Having a baby in Singapore without private health insurance

[taleske]

Hi There

My husband and I are relocating to Singapore from Australia next month for my husbands work. We are expecting twins in june and have just been told by my current health insurance (Bupa) that even though i have been a member with them on the highest level of cover for over 5 years that we will not be covered in Singapore and will need to re wait out all waiting periods including pregnancy and birth.

This came as quite a shock to us as i thought we would be covered. I have been looking on a lot of websites trying to find out some more information on having a baby in a private hospital in singapore and estimated costs.

Hoping someone could give me a rough estimate of the costs of having our twins (possibly via c section) in a private hospital with my own obstetrician and no private cover. Also any recommendations on a good obstetrician and the bet hospital would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you in advance

[ks249]

Hi there,

In a similar situation... Moved here in Dec and due in Feb. you can find average rates by hospital online ( or send me your email address and I'll forward as PDF). Roughly, $7-12 sing dollars. Private hospitals are more expensive and not necessarily better care...

Search for doulas in SG and you'll find a site with some good info. Good luck! And feel free to pm if I can help...

[Natasja]

Hi There

As far as I'm concerned BUPA covers everything. At the National University Hospital we haven't had any problems with BUPA. NUH is not a private hospital, but the care is really good and you can still choose you own private obstetrician. The costs will be lower than in the private hospitals too. Just a few obs to mention: Prof Biswas, prof Mary Rauff. Good luck and do inform yourself a lot! The most important things for birth are preparation, education and support; choose the people you feel most safe and confident with!

[jeensy]

Healthcare is expensive in this country and private hospitals will be a lot more, so if you are no covered by your insurance company I would definitely suggest looking at the public hospitals - NUH or KK which I have had friends deliver at with no problems whatsoever.
The other thing to consider is whether you want to pay extra to have a private room which will cost more, but usually they let your husband stay too (for an extra fee) but this is very reassuring when you are suddenly in charge of new babies and also they will only let your baby room-in with you if you are in a private room. Otherwise they will take them away to the nursery for the night.
We were covered by insurance and went for a private hospital (again I agree I don't think there is that much difference in level of service between public and private other than more private rooms, more nurses etc) and for an emergency C-setcion and rooming costs, doctors costs etc it all came to $15,000 which I found to be a shocking figure!
Friends I know came to about $5 or 6000 in KK for a scheduled C-section in a shared room so costs vary quite a lot depending on what it is and where it is. These figures are all for single baby delivery and I'm afraid I have no idea how it will change for twins...

[ks249]

I just went on the tour at NUH. Your baby can stay with you regardless of room type. Your partner can only stay if you're in a private room. The fee is minimal. The costs really vary most by type of delivery and the physician you choose.