Kiddipedia
In short for me, yes. Having private cover and a private Obstetrician was worth every cent.
When you’re considering trying for a baby and begin researching health insurance it can be overwhelming and confusing.
There are so many options – public patient, private patient in private hospital, private patient in public hospital. My head was certainly spinning. I decided to bite the bullet and get full private cover in a private hospital with a private Obstetrician.
Was I out of pocket? Yes! By a fair amount of cash too. Did myself and my babies receive good care? Yes! That was what was important to me.
When I was pregnant with Hudson there were times that I felt I was being ripped off. We were paying a lot each month for Private Health cover and on top of this I paid almost $5k for my doctor and paid around $200 per scan. Due to our ‘amazing’ tax and healthcare set up in Australia (insert sarcastic tone) we didn’t get a lot of money back.
The benefits of paying all this extra meant:
- I could pick my own Obstetrician and Private hospital. It wasn’t restricted by the zone I live in.
- I had a doctor that was fantastic, reliable and experienced.
- When I went into labour early I was admitted to a private ward straight away and my Obstetrician was there within an hour. I didn’t need to explain anything as he had been seeing me every appointment for the whole pregnancy. His office was at the hospital so he came and saw me multiple times throughout the next day before I had my son. In a world of chaos, it was reassuring to know he was available and close.
- My husband was able to stay with me in the hospital the whole time as well. This was a big positive for me after having my son. I would have been quite distressed having my baby in the nursery that I couldn’t hold and not having my husband able to stay with me.
- I picked a hospital that had a Special Care Nursery and Infant ICU unit. This meant that if something went wrong I would still be at the same hospital as my baby. This was lucky as my son was in SCN for almost a month as he was born 6 weeks early.
- When I was pregnant for the second time my Obstetrician had all my history and so did the hospital.
- My daughter was born full term so I didn’t require the Special Care Nursery, but it was nice to have a private room and space of my own.
- I had two c-sections and was able to stay in the hospital for 6 nights.
▫ After I had my daughter I was offered to go and stay at the Hyatt as the hospital I was at offered a service there. - For me, having a baby was a private time. I wanted my husband with me but I didn’t want a room of spectators (Kardashian style). I was also very happy to have my own room where I could practice breastfeeding, pump, nap and recover in peace….well as peaceful as you can be with a newborn.
While some of the above points are superficial in the grand scheme of things and I know a healthy baby is all that counts.
When you’re pregnant for the first time it’s a bit scary and I wanted an experience I was comfortable with. There were extra costs that we were out of pocket for. However, we both work and could afford it. I figured having a baby is something that only happens a couple of times in a lifetime (unless your the mum from 19 kids and counting ) so why not take advantage of having private cover. This is only my experience, so please do your research and see what works for you, your financial situation and your family.
I have had friends who have given birth in public hospitals and also had fantastic experiences.
Each to their own, but for me, it was worth it
Rachelle xx
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