PREGNANCY: OPTIONS (DEPENDING ON LOCAL AVAILABILITY)
Public hospital care. You can book into a public hospital to have your antenatal care, delivery and postnatal care. This option is available to everyone, as you do not require special insurance, and there is no charge to the patient. In Australia, the care of patients in the public hospital system is funded by the government.
At your first appointment, or before, you may have the opportunity to find out about the hospital, what services it offers, and where different parts of the hospital are. It is a good idea to familiarise yourself with the place, and find out who you can contact for more information if you need to.
In larger public hospitals you will usually see a doctor at each or most of the visits. You may see different doctors at the visits, or the same doctor through the pregnancy. The doctors at large teaching hospitals will either be specialist obstetricians, or obstetricians in training (‘registrars’ and ‘resident’ doctors). The specialists will be part of a unit, and have specific registrars and residents working with them. The care of patients in the public hospital system ultimately ism the hands of specialist obstetricians. They will be the ones involved in overseeing any patients who have problems.
In labour you are looked after by the midwives and doctors on duty in the labour ward. After delivery you and your baby can stay in a postnatal ward for a few days, where the midwives are trained in helping mothers with new babies.
Public hospitals also have specialist paediatric care available.
Some hospitals offer variations on the routine antenatal outpatient system.
Midwife clinics. These are becoming more common. In these, women with low-risk pregnancies, identified after the first antenatal visit, may choose to see a midwife, rather than a doctor for the majority of their antenatal visits. If any problems arise during the pregnancy you can be referred back to the care of the doctors if necessary.
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Tags: Women’s Health