My Pregnancy Diary 6 - Comparison of TMC, Mount Alvernia andMountElizabeth Novena

Hi all, 

I'm in my 34th week now! 
Feeling closer to my delivery and my belly is gradually shifting down. My prenatal consultation is now once every 2 weeks. In my previous 2 ultrasound scans, we can't really see Aedan's face because he is back facing my belly. Hehe, I guess, he likes this position. At least, I am glad that his head is down which is good for normal delivery. :) 

I am still considering which hospital to admit for delivery and have done a comparison of prices of all the three hospitals (Thomson Medical Centre, Mount Alvernia & Mount Elizabeth Novena). Based on my understanding from others' delivery experiences, it seems like many have experienced delivery which lasted more than 12 hours from time of admission. So I have worked out the hospital fees based on 12 hrs of delivery for both normal delivery with epidural and assisted delivery with epidural. 

Type of Delivery	Days	TMC	Mount Alvernia	Mount E Novena
Normal Delivery	2	$3,036.66	$3,103.00	$3,330.00
Normal Delivery with Epidural	2	$3,518.16	$3,491.41	$3,920.00
Assisted Delivery	2	$3,476.43	$3,320.21	$3,330.00
Assisted Delivery with Epidural	2	$3,877.68	$3,518.16	$3,920.00
Caesarean - GA	3	$4,956.24	$4,866.36	$5,562.00
Caesarean - Epidural	3	$4,802.16	$4,748.66	$5,562.00
Caesarean - Spinal	3	$4,658.78		$5,562.00
Caesaraean - GA Ligation	3	$5,179.87		$5,562.00
Caesaraean with Ligation - Epidural	3	$5,036.49		$5,562.00
Caesaraean with Ligation - Spinal	3	$4,908.09		$5,562.00
Caesaraean - emergency				$6,170.00
Others
One night companion accomdation charge		$101.65	$80.25	$97.00
12 hours of delivery		$571.38	$0.00	$0.00
SG50 Discount		$100.00	$100.00	$0.00
Normal Delivery with Epidural	2	$4,091.19	$3,471.66	$4,017.00
Assisted Delivery with Epidural	2	$4,450.71	$3,498.41	$4,017.00

Based on price comparison and personal experience during the maternity tour, I have eliminated TMC. I personally do not really like TMC given my bad experience with their staffs. When talking to one of their staffs, I have difficulty communicating with her due to her foreign accent and she is also very rude and impatient with me. Moreover, I noted that TMC have many hidden charges which I only realized after further probing.

I am currently trying to decide between Mount Alvernia Hospital and Mount Elizabeth Novena. 

Both hospitals have their pros and cons so it's really difficult to decide. 

I have done a table on the pros and cons and it appears that Mount Alvernia has more pros than cons. 

However, my hubby really wish to stay in with me so we really hope to secure a single room. Also, he favors more on Mount Elizabeth Novena which has 6 star hotel equivalent facilities.
Can imagine that it will be really shiok to stay in there. 

Mount Alvernia		Mount E Novena
Pros	Cons	Pros	Cons
Walking distance to my house	Old facilities	New facilities	Not within walking distance
More experienced nurses	No guarantee of single room	Guaranteed Single room	Less experienced nurses
Less expensive			More expensive

I cannot really decide. So I'm thinking maybe we will decide on the day. If Mount Alvernia has single room on the day, we will decide on Mount Alvernia. Else, we will head down to Mount E Novena. 

As the day of delivery seems to come closer, we are treasuring our 二人世界more and more. 

Over the weekend, we went for a movie and Saturday brunch.

Also done some clean up and washed Aedan's clothes.

Before movie time, I insist on taking a wefie as this may be our last few movies while our baby is still in my belly.

Have washed Aedan's clothes, towels, blanket, swaddle, bonnets and mittens. All so cute!

You may check out the maternity tour reviews from the following link:
1. Maternity Tour @ Mount Alvernia Hospital
2. Maternity Tour @ Thomson Medical Centre
3. Maternity Tour @ Mount Elizabeth Novena

______________________________________________________
Update:
I have decided on Mount Alvernia Hospital. 
You can check out my delivery experience and the total hospital bill here:

1. My delivery experience 
2. Total hospital bill

Cheers,
TwentySixOctober

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My Pregnancy Diary 5 - Review: Maternity Tour @ Mount Elizabeth Novena

Hi all,

My little Aedan is 31 weeks old. :)

Here's the latest photo of him but can't see much because his backside is facing my belly.
What a shy boy :)) He is really active these days and I feel more and more of his movement.

I'm glad that he is healthy and also that my Glucose Test & Haemoglobin test results are both good.
I have no diabetes and my blood level is normal which mean I can continue to eat my ice cream and sweet stuff. Yay!!

_________________________________________________________________________________

Review on Mount E Novena:

My doctor can deliver at 3 locations: Mount Alvernia, Thomson Medical Centre and Mount Elizabeth Novena. Visited maternity tours for all three hospitals and have reviewed the maternity tours at Mount Alvernia and Thomson Medical Centre in my previous posts.

This is my last maternity tour review.

When my hubby and I first stepped into Mount Elizabeth Novena, we both exclaimed that the hospital looks more like a 6 stars hotel. The entrance of the hospital looks similar to resort world hotel entrance. They even have a door boy standing at the entrance to welcome the visitors and guide them to their destination.

Their main entrance

Unlike TMC which has a very small lobby, Mount Elizabeth has an extremely huge lobby and comfortable waiting area at the side.

Unbelievable spacious lobby

Waiting area

Another photo of the waiting area and check out how spacious it is

We were asked to be seated at the waiting area before the tour start.
The tour started with a staff giving each couple a goodies bag and introducing herself. She first showed us to the admission counter. We were briefed that we can choose to do pre-registration with a deposit of S$500 to reserve a room and also to avoid any administrative hassle on the actual day .

Check out what is included in the Goodies Bag!

The staff told us that on the actual day of delivery, we may approach the main lobby counter for registration between 7am to 8pm. If we arrive before 7am or after 8pm, we have to proceed to the A&E entrance at the side for registration.

We will then be brought up to level 3 which have all the delivery suites and operating theatre.
We understand from the staff that there are 6 delivery suites. 
The maternity package covers 12 hrs in delivery suite and addition S$34/hr for additional usage.

This is the waiting area at level 3 for parents, friends and relatives to wait for baby delivery.
At the delivery suite, only one companion is allowed to go in.

Delivery suite/labour rorom at level 3

Toilet at delivery suite

After delivery, the mother will be ushered to level 9 where there are 32 single bedded rooms. To enter the maternity ward, a pass will be required. The daddy will be given a pass. For visitor, they will need to press the room number and mummy's name in order to enter. 

 The maternity ward area is very quiet. This is to ensure that mummy will not be disturbed by other visitors so that she can get enough rest. During the stay, there will be an in-house lactation consultation provided once per day.

Their single bedroom. It looks very new and spacious. 

Daddy can stay in with Mummy over the night for free without meals.
If Daddy wants meal, then have to pay additional for every night stay. 

Toilet in the maternity ward.
They provide complimentary Evelyn & Crabtree bathing essential during the stay.

The nursing room

After viewing the maternity room, the guide brought us to their top level where there's a penthouse maternity ward! For the rich who are willing to pay extra, they can opt to stay at penthouse after giving birth. What a luxury!

At the end of the tour, we were guided to a room where they served us some snacks & drinks.
The staff went to every couple to answer their doubts.  
During our session with the staff, we clarified with her on the complimentary stay for Daddy. She assured us that it is free if we do not opt for meal. This is something different from the other hospitals we have visited so far which require additional top-up for Daddy's stay regardless of whether meals are included/not.

Here's more information of the price of the maternity ward which they provide nicely in a file in the goodies bag.

Maternity Package includes the following:

Package excludes the following:
Specific consumables and medications (e.g. abdominal binder, antibiotics, etc.)
Newborn hearing screening
Phototherapy
OT surcharge for horoscopic LSCS (2000 hr - 0730 hr)
Use of the OT, recovery room and general anaesthetic in excess of the stipulated time
Cardiovascular laboratory (CVL) services and radiological contrasts
Electrocardiograms (ECGs), treadmill tests, and diagnostic imaging services (e.g. CT, MRI, Ultrasound, echocardiograhy (TEE), PET, nuclear medicine, X-rays, etc.)
Dialysis and oncology services
All laboratory tests and services, including blood transfusion products and services, histopathology, genetic studies, fine needle aspiration (FNA), and referred laboratory services (with the exception of Basic Baby screen and Bilirubin test)
Rehabilitation services, Homecare services
Accident and emergency services
Discharge (take-home) medications
Non-medical items/services (e.g. extra meals, laundry, IDD calls, etc.)
Pre-admission investigations
Doctors' fees
For Caesarean Delivery (Elective/emergency):
Use of foceps or vacuum pump
Use of labour ward delivery facility, Entonox, CTG monitoring, and other items/services prior to Caesarean delivery (fir Vaginal-to-Caesarean conversions)

The even include a list of what to do when you're in labour for easy reference. 

My Verdict:

Frankly, I am surprised that their maternity package prices are comparable to the other 2 hospitals I have visited. For the luxurious comfort of the spacious delivery suite and maternity ward they provide, the price is not as expensive as I expected.  

If I consider the fact that Daddy's stay is complimentary which will save us another about S$90/night. Also that they provide 12 hrs use of delivery suite unlike Thomson Medical (TMC) which provides only 8 hrs use of delivery suite, Mount E Novena may be even less expensive than TMC for normal delivery with epidural, with Daddy stay-in and assume 12 hr of delivery. 

The downside is that since this is a relatively new hospital which is opened in 2013, not all their nurses are very experienced. 
If we are lucky we may get experienced nurses they hired from Mount A/TMC.
If we are not lucky, we may get newbies. :(

It is really difficult to decide on the hospital for delivery since all hospitals have their pros and cons. 

Update: I have called in Mount Elizabeth Novena to check after I received queries from reader on the complimentary stay for Daddy. After clarification with their staff again, I am disappointed to reveal that the guide has provided wrong information during my maternity tour. Mount Elizabeth Novena will charge S$97 for companion with/without meals. :(((  

I'm still considering and may update you all more in the next post. 

You may check out my other maternity tour reviews from the following link:
1. Maternity Tour @ Mount Alvernia Hospital
2. Maternity Tour @ Thomson Medical Centre

Bye~~~

TwentySixOctober

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My Pregnancy Diary 3 - Review: Maternity Tour @ Mount Alvernia Hospital

Hi all,

I'm currently in my 26th week! I have been really busy for the past weekends checking my new house defects, preparing for renovation, baby stuff and visiting maternity tours.

I am trying to decide on the place for my delivery and have so far visited 2 maternity tours at Mount Alvernia and Thomson Medical Centre.

Today, I’ll like to share with you my maternity tour experience at Mount Alvernia Hospital.

At the start of the tour, each couple was given a goodie bag with information booklet, brochures and some free samples.

The tour guide went through the admission procedures and things to note before she brought us to see the delivery suite, maternity rooms and baby rooms.

Things to note:

• Mount Alvernia has a range of room types – suite, super deluxe, single delux, single, 2-bed, 4-bed.
• Only one companion is allowed to to stay over and only in single room. A companion fee of $80.25 (including GST) is chargeable (meal inclusive).
• Maternity Package only commence from the day of surgery/delivery which means if mother is admitted into hospital at night and delivered after 12am, additional charge of S$442 will be billed for the use of delivery facilities and room
• Maternity packages include the following:

a. Lodging, inclusive of meals (normal delivery – 3 days, 2 night, Caesarean section – 4 days, 3 nights)

b. Labour ward charges (up to 12 hrs) or operating theatre charges (depending on type of delivery)

c. Daily treatment fee for nursing services 

d. Baby’s immunisations (BCG, 1st doze of Hep B and Vitamin E).

e. Baby's blood tests for G6PD, TSH, Blood type

f. 1 complimentary group parent craft session – mon (10am to 11am), wed & fri (2pm to 3pm)

g. Maternity loop pad (1 packet)

h. Baby wipes (1 packet)

i. Baby’s bathtubj. Maternity discharge bagk. Basic toiletries (comb, shampoo, shower gel, shower cap, toothbrush, toothpaste, face towel, pen)

j. One time complimentary lactation consultation

Items not included in the package price: 
histology, X-Rays, blood cultures, haemoglucotest, blood transfusion, OT assistant fee, surcharges, baby hearing test,
metabolic test, abdominal binder, CTG monitoring and use of labour ward facility before emergency caesarean, use of peasant for induction of labour, antibiotics, blood test and phototherapy for babies with Jaundice, and drugs that are not commonly used are not included in the package price.

•  Maternity Package prices do not include doctors’ fees
• The hospital discharge time is anytime before 12 noon. For discharge between12 noon to 6pm, a half day room charge will be levied. For discharge after 6pm, a full-day room charge will apply.
• For Medisave paying patients, a deposit equivalent to the full package price of the selected maternity package will be collected at point of admission (payment via cash, NETS or credit card). For non Medidave-paying patients, the full package price plus $800 is payable as deposit upon admission.
• We are allowed to claim additional $450 for antenatal care upon submission of original receipts to admission staff
• Maternity packages for different wards are as followed:

After all the informative talk, the guide directed us to the admission counter and showed us the path to their labour wards. At this point, you may want to note down the direction to labour wards as you definitely will not want to be panickingly searching for the admission counter and labour ward during the big day. 

A photo of their labour ward.

On the day of our visit, all the single bed rooms were occupied so she showed us the 2-bed and 4-bed rooms instead.

After which, we were directed to the baby nursery. 

The guide also showed us their parenting craft room and we were glad to hear that there’s one complimentary parenting craft lesson where mommy and daddy can attend during their stay.

Mount Alvernia promotes breast feeding so they provide Medela breast pump for renting. We were advised not to bring our own breast pump as they do not provide cleaning service for personal breast pump.

At the end of the tour, we were each given a drink coupon to redeem free drink at their café.

Click Here (https://www.mtalvernia-hospital.org/maternity-packages/) to book your maternity tour now and to read more about their maternity packages. 

My Verdict:

I was initially very keen to deliver at Mount Alvernia as it’s walking distance from my place. Moreover, I have received many positive feedback from friends for their services and food.
I have also heard from people that Mount Alvernia has experienced and motherly nurses who know how to handle various delivery situations. They are also known to be good at providing breastfeeding tips.

However, after the maternity tour, I feel that their facilities and wards are quite old and used. The most discouraging news - they have very limited single room (12 single rooms only). We were told they do not allow reservation of room type and the room is subjected to availability on the day of admission. So there's no guarantee of single room. Mother will be placed in a 2-bedded room if single room is fully occupied. If 2-bedded rooms are also fully occupied, then mother will be transferred to 4-bedded room.

The uncertainty of single room availability is one thing which I am not comfortable with.

Being a first time mother, it will be good if my hubby can stay through the night with me after delivery. 

Update: In July 15, I have checked with Mount Alvernia and understand that there will be 8 new single rooms available from August 2015 onwards. Hurray!!

Can read more about other maternity review here:
Mount Elizabeth Novena
Thomson Medical Centre

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I have recently went to the SuperMom Carnival :) There were many goodies and they provided free photo-taking session on the day.

So happy with the photos taken on the day. 

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With Love,

TwentySixOctober