Singapore admin steps

Pregnant in Singapore: what to do, week by week

Having a baby in Singapore involves 16 admin steps, spread from about week 8 of the pregnancy to 3 months after the birth. It starts with "Choose where you will have the baby, and book the first appointment" and ends with "Childcare leave: two days a year for a non-citizen child". Which ones apply to you depends on 3 questions about your situation, and each one below is checked against an official source and dated. Checked 22 September 2026.

First trimester, to week 13

• Choose where you will have the baby, and book the first appointment usually between week 8 and week 10 of the pregnancy

  In Singapore the first decision is public or private, and it is worth making before the first appointment rather than after.

• Find out what your health cover actually pays towards the birth usually between week 9 and week 11 of the pregnancy

  Do this before you pick a hospital, not after.

• The scans: dating, first-trimester screening and the anomaly scan usually between week 11 and week 21 of the pregnancy

  Three scans are routine.

Second trimester, weeks 14 to 27

• Tell your employer, and check which maternity leave you get usually between week 16 and week 18 of the pregnancy · people who are employed

  Your maternity leave depends on the baby's citizenship, not yours.

• Paternity leave: four weeks for a citizen child, none by law otherwise usually between week 20 and week 22 of the pregnancy · people who have a partner going through it with them and are employed

  Since 1 April 2025 fathers of a Singapore citizen child get 4 weeks of Government-Paid Paternity Leave, and from April 2026 a further 10 weeks of Shared Parental Leave can be split between the parents.

• Get on infant care waiting lists now, or decide on a helper usually between week 20 and week 26 of the pregnancy

  Infant care takes babies from 2 months, and the good centres have waits of 6 to 12 months, so families register during pregnancy.

• Book the hospital and put down the deposit usually between week 22 and week 24 of the pregnancy

  Private hospitals ask you to book the delivery and pay a deposit some months ahead, and popular obstetricians fill up.

• Book antenatal classes usually between week 26 and week 28 of the pregnancy

  Hospitals and private groups run antenatal courses covering labour, pain relief, feeding and the first weeks; KKH's programme is open to anyone, not only its own patients.

Third trimester, week 28 to the birth

• Decide on a confinement nanny, and sort her work permit early usually between week 28 and week 30 of the pregnancy

  A confinement nanny lives in for the first 28 days after the birth, cooks, and looks after the baby at night.

After the birth

• Register the birth within 42 days, on LifeSG within 2 weeks of the birth

  Every birth must be registered within 42 days; missing that is an offence.

• Get the baby a passport from your own country within 3 weeks of the birth

  A baby born in Singapore is Singaporean only if a parent is a citizen; for everyone else the child needs a passport from your own country, and the Special Pass only lasts 42 days.

• Baby Bonus and the Child Development Account, if the baby is a citizen within 6 weeks of the birth

  This one is for citizen children only, and citizenship comes from a parent, not from being born here: if neither of you is a Singapore citizen, none of it applies and you can skip this step.

• Apply for the baby's Dependant's Pass before the Special Pass runs out between 7 days and 5 weeks after the birth

  Once the passport exists, your employer applies to the Ministry of Manpower for a Dependant's Pass for the baby, in the same way as for a spouse.

• Book the baby's jabs and check-ups between 2 weeks and 8 weeks after the birth

  The first two vaccines, BCG and hepatitis B, are given in the hospital at birth and recorded in the health booklet you take home.

• Confirm the infant care place, or the helper's arrival between 8 weeks and 3 months after the birth

  Infant care takes babies from 2 months and maternity leave ends at 12 weeks, so the handover lands here.

• Childcare leave: two days a year for a non-citizen child between 2 months and 3 months after the birth · people who are employed

  Once you are back at work, the Employment Act gives each parent 2 days of paid childcare leave a year while the child is under 7, if you have worked for your employer for at least 3 months.

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