Having a Baby in Australia

[chocolatemonstersmum]

Hi all
We will be moving over to Australia this year and i wondered who delivers the baby. I have heard that it is the midwife in a public hospital and an Obstetrician in the private hospitals. Is this true 'cause i was thinking about having my baby in a private hospital hopefully delivered by a midwife, Is this an option?

[Zada]

well i went public and had an ob come in right at the last min to deliver bubs. I gather with private u have a choice who does this so yes you could possibly choose just to see midwives. HTH:)

[Mybabble]

I was the same as zada. I had midwives with me throughout my whole labour and then an ob came in for about the last half hour. (middies had to ring him and get him out of bed:laughing:) GOODLUCK:thumbsup:

[~Candy~]

I went public all 4 times. I had 3 VBAC deliveries and all were done with just the midwife there. Never seen the Ob once!

[~Candy~]

If you go private, I'm sure you'll get whichever one you like :thumbsup:

[MrsTwith3]

You could also have the option of having the bub in the public hospital with midwives then be transferred to the private hospital afterwards for your post natal stay.

[Two Little Buggalugs]

Hi choc monsters mum!

I've got an english friend who delivered her first bub private in australia and second bub in england and she said they were quite similar experiences.

Everyone is right, if you go private you have a lot of choice. My tip, go to a public/private hospital (often these are specialist neonatal training hospitals, so it's reassuring in case anything goes wrong, touch wood :fingerscrossed: ). That way you generally aren't up for any ludicrous extras. I know a lot of people that went private and ended up $3,000 to $7,500 out of pocket. I went private through a public/private hospital and didn't pay any extra, which I was v. relieved about.

Also, a lot of private funds have a waiting lists, ie you have to be a member for a year before they will cover your birth. You'll find a lot of information on the health fund and hospital websites though.

Good luck! :wave:

[Milliner]

I went to a public hospital, I have midwives with me for most of the time then when bubs was about to come out my OB was there to deliver.

[JumpingBean]

I went public and had midwifes there, then the OB came for the last half hour to deliver.
My best friend went private at the same hospital and had midwifes, then emergency c-section. So was transferred to surgery.
We both had exactly the same care afterwards, so I say if you are comfortable with public - go for it.
The only difference is that she knew her midwife before hand, so I guess in that way you can choose. But all the midwifes I had were fantastic, and when in labour I found it didn't really worry me not having known them before.

[Clinya]

I had my daughter in a Public hospital and we had midwives for most of the delivery and then the dr came in at the end as i almost had to have a VBAC- the drs were around they were just not needed.

Also with private you have to have health cover for at least a year before you can be covered for pregnancy/childbirth.

At the hospital we had our daughter at it is only a small one and almost like a big clinic really and we live a 30 min train ride from Sydney!! So our care was like private anyway as the midwife who i saw at every anti natal clinic came to see me the day after i had my daughter as did the midwife who had to leave about an hour before i delivered and the physio who had been giving me treatment prior to my delivery. It was awesome :)

[~Candy~]

The Ob's mustn't like me or something :confused: LOL...Not once did an Ob come in during my labour/birth..the midwife handled the whole thing all 3 times (this was in 2 diff public hospitals). The only time I saw an Ob or my baby saw a pediatrition was when we where being discharged.

[werdxela]

With my 3 I only had an ob there to break my waters then midwives for the labour and delivery. With little miss the ob was in and out cause she was misbehaving but she was still delivered by the midwives

[littlepickle]

Even if you are private, i is the midwife that is with you for most of the labour with the ob coming in for the birth and for any complications. If you have a birth plan or want an active natural birth, a midwife will support you with this as will a lot of obstetricians. I guess you have to be upfron with what you want.

As somone else mentioned, if you want to go private, you will need to join a health fund with obstetics cover at least 12 months before the lanned birth.. so at least 3 months before trying to get pg.

[chocolatemonstersmum]

Thanks for all your comments, its certainly given me an insight. Think i'll have to do some more research into what each hospital offers.:thumbsup:

[Two Little Buggalugs]

What state/suburb will you be in? The bubhubbers in that state can direct you to some hospitals, might make the research a bit easier :wave:

[WeloveHarriet]

With most private hospitals, you have to be under an OB's care - I don't know of any that will do care of a pregnant woman without an OB being involved. Normally the only way a middy will deliver in a private hospital is if the OB is running late for some reason otherwise the OB will always deliver the baby. Different scenario altogether in a public hospital or birthing centre - OBs play a much smaller role, with the majority of care done by the middy.

[chocolatemonstersmum]

Thanks again, think i'll go public and get the birth i really want.:wave: