KIDS GUIDE 2019

BUMPS & BEYOND

FINDING DOCTOR RIGHT

You’re going to have a baby – congratulations! The first thing to do is to embrace the excitement surrounding the big moment. Then you’ll need to start thinking about your preferences for pregnancy care.

and have a positive experience of labour, you need to feel confident that you are in the right hands. What doulas do... A doula is an independent caregiver who helps make an expectant mum feel safe and comfortable before, during and after childbirth. The role of doulas differs frommidwives in that they offer non-medical support to mothers. That being said, most doulas will have a lot of experience and knowledge about labour and delivery. Doulas can help expectant mums follow a birth plan, and assist with advice on pregnancy issues, particularly when it comes to pain management. There are many qualified doulas in Singapore – including quite a few multilingual ones around, which can help if there’s a language barrier between mother and doctor.

Which obstetrician? Choosing the right obstetrician to guide you through one of life’s most important events can be challenging. Expats in Singapore whose maternity costs are covered by health insurance (corporate or personal) give birth in private hospitals and see obstetricians for our prenatal checkups. Obstetricians usually only work at one hospital, occasionally two (one private, one public), so if your insurance doesn’t cover all hospitals, then your choice of obstetrician will be limited to those who work with a particular hospital. Every woman has different preferences for childbirth, so you

should do plenty of research and visit a number of obstetricians if possible. It’s important that you feel comfortable, because you will have to share intimate and personal details with them without feeling too embarrassed. With this in mind, don’t be afraid to ask questions: everything from birth plans and foetal monitoring to a doctor’s rates of caesarean sections, inductions and episiotomies is fair game; you could even enquire about their personal philosophies and beliefs about birth. There’s a lot to think about, but to make the most of the short nine months of pregnancy

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