Anyone take the public route? Pros and cons vs private hosp

[PartThree]

My wife is in the early stages of her pregnancy (7 weeks) and we are trying to decide the best route to see this through.

We are looking for a doctor who will not jump to prescribe C section at the slightest complication unless it is absolutely necessary. That means a doctor who is not conservative, and a doctor who does not mind the inconvenience of natural birth (as they may have to attend at awkward hours).

My wife wants to avoid trauma and prefers natural delivery.

I read a statistic (can't find the link now) saying that in pvt hospitals c-sections are a much higher percentage compared with government. If we assume that the odds of complication are the same between women, then it seems to me that pvt hospital doctors are more likely to prescribe c-section, even if natural delivery is possible.

Anyway, for budgetary purposes, and to improve the probability of doctor not suddenly changing his/her mind on delivery method, we are considering going through the absolute default method.

That is, the current plan based on advice from friends, NHG or Singhealth polyclinic and referral to maybe KK or other govt hospital.

Any advice on how I should approach this would be greatly appreciated. I am still not sure what is done in the first polyclinic visit. Is NHG or Singhealth better? If referred then which hospital is most easiest to work with?

 

[auntyofenqi]

Can I recommend Dr Lawrence Ang from Thomson Women's Clinic? I have 2 birth by him - both natural. He is one of the more thrifty doctor n respect your preference of labour. Very unconservative gynea - can drink cold water, coffee n tea if not excessive, can go straighten hair etc. He's highly efficient so if you or your wife is looking for a gynea who will talk very long during consultation then dun go to him. Also expects long wait at the clinic.

 

[Jesmin0918]

I recommend my gynae from NUH..I delivered my 2kids (dec 2011 n jan 2014) n she handled 1 of my miscarriage too..

I went to her for my #1 when I had spotting at 8wks..I had a miscarriage before my #1 n she is e emergency doctor attending to me.she handled me tactfully emotionally.my spotting was ok under her care..was on hormones jabs n pills n I gave birth to my #1 NVD with epidural. my #1 was post term 40wks +2days.. she had nv encouraged me to induce in fact when I wan to Induce she shared with me how other mummies wan induce n cannot dilate n end up c sect..

I was preg again in 2012 nov but suffered a mc..and she encouraged me to try again..den in april 13 I was preg with no 2..e min I was preg she asked me take hormones jab..I had a stable pregnancy under her..

she dun like to do scan but she can.predict e baby size very well by touching..

very accurate somemore

 

[leanne]

I took the public route due to the fact I'm of higher risk due to type 1 diabetes . My main reason being if complications after birth that private cannot handle they refer to kkh and the bill will then night be massive.

I think the c Sect or natural there's a mix of both school in both private and public ba, just choose one that is pro natural lor

 

[lynzie]

Hi..great to know of daddy-to-be finding out more details other than e mum-to-be.
Anyway, I took e public route for all my 4 kids. Initially it was based on advices from family members who have went thru such route. Of coz, cost-wise plays a part too. All 4 of my kids r NVD with epidural at NUH. Good delivery experiences there for me. #1 was induced prematurely due to water bag leakage. #3 was overdue by 5 days but no pressure to induce by e doc. #4 was 1 day short of his EDD. Went for e appt in e morn with slight contractions. Thou slightly dilated, e doc allowed me to go back n monitor. Even drove back myself n got myself admitted later in e late noon to deliver.
There wasn't any occasion where I have to wait long for my appts at e poly or e hosp. E only thing is u dun get to c e same doc on every appt which I'm ok with so not considered a con for me.

 

[bb_hc]

I recommend my gynae from NUH..I delivered my 2kids (dec 2011 n jan 2014) n she handled 1 of my miscarriage too..

I went to her for my #1 when I had spotting at 8wks..I had a miscarriage before my #1 n she is e emergency doctor attending to me.she handled me tactfully emotionally.my spotting was ok under her care..was on hormones jabs n pills n I gave birth to my #1 NVD with epidural. my #1 was post term 40wks +2days.. she had nv encouraged me to induce in fact when I wan to Induce she shared with me how other mummies wan induce n cannot dilate n end up c sect..

I was preg again in 2012 nov but suffered a mc..and she encouraged me to try again..den in april 13 I was preg with no 2..e min I was preg she asked me take hormones jab..I had a stable pregnancy under her..

she dun like to do scan but she can.predict e baby size very well by touching..

very accurate somemore

Who is the gynae at NUH? Thanks.

 

[pooopi]

Hmm.. I would recommend Dr Benjamin Tham.. He is so nice and friendly.. He used to be the head of kkh O&G, been with kkh for I thk close to 20 years but years ago he went over to private practice at tmc, W C Cheng clinic.

He won't recommend unnecessary stuffs.. He will listen to all your queries and answer them. He is very assuring as well.. And most importantly he is not those chop chop kind.

No hard feelings but I been to Dr Lawrence Ang and dr Adrian Woodworth and they are those chop chop kind. I would say if yours is those uncomplicated kind den any doc is good.. But I would feel more assure to go to Gyane who would spend time thru scan and talk about what the next step.

I went to dr Ang and plus scan everything in less then 5 mins. The waiting time can sometimes be up to 2hrs even with appt. dr Tham will scan slowly nicely and even listen to baby's hb each time and measure..

So I would highly recommend Dr Benjamin Tham..

 

[pooopi]

Hmm.. I would recommend Dr Benjamin Tham.. He is so nice and friendly.. He used to be the head of kkh O&G, been with kkh for I thk close to 20 years but years ago he went over to private practice at tmc, W C Cheng clinic.

He won't recommend unnecessary stuffs.. He will listen to all your queries and answer them. He is very assuring as well.. And most importantly he is not those chop chop kind. I had multiple miscarriages, first tri and 2nd tri.. He handle it very well and I feel so assuring with him.

No hard feelings but I been to Dr Lawrence Ang and dr Adrian Woodworth and they are those chop chop kind. I would say if yours is those uncomplicated kind den any doc is good.. But I would feel more assure to go to Gyane who would spend time thru scan and talk about what the next step.

I went to dr Ang and plus scan everything in less then 5 mins. The waiting time can sometimes be up to 2hrs even with appt. dr Tham will scan slowly nicely and even listen to baby's hb each time and measure..

So I would highly recommend Dr Benjamin Tham..

 

[Jesmin0918]

dr annapoorna venka..very motherly gynae..stitching os damm good too

 

[rykgirl]

I tried going through the govt subsidized rate for #2 as friends told me it's really budget birth.. So I went to polyclinic and got a check up then they gave me a referral to a hospital of my choice. I wanted KTPH but they didn't have maternity ward so I chose KKH..

Long story short, I ended up going back to Dr Kee.
*Waiting times were long.
*They don't do scanning except for 2 times in whole pregnancy.. I had to request for scan everytime (just so I can feel secure) and that added on to more waiting time and cost which was equivalent to Dr Kee's cost already minus the waiting time..
*Consultation was "cheap" because they took out the ultrasound. Basically, u pay to get a measuring tape around the tummy and to let doc hear heartbeat. I wanted to see my peanut right from the start.
*It's midwife or trainee doctor who delivers and I was worried about the stitching as #2 would be my last birth.. Vaginal tear is very common, I hear..

I would recommend going to govt only if your wife may have complicated pregnancy which may end up in emergency c-section or if (touch wood) baby might need to use NICU facilities. The subsidized rate will help the billing quite a lot, I heard. Otherwise, I would say go to a private OB/GYN..

Dr S.H Kee delivered my #1.. I have been with him for the past 13yrs and he is really good.. Very reassuring and chop chop kind too.. xD He is pro natural.. V-birth for sure.. To induce or not depends on the situation.. He induced my 1st birth cos I had a bit of HBP but refused to induce me for my #2 until I sort of begged him.. lol.. Cos I couldn't wait due to some circumstances.. Both were all smooth and quick births.. Very fast and timely too.. He knew exactly when to come to hospital..

Highly recommend Dr Kee.. From what I remember, his 1st time consultation fee was $100 and $40 subsequently per visit inclusive of ultrasound (extra for printed pics).. He even did foc 3D scans for me for both births.. All those photos now are so dear to me..

I think the consultation price went up by a bit since then.. U can call and find out more about him. His clinic number is 6733 9043..

Have a smooth and safe pregnancy~

Sorry for the long post =X

 

[PartThree]

Hi all,

Thanks very much for the very useful comments and sorry for this late reply.

Since my original post we decided that we will follow the path of least resistance to start. If there was any complication we will escalate to meet a specialist, go private, look at options.

So we set up an appointment with a polyclinic, and got a referral to KKH.

The first KKH visit was this week. They did ultrasound, blood tests for my wife and me as well, and general check up.

The KKH hospital visit - consultation, tests and prescription vitamins cost totally around $200. My wife's blood test alone was around $70, a bit expensive. This was all after subsidy.

Anyway the scan showed that the baby is 10 weeks old - around 4cm long. We got one scan to keep.

At KKH we were offered Down's Syndrome screening. Cost was another $240 for this. If Down's Syndrome is detected then the option to terminate becomes available, for within 24 weeks. We did not take this option. Our reasons were that even if Down's Syndrome was detected we would not take the terminate option, mainly for religious reasons.

Next appointment is in 5 weeks, which seems to be general check up minus ultrasound.

Appointment after that, in 9 weeks time, has also been scheduled. This appointment includes an ultrasound.

I thought KKH was a bit disorganized, even though they are supposed to be the best equipped. I wonder if the other hospitals are better in this regard.

Anyway, so far so good.

 

[clarebear]

Thanks for the detailed info! It's very helpful.

 

[jacelynsmile]

I will recommend my Gynea at Glen E. She is Dr Choo Wan Ling. She will have the package for Gynea check up start from 16 weeks. I delivered my son in 2010 with the package price was $800 till I delivered. In the package included the general check for mummy & ultrasound each session. The vitamins & blood test are excluded.
My colleague with complex problem transferred from KKH to Dr Choo and able deliver a healthy bb

 

[New mom]

Hi Part Three, I'm also interested to get a referral letter to KKH. Could you share how soon could you get it for your first appointment after your first visit to the polyclinic? Thank you.

Hi all,

Thanks very much for the very useful comments and sorry for this late reply.

Since my original post we decided that we will follow the path of least resistance to start. If there was any complication we will escalate to meet a specialist, go private, look at options.

So we set up an appointment with a polyclinic, and got a referral to KKH.

The first KKH visit was this week. They did ultrasound, blood tests for my wife and me as well, and general check up.

The KKH hospital visit - consultation, tests and prescription vitamins cost totally around $200. My wife's blood test alone was around $70, a bit expensive. This was all after subsidy.

Anyway the scan showed that the baby is 10 weeks old - around 4cm long. We got one scan to keep.

At KKH we were offered Down's Syndrome screening. Cost was another $240 for this. If Down's Syndrome is detected then the option to terminate becomes available, for within 24 weeks. We did not take this option. Our reasons were that even if Down's Syndrome was detected we would not take the terminate option, mainly for religious reasons.

Next appointment is in 5 weeks, which seems to be general check up minus ultrasound.

Appointment after that, in 9 weeks time, has also been scheduled. This appointment includes an ultrasound.

I thought KKH was a bit disorganized, even though they are supposed to be the best equipped. I wonder if the other hospitals are better in this regard.

Anyway, so far so good.

 

[PartThree]

HI New mom,

We went through National Healthcare Polyclinics. We filled in the online form for appointment (because we could not reach them by phone). After three days or so I received a SMS with appointment time. Appointment at the Polyclinic was for 5 days later. The alternative to this was to go through Singhealth Polyclinics for the referral. But for the clinic I wanted to go to (Outram Park) no appointment needed to be scheduled - only walk in. The lady I spoke to told me to come early as there is usually a crowd. Rather than wait in a crowd I opted for NHP as they had the appointment basis.

NHP scheduled the KKH hospital visit exactly 2 weeks later. So budget the time in.