My after pains didn't get bad until after number 4 was born. OMG they were hideous!!!!
I'm so not looking forward to them...
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My after pains didn't get bad until after number 4 was born. OMG they were hideous!!!!
I'm so not looking forward to them...
TENI!! :happyforyou:
bring on that homebirth baby!!!!!!!!!
WAHOO!
Yay Teni SOOO super excited for you! Hoping you have a truely lovely h & h pg :D
Congrats again Beatrix such wonderful news.
Afm feeling a little sad again today at the prospect of not having another hb this time. I know I cant complain as it was my choice but well I'm pg and tired and hormonal so I'm going to anyway... Waaah :(
I'm just getting really impatient to meet bubby and trying not to stress about how everything is going to work out re someone to watch children and me getting to hospital in time and dh being here etc. Ok vent over I guess *sigh*
Just some questions so I can get planning :) Our biggest roadblock is the cost, so I'm trying to focus on that right now. I know a lot of midwives do payment plans and the like, but I'm so scared whoever we choose is going to say we can't do that for whatever reason! Plus we're the types to want to have a large chunk paid off early so we don't have to worry about it later on.
- What should I expect in terms of frequency for the antenatal visits? One of the midwife groups I'm looking at charge per visit, where the other does a set fee for all care. Do I get to choose how often I see them? I assume at least a couple of them are non-negotiable, but I don't want to do just the bare minimum either. I'd like to develop some kind of relationship with my midwife/ves... Would it work if the visits were monthly until 32 weeks, then fortnightly? It still seems like a lot, especially if we pay per visit. And when do I start seeing the midwife?
- On a similar note, those who paid per visit - when/how did you pay? On the day? As part of your overall fee?
- I have some stupid anxiety issues around calling people :wall: From what I've read in past threads, I'm not likely to get a response via email, even though I've already sent a few off. So do you think it'd be okay to get DH to do the initial ringing around for me? He's used to making phone calls for me but I don't want them to get the wrong impression of us.
I'm getting a weird sense of déjà vu, I'm sure I asked all these questions a while ago. But I can't remember the answers and, quite frankly, don't want to go digging back through all the previous posts. Especially if I'm wrong about having asked earlier :lol:
Thanks in advance for any help!
Teni- good luck finding someone you gel with and you can afford. I can't help you at all because I used a hospital service which was free for us and was lucky enough to gel with my awesome midwife.
Hi teni. So far I've only seen my mw once, for meeting/booking in appt. My next appt is at 20w. This works fine, coz not much happens generally in the first half of pg. And she's only a phone call away if I have any issues or questions.
They generally have a schedule of when they do appt. And if they are registered those appt are funded by Medicare too, as long as you have a gp referral. I received a bill in the mail, and paid it off at my own leisure.
My mw returned my emails originally, then I think she rang me to have a talk and make out first appt.
I sent emails, even though the advice was to call, because of the time of year I was looking. I though they might be on holidays or something. A lot of them replied with info, but they all wanted to speak on the phone before meeting. They all offered an obligation free 'get to know you' appointment. I see my midwife monthly, I think our first official appointment after the meeting one was at about 14 weeks and they've been monthly ever since. She charges a flat fee for all care, she doesn't charge per visit. All of the midwives we spoke to were like that. She takes $500 off her fee if we hire a doula. She's not Medicare registered which means we can't get any rebates or the small amount my phi would pay towards a midwife - so if that parts important to you make sure you ask if they're registered with Medicare :)
Teni I met mine first at around 12 weeks, then I had the booking in appointment at 15 weeks - both of these I didn't pay for.
I have to call them after my morphology scan. Then I'll start paying - they charge per appointment but you get some back with Medicare.
I think I have appointments roughly the same time as you would if you went public - 20, 24, 28, 32, 34 and then weekly from 36 weeks. However since I go over I have negotiated for my weekly appointments to begin at 38 weeks.
Double post
I went with the mob that PZ went through and you can be pretty flexible with appts (consider that I only arrived back in OZ at 26 weeks pregnant lol).
With MN (the group i went through) all visits are monthly until they become fortnightly from about the 28-32 week mark (can't really remember...might even be later than that). being that this is not your first pregnancy there is also a bit more room for spacing out appts (ie. instead of doing weekly from 36 weeks i opted to have fortnightly until 38 ITMS).
they are super happy to discuss plans and how many appts and when. you dont have to pay on day. we used to do bank transfer that night...we would save up for the appts through that month ($110 from memory).
do you have anything to ebay?? i seriously started dumping stuff on there to take some of the pressure off lol.
I was super happy with MN and dont have experience with the others (some with MAMA...but not for HB stuff, just other pregnant related stuff: yoga etc. they seem nice BUT apparently super popular and can be hit and miss with who you get...apparently...not sure how true this is...HB gossip and all that hahaha).
Totally AOK with Scott ringing up for you. they generally dont answer and let it go to voicemail anyway. (this was/is the only way that i have been able to call myself...also feel very anxious about calling and 'annoying' people...especially handy anxiety to have when in labour PMSL).
Oh! That makes me a lot less nervous, I can talk to voicemail no worries :lol: And you happened to mention both I'm tossing up between - MN and MAMA :p MAMA are a lot closer than I thought they were, so it's good to have more choice than I originally thought!:
Thanks for the help everyone :) I get so worked up about things, I'm glad I have you all :)
they are both super lovely...rare moment indeed to be spoilt for choice lol. I love Jan Ireland...never had her as an IM but she is a superb, caring human being.
Kelly from MAMA emailed me today :leap: She said if I don't mind travelling to them for the more important appointments, they can definitely take me on. There's a different midwife local to me who can do the other appointments and postnatal visits :)
I just need to call to make an appointment :lol:
Kelly is awesome and caught my ds. She was my secondary midwife but my primary midwife (jan) got caught in roadworks.
Mama offer Medicare rebates for antenatal visits too but the birth you have to pay for.
You'll love Kelly. She's very calm and a great listener. She doesn't have the experience of jan, but they generally work as a team, so you'll have loads of professional knowledge at the birth.
Kelly is no fuss but also very warm and loving. I have other recommendations if you need too.
I'm guessing MAMA do postnatal rebates too? It is important to ask that if Kelly has medicare rebates (i am sure she does!). in my case my primary one did but my second one didnt (so had to pay full for her appts with no rebate...but i chose that because she is awesome and eats jellybeans with me over a cup of tea...yanno, the important stuff lol).
Same as Cassius, I chose my primary who was Medicare eligible, but the second wasn't. But she was wonderful and worth it. She didn't make the birth but the gorgeous intern midwife stepped up to second (also not Medicare eligible) and she was amazing. I might be wrong, but I'm pretty sure whichever option you go with you're going to spend about $4-5k for private midwifery care in Melbourne. At least, all the options we explored were that, and ours was around about $5k. We paid per visit, but didn't book our midwives until 17-20 weeks. It was $110 fee visit with a $45 rebate (which we still haven't cashed in lol!) and the antenatal were $110 with I think $75 rebate? My primary IM was so amazing though, because we ended up having a lot of extra visits with the PND and RPOC, she charged antenatal at the rebate price, so basically free once we cash those in. That's what's so worth it with IM's, they genuinely care. They're a special kind of person, that's for sure.
My non-medicare registered midwife charged $4000 which included 2nd midwife if I wanted (I didn't). What's the point if the medicare eligible ones just up their prices so you are still paying same amount?
I had the same MW as HotI - $4k everything included (2nd midwife and birth pool). From memory we booked at 13wks and had monthly visits that I think became fortnightly at 32wks and weekly from 36wks? No Medicare rebate but I did claim back net medical expenses over $2000 on my tax return :)