Hi mummies-to-be
I'm an expecting mother, with EDD in Jan 2018. The first and only gynae I consulted so far is Dr Theresa Cheng in AMK. I'm not sure if anyone might still be seeking latest reviews about her (since I've been reading a fair bit of rather negative ones from years back as early as 2009).
So I'm starting a new thread just in case any new mummies would like to know what other people's personal experience and/or opinions are. In here, I will be writing about my personal experience from my past visits.
My personal experience in a nutshell: total of 6 visits as at 9 June 2017
1. Frequency of visits: weekly (I'm still at 1st Trimester)
2. Av. fee per visit based on 6 visits: $300+ (Is this amount normal?)
3. About the nurses at counter: Great service; had not had any problems with them so far (they are really friendly and kind to patients in general)
4. About the gynae: You need "thick skin" to be able to not care about the remarks she makes sometimes (she can be quite blunt and hurtful with her words, unfortunately; but she speaks her mind and you get what it is, literally)
5. Time spent per visit: 30 min to 45 min (except that one time when I was put on drip for close to 5 hours; it was one of the most physically draining times I've been through)
6. Treatments received in general: Jabs (multi-vits, antibiotics, anti-nausea), pills (folic acid, vitamin B12, enervon C), scans
7. Not so common treatment: Drips (I was once put on drip due to dehydration), antibiotic shots (on my first visit due to UTI)
8. Tests: pap smear (gynae did the test on my first visit)
9. Mode of payment: Please ensure you bring enough cash as the clinic only accepts cash (each visit is no less than $200 on average; I always end up walking to the nearby NTUC ATMs to draw cash)
10. Anything unsual: I received longer hospital leaves than other mothers (my hosp leave was extended from 1 week to 3 weeks and then to a whole month in my 6 visits)
Reviews gathered from other discussions: against what I experienced
Dr called me fat
On my 2nd visit, I gained 500g. Dr Cheng got concerned and asked about my diet (which hadn't changed at that time) and wanted me to watch what I eat. Basically 3 meals a day and no snacks in between. She said I looked plump and judging from my size, I look like someone who is really fond of food... Ouch...
I think most of her patients can relate and hence, the remarks about her being blunt, rude and insensitive about her words. It got slightly stressful as I ended up keeping a diary of my food intake, making sure I'm not eating too much. It did not help when I'm mostly nauseous, as I could not eat as much as I used to for my 3 meals, which means my usual food intake dropped. Plus, I was unsure about what my diet should be like and I became over cautious about what I eat.
I lost some weight upon my next visit, and more by the 4th. I don't think it was healthy for the baby though, as according to scan, the baby was off the growth radar by my 4th visit. I would attribute that to my change in diet and eating habits.
As a result from that, I was given a week's hospital leave to rest, multi-vits shot, anti-nausea shot, and anti-biotic shot - to replenish what my body is lacking. In general, I'd rather consider Dr Cheng as being more conservative as compared to other doctors. As being a professional, and with her years of experience, I believe she has her reasons for her words and actions. It's just that her words may not be as pleasing to the ears and she may not always explain much.
I feel it's important to find balance though, and I learned that I should not take things by extreme. I was then more lax about my diet after that. But I layed off sugared drinks at the very least.
Dr has mood swings and provides sketchy information
To me, I feel Dr Cheng speaks her mind and she is open to you about what her professional opinions are. I guess she needs to be "prompted" the right way when you have questions. Most of the time, I was able to get answers like how my diet should be; basically 3 meals per days and not snacking in between. What kind of drinks can I take - e.g. Kopi-O or Teh-O Kosong, Chamomile Tea etc. If required, I should take fruits in between meals, but not fruit juices. And strictly no sugared drinks. I believe we can all agree that sticking to a stricter diet like no sugared drinks is reasonable?
As for her mood swings, I feel it's really the way the questions and conversations are being delivered. For example, she rationalised with me why she wants her patients to lay off the dairies, and to not eat too much. She hopes her patients are able to go through natural birth instead of c-sec as eating too much and taking in dairies will cause:
*1. Mother to gain too much weight - which becomes a problem after delivery as it's difficult to lose weight thereafter. At least for the first tirmester, the mother should not be gaining weight, yet.
*2. The baby to grow too big which will then result in the mother having to go through c-sec.
* which brings me to the next few points:
Dr says no dairy products AT ALL
Dr says I can't eat too much
I've explained her rationale about these above.
Dr prefers patients to go for C-section
My experience was that Dr Cheng wants her patients to deliver naturally. But then again, it's only 6 visits in my first trimester, I'm not sure if her views will change by the third as many views are that she encourages c-sec even when baby is not even more than 3kg.
See here:
- https://singaporemotherhood.com/forum/threads/anyone-seeing-dr-theresa-cheng.559/#post-2276561)
- http://www.mummysg.com/forums/threa...-theresa-womens-clinic-ang-mo-kio.3895/page-3
The reasons why I decided to change my gynae
I personally felt that I experienced more discomfort recently. Not to mention, the fees I'm paying each visit is a little too steep for me. From around the 4th visit onwards, I experienced slight anxieties everytime my appointment date is drawing near. I felt uncomfortable about the visits.
Reasons being:
1. I find myself worrying if my baby is doing well that week, whether will I be needing more shots, have I been eating right, have I gained weight, are the fees over $200 this time, etc
2. I'm not sure if it's psychological but I feel that my body usually doesn't react well to the treatments (jabs & drips) as I feel very lethargic and queer. I find myself sleeping through the evening till the next day.
3. As a result of point 2, I will feel anxious about my visit as I'm really not looking forward to the jabs (which I'm given for most visits) and I will always require an entire evening and night to recover.
4. I feel having a second opinion will help me justify whether the treatments I'm receiving are reasonable. If it's all for the good of my baby growth, I'm more than willing to go through the treatments.
Judgement call
I will leave it to you mummies/ daddies whether Dr Cheng is the right doctor for you as I feel you need to be really comfortable with your doctor. Afterall, your gyane is the one who will eventually be delivering your baby if you stick with him/ her.
Let me know what y'all think about this!
Cheers
jyinc
I'm an expecting mother, with EDD in Jan 2018. The first and only gynae I consulted so far is Dr Theresa Cheng in AMK. I'm not sure if anyone might still be seeking latest reviews about her (since I've been reading a fair bit of rather negative ones from years back as early as 2009).
So I'm starting a new thread just in case any new mummies would like to know what other people's personal experience and/or opinions are. In here, I will be writing about my personal experience from my past visits.
My personal experience in a nutshell: total of 6 visits as at 9 June 2017
1. Frequency of visits: weekly (I'm still at 1st Trimester)
2. Av. fee per visit based on 6 visits: $300+ (Is this amount normal?)
3. About the nurses at counter: Great service; had not had any problems with them so far (they are really friendly and kind to patients in general)
4. About the gynae: You need "thick skin" to be able to not care about the remarks she makes sometimes (she can be quite blunt and hurtful with her words, unfortunately; but she speaks her mind and you get what it is, literally)
5. Time spent per visit: 30 min to 45 min (except that one time when I was put on drip for close to 5 hours; it was one of the most physically draining times I've been through)
6. Treatments received in general: Jabs (multi-vits, antibiotics, anti-nausea), pills (folic acid, vitamin B12, enervon C), scans
7. Not so common treatment: Drips (I was once put on drip due to dehydration), antibiotic shots (on my first visit due to UTI)
8. Tests: pap smear (gynae did the test on my first visit)
9. Mode of payment: Please ensure you bring enough cash as the clinic only accepts cash (each visit is no less than $200 on average; I always end up walking to the nearby NTUC ATMs to draw cash)
10. Anything unsual: I received longer hospital leaves than other mothers (my hosp leave was extended from 1 week to 3 weeks and then to a whole month in my 6 visits)
Reviews gathered from other discussions: against what I experienced
Dr called me fat
On my 2nd visit, I gained 500g. Dr Cheng got concerned and asked about my diet (which hadn't changed at that time) and wanted me to watch what I eat. Basically 3 meals a day and no snacks in between. She said I looked plump and judging from my size, I look like someone who is really fond of food... Ouch...
I think most of her patients can relate and hence, the remarks about her being blunt, rude and insensitive about her words. It got slightly stressful as I ended up keeping a diary of my food intake, making sure I'm not eating too much. It did not help when I'm mostly nauseous, as I could not eat as much as I used to for my 3 meals, which means my usual food intake dropped. Plus, I was unsure about what my diet should be like and I became over cautious about what I eat.
I lost some weight upon my next visit, and more by the 4th. I don't think it was healthy for the baby though, as according to scan, the baby was off the growth radar by my 4th visit. I would attribute that to my change in diet and eating habits.
As a result from that, I was given a week's hospital leave to rest, multi-vits shot, anti-nausea shot, and anti-biotic shot - to replenish what my body is lacking. In general, I'd rather consider Dr Cheng as being more conservative as compared to other doctors. As being a professional, and with her years of experience, I believe she has her reasons for her words and actions. It's just that her words may not be as pleasing to the ears and she may not always explain much.
I feel it's important to find balance though, and I learned that I should not take things by extreme. I was then more lax about my diet after that. But I layed off sugared drinks at the very least.
Dr has mood swings and provides sketchy information
To me, I feel Dr Cheng speaks her mind and she is open to you about what her professional opinions are. I guess she needs to be "prompted" the right way when you have questions. Most of the time, I was able to get answers like how my diet should be; basically 3 meals per days and not snacking in between. What kind of drinks can I take - e.g. Kopi-O or Teh-O Kosong, Chamomile Tea etc. If required, I should take fruits in between meals, but not fruit juices. And strictly no sugared drinks. I believe we can all agree that sticking to a stricter diet like no sugared drinks is reasonable?
As for her mood swings, I feel it's really the way the questions and conversations are being delivered. For example, she rationalised with me why she wants her patients to lay off the dairies, and to not eat too much. She hopes her patients are able to go through natural birth instead of c-sec as eating too much and taking in dairies will cause:
*1. Mother to gain too much weight - which becomes a problem after delivery as it's difficult to lose weight thereafter. At least for the first tirmester, the mother should not be gaining weight, yet.
*2. The baby to grow too big which will then result in the mother having to go through c-sec.
* which brings me to the next few points:
Dr says no dairy products AT ALL
Dr says I can't eat too much
I've explained her rationale about these above.
Dr prefers patients to go for C-section
My experience was that Dr Cheng wants her patients to deliver naturally. But then again, it's only 6 visits in my first trimester, I'm not sure if her views will change by the third as many views are that she encourages c-sec even when baby is not even more than 3kg.
See here:
- https://singaporemotherhood.com/forum/threads/anyone-seeing-dr-theresa-cheng.559/#post-2276561)
- http://www.mummysg.com/forums/threa...-theresa-womens-clinic-ang-mo-kio.3895/page-3
The reasons why I decided to change my gynae
I personally felt that I experienced more discomfort recently. Not to mention, the fees I'm paying each visit is a little too steep for me. From around the 4th visit onwards, I experienced slight anxieties everytime my appointment date is drawing near. I felt uncomfortable about the visits.
Reasons being:
1. I find myself worrying if my baby is doing well that week, whether will I be needing more shots, have I been eating right, have I gained weight, are the fees over $200 this time, etc
2. I'm not sure if it's psychological but I feel that my body usually doesn't react well to the treatments (jabs & drips) as I feel very lethargic and queer. I find myself sleeping through the evening till the next day.
3. As a result of point 2, I will feel anxious about my visit as I'm really not looking forward to the jabs (which I'm given for most visits) and I will always require an entire evening and night to recover.
4. I feel having a second opinion will help me justify whether the treatments I'm receiving are reasonable. If it's all for the good of my baby growth, I'm more than willing to go through the treatments.
Judgement call
I will leave it to you mummies/ daddies whether Dr Cheng is the right doctor for you as I feel you need to be really comfortable with your doctor. Afterall, your gyane is the one who will eventually be delivering your baby if you stick with him/ her.
Let me know what y'all think about this!
Cheers
jyinc
