[Jackjack]

Hi everyone iam currently 10w4d pregnant after 2 miscarriages but am starting to look into hospitals as my obstetrician says i need to tell them what i plan to do If I reach 12 weeks.
I'm really wanting to go to st george private hospital in kogarah NSW but have just realised I'm not covered for private hospitals with my health insurance. I don't really know much about st george public so I'm not sure wether we should just pay to go private. I'm just wondering if anyone knows much about the public vs the private system i'm really unsure what to do.
i read some reviews about st george private which weren't great but the only ones I could find were from 4 years ago. HELP

[Kary♥RN]

I can't help you on this matter.. but just wanted to say H & H 9 months!! HUGS, I am so sorry on your two losses....

[HannahD]

Hi jackjack. I'm not sure if I can help much since I'm in SA, but for what it's worth....

For me, the main consideration in deciding private vs public was whether I wanted OB vs midwife-led care. I chose public for the midwifery-led care. Does your OB practice privately? Maybe you could find out which hospital/s they work with and get their opinion of them.

Goodluck.

[Jackjack]

Thanks Hannah and karyn for your responses.
My ob also delivers at the public hospital so maybe that's the way to go. i asked the receptionist what their experiences are with the hospitals and she said that most patients go to the private because most funds cover it but they haven't had any complaints from the public.. very confusing.

P.s Hannah just curious why you chose midwifery led care over an ob, I just have no idea what the right thing to do is. thanks

[.:Shortcake:.]

JackJack congrats on being pg! Honestly I just use the public hospital around here. My OB practices there and I feel you get the same care.

[mum74]

I went privately with my two boys. I liked the fact that I had continuity of care by seeing the same obstetrician for the whole pregnancy. However if $$ are a factor for you, then you should ring the hospital to find out their fees. It is very expensive to have a baby at a private hospital without health cover. My ob also charges a management fee at 20 weeks - the standard is about $1200. There is also a delivery charge which will have a gap figure you'd be required to cover also. The public system will be free for everything. I liked that I had my own room privately but my friends that have had babies publicly were also happy with their experiences.

Good luck!

[Jackjack]

Thanks everyone. all your input is making my decision alot easier.
It looks like we'll probably do shared care with my gp and go with the public hospital as the public hospital that my ob delivers at I'm not very confident with, I rang them yesterday and about a maternity ward tour and they were very rude to me and since posting yesterday have heard some reviews that aren't great. It will depend on the cost of the private but I'm predicting that it is going to be too much.
Thanks so much for all your help

While I'm here I was just wondering if anybody could tell me if there is a place where everybody goes just to post to each other about general stuff. I came from bb because of all the probs there but I'm having a lot of troubles getting used to this site, as great as it is! I'm not finding it so easy to use and feel really lost without my regular chats to the girls, if any one can guide me a little that would be greatly appreciated as I've got no idea!!

[HannahD]

jackjack - I chose midwife-led care because it's important to me to have a carer I'm familiar with during labour. My hospital has a midwifery group practice program in which you see the same midwife (with a back-up) for antenatal care, birth and postnatal care. Continuity of care and familiarity is important to me - I don't like being the centre of attention and don't like being in stressful situations with unfamiliar people around me. Unless my pregnancy becomes high risk, I don't see the point in seeing an OB. But that's just what I feel is right for me. Also, for me the choice of hospital was easy since I work there.

Oh and if you want to catch up with the other BB girls, there is a general chat thread in the TTC after loss forums titled "12010 posts by 2010".

[~~~Sara~~~]

Hi, I found my OB first, then discussed hospitals with her/him. Good luck reaching your decision and wishing you the best!