Carrie, I had my
DS in a public hospital in SA recently and I can't fault my experience. A lot of public hospitals these days you will get a private room and bathroom all to yourself, as happened for me. I won't lie, it was noisy for me and I didn't get much sleep, but that was more related to the fact that the room I got was quite close to the nurses station rather than being woken by other people's babies. I didn't get much sleep at all really mainly because I was up feeding
DS and/or gazing at him all night long
For me personally, it wasn't worth paying more just for the luxury of a private hospital or a longer stay. Or for an
OB that couldn't guarantee they would be there for the birth. I also went public becuase the model of care and approach to birth suited my preferences better (midwifery led practice).