Moving to Sydney, trying to find LMC - tricky situation...

[Rumpleteaser]

Being on a working visa I would assume you would qualify for medicare which means you could give birth in a public hospital.
You would have to attended your appointments at the hospital, I don't think they have appointment times, but general clinic hours, so first in first served.
Hospitals won't force you into having interventions you don't want, so a natural birth is possible, but having the choice if you want pain relief is an option. If the bub is in distress or you labour doesn't progress/start they may suggest a number of different interventions such as CS, inductions, syntocin drips, forceps/vacuumes extrations, etc...
You are generally encouraged to labour at home untill you find the pain unbearable or your contractions are 5 mins apart, public hospitals can be busy. You will probably be d/c home within a day or so if there are no complications, possibly less than 24hrs. Then there will be follow up visits with midwives from the hospital and community nurses.
I have had birthed in a private hospital, so if my information is incorrect, someone please correct me. Since you don't have health insurance, it would cost a small fortune as you would have to pay for the appointments with you Ob in the lead up to labour, then you would have to pay for the hospital stay, blood tests, medications etc... Even with insurance the out of pocket expensises could be up to a couple of thousand dollars.

I hope some of this information has helped clarify things for you.

[MummaSue]

You will qualify for medicare being on a work visa (I've been on one of those and had a medicare card).

So you should be able to go public and not have any out of pocket costs - depending on what kind of care you choose.

I guess just ask some of the girls on here what hospitals are good and go from there!!

Congratulations on your pregnancy!
Sue xx

[sarah.s]

Hi there,

thanks so much for your answers. That helps a lot. Giving birth in a public hospital sounds like an excellent option. I will have a look around the forum to find recommendations...

Sue are you sure I qualify for Medicare? Even if I arrive 6 months pregnant? Maybe I'll contact them to find out more...

Thanks a lot,
Sarah

[MummaSue]

Yeah, you do.

Will you be on a 457 visa? I was on that when I had some major surgery and other investigations to find out what my fertility issues were - I am pretty sure that you will be fine.

But definitely give Medicare a call. I am from the UK and I know that the UK and Aus have a reciprocal health care agreement (basically they look after each others people regarding health care) but I'm not sure what happens with other EU countries.

Definitely check.
All the best!!

Sue xxx

[sarah.s]

Thanks a lot Sue. I will give them a ring and see what they say...

Cheers and all the best.