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I had my daughter back when the medicare safety net took the sting out of ob fees. Now that this is changed, to go private would cost approximately how much out of pocket?
Where is/are the birth centre/s in Brisbane and how would I go about being referred to one?
It depends on your OB (mine is v expensive) but I am currently out of pocket just under $3K. By the time bub is born, and including private insurance excess I'm counting on about $3,500 - $4,000. That includes scans as well.
The biggest impact to the safety net is the cap on the management fee - I got back $475, against a charge of $3,000. But I hear of alot of OBs charging around $1500 so you could do it a lot cheaper. I just love my OB and wanted continuity between babies.
Hope that helps..
I received back around $450 for my OB management fee. Add on scans, paed and anything else you might need.
I had DD in the birth centre at Rbwh, you need your gp to send your referral to the hospital and make sure that they clearly mark it "birth centre" then the hospital does a ballot at 16 weeks I think. Yes it is pretty much luck of the draw. I know that they've introduced a different midwife led program but i'm not sure if you need to be living in their catchment area to get in. You can always call the birth centre or hospital to find out.
Good luck JF!
For $2000-3000 your could have an independent midwife and a homebirth which is much like a birth centre and u just book into the hospital in case you need them... Just an option. I went bc last time but this time will homebirth.
I can't give you any insight into birth centre options, but I can outline our private fees this time around with DD.
We saved heaps with DS because almost my entire pregnancy fell into a single calendar year, which meant that the MC Safety Net kicked in in a big way.
Our management fee this time around with DD, came to $1800 - I think we got back around $400. She fell over two calendar years.
Most private OBs charge a delivery fee on top of their management fee, my one didn't for DS and hasn't this time around for DD. Delivery fee can be upwards of $2500, I am led to believe. So big saving here and probably why he is as popular as he is :)
Then obviously the cost of your Private Health premium comes into play, depending on how comprehensive your cover is. Ours is $250, but this is pretty standard.
We also went to what is probably the most expensive sonography place in Brissy, so each scan cost over $300, of which we didn't see much payback. You can do this bit cheaper.
Also, should you need to have an emergency c-section or you select to have an epidural, the anesthetist fees can be a bit crazy...though I can't give you any off-hand figures.
Yes, they are expensive little creatures to have in the private sector!
The RBWH has a birth centre which would be a good option for you. I have loved my care with them with both pregnancies. The benefit of going public is that everything is free - additional scans if needed, lactation consultant, dietician, physio, exercise classes and heaps more good stuff. To get referred to the RBWH your GP needs to send in a referral clearing stating to put you in the ballot for the birth centre (then you should ring up and check that you are going on the ballot list) and then at 16 weeks they draw the raffle. Caboolture and Ispwich also have midwife led care if you fancy a drive!
Caboolture has a particularly good reputation. Also I think Logan just opened two "birth centre" beds or that mAy have been Ipswich.
Ouch ... I had my last two at the same hospital, same midwives, same ob, and now I have a visiting nurse for 2 years. Grand total of $0 out of pocket for both of them.
Its obviously one of those things that is highly variable depending on where you live too, which is a shame.
For my OB, scans, bloods and anaesthetist (epidural) I was out of pocket just over $6K for my last pg and delivery. Ouch.
I had my first baby at the RBWH Birth Centre, and I'm due to have my second there this week (or next). Apart from the ballot to be allocated a place, you do need to be a low risk pregnancy, so worth investigating this as well.
You also need to understand that you are not scanned as often as what some OB's offer, so if you like this pre-natal care, a birth centre may not be for you.
As long as your thoughts on birth align with the birth centres, then it is definetly worth applying. The Birth Centre offers Midwife led care for low risk pregnancies, for women who desire a low intervention birth without the use of drugs. You can access gas and I think pethadine, but if you want an epidural, you will be moved to the birth suite. The birth centre also offers water birth, and a more home like environment (double bed, not a hospital bed, private bathroom, couch, rocking chair).
The other point to note is the standard discharge time of 4-6 hours post birth, assuming mum and bub are cleared for discharge. All important points to consider.
I'm aware there is also a similar midwife led program at the Mater Public that focuses on active birth, so this might also be an option.
Good luck - I hope you get the birth you are after.
Thanks everyone for the information!
My first birth was spontaneous and vaginal at 38w, no complications during pregnancy or birth so I'm pretty sure I would be low-risk, of course unless something popped up down the track. I'm 23 with a healthy BMI (~19-20, somewhere in there).
During my first pregnancy I only had one scan at 20w and would be planning similar for this one too (don't feel a need to have the nt scan) so think the birth centre is a good option for me.
My ob during my first pregnancy/birth is very low-intervention, didn't do the gbs swab or any of that so I would be happy and comfortable going back to him, it is just the money part that I'm concerned about. The early discharge is one thing that actually appeals to me about the birth centre as I would want to get home asap to be with my daughter although I had an early discharge with my daughter, I still stayed 2 nights which felt like forever at the time!
ETA: I am actually more worried about intervention with the birth centre than my ob which I know seems really backwards but I guess I just feel comfortable with him and know he will listen and respect my wishes. Do the birth centre programs do the gbs swab because that is something on my mind, I wouldn't want to have this done and end up being transferred to the public hospital based on its outcome, my ob doesn't do it because he understands the transitory nature of it and therefore monitors mum and bubs instead which is what I would prefer. The birth centre definitely sounds like the right place for me and I think it is just the fear of the unknown holding me back - it seems I would get the birth and care I would with my ob except at a much smaller cost which means saving that money for something else - education for example, every little bit helps right. I gave birth at Mater Private and found the birthing suites very nice there, big with chairs and a fit ball and a shower, no bath though. I guess my concern with being in the birth centre is something going wrong and ending up in the public hospital, I'd rather pay the money to be with my ob in that case so that is something to think about - is the money worth my peace of mind, knowing I'm in the care of someone I trust no matter what happens, with the birth centre I would be thrown into a new system if something went wrong you know (pre-eclamspia, gestational diabettes, gbs, placenta over the cervix etc)?
A few answers for you:
Nope no GBS swab - well I haven't had it at least, nor has it been mentioned at all. They do make you do the gestational diabetes test though, even if you are low risk.
With regard to interventions etc, the birth centre does have "rules" that it has to follow which means you could end up in the birth suite (where the non-birth centre people give birth). For intance, if there is meconium in your waters then you have to get transfered so they can do continuous monitoring. Your midwifes come with you though and still provide the primary care, but they get advice from the OB (random OB you've never met before). So I guess that could be seen as a "potential" down side. (We were transferred due to meconium and the OB was quite nice - though at that point I didn't really care!). Oh and I should say that "transferred" means just down the corridor - only 20m!
The early discharge (if no complications) and home visits are awesome. We ended up with daily visits for the first 2 weeks - fantastic support. I would count down the hours till our MW came and I would write a list of questions for them - though I guess as a second time mum it probably wouldn't be as important.
It is not an easy to decision to make, but I think that you would be paying an awful lot for an OB, and I'd rather spend that on a holiday! But it is such a personal choice.