can anyone give info to a foreigner planning to give birth in australia?!

[lollipop888]

:yelclap:i'm a foreigner and i plan to give birth to my second child in australia (as my husband needs to be there for business purposes around my EDD)

appreciate info on the following
1) am i allowed to go to a public hospital or must i only go private?

2) what's the average cost for an elective c-section ( I had an Emerg C-section for my 1st bb)

thanks!! any other info you think i should know pertaining to the above issues would be most welcomed too.!!

[Areca]

:yelclap:i'm a foreigner and i plan to give birth to my second child in australia (as my husband needs to be there for business purposes around my EDD)

appreciate info on the following
1) am i allowed to go to a public hospital or must i only go private?

2) what's the average cost for an elective c-section ( I had an Emerg C-section for my 1st bb)

thanks!! any other info you think i should know pertaining to the above issues would be most welcomed too.!!


You can go to a public hospital but you have to pay. It's costing my SIL $100 for every ante-natal appt. and then the birth (unsure of cost of that. She has a friend whe went back home to give birth cause she couldn't afford to pay).

Could you even obtain private health insurance here? If you are coming on a tourist visa you won't be able to and it will cost more (a lot more) to go private. If you can get health insurance they might not cover you because you already are pregnant (there are waiting periods).

A public hospital might refuse you your elective so you'll need to ring the public hospital in the area you'll be staying to see if you'll be accepted but regardless, there will be a big out of pocket expense so you should find out how much it will cost.

Good luck!

[Lolliesmum]

Let me first ask which country you are from and how pregnant you will be when you arrive?

Most airlines wont let you fly when you are past 32 weeks, and won't let a neonate fly until at least 5 days, though this is dependant on the carrier.

If you are from a country that has reciprocal health care with Australia ie the UK, then I believe that you can have your baby in a public hospital for free. I'm not sure how elective c-sections come into that.

You could have the baby privately, which if the delivery goes to plan and the baby is healthy then you would probably being paying around $5000 (last time I checked 06). If for some reason you end up in ICU or your baby has a heart defect and needs emergency surgery (painting a really grim picture, I am only using this as an example) then you might be looking at an excess of $100,000.

I would think that if you had private health cover from your country it would not cover you in Australia, and if you were to take out International Private Health Cover when you got out here, your pregnancy would not be covered as it is "pre existing".

Hope this is of some help.

[Electric Mumi]

I doubt it would be considered an elective c-section if its required due to haveing one last time?? Obs would reccommend it surely

[Areca]

I doubt it would be considered an elective c-section if its required due to haveing one last time?? Obs would reccommend it surely

It's still called an elective regardless as it's not an emergency. Also, depending on the reason for the emergency last time there possibly isn't a medical reason for a repeat which is why it could be denied in a public hospital.

[Nex]

Where are you from? Are you certain that your country has reciprocal rights with Medicare?

If it doesnt, then even if you go public you will have to pay $$$$$. Then you may be better to go private and have the Dr of your choice if you want an elective caesar.

We're not experts in your situation though as we are residents. I would suggest getting in touch with Medicare and ask them about your situation.

[Lolliesmum]

Just another thing for you to be aware of, your baby will require a passport before you head home with him/her.

[littlemissmoi]

I am an Australian returning to Oz to have my baby, so have been doing research related to costs for private obs etc. I've come to an estimated cost for private birth, including OB fees, is around $5000 - $10,000. Depending on hospital, doctor, birth method etc. It's all a bit hard to find info, really! You need to make a lot of phone calls.

I will be arriving from Europe at 35 weeks - most airlines (Singapore is the exception) allow travel up to 36 weeks with a letter from the doctor confirming that it's an uncomplicated, non multiple pregnancy. Just make sure you get some prescription compression stockings (fitted) that come up to your thigh to reduce swelling.

If your husband is working on a project in Australia at this time, you and he should be covered by his employers for medical insurance. I have expat medical insurance that covers me for treatment in every country in the world. This is the norm for expats.

It also does depend on your visa. Skilled immigrant visa holders are entitled to medicare rebates and public hospital usage as per citizens.

Should your baby run into complications, you may not have to pay for the cost of any hospital work - as, again depending on the visa - usually babies born in Australia are citizens, and thus the baby would be covered by medicare/public hospital.

Hope this helps.

[lilpearl]

I doubt it would be considered an elective c-section if its required due to haveing one last time?? Obs would reccommend it surely

Having a caesaran is absolutely no reason for having another one, in the majority of cases, so it is absolutely elective. :)

[liat]

Having a caesaran is absolutely no reason for having another one, in the majority of cases, so it is absolutely elective. :)
That's not why it's called 'elective'. It's called elective if it is planned in advance i.e. not emergency. Even if it is medically essential for whatever physical reason, if it's planned for it is 'elective'. Doesn't necessarily mean it's elected by the mom :)

To the op - it does all depend on yoru own situation - which country you come from will determine if you can use public care, I doubt you'll be on a permanent residence visa if you're only here briefly but even if you have pvt insurance but it's not international, a lot of non Australian insurance funds do cover you for three months outside your own country so if you're with a private fund already ask them. Also, if you are already with a private fund, even if they won't cover you, there are funds over here that will recognize some overseas funds and not require a waiting period. MBF is one of them so you would need to contact them if that's an option.

I investigated the cost of a self-paying private c-section in Brisbane (also had recently moved here) and the hospital stay alone came to over $6000. Then there was the obstetrician, assistant, anaethetist and paediatrician. So we were looking at around $9000 from memory. Plus meds.

If you decide this is acceptable then contact the hospital now and book in getting all the prices up front and you'll also need to be under the care of a pvt obstetrician for the weeks leading up to it. Not sure if they would charge you the full pregnancy management fee, hopefully not, but you'd need to find that out from them in advance too as that can be between $1000 and $3000 (mine was $1600).

Regardless of any of the above I would definitely also contact Medicare to ask if the baby would then be covered by Medicare at birth by virtue of being born in Australia. My guess would be yes but you wouldn't want to chance that.

[Laylapie]

I'm not sure about the birth thing, but just wanted to correct a point made earlier. If your child is born in Australia, he/she will NOT be a citizen unless you or your dh are.

Our youngest was born here in Australia but is NOT an Australian citizen because neither myself or my husband are, although we have been living here for 3 years. To get her a passport we need to apply for citizenship by decent (NZ because we are kiwis), then get her a NZ passport - which if course costs more. If she remains living in Australia until she is 10, then she will automatically become a citizen. hth some.

[Kazamataz]

I'm not sure about the birth thing, but just wanted to correct a point made earlier. If your child is born in Australia, he/she will NOT be a citizen unless you or your dh are.

Our youngest was born here in Australia but is NOT an Australian citizen because neither myself or my husband are, although we have been living here for 3 years. To get her a passport we need to apply for citizenship by decent (NZ because we are kiwis), then get her a NZ passport - which if course costs more. If she remains living in Australia until she is 10, then she will automatically become a citizen. hth some.

Thanks for adding that, i was wondering if that was correct (babies born in oz become automatic citizens)

[Chickadee]

I'm not sure about the birth thing, but just wanted to correct a point made earlier. If your child is born in Australia, he/she will NOT be a citizen unless you or your dh are.

.


Thanks for adding that, i was wondering if that was correct (babies born in oz become automatic citizens)
It's sort of correct I think. If your child is born in Australia, he/she will NOT be a citizen unless you or your dh are either an Australian citizen OR a permanent resident.

[Laylapie]

We are residents, cause we both kiwis, so we thought bubs would be Australian but :no:.

The thing that sucks is she is nothing, yanno, no citizenship at all, surely she must be something???

Poor bubba lol

[Chickadee]

But she's kiwi like you isn't she? My DD was Canadian automatically, though we did have to put some paperwork in to get her citizenship certificate.

[Laylapie]

I dunno if she is a kiwi or not lol, I was just saying what happened it our case ;)

[lollipop888]

wow! thanks for all the info guys!

i've done a bit of research for myself too.
I'm from malaysia so will not be entitled to reciprocal healthcare rights or medicare. but i can go to a public hosp.. just as long as i pay my way along.. where compared to a pte hosp, costs may be substantially lower.

my hubby is a perm resident. i've checked the immi.gov.au website and they did write in black and white that all children born in aus will be given citizenship automatically IF either parents are citizens OR perm residents. so i think my bub will have no prob with that (fingers crossed)

i'll be arriving in oz at about 32 wks. just booked my airticket.

it's just the type of birth that's worrying me now. I'm actually a doctor myself :P been in anaesthetics for a while. my first child was born under emerg c-section due to fetal distress when i was only 3cm! that was in may 2007. now my EDD is mid oct ( less than 2 yrs since my last op) - i'm not sure what the practice is like in aus, but i was told that if a subsequent pregnancy is less than2 yrs from a previous c-section, another section would be recommended. if this is the case... then i'm all for going to a public hospital.

but in case the above does not hold true then i may opt for private and get an elective surgery option instead.

don't get me wrong.. I'm ALL for VBAC!! but in my case this time around, i'm stuck with 'time constraint' factor as my return flight to malaysia is early nov. so if i go for VBAC and am POSTDATE!.. then i won't have time to recuperate! hahaha... with a proper planned birth.. then i can make sure bub and i are well and healthy for our return leg home.

anyhow.. maybe someone can give advice on the following.

my plan is to just arrive in perth, see a GP to get a referral letter. then get outpatient appt with clinic at KEMH. and from there see how things go.

how difficult is it to get into private hosp, and booking with a pte doc? i mean... SURELY they won't turn a poor big full-termed lady away!?!?! *grin*

plus.. anymore info about costs would be great! so that my hubby and i can be prepared with our budget for our trip *sigh*

thanks again!
hope every1's well!

[lovelymomtobe]

Jusrt wondering is anyone on CIGNA cover provided by ur hubby's firm? If so did hey cover all ur pregnancy req in a private hospirtal...did u get it all back?

[sam's mum]

I am going to close this thread. the OP had her question answered and has (well and truly) had her bubs by now.

lovelymumtobe - I suggest starting a new thread if you want to receive responses to your question.