19 Dec 2011
By: AMANDA TAN
LIKE many parents-to-be, Mrs Dorothy Tan and her husband are anxious and excited about their baby’s birth.
They signed up for a four-week prenatal or childbirth preparation course at the Singapore General Hospital to better prepare for the big day next March.
They are among a growing number of young, proactive and more educated parents driving up demand for such courses at hospitals and private centres.
And demand is expected to climb even higher next year as the Dragon Year, which starts on Jan 23, traditionally brings more babies.
Typically, prenatal courses are run over three to nine weeks, with participants attending at least a session each week. Topics covered include birth options, pain management, physiotherapy, nutrition and postnatal care. A package, which often includes information booklets or instructional videos, can cost from more than $100 to about $700.
“I wanted to know more about the changes in my body and find out more about the advice passed down from previous generations,” said Mrs Tan, 34, assistant vice-president at a bank.
“It’s a good chance for my husband to get involved in the pregnancy as well,” added Mrs Tan, who is married to a planning executive.
The trend is said to have emerged three to four years ago.
At Thomson Medical Centre, a spokesman said it had spotted more registrations for its Childbirth Education Course since 2006. It has added three classes for next year.
At KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, its classes are full, said its director of corporate development division, Ms Audrey Lau.
Madam Uma Thambidurai, director of Mother & Child, a private education centre which conducts such classes, said that in the last three to four years, places were always taken up.
The Dragon Year will further bump up enrolment, with the Parkway Pantai Group noting that numbers usually increase by 15per cent to 20 per cent.
The National University Hospital predicts a 20 per cent rise in demand next year, with its three classes next month already fully booked.
Private childbirth educator Diann Bustamante, 58, said she is prepared to add two classes to her current five.
She conducts two kinds of courses – childbirth preparation and waterbirthing – at Parentlink, a centre which provides support for mums and dads.
The popularity of the courses, Ms Bustamante added, could be due to the fact that pregnant women are “more aware that they have options like waterbirthing instead of just normal or caesarean delivery, and they come to find out more”.
Waterbirthing refers to giving birth with the woman submerged in water. It is said to be more relaxing and reduces the risk of tearing for the woman.
Sociologist Paulin Straughan said that as couples become more educated, they have access to resources and information. “As society progressed, it transformed childbirth from a natural process to a science. So we try our very best to predict and prepare for every step,” she noted.
Such courses are also marketed “quite aggressively”, she said.
Doctors encourage patients to sign up for sessions, said obstetrician and gynaecologist Choo Wan Ling. “Doctors can give the same information as well but we are limited by time constraints... the trainers will have more time to discuss properly the issues,” she said.
Dr Choo added that about 70 per cent of her patients take up courses, compared to just 40 per cent four years ago.
Email: tamanda@sph.com.sg
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