Something was wrong. “Code Blue for neonatal at Operating Theatres, Women’s Tower, Level 2,” blared the public announcement system at the KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH) on April 3.

Twice, the hospital’s security and fire safety department sounded the alert. A baby, just born, was in respiratory distress.

While the rest of the hospital went about its business, a multidisciplinary resuscitative care team of doctors and nurses from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) swung into action. They rushed to the operating theatre to stabilise the baby, so the infant could be taken to the neonatal unit for further assessment and follow-up care.

A profound sense of responsibility, both for the baby and the parents, goes through a team member’s mind when responding to an emergency, said Dr Nirmal Kavalloor Visruthan, a senior consultant at the Department of Neonatology. “Our top priority is to provide the baby with the best possible care, as rapidly as we can, for the best possible health outcome.”

Indeed, the hospital says its mission is to lead in excellent, holistic and compassionate care for women and children.

Founded in 1858 as a general hospital, KKH became a dedicated maternity hospital in 1924, opening on Oct 1 with 30 beds and 12 children’s cots. It is Singapore’s largest tertiary referral centre for obstetrics, gynaecology, paediatrics and neonatology.

Five babies – three Malay, one Japanese and one Chinese – were born in the hospital on its first day. In 1934, its 10th year as a maternity hospital, the numbers soared to 2,826 admissions and 2,579 deliveries.

From 1924 to 2024, KKH delivered over 1.6 million babies in Singapore. On average, it still witnesses the birth of 30 to 35 babies daily.

KKH healthcare administrator Soren Chua, who is in her 30s, gave birth to her ninth child in KKH on April 16, 2024.

She said: “All my children and I were born at KKH, and we have just welcomed the birth of our baby girl. I was overjoyed to carry this new life added to our family.”

Madam Chua, who is married to Mr Mohamad Faizul Ali, a bus captain, has six boys and three girls, ranging in age from one to 18 years.

Professor Alex Sia, chief executive officer of KKH, said that as Singapore progressed, KKH’s focus evolved in tandem with the nation’s health concerns.

Prof Sia said: “In the early 1900s, KKH’s various efforts were aimed at tackling high maternal and infant mortality rates. Today, we are addressing the burgeoning metabolic and mental health issues faced by our population, as well as falling birthrates.”

For couples with fertility concerns, the KKIVF Centre at KKH, one of Singapore’s largest, supports couples through assisted reproductive technology, and holistic, multidisciplinary treatment.

KKH embryologists have developed a virtual reality (VR) training programme for Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) training. In ICSI, a single sperm is injected into a mature egg, and the VR programme allows embryologists-intraining to independently hone their ICSI skills in an efficient and risk-free virtual environment. Design of the programme began in November 2021, and a prototype was completed in June 2023. Trials are still ongoing.

The VR environment, with the use of haptic gloves, helps trainees strengthen their dexterity and improve their hand eye coordination in a safe space without needing an in-person trainer.

For women giving birth, the hospital implemented uSINE in 2023, an artificial intelligence-powered ultrasound system to help doctors deliver spinal anaesthesia accurately to women undergoing caesarean sections.

Doctors use the ultrasound system to scan a patient’s spine vertically and horizontally to look for the right spot where the anaesthetist should administer the injection. uSINE has been used in 10 per cent of the total number of spinal anaesthesia cases at KKH since its implementation a year ago.

“While I was apprehensive about spinal anaesthesia, the entire KKH team of doctors and nurses handled the overall process meticulously. The team guided me throughout the process and made me much more comfortable than I thought I would be,” said Madam Minu Murali, 33, a business analyst, who gave birth to a boy on April 17, 2024.

In recent decades, there has been an emphasis on skin-to-skin contact between the mother and her newborn baby, which has been shown to promote better weight gain and development for babies who are born early or of low birth weight. At KKH NICU, South-east Asia’s largest NICU, mothers are encouraged to practise kangaroo care, which consists of holding their babies close to their chest against their skin. In 2023, the neonatal unit was recognised in the Singapore Book of Records for the Longest Cumulative Duration of Kangaroo Care for Premature Babies in a month (305 hours 9 minutes) from Oct 2 to 31, 2023.

Madam Jesica Glenny, 35, a housewife, said being able to hold her baby, skin to skin, for the first time, evoked mixed feelings.

Her second child, Raykennen Ways, was born prematurely at 24 weeks, weighing 600g, with under- developed lungs.

“The moment I did my first kangaroo care, I was so excited and overwhelmed with happiness as I was finally able to hug my baby. Yet, at the same time, I found myself feeling very sad,” she recalled.

“Such a simple gesture like hugging your newborn baby that a mother can normally do straight away after delivery, I needed to wait for two months due to Kennen’s breathing issues. He was so small in the beginning, and watching him grow slowly till this moment, where I was able to hug him – that was a very long journey for all of us.”