KKH to spend over $30m to transform population health, boost fertility rate

15 programmes include those that promote long-term well-being of mother and child

- Lee Li Ying

Maternity specialist KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH) announced on Oct 5 a programme to tackle pre-term pregnancies and births, an issue in Singapore despite declining birth rates and advancements in medical care.

The hospital said Singapore's premature birth rate was 8.2 per cent in 2023, marginally lower than the 8.8 per cent recorded in 2014, but much higher than places such as Hong Kong (6.5 per cent) and China (6.9 per cent).

The programme will provide accurate screening and prediction tools, and preventive strategies to proactively reduce and prevent pre-term pregnancies and births, KKH said.

Supported by Far East Organization, it will also establish a national database to enable the close monitoring as well as targeted interventions of women with risk factors for pre-term pregnancy.

“Comprehensive and up-to-date information from the database will help the team identify trends and gain a better understanding of the specific challenges faced by couples in Singapore,” said the hospital.

The programme is one of 15 KKH is introducing to transform population health and boost Singapore's fertility rates, the hospital said at a gala dinner at The Ritz-Carlton to mark its 100 years as a specialised maternity hospital.

President Tharman Shanmugaratnam was the guest of honour.