Preconception check up in Singapore: what it covers, where to go, what it costs

A preconception check up, which hospitals call preconception health screening, is a visit to a doctor before you start trying for a baby, ideally about three months before. It does four jobs:

• It runs blood tests, including a test for both of you for thalassaemia, an inherited blood disorder.
• It checks that you are protected against rubella (German measles), chickenpox and hepatitis B, a virus that attacks the liver, and vaccinates you if you are not.
• It starts you on folic acid.
• It gives a doctor the chance to look at any long-term health condition while there is still time to get it under control.

Its parts come from different places. A polyclinic, a government-run family clinic, does the thalassaemia test. A polyclinic or a CHAS GP clinic, a private GP in the government’s Community Health Assist Scheme, gives the catch-up MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine to an adult with no record of the jab or of immunity.

At a CHAS GP that costs S$38 a dose for a citizen with a CHAS Green card or no card (as of October 2026). The colour of a CHAS card sets how much subsidy you get.

KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH) screens couples for over 80 inherited conditions for free until 2027, under a programme called PREDICT. A private hospital sells preconception health screening as one package, but does not publish the price, so ask for a quote.

Here is what each route covers for her and for him, what it costs, and what to do in the three months before you start trying.

What preconception health screening covers, for her and for him

Preconception health screening matters more the later a first baby comes, and in Singapore it comes later than it used to. The median age of mothers at first birth was 32.1 in 2025, according to the Singapore Department of Statistics (SingStat). Median means half of first-time mothers were older than that and half younger.

KKH’s Healthy Early Life Moments in Singapore (HELMS) programme sets out preconception care as four areas, which it calls the four S: Screening, Size (your weight), Supplements and Sex. Its page on HealthXchange says preconception health is for both mothers- and fathers-to-be. HealthXchange is the health site of SingHealth, the public healthcare group KKH belongs to.

For her

A private hospital package is the fullest version, so it is a fair list to start from. At Parkway East Hospital, it covers:

• your medical history, blood pressure, a full blood count (a count of the different cells in your blood) and your blood group
• a rubella antibody test, a blood test that shows whether you are already protected
• your weight, as body mass index (BMI), a measure of weight against height
• a basic gynaecological examination (a doctor’s check of the womb and the area around it), a breast examination and a pelvic ultrasound, a scan of the womb and ovaries
• screening for diabetes, hepatitis B, sexually transmitted infections and HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, and a Pap smear, a test of cells from the cervix

Before any of that, the doctor talks through your nutrition, any medical conditions, inherited diseases in the family, smoking, alcohol and drugs, and your vaccination history. If you take any medicine regularly, bring the list, so the doctor can see it before a pregnancy depends on it.

For him

At Parkway East, you and your partner go through the consultation together. Beyond the blood work, though, every test on its list is a test for her: the gynaecological and breast examinations, the pelvic ultrasound and the Pap smear. There is no test for him alone on it.

Two checks do need him. KKH says both of you should have a thalassaemia blood test when you are starting a family, and the PREDICT genetic screen tests both partners, because it looks for couples who carry the same faulty gene. For the rest, HealthXchange puts his part plainly: stay as healthy as possible, and support your partner physically and mentally.

Where to book: polyclinic, KKH or a private package

Each route covers a different part, so you may well use two of them. The table sets out what each one does, whether it includes him, and what it costs.

Two things the table cannot show. First, the private packages are not as varied as they look: Parkway East, Gleneagles and Mount Elizabeth offer the same test list word for word, and none of the three publishes a price. Second, none of those three lists has a thalassaemia test or a genetic carrier screen on it, the two checks that test him as well as her.

So if you book a private package, we would ask two questions before paying: is a thalassaemia test for both of us included, and what is the total for the two of us, in writing? If the answer to the first is no, the polyclinic does that test.

PREDICT: the free genetic screen at KKH

PREDICT looks for something neither of you would notice on your own. A carrier is a person with one copy of a gene that does not work, and a carrier usually has no symptoms at all.

If both of you carry the same one, a child can inherit a copy from each of you and have the condition. KKH says a couple like that might only find out after an affected child is born.

The full name is the Temasek Foundation PREDICT (PaREnthood genetic DIsease Carrier Test) Programme, run by KKH with Temasek Foundation. It screens for over 80 severe recessive conditions common in Asian populations, all of which start in early childhood.

Recessive means a child only gets the condition with a faulty copy of the gene from each parent. KKH expects up to 1 in 250 couples to be a carrier couple, meaning both partners carry the same condition.

A test panel is the set of conditions one genetic test looks for. Associate Professor Saumya Jamuar, a senior consultant in KKH’s Genetics Service, says studies have found that most panels miss over 25 per cent of the severe recessive disorders common among Asians, which is the gap this panel was built to close.

How to get it:

1. Check you qualify. At least one of you must be a Singapore citizen or permanent resident. You can be screened before or during a pregnancy.
2. Get referred, or refer yourselves. KKH refers couples during obstetric visits there, the check-ups a pregnancy doctor runs. To ask on your own, email [email protected], or WhatsApp 6394 3998.
3. Give a sample. It is a simple blood test or a cheek swab, and all of it is done and processed at KKH.
4. Get the result. If you are both carriers, KKH gives you counselling to explain the risk and the family planning options open to you.

Why thalassaemia is the test to do together

Thalassaemia is an inherited blood disorder. A person with it cannot make normal haemoglobin, the part of the blood that carries oxygen around the body. About 4.5% of people in Singapore, roughly 1 person in 22, carry the thalassaemia gene, according to KKH.

A carrier, said to have thalassaemia minor or the thalassaemia trait, is healthy and leads a normal life, and KKH says most carriers do not know they have it.

What matters is whether both of you carry it. KKH sets out the odds:

• If only one of you carries it, none of your children will have thalassaemia major, the severe form, and each child has a 50% chance of being a carrier.
• If both of you carry it, each pregnancy has a 25% chance of a child with thalassaemia major, a 50% chance of a carrier and a 25% chance of a child with neither.

The odds are the same with each pregnancy, however many children you have. The test is a simple blood test at any polyclinic. If either of you turns out to be a carrier, KKH says you should both see a doctor for genetic counselling, a talk about the risk and your options, before you have a child.

Pregnant women are offered carrier screening for thalassaemia major anyway, and have been since 1992, but testing before you start trying gives you the answer before a pregnancy depends on it.

What to do in the three months before you start trying

Three months is the number to plan around. It is how long folic acid should run before you conceive, and it is the time KKH’s obstetrics and gynaecology department, its doctors for pregnancy and women’s health, tells you to set aside for vaccines, because some courses take longer to complete and are safer given when you are not pregnant. In order:

1. Book preconception health screening for both of you. A polyclinic for the thalassaemia test and any catch-up vaccine, a private package if you want it all in one visit, or both.
2. Start folic acid. Folic acid is a B vitamin the baby needs for its nervous system, and it helps prevent spina bifida, where the spine does not close fully. KKH’s obstetrics and gynaecology department says a woman can take at least 400 mcg (micrograms) a day, or 5 mg (milligrams), ideally from three months before you get pregnant until week 12 of the pregnancy. 5 mg is 5,000 mcg, a far higher dose, so ask your doctor which amount suits you, especially if spina bifida runs in the family.
3. Check your vaccines. The same department says to make sure you are immune, meaning already protected, to rubella (German measles), varicella (chickenpox) and hepatitis B. These infections can harm both mother and baby, and in the worst cases lead to birth defects or miscarriage. If you are not immune, this is where the three months go.
4. Decide on PREDICT. If you want the genetic carrier screen, contact KKH at the same time as you book everything else.
5. Bring any long-term condition under control. HealthXchange says a pre-existing health condition needs time to be brought under good control before a pregnancy. Bring your list of regular medicines to the appointment.
6. Look at weight and habits. If you are overweight, HealthXchange suggests losing at least 5% of your weight before pregnancy. KKH’s department also lists avoiding smoking and alcohol, and managing stress.

Read the slides as words

1. Three months before you try: Six things to do together, in order.; Three months is how long folic acid should run before you conceive.
2. Step one: book the check for both of you: A polyclinic for the thalassaemia test and any catch-up vaccine.; A private hospital package if you want it all in one visit.; Ask the hospital if a thalassaemia test for both of you is included.
3. Step two: start folic acid: At least 400 mcg a day, or 5 mg, from three months before conception until week 12.; Ask your doctor which amount suits you.
4. Step three: check your vaccines: Make sure you are immune to rubella, chickenpox and hepatitis B.; Some vaccine courses take longer, and are safer given before a pregnancy.
5. Step four: decide on PREDICT: KKH's genetic carrier screen tests both of you, free from 2024 to 2027.; Email [email protected] or WhatsApp 6394 3998.
6. Step five: bring any long-term condition under control: A condition needs time to be brought under good control before a pregnancy.; Bring your list of regular medicines to the check.
7. Step six: look at weight and habits: If you are overweight, aim to lose at least 5% of your weight before pregnancy.; Avoid smoking and alcohol, and manage stress.
8. After a positive test: Book the visit that confirms the pregnancy and starts your antenatal care.

What Healthier SG and MediSave will and will not pay for

Two national schemes help less than you might expect here.

Healthier SG is the national preventive care programme, in which you enrol with a Healthier SG clinic or a polyclinic. A citizen enrolled with a Healthier SG clinic gets the MMR vaccine there at no cost, if they need it.

The catch is the age. Enrolment is open to citizens and permanent residents aged 40 and above. From 2027, those aged 25 to 39 who are in ComLink+, a programme run by the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF), can enrol too.

If you are under 40 and not in ComLink+, you cannot enrol yet, so the CHAS GP or polyclinic price in the table is the one you pay.

MediSave can pay what is left of the MMR vaccine bill at a CHAS GP or a polyclinic, under the government’s MMR subsidy rules. MOH’s 2022 MediSave extension for genetic testing is a different thing: it covers two tests on embryos, called PGT-M and PGT-SR.

Those tests are done as part of IVF (in vitro fertilisation, where eggs are fertilised in a laboratory), for couples at risk of passing on a serious inherited disease. They are not part of preconception health screening.

MOH’s list of what MediSave pays for at outpatient clinics has two items under health screening: mammograms for women aged 50 and above, and selected screening tests for newborns. Preconception health screening is not one of them (as of October 2026), so do not count on MediSave for the screen itself. Ask the clinic before you book.

Your questions, answered

Your next step comes after a positive test. That is the visit that confirms the pregnancy and starts your antenatal care, and our guide to when to see a doctor to confirm a pregnancy in Singapore covers when to book it and where to go. The rest of our pregnancy guides picks up from there.

Wei Chun

Founder & Editor

A Singapore parent writing the guide he wished he'd had — practical, calm, and grounded in what actually works.

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