I should back date this post because I started this article perhaps a year ago but never finished it. Anyway, I managed to edit it finally for this post and I hope you find it useful.
Looking for and choosing an OB-GYNE in a foreign country can be a mammoth task. If you are like me who finds personal connection in everything she does or meet, it would really be a tough job. I only had one requirement in choosing an OB-GYNE, that she is a female because I am not comfortable spreading my legs in front of another man! Don’t get me wrong, I don’t resent women who don’t mind having a male OB-GYNE. In fact, I do admire these women because unlike them, I get disturbed just by thinking about it.
I found my OB-GYNE through a search engine. Internet penetration in Singapore is close to 100% and what better way of finding something in the ‘little red dot’ but to ‘Google’ your way to an information. I particularly went to motherhood and women forums because in there I knew I would easily find the answers I was looking for.
I finally found a certain Dr. Soong at Thomson Medical Center which is probably the nearest private hospital from our place. She has good reviews from her patients. She has a Chinese name, but since she’s better known as Dr. Bernadette Soong, I knew I wouldn’t have difficulty communicating with her because having an English name is one sign that the person is English-educated in this country (so communication wouldn’t be a problem) and/or the person is a Christian. The latter isn’t really that important because I know it would be asking too much since I am no longer in a Christian-dominated country. (But fate would have it, I have known later that my chosen OB is a Catholic. We share the same faith. The significance of which I will share later in another post.)
And so I searched for her clinic’s number at the hospital’s website (merchants’ websites in this part of the country is as important as their telephone numbers). I phoned in and asked for an appointment. I was lucky, there was an available slot two weeks from that day and the nice Alice, the nurse-cum-secretary, fit me in to the doctor’s schedule. Normally, the busy doctor’s slots get filled up a month before.
The day of my appointment came. I waited for more than an hour despite arriving 30 minutes before my scheduled time slot. I guess that’s the case with any doctor appointments. They cannot control the length of time of each consultation. There are patients who tend to ask too many questions (and would even bring a list of questions with them, which is a good idea I think). There are also times when doctors engage in some personal conversations with their patients, thus, eating some of the consultation time.
I can say it was ‘attraction at first sight‘. My OB made me feel comfortable and at home the very moment I entered her consultation room. Her genuine smile and show of care gave it away. The first five minutes were spent getting to know each other. Natural, I guess, since we would be seeing each other for the next 7 months or so. She was ‘gentle’ specially during intrusive examinations.
The first consultation confirmed my first pregnancy. There was a sac and a heartbeat at 8 weeks. I was asked to go back three weeks after but fate would have it, I needed to see her a few days after because of spotting which eventually led to miscarriage (A separate account on that experience will be posted soon).
Her ‘first consultation’ fee is a bit expensive. (Although I was already expecting the slightly-higher-than-usual fee because the hospital where her clinic is is actually towards the high-end. Why I chose this hospital is because of proximity although there is a government hospital near our place, I am extra-squeamish so I needed an assurance that everything is spic-and-span.) The next consultation fees are manageable if you saved enough for this pregnancy but the meds and the tests like the ultrasound which she does “every” consultation adds up to the expense.
So since I was comfortable with her from the very start, I stuck with the doctor. If not, I would’ve done more ticking and clicking in the search engines to find the right OB-GYNE.
So before you lift that phone and make an appointment with an OB-GYNE you barely know, do some research. Read through some women or motherhood forums and ask the fellow mothers or mothers-to-be in your area for recommendations. Make sure you’re also clear on your ‘criteria’ such as ‘female’ (in my case), has accreditation or is allowed to deliver in the hospital or community hospital or lying-in centers where you want to deliver your baby, and, of course, fees within your budget.
The first consultation is very important. Make sure you ask all the questions you have (including his/her delivery fees) and that the doctor is someone you are comfortable with. It’s best to visit 2-3 doctors before you settle for ‘the one’ who will finally deliver your baby especially if you have doubts or felt uncomfortable with the first doctor you visited. Or even if it’s not the case, it’s always best to check out others first if you have the means and luxury of time to do so.
