public or private???

Hi there,

I'm trying to decide if I go public or private.

My reasons for wanting to go private are:
* own room
* can stay for 4 nights with a vaginal birth

The only reason for wanting to go public is to save the money. I'm wondering if 2 nights will be long enough in hospital for my first given i don't have family living around me. I'm also wondering how I will manage in a shared room if I"m tired and the other person has visitors or a crying baby - I'm sure mine will be enough given it's my first.

What are your thought on 2 nights in public versus 4 in private and managing in a shared room in public.

I have to decide in the next few days. Any thoughts and experiences would be helpful.

I've gone public 3 times with no complaints. I stayed about 3 days with my first in a shared room but there was noone in the room to share with until the last day. I got very bored in there and didn't know I was allowed to go home early otherwise I would have left.

Stayed 1 night in a private room with #2 and half a night (checked in at 11:30pm and out at 3pm) in a private room with #3.

Its actually nicer being at home than in a hospital, especially if you are in an area with post-baby visits after the birth.

Private for me all the way. Went private with DD and loved it, loved the hospital. Had my own room and stayed until Day 8 - they told me I was welcome to stay another if I wanted :)

I think research on the private hospital and go for a tour for both private and public.

DH and I did that and we really liked private because it felt more like a hotel room rather than a hospital (i am actually very scared of the hospital smell).

WIth the private hossy, DH could stay the night too and that was great for us whereas public they kick the partners out at 8PM as well.

I thnk for the first birth, private really helped me and the midwives were really nice and helped me look after DD while i needed some rest.

For the second child, im thinking of going public only because i know i want to be home with my DD rather than in hospital though.

I've only gone public & I noticed my hospital had single rooms as well as double. I got a double room but didn't have anyone else in with me.
I preferred to be in my own home so only stayed the one night & that's because they made me! It's amazing how you mindset changes. I was originally terrified about going home with a newborn but the further along I got the less I worried about it.

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I think research on the private hospital and go for a tour for both private and public.

DH and I did that and we really liked private because it felt more like a hotel room rather than a hospital (i am actually very scared of the hospital smell).

WIth the private hossy, DH could stay the night too and that was great for us whereas public they kick the partners out at 8PM as well.

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Heavily depends on the hospital I'd say. Our local hospital has a very nice room for people with new babies - its been redecorated and if you ignore the dated lino it is like a hotel room with nurse call buttons and a bed that goes up and down. They have a fancy foldup bed for partners to sleep on that was donated to the hospital by someone who didn't like the partner sleeping arrangements :)

Having my own room was nice first time round, but it is sooooo expensive going private! We're staying at home this time, which will be much nicer I think.
For help in the early days, you could consider lining up a post-natal doula to help out at home, or a cleaner to come for the first month or so. Remember you should also get home midwife visits too. That way you can get get your own bed, and help, and at a much lower cost.

i was booked into a private hospital, had my own private ob, and really looking forward to having a private hospital experience, but ended up a private patient in a public hospital!!! thank goodness my ob had admitting rights to that hospital!! i loved having a private ob as i could call him out of hours anytime i needed him. thank goodness i only needed him twice but still, i felt safe knowing that he was there if i needed him. the only money i paid was ob visits, ultra sounds, and the gap when i was admitted. also DH could stay in both too for the night. had to pay at private but public was free

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Heavily depends on the hospital I'd say. Our local hospital has a very nice room for people with new babies - its been redecorated and if you ignore the dated lino it is like a hotel room with nurse call buttons and a bed that goes up and down. They have a fancy foldup bed for partners to sleep on that was donated to the hospital by someone who didn't like the partner sleeping arrangements :)

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I wish all hospitals were like that!!!! Unfortunately our local hospital has been on the news numerous times due to a lack of beds and mothers having to give birth outside the maternity ward. But next time i will still go public due to the cost of private.

My recommendation if you feel you'll need more support post birth is a public midwife led program. There is one at the WOmens. These are great, the midwife can come to your house everyday for up to 10 days and keeps coming until about 1 month when they hand you over to child health.
Most hospitals have single rooms, I have been in a major public hospital in 2 capital cities and had my own room. The first my partner could stay, the second he couldn't :( BUt worth asking
I just had my 2nd public and my SIL had her 1st private for the reasons you are thinking, In the end she really just wanted to go home to her own house and start life as a mum. Her lovely room started to feel too small and not her own IYKWIM? SHe also feels a lot of financial pressure from the bills that were generated. That said I think she still would say private was right for her.

If money is an issue be aware that there are more costs with private than what you first think, like the paediatric assessment and follow up, There are also often less staff on prvate wards. Support in public is awesome in terms of physio, lactation consultants etc and you can often go back for free.

I am obviously a public girl through and through
Good luck with your decisions

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There are also often less staff on prvate wards. Support in public is awesome in terms of physio, lactation consultants etc and you can often go back for free.

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This is a really good point. They have lower midwife/patient ratios and higher c/s rates. So you may not see much of the middies if you've had a vaginal birth.
Lots of things to consider anyway

I also think it's a good idea to do a hospital tour of the private ones in your area and the public hospital. For us there was only really one option (private) and that is mainly because dh and I want to stay together for the whole time and we want a room to ourselves plus I really want a water birth and that is only possible at the private hospital. Is cost a factor for you? If you don't have private health insurance cover for pregnancy etc for 12 months prior to the birth date the private hospital fees would be thousands of dollars. That is also something to ask about. If it is only a matter of support than as PollyA said I'm sure there would be midwife support in your area you can organise :)

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Hi there,

I'm trying to decide if I go public or private.

My reasons for wanting to go private are:
* own room
* can stay for 4 nights with a vaginal birth

The only reason for wanting to go public is to save the money. I'm wondering if 2 nights will be long enough in hospital for my first given i don't have family living around me. I'm also wondering how I will manage in a shared room if I"m tired and the other person has visitors or a crying baby - I'm sure mine will be enough given it's my first.

What are your thought on 2 nights in public versus 4 in private and managing in a shared room in public.

I have to decide in the next few days. Any thoughts and experiences would be helpful.

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Depends on what public hospitals are near you!!!!

I went private as I wanted continuity of care and to know if I needed a cs who was doing it. (I have had 2 cs now) I loved my 2 nights at park hyatt!!

I work in a public hospital and the care is very good, but staff are very busy as lots of babies being born.

If you can get into a hospital with a caseload/know your mw program you will be very happy with care.

Good luck