Professional Profile

Dr Stephen Ong’s Career

Dr Stephen Ong graduated from University College Dublin in 1991. He trained in Obstetrics and Gynaecology in major teaching hospitals in Ireland, Scotland and England. He further specialised in Maternal and Fetal medicine at Birmingham Women’s Hospital, a unit which receives referrals from across the U.K. Here, he obtained his experience in dealing with complex problems affecting both the pregnant mother and her baby.

He works at the Royal Jubilee Maternity Hospital in Belfast as a consultant in obstetrics and maternal & fetal medicine. He has the difficult task of providing care for women with complex problems affecting the mother or her baby. He also provides care for women with a normal pregnancy. Dr Ong was the clinical obstetric lead for the Belfast Trust from 2011 to 2014.

Additional Roles

In addition to his clinical work, Dr Ong also has a number of additional roles. Dr Ong acts as an Appraiser for the Belfast Trust and appraises the performance of 6 to 8 Consultant colleagues every year in accordance with the guidelines set out by the General Medical Council (GMC). Dr Ong is currently the clinical lead for the Obstetric Imaging Improvement Group with a remit to improve Obstetric scanning in Northern Ireland. Dr Ong is the Obstetric lead for the Neonatal Network (Northern Ireland).

Dr Ong has a strong background in clinical research. He is the founder of a charitable organisation called the Puffin Trust, which is dedicated to funding research into problems in pregnancy.

Qualifications

MBBChBAO (Bachelor of medicine, surgery and obstetrics, University College Dublin) 1991
MRCOG (Member of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists) 1996
DM (Doctor of Medicine, University of Nottingham) 2003
CST (certificate of specialist training) 2006

Publications

Prenatal surgery for spina bifida: a therapeutic dilemma. Proceedings of the SHINE conference, Belfast. Ir J Med Sci 2018; 187(3): 713-8.

Fetal umbilical artery Doppler pulsatility index and childhood neurocognitive outcome at 12 years. BMJ Open. 2016 Jun 15;6(6):e008916. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2015-008916..

Intervention versus a conservative approach in the management of TRAP sequence: a systematic review. J Perinat Med. 2016 Aug 1;44(6):619-29. doi: 10.1515/jpm-2015-0165.

Do Regular Ultrasound Scans Reduce the Incidence of Stillbirth in Women with Apparently Normal Pregnancies? Ulster Med J 2015;84(2):98-101.

Fetal Umbilical Artery Doppler Pulsatility Index as a Predictor of Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Children – A Long-Term Follow Up Study. The Journal of Maternal-Fetal & Neonatal Medicine 2014; 27(16): 1633-1636.

The clinical application of Doppler ultrasound in Obstetrics. The Obstetrician and Gynaecologist. 2014;17: 13-19. (Review article)

Does fetal surveillance for growth performed once versus twice in the third trimester alter the stillbirth rate in low risk women? Irish Medical Journal 2014; 107 (6): 181-183.