You’ve just gotten a double line for pregnancy test! If you have been trying for a baby, CONGRATULATIONS! You’re about to embark on the most exciting, rewarding and joyous journey ever (albeit an extremely exhausting one)!

After the excitement is over, you might be thinking: “okay the sh*t is real. What do I do next?”

Here, I’ve compiled some easy to read pointers for first-time mums-to-be!

First Trimester

• Obstetrician and gynecologist

The immediate thing to do next is to research for your preferred obstetrician and gynecologist. I am writing based on Singapore context.

You have basically two options: Private gynae or KK Hospital subsidised. For private gynae, do note their hospital for delivery as some mums have a preferred hospital to deliver that the gynae do not practice in. For KK Hospital, subsidised consultation can be as cheap as around $30 (if eligible for subsidy) but you will be assigned a different gynae for every prenatal consultation. Most of my friends who went for KKH subsidised route eventually convert to private KKH patient (meaning you get to choose your preferred KKH gynae to deliver but that means you no longer enjoy any subsidy the moment you convert).

I wanted to save some cash by choosing the KKH subsidised route since healthcare in Singapore is generally good across all hospitals but the husband said that I can only save about $1000-2000 if I eventually convert to KKH private patient during delivery (as I am sure I do not want a random gynae during delivery) hence he said no point saving that few bucks.

I have thus decided to go full private in Mt Alvernia (Mt A) or Thomson Medical Centre (TMC).

After weeks of reading on reviews written by mums, here’s the top few gynae in Singapore who practiced in Mt A or TMC.

Mt Alvernia (female gynae): Dr Goh Shen Li (S L Goh Women’s Clinic is a Obstetrician & Gynaecologist), Dr Chua Yang (A Clinic for Women), Dr Joycelyn Wong (ACJ Women’s Clinic Pte Ltd), Dr Caroline Khi (ACJ Women’s Clinic Pte Ltd)

Mt Alvernia (male gynae): Dr Adrian Tan (ACJ Women’s Clinic Pte Ltd), Dr Phua Soo Mear (Gynae Health Clinic for Women)

TMC (female gynae): Dr WK Tan (WC Cheng and Associates), Dr Adeline Wong (Adelina Women’s Clinic)

TMC (male gynae): Dr Benjamin Tham (WC Cheng and Associates), Dr Paul Tseng (TLC Gynaecology Practice), Dr Adrian Woodworth (Thomson Women’s Clinic)

Reviews stated that: Dr Paul Tseng is rather expensive but he is super pro natural; Dr Adrian Woodworth is very affordable but he is super fast in consultation and does not answer much questions.

Highly recommend to try out for one consultation to see if you are comfortable with the gynae before getting the prenatal package (if any)!

• Supplement

There is no need for any multi-vitamin or additional supplement other than folic acid as baby has its own nutrients from the yolk sac during first trimester. It is cheaper the get folic acid from pharmacy than from private gynae’s clinic.

• Down syndrome test

The gynae you have chosen will advise you on the down syndrome test to take. There are basically two types: OSCAR vs NIPT Harmony blood test.

The main differences? Cost vs accuracy. OSCAR is about $480 (including 20 weeks detailed scan) with 90% accuracy but NIPT Harmony test is about $800-1200 (depending on service provider) with 99% accuracy and can also test for gender.

Both tests are done at around week 11-12. So it would be best to see a gynae before week 12 so that he/she can better advise you on the test.

• Diet/ lifestyle changes

There are some food and activities pregnant women should avoid. Most gynae would recommend avoiding raw food (including half boiled eggs, sashimi etc), caffeine drinks (max 1 cup a day), alcohol, and cigarettes. My gynae also asked me to avoid high mercury seafood (tuna, swordfish, shark, lobster, mackerel, stingray) and bird’s nest as the latter might lead to childhood asthma in the baby.

She is also very safe and advised me to only walk, swim or easy zen yoga (no hot yoga) for the exercises that I can do.

• Pregnancy app/ books

I like to be an informed mum hence I try to read as much as I can before I pop. I like this baby app that keep tracks of my baby growth: “Baby Centre”. I also enjoyed reading this book “Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy”

• Start thinking if you want a maternity insurance

In my first pregnancy, I was busy with work and family matters so didn’t research more on insurance. By the time I enquired at 33 weeks, I have already missed the deadline to purchase the insurance.

That said, I researched early for my second pregnancy and decided not to have it as the premium is rather high and the coverage is mainly for very complicated pregnancies (which the pay out can only cover a fraction of these cost due to the complications). What I wanted was also more for baby’s coverage in case of NICU charges during the first 14 days where we are not able to buy any insurance for him yet. There is no hospital coverage for baby, only cash benefit if baby is warded (about $100 a day while the premium cost $1600. Hence I decided not to go ahead).

Do speak to your insurance agent as different people have different needs. Sgbudgetbabe sums up the maternity insurance in Singapore well.

Second Trimester

Hopefully the morning sickness (if any) has subsided by now. But if it hasn’t, here is a consoling news to read! 🙂

• Supplement

We are losing calcium to the growing baby hence it is important to take 1000mg of calcium every day (about 2 glasses of milk). I also take prenatal multi-vitamin and fish oil every day. Depending on your health conditions, gynae will be able to give you better advise on the supplement and diet to take.

I prefer to buy my multi-vitamin and calcium for pharmacies as they are cheaper than from clinic unless you can get at subsidised KKH rate.

• Shopping for pregnancy/ baby items!

Here comes the most exciting part! Retail therapy! Towards the end of the second trimester, I had to get loose clothings or pregnancy outfits. I try to buy loose clothings instead of pregnancy outfits so that I can wear after birth. Some of the must-buy items are: nursing bra (even if there is no intention to breastfeed, the breasts would expand and will not fit current bras anyway), stretch marks oil (if you are vain like me) and pregnancy shorts/pants (with expandable waistline).

Personally, I prefer to shop online such as shopee, qoo10, taobao or ezbuy as they are usually cheaper than retail shops. The same model of nursing bra I saw on qoo10 costs about $5 each whereas at babyfair is selling for $10 and retail shops about $30!

I did not buy many baby clothings as baby outgrows clothings very quickly. Some items that I gotten were baby cot and mattress, baby carrier, bottles & sterilizer and baby pram (gift). You may refer to this blog post for more comprehensive breakdown on newborn items to get.

• Hospital Tours

If your private gynae can deliver in more than one hospitals, it is time to book the hospital. You may decide after going on a hospital tour. Hospital tours also provide some free gifts and samples!

• Prenatal classes

I don’t find the hospital prenatal classes useful because during delivery, nobody really remembers all the lessons taught among the excruciating pain. It is good for bonding between the couple though, as my husband is now more prepared for the challenges ahead.

I enjoyed the prenatal yoga classes though! The deep breathing exercises certainly help during the delivery for me.

• Book your confinement nanny

If you need help during confinement, it is time to book your nanny as the good ones get taken really fast! The average cost is $2800 to $3200. There are private nannies and confinement agencies but I personally prefer word of mouth recommendation as I have heard many bad reviews about agencies.

• Discuss your birth plan with gynae

As mentioned, I didn’t do much research for my first pregnancy and did not discuss any birth plan with my gynae except my preference to have natural birth without epidural. On hindsight, it is better to have a more comprehensive plan, such as whether you want a doula or not. Read more about my birth experience here.

• Decide on what you want to do with your child’s cord blood and your own placenta

There were lots of private cord blood banks at babyfairs and I was tempted to sign up. As parents, we always want the best for our kids and knowing that this is a once in a life-time chance to store the cord blood, I did quite a lot of research on it.

When the promoters were not able to give me satisfied answers, I decided not to go ahead with the cord blood storage but donate his cord blood to Singapore Cord Blood Bank. You have to contact SCBB by around week 34 as you need to sign some forms. Also do note that if you are storing or donating cord blood, you are unlikely to have delayed cord clamping. I will write more about cord blood storing in another post.

As for placenta, there are some people who consume their own placenta after making it into pills. I am sitting on the fence for this but decided to just discard the placenta after my gynae strongly discouraged me from consuming.

• Last chance to buy maternity insurance

Reminder! Last chance to buy maternity insurance (by around week 32 depending on the company) if you are getting any.

Third Trimester

• Shopping for more baby items!

I wasn’t confident that I would be able to breastfeed succesfully hence I only purchased the breastpump a month before I pop. It was a good decision as it turns out online purchase is much much cheaper than during baby fair!

• Pack for hospital bag

During the hospital tour, you will probably receive a pamphlet with information on what to pack for labour. This is the list of items I packed:

1. Lavender essential oil and socks for labour (labour ward is quite cold)
2. Discharge home clothes (I prefer to wear their hospital gown during stay since I might stain with blood and milk)
3. Sanitary pads
4. Breast pump (I didn’t use as I was learning to latch)
5. Skin care set
6. Toiletries (prefer to use mine)
7. Makeup
8. Handphone charger
9. Disposable underwear
10. Nursing bra
11. Slipper
12. Marriage certificate if you want to register birth certificate at the hospital
13. Baby clothes, mittens and booties (2 sets)
14. Swaddle
15. Car seat

• Rest well for the labour!

Lastly, rest well and take the last bump shot! All the best! 🙂