Mercy Womens Hospital - Heidelberg

[Jamrain]

Hi, I was wondering if anyone had used the Mercy Womens family birth centre in Heidelberg?

They are close to us and have been helpful on the phone. We are booked in to an introduction thingo on saturday but would love to get other folks opinions as well.

Thanks!

[mummato3]

Hi there, and congratulations on your pregnancy!

Speaking from a student midwfe point of view, the FBC is fabulous! I have done several of my placements there and it really is just like being in a home environment, with the support there when you need it. Very pro letting you make the decisions in regards to your labour and birth and the choices you have made for both. There is no pressure and one of the lovely things is that there isnt a constant revolving door of medical personell walking through the door!
From my own personal point of view as a woman and a mother, I wouldnt hesitate to have my baby there.
Feel free to contact me if you have any other questions.
Meredith :)

[newtoOzzie]

Hi There
I have jsut moved to Australia and learned that I am pregnant. It is very exciting but also nerve racking as this is my first pregnancy and I do not know how things work over here. I have been advised that my only 2 options (no private health care as it takes 12 months to activate for pregnancy): The Royal Women's Hospital and The Women's Mercy, and that I should view both. I am unable to view the Womens without booking in, but have read a fair few horror stories on here and they sound very busy
I am out of catchment area for the Mercy but have the option of the Family Birthing Centre.IT sounds good, but I am unclear as to what happens if there are complications with me and the baby?Do they still offer pain relief?

I am new to this (pregnancy and Australia)and would appreciate any advice as I have no idea what to do. Obviously I would like the easiest birth possible, but have no idea what to expect from antenatal care. How soon do peole attend new mum groups?

thank you in advance
:wave:

[EquineMum]

There is actually a thread already devoted to the Mercy and people's experiences there....here is a copy of what I posted in there a little while back:

Cannot rave about the Mercy and the FBC enough :yelclap: DH and I did our entire pre-natal and preg journey through the FBC, had regular checkups with the middies, did our ante natal classes there, and laboured in there for 24 hours before we had to get transferred out as it had been nearly 36 hours since my waters broke. Even once I was transferred out, the FBC held our suite for us in the hopes that I could still have a normal VB and then recover in the FBC with DH staying....but that wasn't to be. DS was stubborn and was not presenting right, he had his chin stuck out and his head tilted - no matter what we did, he wouldn't budge off my cervix and it was the wrong part of his head that was presenting, so I never dilated past 7cm.

Anyway - :ecomcity: aside, even once I was transferred and had to have a CS, the staff were fantastic. We made the decision at 4am to have a CS after 50 hours of labour wasn't getting us anywhere :laughing:, but they said "look, why not wait until there's fresh staff on at 7am rather than the team that's been up all night?" (YAY - good plan!) and then they said "and that way you still have another couple of hours to try for your VB :yes: and avoid the CS!" :thumbsup: Well, it wasn't to be, but we sure appreciated all the opportunities we were given! At no stage was I ever strapped in or stuck on a bed with any machinery or anything - they have cordless fetal monitors, so even once I was in the main maternity ward and they wanted to monitor DS to make sure he wasn't stressed, I still laboured on a birth ball and was allowed to walk around and do pelvic rocking and labour standing up (the way I wanted to) and squatting. They respected our wishes to minimise the epidural so that I could still function and sit up and breastfeed ASAP after the CS. Even after I'd had the CS and was recovering in the ward upstairs, two of the middies from the FBC came to visit me and see how I was going! They kept reassuring me that they hadn't forgotten us, that I had done so well and they wanted to see me back down there to show off DS before we left the hospital.

I have minimal scarring from the CS, I was up and on my feet as soon as the epidural wore off, DS and I were healthy and happy (all nearly 10lbs of him!! LOL!) and we breastfed for 11 months. We were so impressed by the whole experience, we can't WAIT to do it again and will be trying for a VBAC. Cannot give them enough praise! :yes:

Go for it!!!

[fai firinne]

There are some awesome midwives at the FBC trying their best to provide midwifery care and natural birth options for women. It can work well if you are committed to staying home and doing the real hard yards of labour at home (perhaps with a doula's support) then rocking up in strong labour, hopefully close to fully dilated. You'll find this is what the midwives recommend too!

But it is good to be aware of the pitfalls and limitation, and have a back-up plan. The pit-falls are not the fault of the excellent midwives and it's out of their hands. The FBC is not like an independent, free-standing birth centre such as you see in other countries. It is controlled by obstetric policy, so they are limited in their delivery of the midwifery model.

Because of the very narrow parameters set by the obstetric department, there is a very high transfer rate out of the FBC. The delivery ward and caesarean theatre are just 'right this way' through the double doors. This can give you a false sense of secuirty. The transfer rate for first time mothers (primips) is around 50%.

So when you are researching your options, it is good to ask, what is the transfer rate for primips, and for what reasons are women transferred from the FBC to the labour ward?

Some of the reasons my clients have met so far:
- pregnancy lasting longer than 42 weeks
- positive GTT or GBS
- waters break and contractions don't start within 18 hours
- meconium present when waters break
- placenta taking longer than an hour to be born
- previous caesarean (even if there has been a successful VBAC in the meantime)
- previous PPH

There are times when transfer to the labour ward for further obstetric help is appropriate and desirable, but some of the above are regarded as normal variations that can be worked with and expectant management is no more risky than intervention - such as gestation longer than 42 weeks or meconium present in the liquor of a full term infant, or the presence of GBS, which is a transient infection. In the midwifery model, although these factors would be closely watched, they are not necessarily reasons for automatic transfer.

The other draw-back is that although there is a birth pool, it is quite shallow (they ignored the midwives' recommendations) and the obstetric policy they are forced to practice under does not allow them to do waterbirth. There are some midwives who'll say, "well, I'm not going to pull the plug on you! I guess I'll just have to fill out yet another Incident Form, won't I?" But not all the midwives have that level of confidence to stake their professional safety like that - and risk getting into trouble with the medical hierarchy. They are between a rock and a hard place. It's like trying to do midwifery with your wings clipped.

So go in with eyes wide open - and consider having a back-up plan - such as hiring a Private Midwife.

For example, to gestate longer than 42 weeks is a perfectly normal variation. Don't think it won't happen to you! It is normal so it *could* happen. Now hopefully it won't - but do you have a plan in place? Do you know your options?

* Consent to induction and say goodbye to your Birth Centre birth - go directly to labour ward, do not pass go, do not .... And the cascade begins.
* Do not consent to induction, stand your ground and wait for labour to start naturally. This may involve daily monitoring, scans .... and 'struggle sessions' in which obstetricians play the Dead Baby card to pressure you into consenting. They just keep at you and at you until you cave.
* Hire a Private Midwife to help you withstand the pressure to induce, and to monitor your well-being and your baby's well-being. Wait for labour to start naturally, labour at home as long as possible with your Midwife's support and care, move to hospital late in labour where your Midwife will continue to support you in the labour ward and help you dodge the interventions.
* As above ... but stay home, and have a homebirth.

I have supported some lovely FBC births and have been really impressed by the midwives. But many of my clients have had thier hopes dashed when they've been transferred, sometimes for serious reasons and sometimes for reasons that seemed unfair to them, and have ended up having a lot of intervention and feeling pretty jibbed. So, do the independent research and be prepared with a back up plan.

Good luck!

[sarsjovi]

Hi,
I had my DS at the Mercy FBC 6wks ago and i cannot rave about it enough:yelclap:
The midwives were BRILLIANT and it was a very personal day. Most of the time it was just my husband and i and the midwife just 'popped in' to check on things as needed. i wouldn't change a thing about my labour, and i will definintly be going back to the Mercy for the rest of my children (eventually - am in no hurry just yet:laughing:)