Dr Ho Ping Ling

27/07/2025

Do you know?

Women in Singapore live, on average, 5 to 6 years longer than men. However, they spend a larger portion of those extra years in poor health:

Life expectancy: 87.6 years (women) vs. 81.9 years (men)

Healthy life expectancy (HALE): 75.8 years (women) vs. 72.6 years (men)

Women spend 11.8 years in poor health, compared to 9.3 years for men

This 2.5-year disparity reflects the "morbidity–mortality paradox"—where women live longer but with more years of disability or chronic illness.

26/07/2025

Bone broke.
Muscle fled.
Contractures coiled like winter vines.
Then - four weeks ago,
I crossed back into the cathedral
of stirrups and scalpels,
the sanctuary where life
is wept into being.

Your voices met me:
“You returned. Finally.”
“I waited—only you.”
“Now, bring our child from darkness.”

Not flattery. Vocation.
To kneel where womanhood blooms wild,
to unravel pain’s tight knots,
to midwife hope at the threshold of breath.

July’s trinity:
🌙 Relearning the body’s fragile map - blade and suture beneath my hands.
🌙 Sister-stars gathered - a constellation of women’s strength.
🌙 NUS HALE.AI Masterclass - where I learned to speak the future’s mother tongue: algorithms spun with compassion.

To all who carried my limping spirit home - your trust is the hymn that stitches my soul to this work.

Still healing.
Still rising.
Tending life’s garden - with wisdom’s roots, wonder’s rain, and now, digital stardust. ✨

Thank you, to whom who walked this path with me, with trust and faith.

26/07/2025

A July Woven with Resilience & Purpose

The fracture was not merely of bone, but of being.
Patella shattered; thigh muscle dissolved like mist;
lower patella wandering; contractures binding leg and spirit. Four weeks ago, I returned - not whole, but wholly committed.

What met me?
Grace, wearing human voices:
“You are back. At last.”
“I waited - no one else.”
“Now, will your hands bring our child earthside?”

Humbled, I remembered: this is why we kneel in service. Not for accolades, but to:
→ Champion women through biology’s labyrinth,
→ Unknot suffering with nerve and nuance,
→ Midwife hope at life’s raw, holy crossings.

July unfolded like a manuscript of meaning:
📜 Reimmersion in surgery’s intimate ballet,
📜 Communion with luminous warriors at a sanctuary for women’s strength,
📜 NUS HALE.AI Masterclass—where I learned to whisper to the future of healing, where data meets dignity.

To colleagues, patients, beloveds who wove strength into my limping return:
Your faith is the oxygen for my vocation.
Eternally grateful.

We mend not just bodies, but brokenness itself - with ancient wisdom, relentless wonder, and now, technology’s tender,
terrifying light. ✨

21/07/2025

20/07/2025

Breaking the Silence on Women’s Health at ENGIE ASIA.

Honored to have spoken at the ENGIE SEA this week on Cracking the Period Code, Fibroids and Endometriosis. Thrilled to have shared the stage with Dr Lee Wai Yen, who delivered a vital session on cervical cancer screening & prevention. Together, we highlighted innovations in healthcare accessibility for corporate wellness programs.
�“35% of women miss work due to menstrual pain (NCBI). Let’s design workplaces that don’t penalize biology.”

Delved into menstrual and gynaecological health through three focused talks:�🔹 "Cracking the Period Code: Normal vs. Abnormal Menses":�→ Why understanding your cycle is foundational to health.�→ Your menstrual cycle is a VITAL SIGN - tracking phases reveals critical hormonal health patterns.�🔹 "Fibroids: Truths & Transparency":�→ 2 in 3 women develop fibroids - most are BENIGN and ASYMPTOMATIC. Knowledge dispels fear.�→ Impacts on fertility, pain, and quality of life (affecting 1 in 3 women!).�🔹 "Endometriosis: Beyond Pain Normalization":�→ Early signs, systemic effects, and why advocacy matters.�→ Suffering from severe pain isn’t ‘normal’ - it’s often treatable underlying endometriosis. Early action changes your lives!

Together, we highlighted how workplace wellness programs must address these often-overlooked issues - "women’s health is workforce health".
�
Thrilled to see corporate leaders like ENGIE prioritizing holistic, inclusive healthcare education. Change starts when we normalize these conversations.

When we empower women with science, we build resilient workforces.

12/07/2025

Back in MD6 - the heart of NUS Medicine, where it all began.

These walls once echoed with the intensity of my surgical housemanship - hepatobiliary, neurosurgery, plastics, vascular - long days and longer nights, filled with adrenaline, camaraderie, and a sense of purpose that stitched us all together. We were housemen then - now, scattered across specialties and institutions, charting our own paths in restructured hospitals or private practice.

I return not as an examiner. Not with crutches, as I did in January 2025. But as a student once more - of the NUS Healthcare AI Leadership Executive (HALE) Masterclass.

Attending HALE was nothing short of transformative.
It opened a new lens on how AI and digital innovation can be meaningfully and responsibly applied in healthcare.
One of the most valuable insights? Learning how to bridge the gap between curiosity and clinical utility - to move from inspiration to implementation, always patient-first.

It was also deeply refreshing to share the room with passionate minds across disciplines - clinicians, scientists, engineers, administrators -
each bringing unique perspectives, but united by a shared mission: to reimagine the future of care.

If I had to describe the HALE Masterclass in one word?
Catalytic.
Because it didn’t just inform or inspire - it challenged, reframed, and re-energized.
It sparked conversations and ideas I’m still exploring today.

Among many standout sessions, one that left a lasting impression was Prof Dean Ho’s roundtable on precision leadership and AI governance.
It struck a rare balance between bold vision and pragmatic reality - reminding us that ethical, clinically grounded AI isn’t a distant dream, but a present-day imperative.

To those considering HALE in the future:
Come with an open mind and a spirit ready to grow.
This is not just another course - it is a platform for connection, dialogue, and bold leadership.
You’ll leave not only more informed, but more anchored in purpose.

Back in this familiar space, I am reminded:
True learning doesn’t end with graduation - it evolves with intention, humility, and heart.
And some of the most valuable lessons aren’t found in textbooks - they’re sparked in hallways, deepened in dialogue, and lived through every decision we make as clinicians, innovators, and leaders.

04/07/2025

🌸 A Tapestry of Homecoming
First week back after 6 months:
A knee still relearning its strength.
A heart overflowing with the medicine of human connection.

To the new parents— cradling 6-month-olds I delivered before my fall, the new patients who brought breakfast, handwritten notes, and eyes soft with understanding: you made my clinic a sanctuary of reunion.

To familiar souls I’ve walked beside for years,
postnatal warriors who waited months to restart care, and new and familiar faces who greeted my once limping leg with grace: You came with your own concerns, yet led with mine.

“How’s your knee and health, Doctor?”
“Are you sure you’re ready to be back?”

You placed my healing before your charts.
Held space for my humanity.

To my clinic guardian who pushed coffee and stoodby the busy clinic, not forgetting to remind me, “Eat your lunch first please !”— then paused as I rose at 6:30 PM: “Your knee must be painful today.”

That quiet seeing— after hours of solving, soothing, and shared laughter — shattered me.

This is the work I ached for:
Not just anatomy or answers,
but the breakfasts shared, hands that hold stories,
partners who nod solidarity, and people who notice when you hurt — so you remember: You belong here.

Knees may stiffen. Lunches may wait.
But this? This is how healing circles back.
How we become whole.

Limping. Loved.
Home.

03/07/2025

✨ Did you know your baby’s cord blood could be a lifeline? ✨

The moment your little one arrives, you’re gifted with more than joy—you hold powerful stem cells in their umbilical cord blood. These cells can treat critical illnesses and are a perfect genetic match for your child + family.

Why bank it?
🌱 Peace of mind: Like a health safety net for the future.
🌱 Simple & safe: Collected in minutes after birth—zero risk to you or baby.
🌱 Hope for many: Already used in treatments for cancer, blood disorders + more.

Mamas, you’re already superheroes. This is one more way to protect your squad. 💪

Swipe to learn more or DM us questions!

02/07/2025

🌱 The Words They Chose

First day back in clinic after 6 months healing a patella fracture.
A patient’s family — knowing this was my return — sent a hamper with a card.

Not just any words:
🐉 “I want to change the world.”
🐼 “Start with the next person who needs you.”

They’d never seen my journals.
Never heard me whisper doubts in the dark.
Yet they chose exactly the call to arms a healer needs when stepping back into the arena.

Funny how grace works:
Sometimes the ones you once steadied become the hands that steady you.

Today, they reminded me:
Healing is never solitary.
Even when you stand alone. 😊

15/06/2025

To the dads who pace the hallways, hold her hand through contractions, and hold space for every emotion in between —
your love is steady, your presence is powerful.

Happy Father’s Day 💙
Here’s to showing up in all the quiet, meaningful ways.

12/03/2025

It has been nearly two months since my patella (kneecap) fracture and surgery—an injury sustained in a less-than-glamorous manner but requiring months of rehabilitation for full functional recovery. While the physical limitation affects my leg, I strangely feel "handicapped" in a different way—unable to care for my patients, help them navigate their concerns, support them through pregnancy, and be there to deliver their babies.
While this has temporarily limited my ability to provide direct patient care, I remain committed to contributing to women's health in meaningful ways. I am especially grateful for the patience and understanding of my patients during this period.

04/03/2025

Grateful for the opportunity to contribute to CNA’s write-up on constipation in pregnancy, a topic that affects many expectant mothers yet often goes unspoken. Raising awareness and providing evidence-based insights can help improve maternal well-being. Thank you, CNA, for shedding light on this important issue!

International studies show that up to 35 per cent of pregnant women could be affected by piles, or haemorrhoids. While it’s rarely a serious condition, it can significantly impact a woman’s quality of life. CNA Women finds out how it can be avoided and what treatments can help.