Targeted measures to reach out to pregnant women, minorities

To improve people's overall health, the Ministry of Health (MOH) will be introducing targeted measures to support and uplift various subgroups including mothers, families, minorities and the elderly.

The Straits Times looks at some of these initiatives.

More support will be given to boost the mental well-being of women during and after pregnancy, as doing so is crucial for the child's health.

Senior Minister of State for Health Janil Puthucheary told Parliament during the debate on his ministry's budget yesterday that a local study, Growing Up in Singapore Towards Healthy Outcomes, found that maternal mental well-being during pregnancy could affect the brain development of the foetus, giving rise to mood or anxiety disorders later on in life.

The study found about 7.2 per cent of pregnant women had high scores of depressive symptoms during pregnancy. The proportion increases to 10 per cent during the first three months after childbirth.

KK Women's and Children's Hospital and National University Hospital will enhance mental well-being support for pregnant women and mothers by scaling up accessibility to antenatal (during pregnancy) and post-natal mental health screening.

MOH will also enhance early intervention and support for more women who are screened to be at risk of depressive symptoms.

The Women's Health Committee, chaired by Ms Rahayu Mahzam, Parliamentary Secretary for Health, is planning a women's health event this year to raise greater awareness of women's health to maximise outreach to different segments of the female population. More details of the event will be shared later.

Integrated healthcare services for both mothers and children will be available at 14 polyclinics over the next three years.

The healthcare services include postnatal depression screening and breastfeeding support when women take their children for vaccination and childhood development screening at the polyclinics.

Two pilot programmes were launched in Punggol Polyclinic and Yishun Polyclinic in 2019, benefiting more than 10,000 children and mothers.

Besides integrating services for the mother and child, more holistic support for children and their families will be provided through a family support programme known as Family Nexus. Under the programme, selected health and social services will be provided under one roof at four sites in Choa Chu Kang, Punggol, Sembawang and Tampines this year.

These sites could be at a polyclinic, general practitioner clinic or a social service agency office. Programmes include breastfeeding and lactation support services, body mass index and growth assessment checks for young children and caregivers' training.

In order to promote healthier lifestyles among these ethnic minority groups, MOH will be collaborating with Malay and Indian community leaders and partners.

A work group was formed last year by the ministry to improve the health of ethnic minority groups here. It aimed to design culturally relevant programmes and help to rally the community against poor health habits.

Giving an update on the programme, Ms Rahayu said that the Health Promotion Board (HPB) has brought together experienced community leaders with expertise to form a Malay Community Outreach (MCO) working group.

There are five new subcommittees focusing on mental well-being, reducing smoking, improving eating habits, and increasing physical activity and health screening among the Malay community, she added.

The MCO group will work with various parties to expand the reach of the HPB programmes effectively.

Health promotion activities for the Indian community will also be rolled out, she said.

For example, HPB has been working with key stakeholders like the Singapore Indian Development Association to tap programmes and culturally significant events such as Deepavali to reinforce healthy cooking.