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Hey there! Im from Melbourne, I had my son in a public hospital, and plan to have my daughter that I am pregnant iun one also. I did not have a natural birth, i had an epidural with my boy. Anyway, I fou8nd the nurses were fab, and really lovely and helpful, very kind. Im sorry I cant help you more, but my hospital bills were all covered by medicare.... good luck honeyxxx

Thanks for you reply. Going as a public patient really does sound like the way to go if you have a trouble free pregnancy.

Hi my sister in law delivered her baby in Maters hospital in Brisbane. She was in the private section, even though she had MBF insurance, she still paid thousands. Is not cheap. I also know a lady delivered her baby in the same hospital but in the public section, she was very happy with the professionalism of the doctor and the nurses. She said she would only go public only. So it's really up to individuals. Private section is fancy with rooms like hotels. Double bed, ensuite, TV and so on. Can be a bit lonely for first time mom though as you are by yourself a lot if your partner or family is not there with you all the time. On the other hand, public section, you are with other mums and so if you are a socialble type, I think you can get a lot of support, All the best and baby dust to you.

Anyone else willing to share?

I plan on having mine in the military hospital.

Hi Oz, I'm in Brisbane. I had private insurance for a while until I couldn't afford to keep it up. What also made my mind up was finding out how much you still have to spend going private. PLUS at the Mater Private here apparently if there's an emergency with the baby guess where they go? - across the road to the public where the neonatal emergency section is! That sealed it for me. And I've only heard good reports from people going public (except for being in a room full of babies and everyone's constant visitors). Another disadvantage with public can be that you see a different doctor each time, but I'm doing "share care" with my doctor as well, so I go for appointments at the hospital so they can keep track of what's happening, but my regular visits are to my own doctor, so I feel there's some consistency. Good luck with whatever you decide to do. take care :-)

Hi Oz, I live in Victoria, Melbourne and I am a nurse at a very large hospital. We have many patients tha actually have private health however when being admitted choose to be come in as public patients to aviod extra costs. Which is definately the way to go. You would probably looking at an extra $150 to $300 per extra night as a private patient as well as obstitrtician fees etc. Is it really worth it? You can have your baby in a public hospital with the same care, with fantastic midwives that deliver babies everyday and if there are complications a doctor is still sent straight away. Why pay up to $2000.00 for the same care and outcome! I say go public and you will have extra cash to spend on that little bundle of joy when he/she arrives. Best of luck - hope all is perfect.

Thanks everyone for your responses. It really does seem like public is the way to go. The only negative seems to be the shared room situation but im sure i will be able to deal with it if its only for a few days. Thanks again and goodluck to all of youxx

It depends on who is on duty the day u go in, u can be private and still have a bitch whose just had a fight with her partner taking care of you, i went to sunshine hospital in melbourne, definitely dont recommend it again its a staff thing, some were nice, some were not and thats anywhere but i did get my own room due to giving birth on the right day, many beds available, good luck and do go public as the pain isnt any less in a comfier room with nicer meals.