Marks KKH’s centenary as a maternity hospital with over $30 million funding, with the support of philanthropic partners, in life-course focused programmes
5 October 2024, Singapore - KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH) today announced 15 innovative programmes directed at transforming population heath and boosting Singapore’s fertility rates, as it marks 100 years as a specialised maternity hospital.
The event, graced by President Tharman Shanmugaratnam as Guest of Honour, highlighted the hospital’s commitment to championing life-course focused initiatives. With the support of philanthropic partners, KKH is channelling over $30 million into programmes that champion champion preventive approaches to address pressing population issues such as metabolic health1, preterm birth, mental wellness and health literacy in the community.
“KKH’s novel programmes embrace a life-course approach to create a healthier and happier Singapore. By shifting our focus upstream towards preventive targets, we recognise the critical importance of early intervention in population health. Research shows that addressing health concerns in the early stages can significantly improve the chances of women getting pregnant and minimise the risk of pregnancy complications,” said Professor Alex Sia, Chief Executive Officer, KKH. “Minimising, if not eliminating exposure to metabolic disease risk factors before, during and after pregnancy, can shape the mother’s health and subsequently, the child’s. And this can have a positive impact on the family and communities for generations to come.”
Key programmes include PELiCAN (Paediatrics & Endocrinology Life-Course Action Network), Preterm Pregnancy Prevention Programme and community midwifery programme, EMPOWER2.
PELiCAN (Paediatrics & Endocrinology Life-Course Action Network)
Earmarked to be one of the main programmes under KKH-led MCHRI2, PELiCAN is a comprehensive preventive metabolic health initiative.
The primary goals are to:
- Maintain metabolic wellness in healthy children and their family
- Prevent new metabolic health risks that can aggravate existing metabolic disorders in children
“Common metabolic conditions namely the ‘four-highs’ - body mass index, blood pressure, sugar level (diabetes), cholesterol - are the nemesis of good population health. These risk factors for cardiovascular diseases have their origins in childhood, and are often interconnected. But they are also preventable and manageable with lifestyle changes to diet, sleep, physical activity and good mental health practices. The key is to act early, and to engage the child’s network of caregivers,” said Professor Fabian Yap, Lead, PELiCAN and Deputy Director, MCHRI.
Maintaining metabolic wellness – The goal is to optimise the family’s health and development from preconception right through to when the child turns 18 years. Leveraging technology, the programme will use digital platforms to create and deliver personalised care to help families foster healthy lifestyle practices in the crucial first two years of their child’s life.
Preventing new health risks – For children born with metabolic diseases such as familial hypercholesterolemia3 or in those with type 1 diabetes, the effective management of existing symptoms is essential in minimising the emergence of new metabolic health risks, which in turn is crucial in the prevention of heart attack and stroke later in life.
This programme will emphasise a holistic approach to care and provide comprehensive care for patients, to achieve immediate health improvements while enhancing long-term quality of life for children until they turn 18 years old.
Preterm Pregnancy Prevention Programme
Another global concern is prematurity. It is the leading cause of death for children under five years. 15 million babies are born prematurely each year, and one million die from preterm complications every year. In addition, premature babies can suffer various long-term health consequences and have an increased risk of disability and developmental delays.
Even with declining birth rates and advancements in medical care, Singapore has a relatively high premature birth rate. In 2023, the country’s premature birth rate was 8.2 per cent, marginally lower than the 8.8 per cent recorded in 20144. However, this is much higher than neighbouring countries such as Hong Kong (6.5 per cent)5 and China (6.9 per cent)6.
The Preterm Pregnancy Prevention Programme aims to provide personalised care with accurate screening and prediction tools, and preventive strategies to proactively reduce and prevent preterm pregnancies and births.
The programme, supported by Far East Organization, will also establish a national database to enable the close monitoring as well as targeted interventions of women with risk factors for preterm 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.
EMPOWER2 – A Community Midwifery Programme
Midwives and nurses specialising in midwifery have been the cornerstone of KKH since it became a maternity hospital in 1924. Drawing on KKH's clinical expertise and evidence-based practices, the hospital’s approach to nursing care has evolved over the years. International recommendations have highlighted the positive impact of early home visitations on mothers. These visits have been shown to improve the physical, social, emotional, and mental health outcomes of mothers, babies, and families.7
KKH-led MCHRI is developing the first-of-its-kind Community Midwifery Programme, EMPOWER2 (Enriching Mothers’ Postpartum Outcomes With Education, Research and Resources), to enhance couples' health literacy and foster healthy lifestyle behaviours, to promote positive long-term health outcomes.
KKH nurses specialising in midwifery will deliver personalised, evidence-based anticipatory care through family-centric education to new parents, in the comfort of their homes. This includes guidance for new mothers to identify signs of postnatal conditions and depression, and to sustain breastfeeding. The programme will cover the first six weeks after childbirth – the golden period to optimise maternal well-being and the child’s development.
The two-year pilot will commence in early 2025 and is expected to benefit 400 postnatal mothers residing in Kallang, Sengkang and Punggol.
“We are thrilled with this robust list of new programmes as we celebrate KKH’s 100 years as a maternity hospital. The initiatives reflect our unwavering commitment to provide comprehensive, accessible, and innovative care tailored to the evolving needs of modern families. KKH will continue to push the boundaries, to set new benchmarks in women and child health, transform population health, and foster positive change for generations. As KKH enters its second century of care, we reaffirm our commitment to become the population health centre for the region,” said Professor Sia.
Details of the programmes that also include support for women and children with chronic conditions, and carrier screening for couples to identify potential genetic conditions can be found in the
Annex.
1Metabolic health refers to the efficiency of body processes and uses energy from food, maintaining balanced levels of blood sugar, cholesterol, and blood pressure, which is crucial for overall well-being and disease prevention.
2SingHealth Duke-NUS Maternal and Child Health Research Institute
3Familial hypercholesterolemia is an inherited condition where the body struggles to remove excess cholesterol from the blood, leading to abnormally high cholesterol levels from birth and an increased risk of early heart disease.
4Annual statistics report from the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority:
ICA | Statistics
5www.pghongkong.com/en-us/blogs/EN-Pampers-HKCECES-Onward-Preemie-Babies-Program/
6www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00298-9/fulltext
7WHO recommendations on maternal and newborn care for a positive postnatal experience
