Singapore is a great place to have a baby; whether this is your first or fourth child life can be much easier here with the availability of home help. However having a baby in a foreign country can also be stressful especially not having the support network of family and more often than not a husband who travels.

First things first - before you choose an OB you'll need to decide what kind of birth you want. Do you want a high intervention OB who will closely manage your pregnancy or more of a 'hands off' OB with a more natural approach? Talk to a few Doctors and find one you feel comfortable with. Homebirth is an option in Singapore but there is only one OB (Paul Tseng at TMC) who currently attends them. Once you find a Doctor you're comfortable with go and visit the maternity wards in a few hospitals. Some Doctors have privileges to practice in other hospitals. Thomson Medical Center is one of the most mother friendly hospitals in Singapore. The staff is very flexible when it comes to birthplans and doulas and they don't stick to a set of rigid hospital 'rules'. The most popular hospitals for expats in Singapore are:

Thomson Medical Centre
Mount Elizabeth
Gleneagles
NUH
Raffles
Mt Alvernia
KK Women's Hospital (public hospital)

Many of the hospitals also offer childbirth classes. However you should also connect with some of the independent childbirth educators in Singapore - so you're sure to get balanced unbiased information on what your options are. Doulas are also becoming more popular with expatriate and local women and there are several companies offering this service.

OBs offer maternity 'packages' which will cover a normal delivery but over all the costs are affordable (usually around 4-6k including hospital bill) However it's a good idea to sign up for insurance before you get pregnant to cover any extras as a result of any complications.

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About the Author Tracy Donegan is with Four Trimesters, which provides professional support for pregnancy, labour and birth, breastfeeding and natural parenting in Singapore and London (UK). Our doulas, childbirth educators and breastfeeding counsellors help parents achieve a positive, active birth experience, setting the ideal foundation for their natural-parenting journey. Click here to visit them on the Web.

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First Published: Jan 29, 2005