Our history

The Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology was set up in 1922.

The first Head of Department was Professor J S English. During the initial years, the department's main focus was in the training of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists for the local institutional practice. For many years, right up to the current days, many outstanding clinicians have been trained in the Department, performed remarkably in the membership examination of the Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists (United Kingdom), continued to serve in the Department or went on to pursue exceptional careers either locally or overseas.

In 1941, Professor Benjamin Sheares took over as the Head of Department. He was the lead in performing Ceasarean section using the lower segment method in Singapore. He also pioneered in the creation of artificial vagina that will benefit many for years to come, propelling the department to worldwide recognition.

The University Department of O&G transplanted itself into the present site at the National University Hospital in 1985. That was a significant change as we moved out of Kandang Kerbau Maternity Hospital and become separated from the other two KK Units.

In the preceding twenty years, the Department has matured into an internationally renowned centre of research and teaching. Under the leadership of Prof SS Ratnam, the department impressed the world in its work on infertility and reproductive medicine. When Prof Arulkumaran took over the helm, the Department continued to be a research Mecca on intrapartum management.

The Department does not rest on its laurels. Even before the national thrust into bioscience research, the Department has already established itself firmly in molecular and stem-cell researches. It will continue to provide leadership in the latest of biotechnology in the search of better clinical strategies for reproductive and female health.