For the first time, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) fertility health checks will be included as part of the campaign
SINGAPORE, Nov. 4, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- I Love Children (ILC) announced today, the start of their annual Know Your Fertility Wellness Campaign, which will continue their focus on educating couples on fertility health and creating conversations on the subject of fertility through virtual webinars with doctors and specialists; an online fertility wellness massage sharing session for couples; fertility health checks conducted separately by obstetricians and gynaecologists and, certified Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) physicians; and the formation of a fertility support group which will act as a peer support group for couples trying to conceive.
Fertility health checks for couples
Together with ILC's long-standing partner Thomson Fertility Centre, around 150 fertility health checks with Thomson's Fertility Centre's gynaecologists will be given to couples to better understand their respective fertility health. Each of these fertility health checks comprises of hormone blood tests for the female and semen analysis for the male. Once the tests are completed, the results will be reviewed, together with an ultrasound scan, during a consultation session with the doctor. A total of two trips will be required to the clinic.
Apart from the above, for the first time ever, ILC is partnering Thomson Chinese Medicine to provide 50 fertility health checks with their registered TCM physicians for couples who are interested to find out how they can enhance their fertility health through TCM. Each of this consultation consists of one trip to any of their three clinics located at Paragon, NUH Medical Centre and Waterway Point.
Interested couples can sign up for the package at https://ilovechildren.sg/fertility-health-check-2020. Each fertility health check is worth SGD$400 at Thomson Fertility Centre and SGD $120 at Thomson Chinese Medicine.
Mrs Joni Ong, President of ILC said "We have been running the Know Your Fertility campaign since 2016 and from our fertility health study report last year, there is so much more we can do to increase education and awareness on the issues surrounding fertility health, including the importance of early checks, the treatments available and the impact of fertility health on a relationship. When it comes to family planning, couples can only make informed decisions after they find out the state of their fertility health. We hope that by partnering Thomson Fertility Centre and Thomson Chinese Medicine to provide fertility health checks to couples, will encourage more to take charge of their fertility health."
Webinars on fertility health
ILC will also be conducting two closed door webinars for couples on:
- 6 November, 8pm (with Thomson Chinese Medicine and Thomson Fertility Centre)
- 13 November, 8pm (with KK Women's and Children's Hospital and Singapore General Hospital)
The webinars are aimed to present the topic of fertility in Singapore through an engaging and informative platform for couples. During the first webinar happening on 6 November, the doctors and physician will share more information about topics such as Difference in fertility treatments, What happens in the lab and Boosting fertility with TCM. As for the second webinar happening on 13 November, topics covered would be Dos and Don'ts of baby-making, Getting pregnant during the pandemic, Common causes of infertility for males and females and Knowing the right time for fertility treatment. Participants will also be given an opportunity to ask fertility-related questions during the respective webinars.
Interested couples can register for the webinars at – https://ilovechildren.sg/event/know-your-fertility-wellness-2020-webinar
Please see annex for list of speakers for the webinars.
Sharing session about fertility wellness massage
Additionally, ILC is working together with Babies Bliss to organise an online sharing session on fertility wellness massage. During this session, couples will be able to learn more about the benefits of a fertility massage, witness a demonstration on acupressure points for self-massage and hear about the dos and don'ts of a fertility massage. The aim of this online session is for couples to understand and learn more about the benefits of a fertility massage.
Interested couples may visit I Love Children Singapore Facebook page on 30 October 2020, from 8pm onwards for the online sharing session.
Fertility Support Group Singapore
ILC has also newly set up an online fertility support group this month, which will act as a peer support group for couples trying to conceive. Members of the support group can ask questions anonymously and share their personal experiences as well. Occasionally, ILC will post answers to these questions with responses from doctors who are part of a panel set up by ILC. Interested couples may follow I Love Children Singapore Facebook Page at https://www.facebook.com/ILoveChildrenSG and request to join Fertility Support Group Singapore.
ILC's Know Your Fertility Wellness Campaign is supported by Thomson Fertility Centre, Thomson Chinese Medicine, KK Women's and Children's Hospital, Singapore General Hospital and Asia PR Werkz.
For more information, please visit www.ilovechildren.sg.
Please access this link for relevant high res photos. Kindly credit the images to: I Love Children (ILC).
About I Love Children
I Love Children (ILC) is a voluntary welfare organisation set up in September 2005 with the purpose of keeping Singapore young – by advocating a higher priority to having children, educating couples on fertility wellness, and promoting a society where children are loved and mainstreamed. The organisation strives to nurture and encourage pro-children and pro–family causes. Mrs Joni Ong is the President, and there are 10 board members.
About our sponsor, Thomson Fertility Centre
First established in 1987 as the first IVF centre in a private hospital (Thomson Medical Centre) in Singapore, Thomson Fertility Centre (TFC) has been changing the lives of thousands of couples in fulfilling their baby hopes. The one-stop centre offers the full suite of personalised care, support and fertility treatment options to meet customers' diverse needs. Being accredited by the RTAC (Reproduction Technology Accreditation Committee - the accrediting arm of the Fertility Society of Australia (FSA)) and licensed by MOH, Singapore ensure that both local and international standards are maintained at a high level. Staffed by an experienced team of doctors, embryologists and nurses specially trained in assisted reproductive technology and fertility counselling, TFC believes in the holistic management of fertility conditions. For more information, please visit: www.thomsonfertility.com.sg / www.facebook.com/thomsonfertilitycentre
About our sponsor, Thomson Chinese Medicine
Thomson Chinese Medicine (TCM) was first established in 2009 within Thomson Medical Centre to support fertility patients undergoing IVF. TCM has since evolved to become a multidisciplinary practice, providing care and treatment for the different healthcare needs of our patients. By being a part of the Thomson Medical Group, it allows TCM to have the advantage of seeing the patients through their Western medical treatments. For more information, please visit: www.thomsontcm.sg
For media queries, please contact:
Asia PR Werkz on behalf of I Love Children
Pravin Nair
DID: +65 6812 9824
HP: +65 9199 0370
E-mail: pravin@asiaprwerkz.com
ANNEX
List of Speakers for 6 November Webinar:
1. Dr Janice Tung, Consultant Obstetrician & Gynaecologist, Thomson Fertility Centre (Topic: Difference in Fertility Treatments)
Dr Janice Tung obtained her medical degree from the National University of Singapore, where she received the SS Ratnam Book Prize by the O&G Society of Singapore for topping her cohort in Obstetrics and Gynaecology (O&G). Dr Janice's extensive experience in managing a wide variety of gynaecological conditions and antenatal care include high-risk pregnancies, with her interests lying in subfertility issues and pregnancy-related complications such as preterm labour, minimally invasive surgery and vulvar disease. Dr Janice remains dedicated to providing a value-based, holistic, fulfilling and positive pregnancy experience for women as an Obstetrician, and the best care for her patients as a Doctor. She is currently a member of the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (UK).
2. Dr Ethiraj Balaji Prasath, Chief Embryologist, Thomson Fertility Centre
(Topic: What Happens In The Lab)
Dr Balaji spent 17 years as the Chief Embryologist at the KKIVF Centre, where he managed the IVF and Andrology labs as well as the National Sperm Bank of Singapore. While there, he personally performed more than 3,000 intracytoplasmic sperm injections with a clinical pregnancy rate of 40 per cent of embryos transferred. His more recent achievement was the world's first live birth from frozen-thawed embryos obtained after in-vitro maturation (IVM) in the lab and intracytoplasmic sperm injections of oocytes recovered from a surgically-removed cancerous ovary.
3. Ms Ho Chin Ee, TCM Physician, Thomson Chinese Medicine
(Topic: Boosting fertility with TCM)
Physician Ho graduated from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and Beijing University of Chinese Medicine (BUCM) with a Double Degree in Biomedical Sciences and Chinese Medicine with honours. Physician Ho's clinical expertise includes use of TCM Paediatric Tui Na and herbal medicine for children with common paediatric conditions of the respiratory and digestive systems. She also uses a variety of TCM techniques to treat and manage various conditions for adults, such as gastrointestinal conditions including reflux, gastritis, irritable bowel syndrome, women's health including infertility, fibroid, endometriosis, irregular menses, TCM dermatology and pain management.
List of Speakers for 13 November Webinar:
4. Dr Andy Tan Wei Keat, Consultant, Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Singapore General Hospital
(Topic: The Dos and Don'ts of baby-making)
Dr Tan runs an endometriosis clinic in SGH O&G department and sees patients diagnosed with deep infiltrating endometriosis. He is also a clinical lecturer in National University Singapore (NUS) Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine since 2014 and a Core physician faculty member for O&G Residency Programme since 2017. His sub-specialty interest is in Minimally-Invasive Surgery (MIS), Endometriosis and Pelvic Pain. Dr Tan obtained his MRCOG and Master of Medicine (ObGyn) Singapore in 2014 and Specialist Accreditation Board (SAB) ObGyn in 2016.
5. Dr Lily Kho, Associate Consultant, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology,
KK Women's and Children's Hospital
(Topic: Getting pregnant during the pandemic)
Dr Kho is the Deputy Lead of the Urgent O&G Centre at KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH), a 24-hour walk-in centre for women with urgent obstetric and gynaecological conditions. Dr Kho also holds several teaching positions - An Adjunct Instructor for the SingHealth Duke-NUS Obstetrics and Gynaecology Academic Clinical Programme and a Clinical Teacher for the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine. During her specialist training in KKH, she trained midwives in Cambodia to cope with childbirth challenges as well as personally spearheaded a quality improvement project for an orphanage in Malaysia.
6. Dr Chua Ka-Hee, Consultant, Department of Reproductive Medicine,
KK Women's and Children's Hospital
(Topic: What are the common causes of infertility for males and females?)
Dr Chua is a Clinical Assistant Professor for the SingHealth Duke-NUS Obstetrics and Gynaecology Academic Clinical Programme and Clinical Tutor in both Yong Loo Lin and Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine. He specialises in the management of couples with infertility concerns, including patients who require intrauterine insemination (IUI) and in-vitro fertilisation (IVF). His subspecialty interest is in male infertility (andrology).
7. Dr Serene Lim Liqing, Consultant, Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Singapore General Hospital
(Topic: When is the RIGHT time for fertility treatment?)
Dr Lim is a consultant at SGH with over 14 years of experience. She is also a Clinical Tutor at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine at the National University of Singapore. Her clinical and research interests lie in reproductive medicine, infertility and fertility preservation. In 2012, she was admitted as a member of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. Dr Lim was also awarded the Excellent Service Award Silver (SGH) in 2009, Service with a Heart Award (SGH) in 2017 and RISE Outstanding Faculty Award (Singhealth) in 2018.
