asking for auspicious Some mums asking for birth timings despite constraints

Such deliveries are usually by caesarean section, which has risks such as infection

- Salma Khalik

Ms Yvonne Lim gave birth to the first "dragon" baby in Singapore in 2024 at 16 seconds past midnight on Feb 10.

For her, it was a bit of planning, but more of coincidence. Her daughter was due on Feb 16 but decided to come early.

Ms Lim, a 34-year-old content manager, checked in at Parkway East Hospital on the morning of Feb 9, the eve of Chinese New Year.

As the Chinese Year of the Dragon is considered auspicious, her obstetrician, Dr Heng Tung Lan, asked if she wanted a dragon baby. She replied: "Sure, why not? So long as it is safe for the baby."

Her dilation was already about 7cm in the early afternoon, but Dr Heng was able to delay the birth till just after midnight. The doctor will not reveal how it was done, as she said it is a trade secret.

While Ms Lim had not planned to give birth at an auspicious time, other parents opt to do so. There are at least a couple of hundreds of such births referred to as horoscopic births every year, said people in the know who spoke to The Straits Times.

Horoscopic births usually happen in private hospitals and, only in certain cases, in some public hospitals.

Singapore General Hospital said it does not accede to such requests.

Both KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH) and National University Hospital (NUH) said they discourage parents from requesting delivery date and time, but do oblige in a few cases.

Professor Arijit Biswas, a senior consultant in maternal foetal medicine at NUH, said such a request is allowed only if there is medical indication for the woman to give birth by caesarean section, and only if the requested time is after normal hours as it is almost impossible to plan for a specific delivery time during a busy work day.

The hospital imposes a surcharge on such requests, though the surgeon's fee remains the same.