Gold Coast Birthing Centre

[*Chels*]

Hi,
Just wondering if there was anyone here who had their baby at the birthing centre?
I had DS in NZ and the maternity system is very different over there!!I had a natural birth and want to do it again.I dont like the idea of having a baby in a hospital over here
So yeah,would love to hear peoples experiences.Ta

[Jinglebells]

the birthing centre is lovely Chel

if you want to get in there you got to get in quick, there is no epi's done there, just peth and the gas, you can have a water birth which is cool, you get your own m/w just like at home and she stays with you though out your pregnancy

only thing with it is that your out of there about 4hrs after you have bubs, if your having probs with feeding and stuff you get transfered to the maternity ward

if ya got any questions ask away

[*Chels*]

Yeah that sounds good!!I will want gas,but nothing else.A water birth would be cool too!
So do you have to pay?And do you book in as soon as you get preg?
Ahhh,I wish I could fly back to NZ for 9 months LOL.Are you booked in there?

[Jinglebells]

yeah pays to ring them as soon as ya find out your preg and it doesn't cost, its under the public system


the m/w there arn't as involved as the ones in NZ are, so still very different,

if I could afford to go back home to have this baby I would to lol, its 110% better back home

[Claire-Bear]

The birth centre is heaps better than the normal hospital, but yeah birthing in NZ is a lot better than here unfortunately.

[Jenko]

Hey Chels

I just had my Koby there 9 weeks ago. It was great The birth centre consists of 2 birthing suites, just down the hall from the delivery suites, so you are in the same section and close by to medical help.

As Jo said, it pays to ring ASAP. I didn't ring them until I was about 20 weeks and I was put on a waiting list. At 30 weeks a space came up for me. I had an awesome midwife, Maria. She was really helpful and even though this was my second birth I learnt heaps from her. She would come to my home for my monthly visits, so I didn't even need to go to the hospital, although i went for one visit to check it all out. Then she came to my home everyday for a week after bubs was born, then once a week for 6 weeks.

I had a water birth after being induced. It was just me and DH in the birth pool. We went home 5 hours later, they encourage you to leave if everything is ok but if you had any probs i'm sure you could stay.

I had problems b/feeding Koby (he was tongue tied) and she got me in touch with the wonderful lactation nurses at the hospital who were wonderful.

I highly reccomend the birth centre, I had a fantastic experience there. I actually had half my care and half my labour in a birth centre in Sydney with DD and this was a much better experience. I couldn't fault a thing.

If you have any questions, fire away and I'll do my best to answer them.

[*Chels*]

Thanks Mel.So could you explain water birth a bit more for me?Did you stay in the pool the whole labour?
I think a water birth would be pretty cool-dont know how DF would feel about it,we havent really discussed it.
I like the idea of going home pretty much straight away.I stayed at hospy for 5 days with Riley,to make sure I had BFing down pat.

[Littletreasures]

hey chels

is there something that you are not telling me?

im booked in at the Birth center and so far it has being great.... i have had 2 appts already with my m/w and i didn't have to wait 2-3 hours to see her like i did with DS.... the rooms are great very home like and have a little kitchen area and table, double bed im really excited about giving birth there instead of in the normal maternity ward....

you have to book in pretty much as soon as you find out you are pregnant i nearly missed out cause i called when i was like 9 weeks and i should have done it at like 5....and there is about 1 million questions that you have to answer before they will let you know if you are in or not....

[Jenko]

Basically with the water birth they try and hold out until towards the end as it can slow labour down if you get in too soon.

It's also important to be aware that you may not 'get' your water birth if things don't go smoothly. They are for only very low risk pregnancies and labours for obvious reasons. I always said 'i was hoping for a water birth' but didn't get my hopes up too high just in case.

Also as Lisa said, 'no waiting' for appoitments - a big bonus when you have a toddler, but as i mentioned they will come to your home if you prefer.

I was induced in the morning, waters broken at 7.30pm and my m/w had to hurry and fill the pool (it takes about 40mins) as bubs was not mucking around. So by the time I got in I was almost there. K was born about 45 mins after getting in at 9pm. I actually got quite hot in the water and had my mum giving me a cold washer and water. Your m/w has to control the temp of the water.

[*Chels*]

Sounds great Mel,you must be thrilled that you got your water birth.
Thanks for the info everyone