Can't wipe the smile off my face!!

[NZMEL]

Hi everyone, we have just found out that we are expecting our first on April 1st 2008 :smiliedance:
We had planned on starting to try, but had no idea that it would happen so quickly - within first 2wks!

We moved to sunny Brisbane from Rainy Auckland in March of this year. I have no family here, and very slowly meeting new friends, so I'm so glad I found this forum :yelclap:

I have no idea how the system is run over here so any help/advice that you can share would be very appreciated.

I'm really looking forward to the journey ahead, and wish all those TTC and already PG the best of luck :fingerscrossed:

Mel :wave:

[Noah_and_Elijah]

Congratulations Mel :yelclap:

Wishing you a happy and healthy 9 months! :wizard:

Welcome to Oz too! :D

[QTB]

Congrats!! We moved to brisbane from Hamilton in march last year lol :)

[abiishu]

Hi Mel,

Congratulations!! You must be so excited! I have bub number 1 on the way too, only 9 weeks left to go now... :)

As far as how the system works, are you referring to birth options?? If so, what kind of birth are you hoping for? And are you going public or private? Let us know and I'm sure you'll get heaps of helpful advice from everyone :yes:

And welcome to Brisbane too!! :wave:

[mom2jake]

Hi Mel:wave:
Welcome to Australia and Bubhub...
And Congratulations on your pregnancy...
My hubby's a kiwi too and I have to say, your chocolate is the BEST:yes: :D

[NZMEL]

Thanks for the quick replies and well-wishes!!

By "the system" I am referring to...what do I need to do?? I am actually quite clueless as to who/when I should be seeing someone, right through to what are my birthing options??
A real newbie :confused: Anyone want to take me under their wing ? :)

I did have health insurance when I was in NZ, but they have told me I should get a different policy now that I am an Australian resident...I'm concerned that after paying my insurance in NZ for the past 6 years that I will now have to go through the 12 month stand down period on a new policy over here. Any recommendations?

As far as seeing a doctor - I basically just picked a medical surgery that is close to where I live, so I could get confirmed. I do not have a Medicare card yet (picked paper work up yesterday arvo, and will take back this week) so Doctor said she would wait until I have my temporary card before putting through my urine/blood tests. What is my next step after this?

Doctor did mention that I would probably go to Redlands Hospital - In NZ you have a midwife assigned to you throughout your pregnancy, does that happen here?

Thanks,
Mel

[NZMEL]

:wave:Hi

Is anyone able to answer any of the above, just to put my mind at ease. Things seem to be a lot different here to how they are in NZ and I just need to get my head around it so I can stop worrying:confused:

Any help will be really appreciated :)

Mel

[abiishu]

Thanks for the quick replies and well-wishes!!

By "the system" I am referring to...what do I need to do?? I am actually quite clueless as to who/when I should be seeing someone, right through to what are my birthing options??
A real newbie :confused: Anyone want to take me under their wing ?

I did have health insurance when I was in NZ, but they have told me I should get a different policy now that I am an Australian resident...I'm concerned that after paying my insurance in NZ for the past 6 years that I will now have to go through the 12 month stand down period on a new policy over here. Any recommendations?

As far as seeing a doctor - I basically just picked a medical surgery that is close to where I live, so I could get confirmed. I do not have a Medicare card yet (picked paper work up yesterday arvo, and will take back this week) so Doctor said she would wait until I have my temporary card before putting through my urine/blood tests. What is my next step after this?

Doctor did mention that I would probably go to Redlands Hospital - In NZ you have a midwife assigned to you throughout your pregnancy, does that happen here?

Thanks,
Mel

Hi Mel, :wave:

Don't know if I can answer all of your questions, but this is a start anyway. Generally, I think you are assigned to the hospital closest to you in your area. I don't know what kind of birthing services Redlands Hospital offers, so if I was you I would contact them asap to find out this information.

If you are keen for a natural, active birth with a known midwife, then you should put your name down at the birth centre at the Royal Brisbane Women's Hospital (RBWH) at Herston. Unfortunately supply outstrips demand for their services, so places are allocated through a ballot system. You need to get into the ballot system as early as possible, to do this you need to get your doctor to fax a letter to them with your details and requesting birth centre care. Definitely worth a try, and I have heard so many great things about the birth centre from women who have birthed there. :D

As far as health insurance goes, all I know is that giving birth in any of the public hospitals is totally covered by Medicare, so no cost to you. If you do end up getting health insurance sorted, then you will have acess to private hospitals as well as the public system. However I have heard that sometimes even with private cover you can end up with a bill at the end. But to be honest I don't know enough about the private health system, so hopefully someone else can help you with that.

If you would like any other info feel free to pm me and I would be glad to share my experience :)

Hope that helps!

[NZMEL]

Thanks springpetal...even that has helped ease my mind to start with :)

I applied for my medi-care card today, so off to get my blood test done after work today (Doc said she would send urine test at the same time)

I am fine with going through a public hospital, so I will get in touch with Redlands and see what they have to offer.

Thanks for leading in the right direction :thumbsup:

[littleone]

Hi :wave:

I'm a kiwi too and have only moved to Brisbane last October. I had lived in Sydney for 10 years prior to that though.
The most important think for you to do is get your medicare card, otherwise everything you do will be very expensive.
Are you still paying private health cover in NZ? If so try calling some private health companies here and see if you can transfer your waiting periods across. I found medicare private the best value for money, but it's worth calling a few. If they won't transfer your waiting period there is a 12 month waiting period and it wouldn't be worth it.

I work at the Mater in South Brisbane and will be going there if we are still in Brissy when baby born. They have excellent facility's if you or the baby are sick. Redlands have to transfer you by ambulance and it is a long way when time is of the essence. The Royal womens has a great reputation also. I'm just paranoid because I work in the industry;)

I can't help with when to see the doctor etc. as I'm new to all of this also. I'm going through a fertility clinic and I stay with them for about 8-12 weeks. I believe different hospital have different services regarding shared care. I think you can choose to see midwives only if you are low risk or you can see both a ob and midwife?? I'm sure your GP will be able to give you better info.

I look forward to sharing the journey with you. I'm due the 9th April. :smiliedance: How exciting.

[sparkleymum]

Hi there, Ijust moved to Brisbane from Ireland in January and I am in the same boat as you. I have no idea what I'm ment to do now. I have insurance with medibank but haven't arranged anything yet. Due 8th April

[abrookepestell]

Hi Mel,

CONGRATULATIONS!

I have just found out I have my second beautiful little one on the way and are just as excited as you!

Regarding possible care during your pregnancy, if you are under the public system, you have 3 options. First is standard hospital care where you visit the hospital for all of your pregnancy check ups, and you can see different staff each time. Second is shared care where you visit your GP for most of your pregnancy check ups and visit the hospital 2 - 3 times during your pregnancy to discuss birth plans etc. and the third option is birth centre, where you are assigned a midwife for your entire pregnancy and as I understand those midwives attend your birth.
If you go private you can see an obstetrician thoughout your pregnancy, but they may not attend your birth.

I had shared care with my first son (he's 9 mths so I remember my pregnancy pretty clearly) and I was really happy. My GP was great and I went to RBWH who were also fantastic.

I am a kiwi myself and have heard the care in NZ is much better than what is available in Australia, especially the aftercare (plunkett is fantastic).

Have a chat to your GP and discuss your options with them.

BTW welcome to Brissy, it really is a funky city, a lot like Auckland but much, much warmer!

[bissym]

Hi everyone,

We just found out on the weekend that I'm pregnant too. Guessing due date is about 27th March though my cycle isn't regular. Some ppl have mentioned a dating ultrasound; when do you do this?
This morning after my first app. with a GP to confirm my blood test I found out that my Hospital and Extras Cover with Medibank doesn't cover obstetrics. So after booking appointments with an OB at the Mater I had to cancel them as the GP said we'd have to go a differnet route to go through the public system as they do share care with the RBH.
It was all a bit overwhelming on top of this morning and I ended up leaving work in tears (cringe).
I haven't found a GP that I feel really comfortable with or that works outside of business hours.
i've heard about something similar to share care called team-care (?) at the RBH where all your app.s are there and not with a GP. Can anyone tell me about more this?
And how to keep it (should I keep it) private from work with all these app.s coming up?

[abrookepestell]

Hello,

I went to see my GP today and she told me about another option, the "team-care" option, which means that you see a team of midwives throughout your pregnancy and one attends your birth, but you don't go in the birth centre birthing suite.

Re telling them at work, legally you are entitled to take time off for your appt's and if you need to take sick leave you are entitled to your sick leave entitlements, anything above that is between you and your employer. But remember your employer cannot make you leave work and has to make amendments for you health and safety wise.

Oh and don't worry about the tears, it's pretty standard for pregnancy. I've been pretty normal right up until now, but my last pregnancy I was a bee-artch!

Cheers,
Amanda

[FunkyMonkey]

What is my next step after this?

Doctor did mention that I would probably go to Redlands Hospital - In NZ you have a midwife assigned to you throughout your pregnancy, does that happen here?

Thanks,
Mel

I birthed my son at Redlands and found them to be great. I did shared care with my GP. I saw the hospital staff for about 4-6 appoints , but went to my GP for BT's and Ultrasound referrals. The GP will give you a booklet that tells you when you need to see whom. And will refer you to the hospital. They will write you a letter and you go and see them to book in.
I meet my midwifes during consultations, but I don't know if that is usual. If you can ask for a particular middie as for either Maiken, Erin or Sandy. :thumbsup:
If you have any questions just PM me and I will try to answer.

Redlands also has a lowish C/S rate, but they will c/s if bubs is breech or if your having twins. If you're having more they send you to Mater. They also send you to mater if you go into labour before 37 weeks.

[NZMEL]

Thanks so much to everyone for your words of support, I'm feeling less of a newbie everytime I log on and read everyones experiences and advice, this forum has really helped me - here is some sticky baby dust for you all :wizard::babydust2:


I now have a medi-care card, and will hear back about my bt this morning :fingerscrossed:

I am hoping I can get an ultra-sound really soon, as my tummy has already popped further out and I've always had a feeling I could be further along - or maybe that's just wishful thinking...can't wait to get past the 1st trimester and into safer territory :)

[bissym]

Thanks abrookepestell, I guess I'll just wait until it feel right to tell them at work.
I had a missed call on my mobile from my boss (after putting up the earlier post) saying he'd heard I'd gone home v- upset (he was out at a meeting) telling me if I needed anything or to talk that he's there. I also got a call from one of the other girls' at work that I didn't think I clicked with very well checking that I was ok. It makes it hard not telling them, though I just said I just got some upsetting news but that it's working out.

Beer-o-clock came on Friday, they insisted on me having a glass of wine with them (said no to the beer). The smell of the wine made me retch and I tipped it down the sink later when no-one was watching which DH and I had a laugh about after work.

Found another GP that seemed really friendly and helpful and he gave me a referall for the midwives at RBH and faxed it for me straight away. I'm so much happier after that.

Told MIL the other night, she was so happy (told my parents straight away and they've already gone dotty calling each other Grandma and Grandpa and making plans).
Going shopping with sister-in-law today, am sure I won't be able to hold it in, DH just shakes his head as I keep saying how we have to wait to tell ppl, but I can't help it, I'm so excited!!!