Searching for the right O&G

Finding the right O&G for me due to my sudden circumstances  at 5 weeks pregnant was rather rushed and head-spinning. As the facilities at SJMC were recommended, me and hubby decided to check it out for our first check-up at week 5 day 6 of my pregnancy. Many recommendations came in for Dr Delilah of SJMC. Unfortunately, she had stopped her services a few years back and as we urgently needed to see an available O&G the next morning, we settled for Dr Pauline Pue.

Having no idea what to expect from our visit, we went in, did an ultrasound, and left paying everything in a blur. I had no idea what to ask and it felt like we were guided to just carry on with our daily lives as usual until the next check-up. I had thought maybe the lack of communication between us and the doctor was because it was our intial first visit. Only much later after reading up on experiences from other moms did i understand that i was not alone in facing this confusion and what i should be looking out for in an O&G in accordance to my gut and maternal instincts.

By the end of the 4th month of my pregnancy, i had developed a nauseating reaction towards my pregnancy supplement, Obimin +, and was advised by my O&G to switch to Pharmaton Matruelle. Only by the end of my 5th month check-up did she highlight to me the need to consider calcium supplements since Pharmaton did not contain any. Only then did it hit me that the reason why i had been so exhausted before was probably due to the lack of iron and calcium in my diet! However, the way she suggested it to me nonchalantly made me kind of upset, especially since i had already informed her earlier on i was lactose-intolerant and generally did not drink milk daily as part of my diet.

Another point that irked me was the lack of proper communication between the nurses and the doctor. One such instance was where my blood test results which were carried out in the 4th month of my pregnancy which was supposed to be handed to me at my next visit was only located by the hospital and given to me after i requested for it 2 months later of not having received it.

In addition, the clinic where the mid-pregnancy ultrasound known as the Fetal Anomaly Scan ("FAS") was to be carried out during week 20 of my pregnancy, Subang Women's Scan Centre, which had been recommended by my O&G, was located just across SJMC and costs RM300 one-off, did not pass on a copy of the scan results to my O&G and at my next appointment with her a week later, i had to give her my copy of the results pending receipt of their copy. Good news was a found at that our baby was a boy! His unashamed positioning of his little asset made that pretty certain when he flashed it on the screen monitor for all in the room, including mom-in-law, to see.

Starting to feel uncomfortable with her service and considering the premium rate we were paying of RM160++ per visit, excluding parking, toll and petrol, we tried to see another Dr. Christina Tan within SJMC itself to see if things would be better. Personally, nope. The waiting line was longer, our appointment time was shorter and rushed, her prescribed supplements and fee rate was heart-poppingly higher, almost double of what we'd normally pay, and finally, she does not do labor deliveries.

That said, hubby and I began sourcing for alternative hospital/clinics nearby with recommended O&Gs present. That was when we came across Dr. Ng and Dr. Raja Juhaidah from Columbia Asia, Puchong. Already at 22 weeks pregnant, hubby and I decided that it would be best to just stick with this hospital to ensure that we could build up a proper medical record for our baby, as jumping round "testing" other doctors now would only make my patient profile confusing.

My first visit at Columbia Asia, Puchong was unfortunately on week 22 day 2, due to the reason that i had missed the last step on the stairs 2 nights ago thanks to our toy poodle sleeping in the middle of the step and throwing me off-balance when i failed to notice her there. Fortunately, i managed to instinctively balance myself and landed on my legs folded japanese style, with my belly, pelvis and tailbone not hitting anything hard. 

Unfortunately, a half hour later my whole abdomen started tensing up and cramping up pretty bad and baby started moving around alot, as if struggling and kicking. This carried on for at least another half hour and then baby suddenly went quiet, and stayed quiet until the next day late afternoon. Talk about a scare! It was also that very Saturday morning i had just visited Dr Pauline Pue and now having to visit Dr Ng on Monday for an ultrasound checkup to be safe was like paying for 2 checkups in that 1 month span. In addition, first time visits for any specialists are always the most expensive. OUCH!

It was pleasant to speak with Dr Ng and he could tell that as a first time mom i was still very knew to this experience and nervous. He shared a number of reading materials with me and recommended i do the Modified Glucose Tolerance Test as my grandfather had a history of diabetics before, something which i wondered by SJMC did not recommend me to do eventhough i had highlighted the same to them before. Personally, i was comfortable with Dr Ng but this being my first pregnancy and the fact that i still felt somewhat shy about a male doctor assisting with my delivery, i decided that my next visit would be to see Dr. Raja Juhaidah after she returns from her Raya holidays.

I began seeing Dr Raja Juhaidah since week 26 day 3 of my pregnancy and since then, have grown rather comfortable with her and her nurse. Hubby and I would try our best to be the first few patients on Saturday morning 8:00am, as this will result in our waiting time to be as short as 15 minutes, and the whole appointment, registration, urine test and payment included, would be done by/before 9:00am.

Another plus point for us was how upfront they were on their fee rates for check-ups and delivery, as well as general medical advisory and contact information as we were provided an information sheet on these immediately after our first visit with her. Information within the hospital was well managed and a patient's history records are usually updated into their system promptly to enable instant retrieval (even by another doctor) upon the next visit.

The ultrasound scans results were clearly printed for us each time and provided to us in accordance to whether a decent photo of the baby could be seen. This was definitely something i treasured every visit as i would be able to read the basic statistics of how well our baby was doing, not to mention the clear 3D photograph shots of him were just adorable! Compared to our earlier visits at SJMC where most of the photos were blurry/dark and in instances we did not voice out for a copy, none would be given to us. Yet the rates charged at both hospitals were nearly the same!

As of week 39 of my pregnancy, i have visited Dr Raja Juhaidah a total of 6 times for check-ups so far, and i noticed that the more frequent i visited, the lower the doctor's fees would be. As at my 6th visit, without the ultrasound pic and only statistics provided, my bill is almost half of what i paid during my first visit to her clinic! Both visits exclude any supplements or medications too. I guess this is the same for recurring patients of other clinics/ hospitals, but what surprised me most was the fact that they were willing to reduce the fee for my ultrasound to RM15.90 excluding GST because no picture could be taken with baby having moved quite down into my pelvic area. 

Thus far, Dr Raja Juhaidah has also done a wonderful job at easing some of my pregnancy worries such as my earlier low-lying placenta concern, if my baby could suddenly rotate to be in breech position or if natural birth could be possible with my ever larger growing baby. She also introduced the concept of perineal massage to me in hopes it would help to ease labor later.

During the times i had been seeing Dr Raja Juhaidah i had received very positive feedback from other moms of another visiting doctor in the area, namely Dr Chia from Chia & Loo Women Specialist. Although the check-up rates with supplements provided would be cheaper than Columbia Asia, the slight cause for concern would be how much their labor rates would be when they were to borrow the facilities of the patient's chosen hospital for their delivery, as resident doctor and visiting doctor rates are definitely not the same. Guess i'll need to follow-up on this if this alternative can be considered later on for my second pregnancy?

The final stretch of my home-run is nearing now, and my abdomen is now constantly cramping up (literally!) from all this anticipation. When the time comes, even with my birth plan ready and having briefed hubby on it, guess i'll just play things by ear and hope for the best then.

A summary of factors i have compiled for consideration on choosing the right O&G for you can be found in my linked post here.