P.S. I know it has been a while since our last post. We have been really busy with work! Will try to post more in future – at least once a month okay? :). Leave a review if you like what you are reading!
It is quite apparent by now that I had went to NUH first, before transferring to KKH. In this article, I will elaborate on the experience I had visiting NUH as a subsidized patient. (I went to KKH as a private patient. Hence, the service I received cannot be an apple to apple comparison.)
I initially decided on NUH because of one factor, and one factor only – water birth. I was very keen to give birth using this method and to avoid the use of any medications. I understood that by using water birth, I could not take epidural and I was fully prepared to go ahead with it, having read many articles on water birth.
Water birth is available only in NUH and Thomson Medical Centre. Having decided against private hospitals, I naturally went to NUH. Furthermore, from what I have read, at Thomson, women are only allowed to be in the water for the labor process, but not the actual giving birth process – when they are about to give birth, they would be lifted up from the water and brought onto a delivery bed for delivering.
I wanted a water birth as I hoped for a medication-free delivery, and because I had a colleague last time who gave birth using this method at NUH. She described the process as very calming, but unfortunately her labor was short and hence the pain was intense. However, the water flowing around her calmed her down, and the way she described her birthing process captured my heart.
When preparing to go NUH, I thought I had to go to polyclinic first to get a referral. This was what my other colleague had went through and I assumed it was the normal process. As I had went through the polyclinic route to get a referral to NUH, I was asked to go to the subsidized clinic. I didn’t realize until later that if I had wanted to go private, I need only make an appointment directly with the hospital. So, ladies, if you are very sure you want to be a private patient, there is no need to waste time in going polyclinic – just call the hospital you are interested in and make an appointment with your chosen gynae.
As a private patient, other than higher costs, you will also be able to admit into a private ward. Private wards are 4 bedders, 2 bedders or single bedder, depending on the final class you stay in. You can also choose your gynae, a privilege that is not present in the subsidized ward.
During my first visit to NUH, I was asked to go to Clinic G, which was located near the Pharmacy. After registration, I was asked to take my height and weight and was given a cup to provide a urine sample. There were no toilets inside the clinic, and I had to go to one a short distance away. There were only two cubicles in this toilet, and it was a bit squeezy.
I then had to place my urine sample on a counter and a lab technician would immediately take it and analyze it to confirm pregnancy and to check on protein and sugar levels.
One word perfectly summarizes my experience at NUH – wait.
I had to wait a lot at NUH. For my first appointment, I waited close to an hour before I could see the gynae. To my surprise, the gynae did not give me an ultrasound to confirm pregnancy, and only told me to come back at a later date for the scan. She said that the urine test confirmed my pregnancy.
For my second appointment, I was asked to go to the fetal scanning centre, which was located at a separate building from Clinic G. From what I understand, at NUH they will only provide three scans. The first scan is to confirm pregnancy, the second scan is when the baby is around 20 weeks to ensure there are no abnormalities/deformities in the baby, and the third scan is when the baby is around 30+ weeks to check on the growth of the baby. They apparently do not provide scans at every appointment, regardless of whether you are a subsidized or private patient. This is a very big factor of why I decided to go KKH in the end.
Also, the fetal scanning centre is the same regardless of whether you can a subsidized or private patient. My appointment for the scan was 11 am and I waited from 10.30 am to 2 pm for my scan. So even if you go to NUH as a private patient, be prepared to wait this amount of time for the three scanning appointments.
However, we were rewarded for the long wait with a picture – our first picture! – of a little tiny pea. By then, my son was 9 weeks old and had developed a heartbeat. It was surreal watching the blood vessels and the heart beating for the first time on the screen. There was a feeling of lightheadness, a realization that – I am going to become a mother. A strong sense of protectiveness, that I need to protect myself and the little one inside me. At that moment, my husband and I clenched our hands together very tightly, watching the screen light up with each pulse of my son’s beating heart.
