[Cranky Kitten]

Hi

Last pregnancy I booked in at Murdoch with a private ob, but was considering booking in at Mercy with a GP who is registered there who is one of my regular GPs. Does anyone know if you're doing shared care with a GP do they charge a management fee similar to a private ob? If so, how much?

[ers77]

Hi,

I'm following my cousin through her pregnancy journey as I'm a midwiifery student. This is her 2nd baby going to be born at Mercy. She went with an OB at Mercy for her first in 2010 cost her lots $$ and loved the hospital had a great experience.

Second time round she is going back to Mercy but going with a GP doing shared care as it is far less expensive she said just normal doc fees like $70-80 visit i think. He offers the same care as an OB would do as she is low risk so she said why pay all that $$$$. However, if she needed a c-section then she would be allocated to an OB as her GP is not certified for doing c/sections.

This post has been edited by ers77: 01/01/2013, 04:14 PM

[HGL]

Shared care traditionally is more for a public hospital setting. You see your regular GP (who has to agree to doing shared care and they may require some kind of additional qual) and then in the final 4 weeks you attend the hospital clinic for appointments. Delivery is handled by midwives unless there is any problems and then the OB on duty will attend.

http://www.health.wa.gov.au/havingababy/during/care.cfm

A GP Obstetrician is I think what you're thinking of. They're a GP with extra qualifications and can manage your pre-natal care and the delivery. They generally only do low risk pregnancies as they can't peform a c-section (they're not a surgeon). If something goes wrong during the pregnancy or birth, they have referral arrangements or will call on an OB to take over.
http://www.ranzcog.edu.au/womens-health/lo...stetrician.html

Their management fee is a lot less. My GP Ob is charging $1000 compared to $2,850 for the OB I was quoted. They're also only charging me the Medibank scheduled fee for delivery so I won't be out of pocket. Bear in mind that they won't have an ultrasound machine in their practice like a lot of OBs.