Parliamentary QA
NUMBER AND PERCENTAGE OF PREMATURE LIVE BIRTHS IN RESTRUCTURED HOSPITALS
24 September 2025
NOTICE PAPER NO. 46
NOTICE OF QUESTION FOR WRITTEN ANSWER
FOR THE SITTING OF PARLIAMENT ON 24 SEPTEMBER 2025
Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament
Mr David Hoe
MP for Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC
Question No. 251
To ask the Minister for Health for each of the last five years (a) how many and what percentage of live births in restructured hospitals are premature, with breakdowns by gestational age bands; and (b) what is the range, median and 90th-percentile of premature newborns’ stay duration in (i) restructured hospitals and (ii) the neonatal intensive care units of such hospitals, respectively.
Answer
1 The number and percentage of premature live births, defined as births with less than 37 weeks of gestation, in restructured hospitals (KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH), Singapore General Hospital (SGH) and National University Hospital (NUH)), are shown in Table 1.
Table 1. Number and percentage of premature live births in restructured hospitals (KKH, SGH and NUH)
2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |
Number of premature births | 1,769 | 1,918 | 1,801 | 1,798 | 1,962 |
Percentage of premature births out of total live births | 10% | 10% | 10% | 10% | 11% |
Number of premature births among specified gestation age | |||||
Under 28 weeks | 86 | 110 | 109 | 118 | 124 |
28 – 31 weeks | 177 | 214 | 188 | 184 | 208 |
32 – 35 weeks | 760 | 813 | 772 | 806 | 818 |
36 weeks | 746 | 781 | 732 | 690 | 812 |
Source: Registry of Births and Deaths (RBD)
2 Over the last five years, the average length of stay of newborns in Neonatal Intensive Care Units of the restructured hospitals is between 154 days and 299 days.