Heng Clinic for Women

We were recommended the services of Dr Heng Tung Lan by a close friend of ours as my wife is no longer comfortable with a male gynae, unlike our first pregnancy.

There is nothing much to say actually because if your pregnancy is normal, all they do at every check up is

- take your urine sample
- check your blood pressure
- check your weight
- perform a scan to keep track of the progress of the baby.

Personally, she is very motherly and that is comforting and probably the reason why we might consider her again in the future.

However, she is not really pro natural birth, as she did ask us a few times if we would like to delivery our baby earlier, hinting on an inducement. Nevertheless, she do accommodate if you plan for a natural birth, like we did, when you inform her beforehand. So she was pretty much off hand during delivery until it was time for the baby to pop.

She has a lot of clients so her clinic is always jammed pack all the time, especially on Saturdays. Be prepared to spend sometime there before it is your turn. You can see the contrast with other clinics on the same floor.

We also missed our full scan because the staff there forgot to arrange for us. Maybe because they had too many clients.

Anyway, first visit will cost you about $180. You should sign up for the $700 package which is more cost effective.

Heng Clinic for Women Pte Ltd
Parkway East Medical Centre, 319 Joo Chiat Place, Singapore 427989 #02-08
Contact No: +65 6377 3737

Birth

If someone you do not know claims to be your beloved, able to prove it, how would you react?

Anna (Nicole Kidman) lost her husband Sean and was about to put all her past behind by getting engaged to Joseph (Danny Huston). On their engagement party, this kid (Cameron Bright) shows up and claims that he is Sean, a reincarnation of Anna's late husband. Is he or is he lying? If he's really Sean, what will Anna, who is clearly not over her dead husband yet, do about her recent engagement? If he's lying, then how did he come to know of Anna's personal details.

Intriguing as it is, which is only reason I believe why most people would want to watch this movie other than Kidman (I would watch her in any movie, any day), that is also the weak point of this movie.

The downfall of Birth is that you'll get your answer sooner than you expected. With such a thin plot, you can't help but expect other elements to ensure that it remains engaging. Great acting? Sure, it's Kidman we're talking about, but sadly, it is just simply not enough to save this movie. Instead of exploring other areas, like elaborating on the strained relationship between Anna and Joseph or how the boy's parents cope with their child insisting he is Sean, the movie prefers to cheat by trying to be arty, stretching some scenes unnecessarily. Look out for that scene in the theater. If that is not lame, I do not know what is. That was not the only instance I might add. Glazer thinks that is such a great idea, he used it on another scene!

The bathtub scene with Anna and Sean together gave this movie the exposure it did not deserve. While I find it not offensive at all (especially after finding out how they shot that scene), although suggestive, I really think that it is absolutely not necessary. Another example of how Glazer cheats the audience.

I love movies that makes you think long after the show is over and that is the only saving grace of this movie. It makes us question ourselves, what if that happens to us? How will we react?

If this was made-for-TV, it would be great, but it's not. Two stars is all it deserves