. I had a birth plan and a doula and was very set on how I wanted the whole thing to go, and he was fine with that. But, he also knew when to step in and take over. I was very impressed and really feel that my birthing experience wouldn't have been as great with any one else as my doc. I think you will be very happy with Dr. Paul!

[snowqueen]

There are so many doctors and so many good experience that people have had with the medical system in Singapore.

I arrived here nearly 3 months ago when I was 12 weeks pregant. I'm now 22+4 and will be having my baby at the Thomson Medical Centre, even though I live on the East Coast.

My Dr is Dr Sim Lee Ngor (63539270). She's really pleasant, professional and knowledgeable. She used to be based at KK but now has her own practice at TMC.

I know loads of people who go to Paul Tsang - sounds like he gets allot of his business from referrals but it sounds like he's very overloaded and doesn't know when to say no when a new patient comes to him.

One friend of mine says she feels rushed when she has her appointments with him and feels he only has time to answer one question at a time.

Another recently found she had a complication with her 20 week scan but was told to come back in a weeks time. My friend then went to my doctor for a 2nd opinon and was referred to a specialist who admitted her almost straight away.

You can move doctors here as much as you like until you find the one you are most comfortable with and it costs nothing to go on a hospital tour - you often get a free goodie bag!