Public or Private?

[*Jo*]

I went public (Royal Brisbane) and the whole thing didn't cost me a cent. I was the same as Ambah - I saw the same team of midwives for all my antenatal appointments, so the one I had for the birth I had seen twice before. The care was fantastic and I wouldn't hesitate going public again. The only negative is sharing a room (and toilet!) with 3 others - I'll definately have to try your trick next time Ambah!

[calliesmum]

it depends on what services are available in your area.
The public and private hospital closest to me are actually next door to each other, the same OB's service both, both have single rooms where the partner can stay. The main difference is the decor and the menu

However having been to both the midwives are much better in the public sector and the intervention rates are much lower. The midwives also come out to your home after you've been discharged a few times so you aren't just tossed out without any support which is great. There is also a lactation consultant onsite for free and you can come back and visit whenever you like.

The private hospital does not offer any of these potnatal services and who cares about who the Ob is anyway? They only turn up for the last 10 mins - it's the midwives who are there throughout your labour who make a difference. If you are in the public sector and something is wrong are you really going to care who is looking after you as long as they can do the job?

If you just want someone you know in labour hire a doula, independant midwife or get a midwifery student to come with you to the birth. Not all OB's can guarantee that they will get there - it may be their weekend off at another birth etc.

So really it's a personal preference about what kind of services are important to you and whether you want to pay for them.

Cheers,Larissa

[Berry]

I went private and will again. However, my private hospital doesn't guarantee your own room for the whole stay - in fact the usual is to spend the first couple of nights in a room with one other person, and then be transferred to a private room with a double bed where your husband can stay overnight.

I think the public system is under-resourced and over-used and so "on principle" we are going private. However, I have friends and sisters who went public and were very happy with the standard of care and their hospital stays.

[Phteven]

the more I read this thread the more I realise that my local public hospital is great!!!! When I got really upset because DH had to go home one night they moved me to a room with a fold out bed for DH and they did the same thing for another girl who was in the ante-natal ward before I gave birth. I didn't even stop to think before now about how unusual it is for DH's to stay the night in the public system.
I feel a bit guilty now for not sending them a card and some choccies.

[Tracey]

I went Public & will do so again, I have my own OB that I see for check ups, if there are any complications he is called but if not as in Maddy's case the midwives delivered her. I had 24 hr access to Paediatrician if I so required, on call breast feeding clinics, I was in a room with another lady & so we kept each other company & as it was her 3rd, she actually was explaining things to me. She left the next day & i had the next 2 days by myself, my friends & family could stay as long as they liked those 2 days which was great as i got really bored!
All of the midwives & nurses were gorgeous (except one with wide hands & stumpy fingers!)
One of my g/f went private & said never again when she found out how much it cost '0' in public & hers was a few thousand out of pocket!

Also at the Angliss I read in a newspaper article how many babies are born there yearly etc compare to the nearest Private hospital & they did triple+ so I guess they have more experience???

[Gemma]

I hope my OB doesn't just turn up for the last 10 mins, he is costing $700 just to turn up and I expect him to be there. Reading the posts gives a good indication of private or public. There are some great public hospitals with great care.

[Berry]

We are lucky to all have access to a high standard of care. Apparently in England women giving birth are discharged from hospital after one day! I have heard great appraisals about public and private hospital experiences here from lots of people.

[Karina]

are ultrasounds and other doctors visits covered by public or private cover??

[BellyBelly]

Karina - you can have bulk billing ultrasounds otherwise you pay up front and get some back from medicare. It's best to ask where you go what the gap will be as it varies greatly. If you reach the medicare safety net threshold then you will get most back.

[JOJA]

I had Jack in my local country hospital which is public. I was put into a private single room anyway as I was in hospital early due to pre-eclampsia, but it wouldn't have worried me if I had to share a room as there is only 2 maternity rooms with 2 beds in each! But when I was in there, there was 4 of us that had just delivered and the midwives put the other ladies in their own rooms, too cool! I also had the choice of Doctor and I was told after the event that i could have asked for a specific midwife as well!

Not sure what is going to happen next time (if there is a next time) as the hospital has suspended it's obs service, it was to reopen in Jan of this year but I think due to the difficulty of a new obs hours it has been postponed! This obs only wants to work mon-fri 9-5 I kid you not!

[~Raven~]

I decided I wanted to have my bubs in a private hospital after spending a week in hospital with snoring wardmates when I had my appendix out. I wanted some privacy!
In the long run I guess it has cost heaps if you take into account the premiums over 4 years I've had top cover.
If you take out a health care table with a single excess payment instead of a daily co payment the costs will be lower if you or the baby have a longer than expected stay. The hospital told me that if you or the baby have special needs that they can't cater for, you will be transferred out anyway so I'm not sure how that affects your excess.

I loved having DH stay with me and having my own OB. Although there is a chance he may be on holidays and in that case it would be his locum.
The only downside is the private hospital that I had Mason in had a staff shortage and they had lots of temps who I felt were not as caring at the permanent staff. One didn't know how to fill out the discharge paperwork though I'm sure it wasn't entirely her fault.

[Karina]

So, with private you would get to choose your own OB ?
I have a GP who is really good and i have been seeing forever (not that go more than once a year or two) my GP is also an OB, so that would mean if i had private cover i would be able to choose to have him as my OB, rather than being given a random one?

[Deejoy17]

Karina, yes you certainly can choose your own OB. We can`t claim any of our fees back from NIB for our OB but can through medicare and considering we reached our medicare threshold in early Feb we get quite a bit back.

Take Care

Deeanne

[jcm73]

We went private, and I would go private again.

The experience of giving birth is a private one, and like some of the comments above, the thought of sharing the first few hours and days with another patient and their relatives wasn't appealing in the slightest.

I went to North West Private Hospital in Brisbane, and they were superb. The care couldn't be faulted and the privacy was incredible. DH wasn't allowed to sleep at the hospital (We didn't have a room with a dbl bed - otherwise he could have) but as long as he was awake he could stay as long as he liked. Not much different really.

My sister had her baby in a public hospital and shared the experience with 8 other women, their babies and families and friends. What an eye openner that was! Private all the way for us.

[*Yvette*]

Firstly, I live in Melbourne, so heaps of choices.

If I was having my first baby, I would go for private midwife homebirth with private OB as backup in case hospital admission needed, which would mean private hospital booking. I would get an OB recommended by the midwife as someone who doesn’t have a reputation for un-necessary intervention. I would talk to them a great deal about what happens in the chosen hospital, ie make sure you can bring your own midwife, check out their policies on everything. And spend a great deal of time on the birth plan and have everyone sign it & a copy on everyone’s file. This is what I did for my first, and same for 2nd but with public hospital booking as backup. Expensive, but I highly recommend it and I had excellent care.

Feeling more confident (and broke) 3rd time, I just went public at Birralee (Box Hill), but was lucky enough to have the same midwife for my appointments & on call for the labour!! Same midwife for this pregnancy too, so delighted. The food can’t be eaten, but the birthing rooms are fine with double bed, couch, table & ensuite, & there are 2 big round bathtubs. DH was not going to be kicked out, but I wasn’t moved out of the birthing room to the ward anyway as I preferred to go home. If I had needed to stay, the wards had 4 beds I think, & I would have enjoyed the company. The staff I met were all really nice & I felt safe. They seemed overworked, but it had a good vibe & I felt my birth plan was supported.

What mattered to me was having a midwife I trusted who was fully supportive of my birth plan. You can always bring your own food, (and this time I will, lol. Yucky hospital food).

[kirbay831]

So Yvette are you planning to go public with the twins? And if its not too personal, are you planning to try vaginal birth or a planned c/section or you dont know yet?

Im going to have to file away your homebirth/back up etc ideas away in my brain for later

K

[*Yvette*]

Public again at Birralee Kirby, and I'll be having the same midwife as with Angus which is lovely. I'm just very nervous about the babies being OK this time, but fully intend to birth vaginally again if I can. We'll have to see how they go.

[confusedegg]

Hi all

I just want to say that when i went to have stitch in cervix, my husband had to be out by 8pm, but the person next to me was allowed to have her husband with her as long as she wanted.

Unfortunately i went into early labour and lost twin girls in public hospital and they gave my husband a bed and let him sleep. O

When and if i get the chance to have anymore children, i will have private doc in public hospital. [-o<