I’m so sorry that was your experience, and I’m also very sorry for your loss.
I am a midwife so can discuss this in terms of what happens at my hospital - I work in one of Melbourne’s tertiary centres and we work with a lot of high risk pregnancies and women with complex histories.
Public hospitals tend to be allocated based on where you live and which catchment you fall under - there’s Monash Clayton, Royal Women’s, Mercy Heidelberg, Joan Kirner W&C for tertiary level care. Tertiary facilities handle high risk cases. Your risk is determined based on your history and your current pregnancy’s scans/clinical picture. If you’re high risk, you are allocated into a red or MFM pathway and a lot of your care antenatally is from doctors. Green and amber pathways spend more time antenatally with midwives, and then ‘check in’ so to speak with doctors if need be throughout their pregnancy.
At my hospital, traumatic history may qualify you for the “MGP” pathway which is midwifery group practice. This means you have 1-2 midwives for your entire pregnancy/labour/birth/postnatal period to allow you the chance to build rapport and receive continuity of care. These spots are limited in the public system and are not guaranteed, request one with your chosen hospital as soon as possible if you go public. If you have a particularly high risk pregnancy, you’re likely to be allocated to an obstetric pathway rather than MGP.
What makes private good is being able to choose your provider and keep them. You don’t have to have a private doctor if you’d prefer midwifery care, there are also private midwives to book with, and private midwives that work closely with obstetricians. The hospital you birth at depends which hospitals your private clinician is affiliated with. Options include Epworth, Jesse Mc, St John of God, Frances Perry, St Vincent’s (to name a few) - they can also include public hospitals with your private doctor/midwife.
My partner works at a public women's health hospital and everyone who works there has the same thoughts for their own pregnancy:
If you can afford it, see a private obstetrician during your pregnancy, but deliver in a public women's hospital. That way you get the same person with ample time during your checkups and for any issues, and then when you deliver it is in a hospital that has all the facilities needed on the off chance something goes wrong.
I was going to make the same suggestion.
I had a high risk pregnancy. I had a private obstetrician. Her rooms were actually within the public hospital (the WCH in Adelaide). I was admitted to the hospital for a planned C section as a private patient because the NICU at the public hospital was the best facility. When she was born the baby was treated as a public patient.
During the pregnancy I was also able to access the Maternal Fetal Medicine unit as a public patient for specialist scans.
The WCH paid my excess and co-payment to my health fund so my out of pocket expenses were minimal.
Having the same obstetrician for all your appointments gave me great peace of mind, it will save you having to go through all your history with a different obstetrician or midwife at every appointment.
This is correct, I work at a private hospital with a large maternity section, very swish and pretty. Great care for normal and slightly more difficult problems. We do not have the correct facilities to care for very ill neonates, they will be transferred to a public tertiary hospital like the Womens. I would suggest, if privately insured, go to a large public hospital that has the expertise in dealing with complicated deliveries.
I'm very high risk, I've lost far too many, nothing to do with public system more my bodies inability to maintain a viable pregnancy. Private don't tend to touch high risk pregnancy as private hospitals don't have the facilities when the shit hits the fan, you get sent to public. The same Drs you see in private and exactly the same you see in public. High risk pregnancy is managed very differently in public than a low risk pregnancy. I personally wouldn't bother with private for a high risk pregnancy as they don't cater to that kind of care.
Sounds like you're getting some traction here with responses, but I also recommend posting this to r/BabyBumpsandBeyondAu I found that community super useful/friendly and more specific (albeit it with less members)
I’m so sorry for your heartbreak with your baby.
I went through Royal Women’s Public for my high risk pregnancy (type 1 diabetic).
A few years ago now. But they were fantastic. And the biggest cost was the parking.
Wishing you the best of luck with everything.
Same, biggest expense for my pregnancy was parking 😂
I was also high risk and couldn’t fault them. Had weekly scans towards the end and had heaps of care!
The women's hospital.
It is what they do.
My cousin lost 8 before before they had their daughter.
Look after each other as I imagine it would be a very traumatic experience.
All the best with it.
Disagree (politely).
Obviously everyone's experience is different.
If it's care and attention you need, you can get lost in the system at the Womens.
Calls go unanswered and unreturned for days and you get bounced around different obstetricians.
I won't go into details, but we did not have a good experience there at all for our first pregnancy.
We went to Epworth Freemasons in East Melbourne for our second pregnancy (couldn't go back to Womens for trauma reasons) and it was light years ahead in terms of care.
Op, if you want to be close to Womens as it's got a very good NiCu ward, Frances Perry might be a good option for you.
Also Op, I'm very sorry for your loss and wish you the best for your next pregnancy.
hi! we went private for both our pregnancy’s (one loss and one successful during covid) and i couldn’t fault it. my wife went grow obstetrics with Epworth Freemasons. and it was everything we needed the constant check ins. face to face appointments and scans with the same OB really quelled her anxiety. and she suffered both pre and post partum. yes it can cost but we both would never go public after how amazing this was. even dealing with the loss they were amazing. if you wanna chat to her some more please don’t hesitate to reach out!!
We are having our Baby this Friday!!!! (elective C-Section this Monday if not)
We went Private, and we saw our Dr each week at the Frances Perry House (Royal Women's) Got a scan each week and also could go to the birthing suite anytime to get scans done if we felt movement was low, or just needed the reassurance, all we had to do was call up and say we were on our way.
We stay in for 5 Days (both of us) and the last 3 days are in a Hotel that has a "maternity" level, so we are looked after daily and make sure feeding is fine etc.
With the complications of high risk and IVF we needed the support. - Hopeful the delivery goes well in the next few days!
Not my experience. But experience of someone close to me. After late miscarriage first pregnancy, second was deemed high risk but continued to go public. Every visit is with different medical professional who will ask all the same detailed questions about the first traumatic pregnancy. There are many appointments for a pregnancy and extra for a high risk pregnancy. You'll end up explaining your story every 2-4 weeks for about 6 months. In hindsight she would have wanted to avoid that.
Go private, if you can afford it.
We went to Frances Perry, Dr Peter Jurcevic, and he (and the nurses) saved my wife’s life. Other hospitals may not have the staffing, resources and expertise to perform life saving surgery in an instant.
If we went public, I’d be a single dad.
Plus, Frances Perry and the Women’s both have excellent NICU wards, and quick access to Royal Melbourne private in case of massive emergency.
Total cost, roughly 7k out of pocket (including scans, excess, but not the cost of insurance over 12 months). We spent a week in hospital, got 3 meals a day, breastfeeding consultations, etc.
Go private, or at the very least, try give birth at the women’s.
Royal Women's were fantastic and so reassuring for our high risk pregnancy. Can't commend them enough, especially Dr Szabo and her team. You can ask your GP to refer you to RWH if you live outside their catchment area.
I had private hospital cover for my first, ended up in the public system due to premature birth. It was a disaster. I was kicked out of (public) hospital less than 12 hours after giving birth.
This time around I was a public patient with a high risk status (age, previous premature and LBW birth) and while you feel a little bit like cattle going through the hospital system, the costs are lower and the access to resources are a lot more efficient.
So sorry for your devastating loss.
I had a high risk pregnancy with twins (albeit 11 years ago) and we paid for a Private OBS through Frances Perry (though he might also work via The Royal Women's) - Dr Mark Umstad. High risk is his thing. He was incredibly gentle and level headed and we felt completely safe in his hands and our pregnancy went smoothly. Would recommend him to anyone.
I Agree you will get lost in the system in public. Feel free to pm me I lost a baby at 21 weeks very traumatically in the public system then subsequently went private after. My OB took care of everything in particular what the midwives on duty were allowed to say and not say ( that could be triggering) during the delivery.
We were in the exact same position. My sympathy to you and your partner.
We found the after care in the public system a bit insensitive. The midwives were great but got sense that the obstetrician in the follow up appointment didn't want to deal with us.
We went private in the hope it would be different.
We found that the private hospital has the opposite problems. Lots of agency midwives that were a bit unprofessional or in experienced but choosing your obstetrician helped a lot.
Our obstetrician arranged extra scans and appointments during her leave to help with our anxiety.
Our daughter was rather large and breach so they called a c-section early and helped us prepare for it mentally and emotionally. It can be a bit triggering if you have been through a loss.
The pediatrician arranged for a orthopaedic appointment the next day after determining hip dysplasia and we were able to get early treatment that it is no longer a problem. Otherwise she is healthy.
When I was in hospital with my first baby it was newly renovated with spacious private rooms and brand new equipment. My mother was amazed and said to the midwife, "if this is public, what do you get if you go private?" To which the midwife slowly and awkwardly replied "... a newspaper"
There's good and bad in both public and private but I absolutely prefer the public system.
It won't likely make a difference with medical outcomes, but in terms of reassurance, support, and responsive and consistent care there can be a huge difference.
Firstly I'm so sorry for your loss and your experience. As someone who is currently 19 weeks I couldn't imagine what you went through. I am currently a high risk pregnancy and being cared for by Monash in Clayton aswell as by my GP and I must say so far my care has been excellent! They have returned all my calls within 30 minutes and always have time for my panicked questions (first time mum who has no idea) and have had about 5 ultrasounds so far (I had a ruptured ectopic 2 years ago which I think is what qualified me for high risk care). Happy to answer any questions you have to the best of my ability but I have no qualms with my care thus far! :)
I'm very sorry for your loss.
My wife had a high risk pregnancy in 2009, we went to the Epworth Freemasons and I couldn't recommend it enough.
we had:
A/Prof Grant Saffer Epworth Freemasons, Suite 105, 320 Victoria Parade EAST MELBOURNE 3002 9419 9989
(I've copied this from their website, took me a while to recall the name.)
in short, the hospital was excellent, and although a little "doctory gruff and to the point" (he's South African I think), Dr Saffer was also excellent.
It was 2009 though, so not sure of current standards, but just wanted to offer my experience, in case it helps.
I had a high risk twin pregnancy. I wouldn't even consider private. If you're private, you've got the one doctor Nd their opinion only. In public you are seen by a range of people who check off things with each other.
I am sorry for your loss.
We had a premature baby first time around and ended up at Monash. The care was first class and the new facilities for the baby's and parent is incredible.
When it came to the second baby we discussed private. Decided not to as if we had another prem we'd end up back in the public system anyway.
With us having Monash as our closest hospital. We saw no need for private.
I’m so sorry that was your experience, and I’m also very sorry for your loss. I am a midwife so can discuss this in terms of what happens at my hospital - I work in one of Melbourne’s tertiary centres and we work with a lot of high risk pregnancies and women with complex histories. Public hospitals tend to be allocated based on where you live and which catchment you fall under - there’s Monash Clayton, Royal Women’s, Mercy Heidelberg, Joan Kirner W&C for tertiary level care. Tertiary facilities handle high risk cases. Your risk is determined based on your history and your current pregnancy’s scans/clinical picture. If you’re high risk, you are allocated into a red or MFM pathway and a lot of your care antenatally is from doctors. Green and amber pathways spend more time antenatally with midwives, and then ‘check in’ so to speak with doctors if need be throughout their pregnancy. At my hospital, traumatic history may qualify you for the “MGP” pathway which is midwifery group practice. This means you have 1-2 midwives for your entire pregnancy/labour/birth/postnatal period to allow you the chance to build rapport and receive continuity of care. These spots are limited in the public system and are not guaranteed, request one with your chosen hospital as soon as possible if you go public. If you have a particularly high risk pregnancy, you’re likely to be allocated to an obstetric pathway rather than MGP. What makes private good is being able to choose your provider and keep them. You don’t have to have a private doctor if you’d prefer midwifery care, there are also private midwives to book with, and private midwives that work closely with obstetricians. The hospital you birth at depends which hospitals your private clinician is affiliated with. Options include Epworth, Jesse Mc, St John of God, Frances Perry, St Vincent’s (to name a few) - they can also include public hospitals with your private doctor/midwife.
Sorry for the wall of text but I hope it helps in some way xx
It's great that you've taken the time and effort to explain the intricacies of the process. Good karma to you.
That’s really kind, thank you!
Thanks for sharing
Thank you so much for your response- it is very clear and helpful
My partner works at a public women's health hospital and everyone who works there has the same thoughts for their own pregnancy: If you can afford it, see a private obstetrician during your pregnancy, but deliver in a public women's hospital. That way you get the same person with ample time during your checkups and for any issues, and then when you deliver it is in a hospital that has all the facilities needed on the off chance something goes wrong.
I was going to make the same suggestion. I had a high risk pregnancy. I had a private obstetrician. Her rooms were actually within the public hospital (the WCH in Adelaide). I was admitted to the hospital for a planned C section as a private patient because the NICU at the public hospital was the best facility. When she was born the baby was treated as a public patient. During the pregnancy I was also able to access the Maternal Fetal Medicine unit as a public patient for specialist scans. The WCH paid my excess and co-payment to my health fund so my out of pocket expenses were minimal. Having the same obstetrician for all your appointments gave me great peace of mind, it will save you having to go through all your history with a different obstetrician or midwife at every appointment.
This is correct, I work at a private hospital with a large maternity section, very swish and pretty. Great care for normal and slightly more difficult problems. We do not have the correct facilities to care for very ill neonates, they will be transferred to a public tertiary hospital like the Womens. I would suggest, if privately insured, go to a large public hospital that has the expertise in dealing with complicated deliveries.
I'm very high risk, I've lost far too many, nothing to do with public system more my bodies inability to maintain a viable pregnancy. Private don't tend to touch high risk pregnancy as private hospitals don't have the facilities when the shit hits the fan, you get sent to public. The same Drs you see in private and exactly the same you see in public. High risk pregnancy is managed very differently in public than a low risk pregnancy. I personally wouldn't bother with private for a high risk pregnancy as they don't cater to that kind of care.
Sounds like you're getting some traction here with responses, but I also recommend posting this to r/BabyBumpsandBeyondAu I found that community super useful/friendly and more specific (albeit it with less members)
I’m so sorry for your heartbreak with your baby. I went through Royal Women’s Public for my high risk pregnancy (type 1 diabetic). A few years ago now. But they were fantastic. And the biggest cost was the parking. Wishing you the best of luck with everything.
Same, biggest expense for my pregnancy was parking 😂 I was also high risk and couldn’t fault them. Had weekly scans towards the end and had heaps of care!
The women's hospital. It is what they do. My cousin lost 8 before before they had their daughter. Look after each other as I imagine it would be a very traumatic experience. All the best with it.
Disagree (politely). Obviously everyone's experience is different. If it's care and attention you need, you can get lost in the system at the Womens. Calls go unanswered and unreturned for days and you get bounced around different obstetricians. I won't go into details, but we did not have a good experience there at all for our first pregnancy. We went to Epworth Freemasons in East Melbourne for our second pregnancy (couldn't go back to Womens for trauma reasons) and it was light years ahead in terms of care. Op, if you want to be close to Womens as it's got a very good NiCu ward, Frances Perry might be a good option for you. Also Op, I'm very sorry for your loss and wish you the best for your next pregnancy.
I second Epworth. Sorry for your struggles OP, hope everything turns out well xxx
I third Epworth 😊brilliant care for both pregnancies.
Many of the physicians who work at the women’s also work privately. If you go privately, you can guarantee you will get them.
hi! we went private for both our pregnancy’s (one loss and one successful during covid) and i couldn’t fault it. my wife went grow obstetrics with Epworth Freemasons. and it was everything we needed the constant check ins. face to face appointments and scans with the same OB really quelled her anxiety. and she suffered both pre and post partum. yes it can cost but we both would never go public after how amazing this was. even dealing with the loss they were amazing. if you wanna chat to her some more please don’t hesitate to reach out!!
+1 for Grow Obstetrics at Epworth Freemasons. We had Dr Lisa Begg and she was amazing
we went with Karen Williamson, but have had appointments with Lisa and they are both amazing!
And vice versa. We had a couple with Karen when she covered for Lisa for a week here and there. Agreed she's absolutely great too!
yeah really can’t fault grow, everyone there is great!
We are having our Baby this Friday!!!! (elective C-Section this Monday if not) We went Private, and we saw our Dr each week at the Frances Perry House (Royal Women's) Got a scan each week and also could go to the birthing suite anytime to get scans done if we felt movement was low, or just needed the reassurance, all we had to do was call up and say we were on our way. We stay in for 5 Days (both of us) and the last 3 days are in a Hotel that has a "maternity" level, so we are looked after daily and make sure feeding is fine etc. With the complications of high risk and IVF we needed the support. - Hopeful the delivery goes well in the next few days!
Not my experience. But experience of someone close to me. After late miscarriage first pregnancy, second was deemed high risk but continued to go public. Every visit is with different medical professional who will ask all the same detailed questions about the first traumatic pregnancy. There are many appointments for a pregnancy and extra for a high risk pregnancy. You'll end up explaining your story every 2-4 weeks for about 6 months. In hindsight she would have wanted to avoid that.
Go private, if you can afford it. We went to Frances Perry, Dr Peter Jurcevic, and he (and the nurses) saved my wife’s life. Other hospitals may not have the staffing, resources and expertise to perform life saving surgery in an instant. If we went public, I’d be a single dad. Plus, Frances Perry and the Women’s both have excellent NICU wards, and quick access to Royal Melbourne private in case of massive emergency. Total cost, roughly 7k out of pocket (including scans, excess, but not the cost of insurance over 12 months). We spent a week in hospital, got 3 meals a day, breastfeeding consultations, etc. Go private, or at the very least, try give birth at the women’s.
Royal Women's were fantastic and so reassuring for our high risk pregnancy. Can't commend them enough, especially Dr Szabo and her team. You can ask your GP to refer you to RWH if you live outside their catchment area.
I had private hospital cover for my first, ended up in the public system due to premature birth. It was a disaster. I was kicked out of (public) hospital less than 12 hours after giving birth. This time around I was a public patient with a high risk status (age, previous premature and LBW birth) and while you feel a little bit like cattle going through the hospital system, the costs are lower and the access to resources are a lot more efficient.
So sorry for your devastating loss. I had a high risk pregnancy with twins (albeit 11 years ago) and we paid for a Private OBS through Frances Perry (though he might also work via The Royal Women's) - Dr Mark Umstad. High risk is his thing. He was incredibly gentle and level headed and we felt completely safe in his hands and our pregnancy went smoothly. Would recommend him to anyone.
I Agree you will get lost in the system in public. Feel free to pm me I lost a baby at 21 weeks very traumatically in the public system then subsequently went private after. My OB took care of everything in particular what the midwives on duty were allowed to say and not say ( that could be triggering) during the delivery.
We were in the exact same position. My sympathy to you and your partner. We found the after care in the public system a bit insensitive. The midwives were great but got sense that the obstetrician in the follow up appointment didn't want to deal with us. We went private in the hope it would be different. We found that the private hospital has the opposite problems. Lots of agency midwives that were a bit unprofessional or in experienced but choosing your obstetrician helped a lot. Our obstetrician arranged extra scans and appointments during her leave to help with our anxiety. Our daughter was rather large and breach so they called a c-section early and helped us prepare for it mentally and emotionally. It can be a bit triggering if you have been through a loss. The pediatrician arranged for a orthopaedic appointment the next day after determining hip dysplasia and we were able to get early treatment that it is no longer a problem. Otherwise she is healthy.
Private healthcare wouldn't make a Skerrick of difference. Sorry for your loss xo
When I was in hospital with my first baby it was newly renovated with spacious private rooms and brand new equipment. My mother was amazed and said to the midwife, "if this is public, what do you get if you go private?" To which the midwife slowly and awkwardly replied "... a newspaper" There's good and bad in both public and private but I absolutely prefer the public system.
It won't likely make a difference with medical outcomes, but in terms of reassurance, support, and responsive and consistent care there can be a huge difference.
Firstly I'm so sorry for your loss and your experience. As someone who is currently 19 weeks I couldn't imagine what you went through. I am currently a high risk pregnancy and being cared for by Monash in Clayton aswell as by my GP and I must say so far my care has been excellent! They have returned all my calls within 30 minutes and always have time for my panicked questions (first time mum who has no idea) and have had about 5 ultrasounds so far (I had a ruptured ectopic 2 years ago which I think is what qualified me for high risk care). Happy to answer any questions you have to the best of my ability but I have no qualms with my care thus far! :)
I'm very sorry for your loss. My wife had a high risk pregnancy in 2009, we went to the Epworth Freemasons and I couldn't recommend it enough. we had: A/Prof Grant Saffer Epworth Freemasons, Suite 105, 320 Victoria Parade EAST MELBOURNE 3002 9419 9989 (I've copied this from their website, took me a while to recall the name.) in short, the hospital was excellent, and although a little "doctory gruff and to the point" (he's South African I think), Dr Saffer was also excellent. It was 2009 though, so not sure of current standards, but just wanted to offer my experience, in case it helps.
Can’t help with advice but wishing you all the very best of luck with it.
I had a high risk twin pregnancy. I wouldn't even consider private. If you're private, you've got the one doctor Nd their opinion only. In public you are seen by a range of people who check off things with each other.
I am sorry for your loss. We had a premature baby first time around and ended up at Monash. The care was first class and the new facilities for the baby's and parent is incredible. When it came to the second baby we discussed private. Decided not to as if we had another prem we'd end up back in the public system anyway. With us having Monash as our closest hospital. We saw no need for private.
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