Klinik Kesihatan Ibu & Anak (KKIA) - My Frugal Epiphany!

I first found out about our Klinik Kesihatan Ibu & Anak (KKIA) from another Mummy when we attended Ante Natal classes together when I was pregnant with Chapati. Both hubby and I thoroughly enjoyed the Ante Natal classes by Jenlia as we learnt some very practical things about pregnancy, childbirth and babies. I would really recommend that all first time parents attend Ante Natal classes to better prepare themselves. Plus you make some very good friends and pick up ideas and sharing about family and children. We are still good friends with a couple that we met there and our sons go to Baby Sensory Classes together and now that they are toddlers, attend Toddler Sense classes.  But I am digressing...

Klinik Kesihatan Ibu & Anak (KKIA), roughly translated to English is Mother & Child Healthcare Clinic. This is public healthcare fully funded by the governement of Malaysia for pregnant mothers, babies and children until they become 6 years old. We didn't really take it seriously then and only registered Chapati when he was about nearly 1 month old, just in time for his immunisations.

On the whole I think that a lot of people are not really aware of this healthcare service, because I know that I wasn't until I spoke to quite a few new parents and even then, the information was sketchy. So here I am outlining the "how to" and my experience in receiving pretty good healthcare for both pregnant mothers and babies without spending any money! (Ok nearly no money...I remember paying RM1 for something.)

It is of course best to start when you first find out that you are pregnant and they can then care for you right up till birth and then continue the follow up when your baby is born until he/she is 6 years old. I am doing that now with Baby #2 though I registered with them a little late at 27 weeks.

How To Get Registered  

I think most difficult part is finding out which clinic that you need to go to because it depends on your home address. You can only register if your home address is within their coverage area. I remember when I first started to look for a list of the KKIA locations, it was a little confusing. I finally typed "klinik kesihatan ibu & anak kuala lumpur" and one of this link was this http://jknkl.moh.gov.my/klinik-kkia  so this lists the clinics in Wilayah Persekutuan KL and Putrajaya area. I figured that my address was KL so it would make sense to look for KL based clinics. I continued to look and came across another link which was http://www2.moh.gov.my/gov_clinics?offset=2796

Honestly, I couldn't really find a comprehensive site that helped to determine exactly where I was supposed to go and register. So I decided to just go to the nearest one to my home and try my luck. When I got there I was told that my home address was not within their coverage area and they helped me to locate the correct clinic location which not that far from my home which is good! They also gave me the list of things that I needed to bring to register Chapati which is as follows:-

1. Baby birth certificate
2. Utility Bill (electricity, water or telephone to verify you home address location)
3. Parent's IC
4. Baby book from the hospital that he was born in to confirm any immunisations that had been given

I quickly gathered all my required documents and went straight there to register. I must say that my experience with the nurses there was the biggest surprise. They were happy, pleasant and extremely helpful??? They even seem to genuinely enjoy their jobs. Maybe it has to do with the fact that they are dealing with babies, children and pregnant mummies, all the cuteness probably helps a lot.

Once I was registered, they gave me an appointment to bring him in for his first check up and immunisation. They also gave me a baby book to track everything about him which I will have to bring for every appointment.

Our Experience with the Clinic

When we went for our first check up, the nurse spent about 30 minutes speaking to me, asking me about how I was coping with breastfeeding and sharing important information like what to eat and what to do. She also explained that if we had registered when Chapati was born, they would have also done home visits to check on the mother and baby especially to make sure that baby was not jaundiced.

I think I spent about RM 900 for about 6 visits from the private mid-wife as I had breast feeding troubles with Chapati being a first time Mum. Engorgement, mastitis, bad latch and at one time his refusal to take to the breast. I could have saved a lot of money...maybe? But having the midwife really helped me to overcome all those issues and continue to breastfeed Chapati for 16 months! Otherwise I think that I might have stopped much earlier.

During our first 3 check ups, they examined both Chapati and me. They also monitored my vaginal wound to ensure that it was healing well and my overall well being.

All of Chapati's compulsory immunisations were FREE! (Now isn't that music to you ears?) On top of that they also check on his development and milestones. One of the milestones that he missed was when he was 18 months old and still wouldn't talk. It prompted us to get some help and we were also referred to HUKM to see a specialist to check and make sure that there was nothing wrong with him overall. I wrote about it sometime ago here and an update here about him not speaking. Other than that, we can also see the clinic doctor if he was unwell and they will prescribe the necessary medications for FREE!


My Pregnancy with Baby #2

This pregnancy is vastly different from my pregnancy with Chapati. From horrible, horrible morning sickness, to round ligament pain, to sacroiliac joint pain, painful muscle cramps...we thought that it would be wise to register myself for care at the KKIA just in case things turn out differently and I might need to go to a government hospital.

So if you are pregnant and want to register, you will need the following documents:-

1. Utility Bill (electricity, water or telephone to verify your home address)
2. Photocopy of marriage certificate
3. Photocopy of hubby's IC
4. Confirmation of pregnancy - normally an ultrasound scan

When I registered, I was already 27 weeks so there wasn't any doubt that I was pregnant! :)  But I still gave them the ultrasound pictures that I had from my appointments with other doctors.

They did ask us where we were looking to deliver the baby and the impression that they gave us was if we were looking to give birth in a private hospital, they would not open a file for me as they would prefer for me to go back to the private hospital and follow up with the doctor there. Anyway, we were still unsure, so we told them that possibly we would like to go to Putrajaya Hospital. This hospital also has a Full Paying Patient (FPP) scheme. Another friend shared with us that they only spent RM 1800 for facilities and care like a private hospital under the FPP scheme at Putrajaya Hospital. That is a big difference considering that we spent RM 7800 for Chapati's all natural birth with no epidural in Prince Court Hospital.

You also get a red mummy book to track all your appointments, medical history and other useful information. You have to carry your book everywhere with you in case something happens and from 27 weeks onwards, you are also suppose to count your baby's movements throughout the day and record it daily. Anything less than 10 movements in 12 hours warrants a visit to the emergency room.

Pregnancy multivitamins are also free, you get folic acid, vitamin B and Obimin from them. On top of that, urine tests, blood tests, glucose tolerance test and medicine if you get sick (cough, flu..etc.) are also free. I was also given a tetanus jab during my check up and it was also FREE! (I paid RM 30 for my first tetanus jab)

Now that I have to go for appointment every two weeks, going to the KKIA for follow up will save me at least RM 240 for the next months. Bearing in mind that I believe from mid January onwards, it is going to be a weekly affair so the savings would be at least in the region of RM 360 for 3 weekly appointments until the arrival or Baby #2!

Have you discovered KKIA and their services yet? I would love to hear about your experience!