Survey: AUSTRALIANS: public vs private?

Question

Hi all,
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​I am a Canadian living in Australia and are TTC next month. Not having grown up here I am a bit ignorant of the public vs private options for pregnancy and birth. Does anyone with any knowledge of this have an opinion either way? Even with private health insurance how much does one end up paying out of pocket? Thanks!

Answer

Argh... Im so confused, im not sure if we sould go private anymore. You girls make public sound  just as good. What if there was a chance i have to have an energentcy c section as baby might not be sitting in the right position or comming out, because of my uterus? ( i have a heart shape). And did you girls go to a "nice" and well known hospitals?? Its just i had a friend have her baby where im going (its not the nicest area) and she had to share a room with a horrible lady who looked like white trash. All she did was yell at her baby telling it to shut up and refused to feed the poor lil thing, she clearly did not deserve that beautiful lil bub. I dont want to have to share with that :/ Thats what has mainly put me off public!

Answer

Were I am the midwifes said there is no difference other than you have a private room with private. As a public pacient I can have 1 midwife the whole pregnancy if I chose.

Answer

Hi ladies. The title of this caught my eye and I was curious :) I live in the US and this seriously makes no sense to me lol. I'm finding it absolutely crazy how different healthcare is around the world. Before reading this I was pretty nieve apparently. I seriously thought it was almost all the same, or the government would totally take over and just tell you what to do. This is such an eye opener!!! 
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​I also just wanted to say good luck in finding the right care for your baby!!!

Answer

Thanks for all your feedback! Sounds like most people have had a positive experience. It seems like the only benefit is not sharing a room but I would like to be discharged ASAP so that might not even be an issue for me. And my private healthcare wouldn't likely pay for anything in the lead up to the birth anyway so there's likely no point.

Answer

I had both my babies at Werribee Mercy which is public. My first I had to have an emergency caesarean and my second was not breathing when he was born and spent a week in Special Care. The hospital staff were fantastic and I felt completely supported with each difficult time. I am TTC my third and would definitely go public again

Answer

We were told to go public because I am higher risk (related to a medical condition). They said there was no point going private as I would have the best drs public anyway.

Answer

Public all the way. If I had my daughter in a private hospital I would not hVe had the 14 staff members bring her back to life. Yeah I had to share a room but thank goodneSs for frankston public hospital for saving my baby x

Answer

Most private health insurance companies require you have maternity cover for 12 months before your due date, so 3 months before you ttc. Good luck!

Answer

The doctor will run tho it with you, I decide public is more cost effective me for and my private cover doesn't cover me totally until a month after my due date

Answer

I am doing public, private means you are covered for the hospital stay (if you have private insurance)and anything related when you are a patient. Public you do not always see the same midwife and normally have what is call shared care, where u see a midwife and your Gp for a large part of the care. And u will have most likely share a room post birth.

Survey: AUSTRALIANS: public vs private?

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