Clinicians urge tailored postnatal care in Singapore

Clinicians from Singapore and South Korea have called for more individualised, evidence-based postnatal care as women enter motherhood later, arguing that recovery plans should reflect each mother’s health, delivery experience, family support and preferences.

The call emerged from DeRAMA Singapore’s Joint Postnatal Recovery Seminar, held at The Singapore EDITION on August 17. Obstetrician and gynaecologist Dr Ho Ping Ling of Ascensus Health @ Mount Alvernia and Dr Park Jeong-mi, founder and medical director of Garden of Her Women’s Clinic in South Korea, compared the two countries’ approaches to postpartum recovery.

Their discussion comes as Singapore’s maternal profile changes. Government data show the median age of citizen mothers at first birth reached 31.6 years in 2024, up from 30.3 in 2014. Dr Ho said mothers aged 35 and above may have a greater likelihood of pre-existing conditions, pregnancy complications and Caesarean delivery, factors that can influence recovery.

“There is no one-size-fits-all approach. All women deserve individualised care, regardless of whether they are younger or older mothers,” Ho said. She added that assessment should consider a woman’s medical condition, pregnancy course, mode of delivery, available support and preferences. Although the postpartum period is commonly defined clinically as about six weeks, the time needed to regain health can differ substantially.

The seminar examined how professional services might complement rather than replace confinement traditions. Home-based support from relatives and confinement nannies remains common, offering practical help. The doctors, however, said some inherited rules lack a clear medical basis and should be reconsidered where they conflict with hygiene, nutrition or other evidence-based care.

Ho cited prolonged avoidance of bathing or washing hair as an example of a traditional restriction that may run against sound hygiene and infection-control principles. The broader approach advocated by the speakers was not to dismiss cultural customs but to distinguish supportive practices from those that may be unnecessary or unsuitable for a mother.

Park said South Korea had also moved from predominantly family-provided postpartum care towards a more structured model as nuclear households expanded, women participated more widely in the workforce and fewer relatives were available as full-time caregivers. This helped establish sanhujoriwon, postpartum recovery centres offering coordinated assistance with maternal recovery, meals, breastfeeding and newborn care.

She said 85.5 per cent of mothers in South Korea use a postpartum recovery centre after childbirth. Programmes vary in cost and scope, but trained maternal and newborn-care staff are typically available around the clock. Park said modern programmes increasingly address pain, swelling, musculoskeletal changes, sleep, feeding and emotional wellbeing, with support adjusted to the mother’s condition and delivery method.

Evidence also supports avoiding simplistic assumptions about age alone. A South Korean study of 528 postpartum women published in 2020 found no significant age-related difference in several self-reported postpartum symptoms, while delivery method and other factors were associated with differences. Caesarean delivery became more common with age in that study, reinforcing the case for recovery plans based on clinical circumstances rather than age by itself.

The World Health Organization similarly recommends postnatal care that provides women, newborns and families with consistent information, reassurance and support while recognising individual needs and cultural context. Its guidance frames a positive postnatal experience as extending beyond physical checks to include emotional wellbeing, newborn care, breastfeeding support and responsive health services.

Singapore’s Ministry of Health said on September 8 that polyclinics already provide subsidised postnatal services, while childhood developmental screening is fully subsidised. The ministry is also reviewing fertility health and maternity policies with the Prime Minister’s Office, including possible additional support for postpartum care in due course.

A separate ministry response in January noted that some mothers need outpatient services such as lactation assistance or screening for postnatal depression. It said women facing affordability problems with medically necessary postnatal care can approach medical social workers at public hospitals for assessment for financial help.