Vee

Hope someone can help with this.

I am arriving in Brisbane on Feb 29 - which is 2 days before I reach 20 weeks in my pregnancy. I will be staying with friends in the Buderim area (will be on the look out for dotty with her blond hair).

In the UK a second scan is done at 20 weeks. Is it done there in Australia as well? If so, how do I go about getting one? As we will probably be renting for 6 months in the Buderim/Yandina that sort of area, what do I need to do about registering with a doctor/midwife/hospital? Do I have to live in a certain area to register with that area? What are hospitals like over there for having babies? I'm sure they are better than my local Wittington Hospital where I waited for half an hour at the date scan section before someone decided to mention to me that the date scan person had called in sick. Would it be best to bring a copy of my midwife notes from the UK (just blood results and a few notes made) or will it not matter?

Any help / information would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

NickyC

I can't help with specifics about Queensland, but you can go to any GP anywhere. It's nothing like the UK where you have to register with a particular one and then you're stuck with them. Pick a GP that someone recommends, make an appointment and tell them you're a new patient. Only very occasionally will GP's not take on new patients (mine stopped taking new ones a couple of years before she was due to retire).

The GP will organise a referral to an Obstetrician or Ante-Natal clinic at your local hospital, and you just take it from there. I'd bring as many notes with you as you can. I had my kids in Sydney and my experiences were fine - hospitals have all the facilities you'd expect anywhere. Do you have private health insurance? That will affect whether you get referred to an private Obstetrician or go as a public patient to the clinic at the hospital.

Vee

Thanks for your reply nickyc. Not sure yet if we will be getting private health care or not.....I would imagine so, as I've read on here that it is the best thing to do.

Thanks again.

V

lynnj

V

Cant help with queensland as we are in perth but we got here when i was 28 weeks pregnant, as i was fine and we were busy i didnt go to my doc untill i had my medicare no, about 12 days after landing, he referred me to our local hospital and sent me to the local lab for blood tests, i have been tested for anything and everything, much more than i ever had in the uk. My care is all now done at the local hospital, so i was there on wednesday for an ante natal check and they couldnt believe how poor the care in the uk is, they said that although the scan is the same it is recorded in a different manner so takeds them an extra couple of mins to read but exactly the same info, they also tested me for diabetes and gave me a breast exam which ended up with me in for a breast ultrasound as they were unhappy with a lump that i had checked out on the nhs 2 years ago, all turned out fine but not the sort of stress you need with pregnant hormones.

I know they do the scan we normally have at 20 weeks at around the 18 week mark so my advise would be to go to a doctor when you arrive, although you wont have a medicare number if you keep your receipts you can claim back, he will organise the rest for you, be prepared to be tested for everything from a runny nose to a wooden leg

Good luck with the move and the baby.

Lynn

Vee

That's great news - thanks lynnj. I don't think my veins can take anymore testing.....I have had so much blood taken from me it's unbelievable.

Guess I will be getting off the plane and go straight to a docs when we arrive....well probably the next day as we arrive on a Sunday and I'm sure the docs aren't open on a Sunday in Qld.

I'm well looking forward to it all....can't concentrate on anything except Australia and baby! New Year, new country, new life....how do they expect me to work a further 2 weeks and 2 days?!

Sammy G

[Hi Vee

I am also pg at the moment I am 23 weeks and registered at the Royal Free in Hampstead. I will be heading to Oz 15th February (will be 29 weeks) and luckily I have my family out there (been here 7.5 yrs - dual nationality) so my mum has actually booked me in for appointments at 2 hospitals although I have already picked which one I am going to go to (I will be in newcastle region NSW). The midwives that she spoke to asked her to ensure I take as much medical info re my pregnancy as possible. From what I have heard from my friends in oz the level of care is much better than what I seem to have experienced here in London. This is my 4th pregnancy but as yet I have no live children so with the latter part of pregancy care I am not sure what to expect but the hospitals here just seem to be so stretched you have to ensure they do what they are supposed to if you dont ask for it or chase it up then it doesnt get done. Maybe you could try contacting the local hospital near where you will be and having a chat with them before you leave the UK. It would be great if you were able to have an apointment set up before you arrive. My mum said both hospitals she spoke to were very helpful and the one I have chosen have sent out an info pack on the services & care they offer.
It may be that your situation is a little different because you are a new arrival but don't be scared to make some calls and find out as much as you can. I have found Pregnancy and moving country together is quite stressful because of all the unknowns - BUT SOOO EXCITING!!!!
Best of LUCK

Sammy G

Just wanted to add re the Private health insurance thing I am sure that if you did sign up for Insurance that your pregnancy would be considered a pre-existing condition and therefore not covered. A lot of them also have qualifying periods till pregnancy would be covered so maybe sign up in time for the next one little bundle to arrive.
My friend had been paying into her private health ins for 10 years then missed 2 payments found out she was pg and tried to get it going again and she was gutted when they wouldn't cover her.
I have heard no complaints re Medicare Babies anyway the public hospital system does seem to be ok.

Cheers

Vee

Good luck to you too Sammy G. So far no stress - husband is doing everything in regards to the move, selling the flat, getting tickets etc - all I'll have to do is pack the bags I reckon. It is well exciting......so many new things happening this year. We spent the last year planning everything and now this year it will all hopefully come to plan!

Thanks for the info. What's the difference between a day hospital and a private hospital? There only seems to be 2 hospitals in Buderim and one of those says it's Private. Does that mean I have to be on private medical insurance? It's also one of those religion hospitals - do I have to be religious to go to it??

V

Sammy G

Hi Vee

Sorry didnt get back to you last week had a really busy day URGH!!.....

I also wasnt sure what a Day hospital is, we don't have them in NSW so I spoke to my Mum who said she also wasnt familiar with the term and said you may need to speak to a Queenslander!

As for the private hospital you would be able to have the baby there but it would be very expensive without any insurance cover.

You may need to look a little further afield than Buderim. Even though my parents place isn't out in the sticks there isnt actually a hospital nearby. The two hospitals I had a choice from are both about an hour away - one is a little further distance wise but the other could be subject to traffic at peak hours which would make the journey even longer so I have chosen the one without the traffic (just in case) We will just have to be really organised and well prepared with a back-up plan to get me there just in case anything should go wrong.

Sorry I couldn't shed much light, let me know how you get on.

cols

The waiting period for private obstetrics cover is 12 months. So you would not be covered in Australia unless you already had equivalent private insurance in the UK. The public system is fine anyway, although the quality varies between hospitals. Even if you do go private, you often end up having to pay thousands of dollars in gap fees, so be aware of this.

You should consider "shared care". I found that it's one of the easiest ways to go if you are relocating during you pregnancy. This is when the antenatal care is shared between a GP and the hospital. Instead of going into the hospital for every check-up, you would visit a qualified GP, and if everything goes well you would only need to visit the hospital a couple of times prior to the birth.

Shared care GPs have special qualifications in antenatal care. The advantages are that you get to see the same person each time, rather than who is on duty at the hospital, and that you don't have to travel all the way to hospital (and endure the waiting times) for what is usually a simple check-up.

This can cost a little more because you may have to pay for part of the GPs consultation. Hospitals should have a list of shared care GPs in your area.

The tests that are done in the UK and Australia are basically the same. You will probably have to do some of the tests again (eg. HIV), because you would only have been given the results in the UK if you had tested positive. If you have the results of the tests that you had in the UK with you, they probably won't do them again.

The scan is usually done here at 18-20 weeks, so you should be fine. There's no real issue if it's done a little later than 20 weeks.

Make sure you sign up for antenatal classes at the hospital (if you need them) because these are usually booked out very quickly.

Vee

Cheers for that info.

In regards to "shared care" - don't the midwifes look after pregnant women instead of a GP? I like the idea of the shared care - having one person look after me instead of - like you say - whoever is on duty.

Sammy G - I have heard back from a hospital in the area we are going to, who informed me there was a medicare hospital in Nambour which is a great help. They said it was a 15min drive away which doesn't sound too bad - however after all I've read on here about speed limits etc, you never know!

And phew! about the 20 week scan being able to be done a little bit later. Gives me a bit more breathing space.


Thanks for your help/advice so far.

V

cols

Well, i believe for a pregnancy that is low-risk you have two public options: management by midwives at a hospital clinic or care that is shared between a GP and the clinic.

With shared care, you would still need to be initially assessed by an obstetrician and will still need to attend the hospital times for reviews near the end of pregnancy.

Anyway, whatever you do, you should visit a GP as soon as possible after arriving in Australia who will advise you of the options and organise referrals.

found a NSW hospital site that gives some information on how it works: http://www.medicineau.net.au/clinica...ared_Care.html