[tin2212]

Hi,

I'm new comer in Melbourne and new to Australian medical & health system.

I need OB recommendation who take action in Cabrini or Jessie McPherson (and around Southern Melbourne). How do the OB will charged new patient ?
I currently hold Medicare & Medibank (no excess).

I heard that the out of pocket will be 3K~6K.
However, I'm looking for 2K~3K budget. Up & down is considerable.

Please PM if you have information/suggestion.
Appreciate for your advise ^^

Thank you

[lsolaBella]

Sending you a PM

[tenar]

If you are covered by medicare you can go to a public hospital and it won't cost you anything. The Monash Medical Centre has a good reputation.

While experiences definitely vary, I was happier with my public hospital birth than my private hospital birth. So it's not always the case that more expensive = better/safer/comfier.

[tin2212]

Thanks IsolaBella

Hi Tenar,
Thanks for sharing your nice experience in public hospital.
I might prefer to have one OB in private, as I heard we can't choose for an OB in public.
I hope I can find a good OB in my allowance.

If you are covered by medicare you can go to a public hospital and it won't cost you anything. The Monash Medical Centre has a good reputation.

While experiences definitely vary, I was happier with my public hospital birth than my private hospital birth. So it's not always the case that more expensive = better/safer/comfier.

[tenar]

tin2212,

For my first I assumed that I would be in better hands with a private OB chosen by me. My OB was lovely and I would recommend her to anyone looking for an experienced and pleasant person to deal with (she delivers at Frances Perry House, not in the southeast, which is why I haven't PMd you the name). That birth ended with an emergency c/s. I'm pretty sure that that didn't need to happen and that baby and I would both have been better off if we had had better midwife support.

So the second time around I wanted excellent midwife support and backup OB support available. Also the cost was an issue that time (after the changes to medicare that greatly increased the cost of private OB). I was lucky to be able to access the COSMOS program at RWH which means that you see the same midwife for all your visits and they are on call for your labour. For me this was a much better deal, as it meant that I labored with support from someone I knew (as opposed to random midwives who were on shift that time, which happened the first time). I also used a doula that time. That birth was an induced VBAC of a 4.5kg baby with gas only - no other pain relief needed.

It is very important that you have confidence in your caregivers. But it's worth considering whether you really want to be able to choose your OB given that mostly the obstetricians aren't present for most of the labour. In my opinion, after my experiences, it's the midwife I'd want to be able to choose, not the OB. I now believe that they are much more important for mum and bub than the OB is.

Others will have different opinions, of course. I hope you find a caregiver that suits you and have an uneventful pregnancy and birth.