Public Vs Private

Good Afternoon All,

I would just like to get a general consensus on what people's views are on having their baby in a public vs private hospital. I know a few woman who have had babies and their seems to be various opinions around about having baby in a public or private hospital. The woman I know who have gone public have been really happy with the service they received and also really happy with the amount of money they saved and where able to spend on their child, and the woman who have gone private have looked down at the ones who went public.
My health insurance wasn't updated in time before I fell pregnant, therefore I am going to a public hospital as a private patient (I have my own obgyn), its just that I will save money on the expense of the hospital and can spend that o my baby...

Will people look down at me b/c of this?

Well if they do, they need something else more exciting to think about hun ;)


With Darcy I went private. Had an Ob, and went to a private hossy. Paid a fortune for antenatal classes, never met a single midwife until I went into labour. Yep I got my private room, but the food was still hospital food and I had to pay extra for a paediatrician - even though I didn't think I really needed one - that was the policy. I love my Ob and would probably have done the same this time but situations were forced.

We moved to the country - there is no Ob here, let alone a private hossy for 200kms. So I'm in the middy program. It has met all my needs. They are proactive and caring about active birth and gentle parenting. True most of the girls here I trained with or was trained by, but I've met them, before I go into labour and am anxious. I don't have to worry about a rapport being built when I am at my most vulnerable. I still get my single room - yes it has a shared bathroom - but who cares?? I haven't got a private Ob but the locums here are fantastic.

I wish I'd done it this way last time. It lets me spend my money where I should/prefer and as a private patient, I am still supporting my local hossy rather than relying on medicare

If they do, they arent worth your time. That goes for people who go public thinking things about those who go private.
Its a very individual choice.

I went public with my son and again this time, different hospitals though.

Both times I saw the same carer throughout my pregnancy, and this time its acaseload/one midwife program so she or her backup will be on call when I go in to labour/for birth.

If I wasnt low risk and needed to see an OB then I would probably consider going private, as the OB I was with my first bub is less available now, and I dont like his backup OB.

It all depends on your circumstances, but other peoples opinions of you shouldnt come in to it.

Hey Childondaway,

At the end of the day, it really doesn't matter whether people look down on you for having your baby in a public hospital. For starters, such attitudes say far more about the people that would look down on you, than they do about you. The most important thing, is that you come away from the delivery as a healthy mum with a healthy bubby.

Continued media attention to the state of our public health system does very little to instill much faith for many people. The coverage of the recent miscarriage(s) in the toilet issue, Dr Death, waiting lists, ED waiting times, etc, etc, paint a picture of an aparantly sub-standard health system that appears incapable of doing anything right. Public hospitals, in general don't look as fancy; the food is generally worse than in a private hospital; and there's a good chance that you'll be sharing a room.

The flip side is a private system with nicer rooms and food, and because you're paying for a service, the potential misperception that you may be receiving superior care.

In the end, though, the quality of the care that you receive does not come down to a question of public vs private. It's far more complex than that, and is more a question of which hospital you are in, which ward, and the staff that are looking after you.

I - and this is my personal opinion only - have more faith in the public system's ability to deal with emergency situations that many arise. My wife gave birth to our little girl at IGH in what turned out to be a middle-of-the-night Caesarian. I can not speak highly enough of the care provided to Ali and Emy while they were in hospital. That being said though, I've heard of many people having very, very unsatisfactory experiences in public hospitals. But then again, I've heard just as many good and bad tales from Privates as well...

As rayray said, it's all an individual choice. As long as you're comfortable, and you and your bub are well-looked after, it really doesn't matter where you choose to give birth.

Good luck with it all.

IMO if your having a trouble free pregnancy and no past history behind you of complications then I'd be thinking a public hospital is your best option. Higher chance of sucessful vaginal birth, patient to nurse ratio is lower in a public hospital (I guess it also depends on the private hospital itself but by law they dont have to have a certain amt of staff per patient as public hospitals do as far as I've been told), and why would you want to hire a surgeon to 'deliver' your baby?

I certainly dont believe I look down on anyone as in the end its your opinion that really matters, its your body and your baby, so long as you and your partner (or not) agree with your decision then who cares what other ppl think???

I'm happy to say I'm going public for the third time, I was going to go private (added the Obstetric's to my insurance and everything) for a long time but then I realised after thinking about it when I fell pg (and the hospital I would LOVE to use is too far away) that I dont need an Ob to 'deliver' my baby, I will be giving birth MY WAY with midwives, womyn (and 1 male midwife I know) who's job has been around heaps longer than any Ob!!!!!!!!!!

Oh and to top it all off, next month I will be giving birth naturally after having 2 caesareans!!!!

All the best,

Beck

Hiya, in addition to reading these great comments here, you may be interested in this thread: Public, Private or Birth Centre?
As others have said before me, it is such an individual choice.
As you kind of haven't been given a choice (what with the HI not covering you) then there's no need to agonise over the decision IMO ;)
I wouldn't be concerned what others think of your decision to go public. This is just the first thing in a long line of decisions you will make in regard to your baby that others will have an opinion on :) Learn to be confident in your decisions and to hell with everyone else - this is your baby, you're the mum and it is always going to be your call.
FWIW, I have private health insurance and I still chose to go public, and had such a great experience that this time I have chosen to go public again. Haven't come across anyone who has criticised my choice, but perhaps I am lucky there.
All the very best for your birth!

Public is the way to go. Public hospitals have the capability to deal with all eventualities, not all private ones do.

I went public & I was allowed to labour far longer than any woman I know IRL who's given birth in a private hossy. I also got way more help with breastfeeding than they did too.

Anyone who thinks they are somehow better because they paid for their doctor & delivery & hossy stay is a snob. I paid my medicare levy through my tax ever since it was introduced & I was very glad that I could finally get to use the services I'd been paying for for so many years.

Sayta i couldnt have written a better post myself.....DITTO to what Sayta said. Im about to have my 4th child in a public hossi as a public patient. I have a fairly 'boring' pregnancy and labour (i.e all fairly text book types, no complications, breastfed no probs etc) thats why public works for us.

Thanks to everyone who replied!I feel much better now... I guess i was never really concerned about what ppl would think about me, however, it does seem to be a popular topic amongst many ppl and everyones views are different. Thank you for making me understand just how little importance this has, especially when there are so many other more exciting things to concentrate on over the next upcoming months.

Regards,

Childondaway

xoxox

I've had five children in public hospitals, with some mixed experiences. My first was at a large teaching hospital, they were overcrowded, overrun, and the consulting obstetrician I was given was horrible. I was very young and treated like an idiot, but nevertheless, given very little assistance in looking after the baby after she was born.

The other experiences have been largely positive, although the staffing shortages have been notable once or twice. The cleanliness or lack of on the wards has been a feature of more than one hospital, and the pressure to get you out the door as quickly as possible is not conducive to a good recuperation, imo.

What I like most of all is that public hospitals emphasise midwife care and their vested interest as far as cost goes is in *not* medicalising your birth experience. I'd be dubious about going into a system where the caesarean section rate is so much higher, as it is in the private system.

What I don't like with the public hospital is your lack of choice. I am stuck with the hospital I am at, and I don't like it at all, but the other public hospitals won't take me because I'm not in their "catchment area". After my loca made mistakes early in this pregnancy I get a tight feeling in my chest every time I walk in the door. If I could afford a midwife for a homebirth, I'd have one.

I must be lucky in that I have 3 public hospitals that I can go to with maternity facilities. I didnt know, other than the RWH in Melbourne, that they were zoned/had catchment areas? Is that for low risk only - I would have thought somewhere like the Mercy or the Womens would have to atke high risk patients regardless of where they lived, becuase of the NICU facilities that they have available.

We chose public because we like the Midwifery view of birth over the Obstetrics views of birth that you find in most private hospitals. We also couldn't see the point in paying $3K or whatever for an OB when we could go with the public system and have just as much care given to us.

Less chance of medical interventions in public hospitals as opposed to private hospitals.(as a general overview)Many private hospitals are on time schedules iykwim.... Also many public hospitals have better equipment or newer equipment than private hospitals because government funded. (not always the case tho).

My DH is an R.N (registered nurse) so he's worked in both public and private hospitals so it was easy for us to make an informed decision on what we felt was best for me and the baby.

There are many brilliant private hospitals and many brilliant public hospitals around. It is the staff caring for you and their views on birth that will really help make your birth experience I believe.

* I'm attending a small public hospital...

When I first found out I was pregnant (and this is my first bubba) I automatically thought private as i had health insurance, so booked in with an OB that I was recommended. However tomorrow I have an appt to get into the local midwife-led birth centre program at my local large public hospital. I found myself thinking, why do I need a doctor to manage this? - I'm a perfectly healthy, low risk candidate who wants a natural birth, supported by care providers that specialise in that - i.e. midwives.
Don't get me wrong, the OB is lovely - i even quizzed her on her approach to birth and she is very relaxed, and encourages labour to progress normally and naturally, drug free. Which is re-assuring. But i decided that i didn't need to pay someone thousands over and above my insurance when I can get the same, probably better and more appropriate care for me and my bub at no cost in the public system. I pay my taxes, and that is what these services are there for, so the argument that we shouldn't place any extra burden on the system is ridiculous.
The other thing about public is vastly better post natal follow up care - my midwife during pregnancy is available to me up to 6 weeks after birth, for ANYTHING i need, whenever I need. That rates much higher than a single post natal check up at 6 wks with an OB for me. I want to go home as soon as possible, and public appears to be better at facilitating that.
Good luck!
Lolly

I don't think it revolves so much about being public vs private so much - more like hospital vs hospital.

For example. I have two hospitals near me. The closest one (1km down the road) is a huge public hospital - biggest one on the coast. The closest private hospital is 2km down the road. Best one on the coast.

Private hospital offers waterbirths - public does not.
Private hospital gets a single room with your own bathroom - Public hospital have to share PLUS you are not allowed to BF in that room - you have to walk down to a public sitting room and do it there.

For those two reasons right there - I will continue going to my private hospital. Not being I'm a snob, not because I want my baby delivered by a surgeon, but because that care suits me. I personally care whether or not I am allowed to experiment with BFing in private or a public situation.

But some public hospitals are like my private hospital. If the public one here wasn't so damn crappy and all they want is the bed empty - I would probably consider going there.

I say make your decision about the level of care that suits you from the actual hospitals that are near you - and don't let it enter your mind whether they are public or private.

well for me i haev no choice but to go private. as teh publid hospital here is going through soem major issues with ist maternity unit and they are very under staffed and very over worked, so i feel i am in a position to go private again, so when i fall pregnant i will go private again.
yes i have to drive 1 hour to get to the hospital but i will deal with that sooner to the time lol.

I have chosen to go public also, I am near a hospital that offers care by midwives. I get the same midwife throughout my pregnancy, birth, and can contact for up to 6 weeksafter teh birth if I have any questions. I wanted that sort of consistency of care and was really happy that the local hospital offered the service. I think the issue is not public or private, but the type of care you are looking for. I don't think there is anythng wrong with one or the other, it just depends what care and accommodation you want from the hospital. 'I am hoping to go home ASAPafter the birth so hopefully wont be admitted to a hospital ward.

Good luck with everything.

:

---

... PLUS you are not allowed to BF in that room - you have to walk down to a public sitting room and do it there.

---

:jawdrop: Mel, that is fricking ridiculous! That has made me so incredibly cross to read! Have they given an explanation for such an outlandish rule? Grrr, how shocking. :angry:

Amy - dunno man... my friend went for orientation there when considering whether or not to drop her private cover - she decided to stick with it and continue going to selangor.

I agree with Mel - at the end of the day it is where you will receive the best level of care. If I still lived in my old suburb, and didn't have my medical history, I would have gone public bcos there is a brand new hospital with a fabo midwifery unit. However we have moved and bcos of my history we chose to stick with our OB and go private, plus our last experience private was amazing.

One of my dearest friends is having her third child in February, and after 2 private hospital uncomplicated births she has decided to go public with her third.... Is all what you feel most comfortable with.

Hi

I haven't taken the time to look through all the posts sorry but i did read something about people with private health cover who go to the public hospitals get to have their own room. I am genuinally interested in this as i am going to be going to the public hospital for birth and i have health cover but just wanted to save the hospital bills i would get for going to a private so am interested if i would be able to do this as well in the public hospital? have my own room and everything?

Can someone clear something up for me? I keep reading about people saying they want to avoid the cost of the hospital - doesn't your private health cover cover the expense of the hospital?

Cos I didn't pay anything for my hospital stay - my health cover paid for it.

I'm confused?

I think it depends on what sort of Private Health Cover you have? I know with ours we have a big excess that we have to pay for Hospital fees and that sort of thing so i wanted to save the money so i can spend it on necessaties for the baby.

Ahhh ok fair enough ;) We have just normal hospital cover - think my excess is $200? Not sure.

I think the cost people refer to is the cost of an OB - you have to have OB care in a private hospital and generally your PHI doesn't cover all the OB fees.

we're same as you mel, biggest out of pocket when you go private is Ob fees and medicare rebate can vary on that too depending on your safety net. Hospital cost was a $250 excess and our in hospital bill was over $4K.

Its public for me. I just love my local hospital midwives. They are big believers in natural is best but give you other options without prejudice. Plus most of the ladies in my local area use the antenatal classes they run so it gives me a chance to connect with mums in my area.

But like Arimeh said its hospital vs hospital and sadly some just arent up to scratch. Just do some research and see which hospitals offers the best ante natal and after birth care for you.

Hi All,

I am going to a public hospital as a private patient so not sure if I get my own room or not, although im not particulary fussed over something like that I actually would prefere to share in some aspects as i would be nice to meet some new ppl who are experiencing the same types of thing you are.
Someone mentioned previously you cant breastfeed in a public hospital, I don't think that is correct, m best friend had her child in the same hospital In am going too and she just closed the curtain as she was in a shared room, she did not have to go to another room to bf.

childondaway I think this is the post you were referring to:

:

---

....
Private hospital gets a single room with your own bathroom - Public hospital have to share PLUS you are not allowed to BF in that room - you have to walk down to a public sitting room and do it there.

---

I think that attitidue to b/f is specific to that particular hospital, its certainly not policy across the public system in general, and in fact I have never heard of it before.
If you call the hospital(s) you are interested in they will be able to tell you what their policy is.

:

---

Someone mentioned previously you cant breastfeed in a public hospital, I don't think that is correct, m best friend had her child in the same hospital In am going too and she just closed the curtain as she was in a shared room, she did not have to go to another room to bf.

---

I'm guessing you were referring to my post - where I was specifically talking about a public hospital near me. I was making the comparison between the private and public hospitals - NEAR ME - not making generalisations of all public hospitals.

All Good, sorry Arimeh, I misinterpreted your post, I didn't realie you were referring to hospitals in your area specifically.

Sorry my mistake - I read it wrong!

xoox

:

---

Hi

I haven't taken the time to look through all the posts sorry but i did read something about people with private health cover who go to the public hospitals get to have their own room. I am genuinally interested in this as i am going to be going to the public hospital for birth and i have health cover but just wanted to save the hospital bills i would get for going to a private so am interested if i would be able to do this as well in the public hospital? have my own room and everything?

---

The most common misconception that I have seen in Intermediate patients (private patient in a public hospital) is the assumption that because they are a private patient, they automatically get a private room. This assuption is wrong. Being an Intermediate does not entitile you you to a single room. In the public system, the allocation of single rooms is based on availability and clinical need, rather than one's private health insurance status. I have seen this misperception result in cranky patients and their families time and time again.

You can always ask for a single room. I would. A single room may be far, far preferable to a shared room, simply so you and your bub can get some untinterupted (as unterupted as it gets with a newborn) rest. But, if you are in a public hopital, please undertsand that you may not get a single room. This goes for maternity units and acute wards.

I certianly never assumed that just because you have health insurance you would be given a single room to yourself. I thought that IF you asked for your own room and just mentioned you have health insurance to pay for that room then you would be able to have your own room if available. I know this is what i would like but if i get a shared room i will not mind.

Cheers

I agree with SerenityLee, although a private room would be nice, if it isn't available i'm not going to be upset , as I mentioned before I would be more than happy to share and make a few new friends!!

There are some public hospitals now that have all private rooms. In Sydney there are a number of hospitals being refurbished and most of the rooms are private.
Don't know what your local hospital is like, but you may be pleasantly surprised... It's good not to have that expectation though, so you are happy with whatever eventuality faces you :)
I know the hospital I'm going to has many of both, but it is a major teaching hospital, so I'm trying not to get my hopes up, LOL!

I think public vs private is really about each hospital. We have on of each in our city and they actually share facilities for some things. But our public hospital does not have private rooms as far as I am aware, def not in maternity ward. You share the bathroom with 3 other people, and the rooms have no doors only curtains so it's really noisy. While the care for birth is good, I have experienced 5hour waits when i had an appt! in three days i spent over 11 hours in the maternity waiting room when i had appointment times. You see a different doc every visit and the lack of understanding i experienced for a loss preg was incrediable. Partners are subject to visiting times etc.

In the private hosp which yes the ob fees made up the majority of the expense, you may have to share a room but usually breifly. I got a private room with a double bed which meant my partner could stay with us, he wasn't subject to visiting hours. My room had a door so it was a lot quiter. So I bascially look at the cost of going that way like the cost of staying at a hotel for a week.

Yes the birthing care is probaly the same, you'll get good and bad at both places but the post birth comfort which is important to me is completely different. I did consider public this time as if all went well i wouldn't expect to stay that long but after a premmie baby experince I realised you can spend a lot on time there and the money is sometimes worth it.

I always thought I would go private when/if I fell pregnant & have insurance. Now that I am expecting my first baby, I would rather be in a public hospital. Yes it would be nice to be in the family rooms at my local private so my DH can stay over. But it's more important for me to feel comfortable knowing that my chosen public hospital is prepared for any problem/emergency that may arise. The public hospital I'm attending has a midwife program where I see the same midwife for all antenatal appointments, this midwife is on call for my labour & birth, & she is the one who also attends my home visits. I know not all public hospitals have the same continuity which is a shame. I have also recently discovered that this hosptal actually has a couple of family rooms, fingers crossed I get to use one!!

CheezelMonster - which hospital are you going too?

I'm going private to have our baby. I like the idea that i know i'll have the same carer all the way through & that i'll get a private room. I have a back issue so i felt more reassured having the one carer.

Our biggest cost will be the Ob fees plus travellingto the city also. My PHI has an excess too. I've built up enough bons points to cover that though i thnk. As long as bubs is on our PHI before the birth we pay nothing while in hospital.

I've actually had people trying to convince me to go public & it's made me feel a bit guilty for wanting to go private. I know a few people who have had their babies at my chosen hospital & have given it great reviews. I feel very confident in the choice of hospital we've made.

Hi Childondaway

This is at the Geelong Public hospital.

My 5 have all been public. With the first two I was fair young and it was not really something I had considered in depth.

The following three however, I went public because Nepean and Nepean Private are on the same grounds - and both use the same NICU (Nepean Public). What made the difference was the NICU was 5 steps away from the birthing suite at the public, where its a walk across 2 hospitals from the private. We only needed the NICU once with baby #4, he had a collapsed lung and could not breath properly, so it was a decision that justified itself in the end.

The care levels varied some, depending really on the staff at the time. My labours are very long and its not uncommon for me to go through two shift changes, although I have had midwives stay a second shift for me so that I would not have to get used to a whole new bunch of people.

One thing I learnt was that even in the public system, never be afraid to ask. My sister asked for a different midwife once after the one she had botched the pethidine injection, proceeded to be rude about it while she was bleeding profusely from the site and then disposed of the used needle in the normal waste basket. Also because I am trypanophobic, the Nepean Hospital used to get the pathologist from upstairs to come down specifically for my canula placement. They are fairly good when it comes to the requests of a labouring woman.