priorities when choosing a maternity care package

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My GP referred me to the hospital and said that she was happy to see me for shared care so I did this. It wasn't until my childbirth classes that I found out about other choices. I was more informed about everything with my second baby and I chose the birthcentre at my hospital.

Many women having first babies assume that their baby will be delivered by a doctor. It often comes as a surprise for them to find that they were in the most part cared for by midwives. Research has shown that midwives are the most appropriate professionals to manage normal pregnancy and labour, however there remains a strong sense in Australia that doctors are necessary to deliver babies.

I have medical insurance so I went to an obstetrician and had my baby in private hospital. I wanted to book the doctor my sister used but she was booked up so I found another doctor who was available and went with him.

I did a lot of reading and looked into having a homebirth but my Gp wasn't helpful and I couldn't really see how to have one in my area. I went through the birth centre and I will go there again for my next baby but I hated being on the ward after so I will come straight home.

When I was pregnant, I did a lot of research - both reading (books, magazines, the Web, etc.) and talking to other women about their experiences. I got some information from midwives, no useful information from GPs.

I came to the conclusion that I wanted a natural, drug-free birth because this would give me the most positive, pain-free childbirth experience and would increase the likelihood of me having a fast, uncomplicated recovery.

I decided to use a birthing centre in a major womens hospital because it meant there would be emergency medical services available if I needed them, but if everything went well, I would be in control of my birthing experience. I like the idea of a home birth for a future birth experience, but I don't think I would choose this simply because I am aware that the unexpected can happen, no matter how fit and well the mother and baby are. If something did go wrong, it would be terrible to be at home waiting for an ambulance (compared to being in a hospital with medical expertise and equipment on hand).

Overall, I had a great birth experience. However, there are a few things I would do differently if I have another baby

1. I considered about hiring a doula or a private midwife but decided not to. If I have another baby I would definitely do this. Not just for me but so that my partner would have more support during my labour (and therefore could be better rested to help care for me and the baby after the birth).

2. For the post-natal stay, I would like to be in more comfortable surroundings. I really like the idea of the hotel stays that a lot of private hospitals now offer. But I don't want to be a private patient due to the higher intervention rates. I wish there was a way of being a public patient for the birth and then a private patient for the post-natal stay. I would prefer this to an early discharge... can't imagine why anyone would want to rush home to cooking and cleaning with a newborn!

3. Once at home, I would liked more support from the visiting midwives in the two weeks following the birth. Especially help with breastfeeding.

MY priorities during pregnancy were the health of myself and my baby. being my first pregnancy i had the guidance of my sister who is a midwife. my GP seemed to have little knowledge about antenatal practices so i decided shared care was not for me. i thought about the hospital closest to myself and they had just opened a birthing centre. i went along to find out what it was all about and felt so at ease. the centre (within the hospital) was calming and the midwives answered any questions i had. being that some of the midwives there had worked with my sister at some point in time i found that i built a good rapport with them. when i went overdue i was told that i had to have an induction we held off for as long as possible and i gave birth at a large hospital after being induced and my daughter arrived at 42 weeks 2 days gestation. the labour and the postnatal stay on the ward was appalling. cats giving birth have more respect and are treated more decently than myself and my baby. but in answer to the question, i found out about my options by my sister who was a midwife, lots of reading and research, reading birth stories, moderating a pregnancy birth and beyond forum in conjunction with a leading independent midwife. i just wanted to give birth somewhere comfortable, in an environment where i wasnt pressured.

My experiences are from the UK and are extreme - one baby born in a private wing of an NHS hospital and the other born in the back of my car. After 2 miscarraiges and some very poor treatment on the NHS, when I became pregnant the 3rd time we decided to go private. For us, our priority was obviously baby safety no.1 but also to have someone we know to reassure us on the end of the phone or face to face - especially in the early days. My GP recommended the obstretican and the hopsital. On the whole, the labour was a very positive experience although at one point I was rushed into a decision about whether to have an epidural or not on the basis that the anaesthetist lived a long way! I also asked for the birthing pool and was told it was out of order. Post natal care was exceptional - with fantastic midwives to talk me through breastfeeding. When i fell pregant with my son we had moved out of London and our options for where to give birth narrowed as a result. We decided to go NHS as private options are practically non-existent in the country. My midwife suggested a home birth as she felt it would be quick one based on my 1st labour. But I didn't feel comfortable not being close to a hospital. However, with hindsight she was absolutely right. The labour was just 2 hours and I ended up delivering Joe in the back of my car in the hospital car park with my husband, a midwife and a porter to catch him! I went into to shock afterwards and we were admitted for a night and put into a room on our own and pretty much left there for much of the time to get on with it. Joe and I struggled with the breastfeeding and there was very little support. I couldn't wait to get home. There won't be a 3rd child, but if there was I think home delivery could be the option we'd chose - safety, peace of mind and comfort being our priorities!

When I became pregnant with my 2nd child, I wanted a better obsterican who had better bedside manner than my first. So I asked around and booked him. When I had my first appointment with him, he refused to see me again because I had had 3 small strokes after giving birth to my 1st child. So now at 34 wks I am with a large Melbourne hospital with Medical and normal obstericians, I never see the same person twice and feel like a case file not a person, I have limited access to any midwives and have thrown a few woogie-me-jigs because it's all so clinical and I have felt not emotionally supported. So yes, while I believe the pregnant mum should have a say in whatever maternity care package they would like, sometimes it's not that simple.