So why did I choose to go KKH?
The only reason why I wanted to go NUH, as mentioned previously, was that I desired a water birth. However, as I found out more details about it, I decided that water birth may not be feasible in terms of cost.
To have water birth, it is necessary to engage a doula. A doula, as indicated on WebMD’s website, is a person who provides emotional and physical support to you during your pregnancy and childbirth. I only know of one person, a colleague, who had engaged a doula previously. She did so as she was determined to have a natural birth (her first birth was emergency caesarean). It was very difficult to have VBAC (vaginal birth after caesarean) but she was so determined she attended classes etc on natural delivery, on what sort of breathing exercises she should use. She was successful in her planning and preparation and gave birth to her second child at NUH via vaginal birth. She delayed going to the hospital as long as she could, with the doula assisting her with the birth and pain at home. By the time she reached the hospital, she was already at 10 cm and could no longer take epidural. With the doula’s help, she could manage the pain (the doula helped to massage her, soothe her etc.).
My colleague paid $1K+ for her doula, who was engaged from an external agency. However, the doula at NUH has went through water birth training and the cost was $2, 500. On top of that, there were extra charges for the bathtub etc. (I think it was around $800). And if I cannot handle the pain, or if there are complications and I require epidural/vaginal birth at the last minute, I had to pay extra for the delivery charges. In total, there was an additional $3,000 minimum cost I was looking at.
At that point in time, there were only 4 gynae at NUH certified to do water birth too. 2 were not available during my EDD and when I read up on the other 2, I had concerns such as long waiting time (quoted very frequently), and unreliability (one of the gynae seemed to ‘disappear’ when mothers were going to give birth).
NUH also did not provide scans for every appointment, whereas KKH did. I felt more assured if I could see my baby growing.
And finally, NUH was really very far from my house (I live in Punggol). Waiting time of 2-3 hours at the clinics aside, I spend 2 hours traveling to and fro NUH for each appointment.
However, NUH was cheaper than KKH for delivery. NUH offered a maternity package of $2500 or so that covered the costs of all appointments, scans and standard medications from the 20th week to delivery. Their ward charges were also cheaper – remember that colleague who gave birth without epidural at NUH? She chose the biggest deluxe room, which even had a living room area, and paid less than $8000 for 2 nights.
Note: This price was what she paid in 2019. I went to look at their charges recently and it seemed the costs may have increased. However, given that deluxe room is much bigger and cost only $300 extra/night, it is really worth it especially if you’re expecting a lot of relatives to come and visit. Do be mindful of Covid limitations on visitation though – no point getting a bigger room if visitors are not allowed/are capped!
I really struggled with the decision of whether or not to switch. Ultimately, my husband persuaded me to switch as it would be difficult for me to travel so far in future (we don’t drive).
When I looked through the list of KKH gynae, I decided on engaging Dr. Tee Chee Seng, as there were rave reviews about his stitching skills. Coincidentally, another colleague was pregnant, and she was visiting Dr. Tee, whom she described as being fast and humorous. He was also very understanding – when my colleague had to visit him earlier as she had an outbreak of hives, he waived off his consultation fee and she only paid for her medications.
Upon probing, I found out that in my office, at least 3 other mothers had visited him, and I would be the 4th. Feeling assured, I made the switch to KKH, and never looked back.
1st appointment at KKH
I called KKH and made an appointment to see Dr. Tee (remember, no need polyclinic referral if you intend to be a private patient!).
For Dr. Tee, his first appointment would be at a night clinic (don’t ask me why). There is a surcharge for night clinics.
My first appointment was around 6 pm. I went on my own as my husband was busy with work. My mother, eager to see some scans of her first grandchild, hurried down from Seng Kang. As it was my first appointment, and basing my experience on past NUH appointments, I was expecting to wait for a long while.
After registration, I was asked to take my height, weight and blood pressure (standard procedures). Then I did a urine test. Unlike NUH where they asked us to collect our urine in cups, KKH gave us a urine dipstick and after collecting my urine on the dipstick, I had to show it to the nurse.
At 5.45 pm, to my surprise, my queue number was called. This was the first time my number was called before my appointment time, and it was refreshing. I entered the room and met Dr. Tee for the first time.
Dr. Tee was very friendly, comprehensive and quick to the point. He immediately asked me for my previous reports at NUH and scanned through them. Upon finding out that I have thalassemia trait, he immediately asked my husband and I to both go for thalassemia screening (NUH was not as concerned – they only asked if mine was minor or major thalassemia, and whether my husband had (he doesn’t), but did not ask us to confirm). I explained that my husband and I had done pre-marital screening and my husband did not have thalassemia trait according to the blood test screening then. Dr Tee explained that thalassemia screening was more detailed and sometimes, minor thalassemia may not show up during routine blood screening.
Dr. Tee was also very concerned on whether my husband was present. For that first appointment as he could not make it, Dr. Tee was tactful in asking whether he was coming. For subsequent appointments, Dr. Tee would always question where he was if my husband could not accompany me, and he made sure that my husband was present when he scanned my stomach, so that both of us could see the growing baby.
For the first appointment, after explaining to me about thalassemia, he scanned my stomach and I could leave. I was out before 6 pm – my actual appointment time. Unfortunately, because he was so fast, my mother missed the scanning. At the waiting area, after waiting for a short while – about 15 minutes – a nurse came to me and passed me my multivitamins. After making payment, I could leave. I was in and out of KKH in less than an hour.
I was delighted at the short waiting time and pleasantly surprised at the service received. The waiting time was a huge difference from NUH. My colleague who went to NUH as a private patient also informed that she had to endure long waiting times, especially for the scanning appointments, so I was glad I made the switch.
For my subsequent appointments, I could continue to see Dr. Tee at his night clinic, paying a surcharge, or have morning appointments. I chose the morning appointments and most of the time, I was finished with the appointment within an hour. Dr. Tee was very fast but comprehensive, and I could be out of his clinic within 10 minutes. Perhaps this is the case for KKH – my husband’s cousin saw another gynae at KKH and feedback that the appointments were super-fast, finished in 10 minutes. The gynae won’t say too much – which in my opinion, no news means good news!