What medical exams for my child from 0 to 3 years old?

The first 3 years of your child are followed by strong growth, during which it is essential to ensure his good development. Medical exams for you child are thus essential and will rhythm your life as young adults. When you are expecting abroad, information is harder to find, so what are the necessary exams? In which hospital to go? Let’s see step by step which medical exams are necessary for a child from 0 to 3 and where to go in Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Singapore.

Recommended health and development check-ups:

When?	Which medical exams for my child?	Why?
On birth	Physical exam: Weight Eyes Heart Hearing Hips Genitals Blood exam	Ensure the good health of the baby on birth, to see eventual motricity or perception problems. The blood test is to detect a metabolic or genetic problem
Between 1 and 2 weeks	1st check-up: Sleep quality Breast feeding Overall development of the baby	Routine exam to follow the correct growth of the baby and the young parents.
From 6 to 8 weeks:	New physical exam: Weight Eyes Heart  Hearing Hips  Genitals Height Head circumference	Make sure the baby has a linear growth with growth curves. Try to spot an eventual delay.
From 9 to 12 months:	Growth check-up: Langage  Learning Diet Behaviour	Test on the development of the child, to detect eventual behavioural disorder or cognitive delay. We also check for a good diet.
From 2 to 3 years old:	Exams on the general growth: Development: Speech, behaviour, body movement and social interactions  Hearing Vision Growth Blood test	Last exams of the newborn, to make sure of his good physical and social growth, as well as a blood test to detect eventual health troubles.

On top of the exams,  you must not forget vaccination and keep the vaccine records up to date. This will allow the child to be immune against some disease. To prepare yourself to give birth, you can check our articles on maternity:

• Maternity in Shanghai 
• Maternity in Singapore 

Or the website Vaccination info service (in French)

Where to go in Singapore?

Health and development check-ups are usually done in general practice services in hospitals or childhood clinics.

Public:

• KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH)
• National University Hospital (NUH)
• Changi General Hospital (CGH) 

Private: 

• Concord International Hospital, 
• Farrer Park Hospital (FP), 
• Raffles Hospital (RH).

Be careful of the high costs of private hospitals. Double check what your insurance covers regarding exams.

Where to go in Shanghai?

Health and development checkups are usually done in general practice services in public or private hospitals. It is possible to go to childhood clinics, but the costs will be higher.

Public:

• International Peace Maternity 
• Shanghai Red House Maternity 

Private:

• Jiahui Hospital 
• Shanghai United Family
• Ferguson
• Raffles

Be wary of the higher costs of private hospitals compared to public ones, however the quality of the healthcare and services with english speaking staff is appreciable. Double check what your insurance covers regarding exams.

Where to go in Hong Kong

Health and development check-ups are usually done in general practice services in hospitals

Public:

•  The list  here 

Private:

• Canossa Hospital
• Gleneagles HK Hospital
• Hong Kong Adventist Hospital 
• St Teresa’s Hospital

Be wary of the higher costs of private hospitals. Double check what your insurance covers regarding exams.

Are exams for children from 0 to 3 covered by your health insurance?

If you have a coverage:

• The newborn will be covered at his birth by adding him to the mother’s coverage in the 30 days following his birth. Every eventual complication will thus be covered for the mother and the child. The coverage will follow the same conditions as the mother’s, so an international coverage:
• The pediatrician will be fully covered, up to the chosen coverage.
• Vaccines will be covered, up to the chosen coverage.

If you don’t have a coverage:

In this case, it is impossible to add the newborn to a coverage, you will thus need to wait the 15 first days of the child to:

• Insure only the newborn (without adults on the contract). Often more expensive than family coverage, up to 20%.
• Choose coverage for you and your child.

To help you choose the right maternity insurance, you can count on insurance professionals who will know how to advise you and help you make the right decision, you can contact us here.