Like I said in my previous post, I had excellent care from the midwives at the hospital here. But to explain further just how much they do:
~ pre-natal - we see the midwives for our routine checks at the hospital. When I was pg with Emily, I was fortunate enough to see the same midwife.
~ labour/birth - like I said, I had the same midwife with me from the time I initially got there, until I was transferred to the maternity ward after having bub.
~ post-natal - A midwife/trained lactation consultant came out to visit me once I went home. This is offered to all patients for up to one month postnatal.

So in both my labours, I never even met an Ob. The midwives were able to deal with everything they were faced with. Yes, it was a straight forward birth both times, however the ob's on duty weren't too far away if there were complications.
I'm not sure what other hospitals/birth centres are like, but I would like to think they are all like this, and offer this great service from midwives.
There is also talk of building a birth centre next to the hospital here in Cairns.