East Sydney Birthing centre

[Twitchit]

Hello
I'm very newly pregnant with my first and becoming more and more aware of how much I don't know... I nearly fell off my chair yesterday when the idea of an 'internal ultrasound' was broached...they never show that in the movies!!!

Anyhow, Im stating to look into birthing options and I'm keen to go public but all things going well, would like to use a birthing centre. My local options are Royal Randwick or Prince of Wales, does anyone have experience with either of these?

I'm also thinking of investing in a private midwife (rather than an OB as apparently they only turn up to 'catch the baby'), at least there will be one familiar face all the way through....good or bad idea?

Ohh...one other thing is calm birthing? Someone on another forum mentioned a course allaboutbirth, has anyone heard anything about this technique?
TT

[aquarius22]

Congratulations on your pregnancy!

A private midwife is great, you will need to find one that is medicare eligible and can provide care for you in a hospital or birth centre, as not all are able to do this. Most offer their services for birth at home.

Going to either RPA or Royal Hospital for Women in either birth centre is a great idea, both are fantastic. I would start booking in now though as they are both very popular. If you do go to one of these hospitals, you can see one midwife the whole way through (same as you would an OB) but as you say - instead of just turning up at the end to catch the baby, the midwife will be there for you throughout the whole labour, and then catch the baby at the end! If you have medicare, this is a free service in a public hospital such as the two mentioned (RPA and RHW) and you do not need to hire a private midwife, the midwife is employed by the hospital system.

Give both of them a call and chat to them about your options there, and you can usually book in to do a tour of the birthing centres to decide which you would prefer.

Calmbirthing - yes this is an additional course that you can do, and is fantastic!! Have a look at: http://www.calmbirth.com.au/
You can do the course at Royal Hospital for Women (even if you don't go there in the end and choose RPA) and it is best to do it from 27-30 weeks onwards to start preparing for labour. If you do it too early in the pregnancy before 27 weeks or so, then the information won't be clear in your mind when you birth your baby a number of weeks later.

Best of luck to you!

(Midwife at hospital in Sydney)

[Cricket29]

Hi twitchit! Congratulations on the fantastic news

I am in exactly the same position as you. I've very newly pregnant and have been advised by my GP to decide on what path I would like to take and book in the my chosen hospital in the first week of January. I freaked out and felt a little lost after realising it seemed much more complicated than I had thought. I have experienced Royal Hospital for Women as I previously had an ectopic and I can't recommend the staff highly enough. I too have decided I would like to go public through RHW with a midwife and considered a private midwife but was explained this is the normal course of action through the birthing centre. So of all goes to plan after my 6 week ultra sound next week then I will be booking in