Emmaline

Hi guys can you please help me I have just found out I am pregnant and very scared :scared: I have a 4yrs old daughter so its not the pregnancy thing that scares me it the pregnant in Oz that scares me. We have only been here 8weeks so it has happened quicker than planned. What is the procedure over here for like doctors and scans and how much is it all going to cost are the hospitals here nice and what hospital would I go to we live in Mornington at the mo renting and hoping to buy soon but have to find somthing in our price range which isnt very easy when my husband is on a low wage aswell.
Please could you give me as much info as you can as I am stressing slightly
thank you

angel17796

Just wanted to say Congratulations.

gedge

Congrats! You'll be fine, don't stress.
Go and see your doctor (or sign up with one now if you haven't already).
They'll put you on the right path. We found the antenatal care here to be very good. What sort of visa are you here on? This might affect what you have to pay for. We're here as permanent residents and just about all costs were covered. Good luck.

Gold Coaster

Hi,

Why are you worrying so much You will be fine. We are having our first in October and you will not get better service in the U.K even if you went private. Also you will not have to pay a penny as the reciprocal health agreement covers you, apart from the scans but even then Med-Care pay half and they are not very expensive.

We have a dedicated midwife as my wife is having a water birth and you can not put a cost on the level of care you will be provided. I did wonder why my wife wanted a water birth! As long as she swims between the flags she will be fine. lol

Congratulations by the way.

If you need any further advise please P.M me and Mrs. Gold Coaster will be glad to help out with any questions.

Good Luck

Tony

themerlin

Not sure where you are but in QLD you don't get a better service if you go private. All the private hospitals seem old where as the public are all new.
Plus if you go private you will most likly get a c section!

Went through it all a year back and again in Decemeber :scared:

JAJ

If one is a permanent resident there is no need to worry about reciprocal agreements.

Plus if parents have PR then child will be an Australian citizen and you can claim baby bonus etc.

Princess Leia

Hi,

I highly recommend the forums on www.essentialbaby.com.au as a resource for figuring out the system here as far as having a baby and raising children is concerned. They even have expats threads and I recall that people have asked questions there similar to yours.

PL

Larissa

Hiya
I recently had my 3rd bub here in Perth and was a bit worried about being in a new country and havind a bub. I found the "bubhub" invaluable, if you had a straightforward delivery with your 1st child you will be most likely be OK, but if not, you'll need to research what hospy to go with. (I found this out as I had a CSection with my 1st). As the other poster wrote, avoid private if you want a normal birth... They tend to do more scans and tests during pregnancy but you don't have to go along with all that if you don't want it. The hospitals are generally cleaner and more modern, staff are generally happier etc. but there is a bit of a "doctor knows best" attitude, pregnant women aren't really expected to make decisions for themselves. Intervention rates vary immensely and are hard to get hold of.
BTW Some of the girls on Bubhub live in your area... its worth asking there about specific hospitals. They'll be able to tell you much more than me!
Take care and congratulations!
BTW I didn't pay a cent for my pregnancy and delivery on medicare x

angec

Congratulations!!

I am in the same position, i have a 3 Year old boy but this is my first pregnancy over here. Up to now I've found it a bit less thorough than the uk but not an unpleasant experience, and I think that is more down to my doctor not being too up on pregnancy by the looks of it.

I'm 19 weeks this week, I went to my doctor on finding I was pregnant and I was weighed and did the normal stuff, got to about 10 weeks and asked about a scan and he put me forward for a Nuchal Lucency scan(downs Syndrome test) I just wanted a scan like the 12 week one in the UK to show baby is there and looking ok, so I got that cancelled and got a dating scan, which you can ask for here unbeknownst to me (i was 11 weeks gone by that point). I have had my first trip to the hospital at 14 weeks which was just to book me in and give me my bounty pack (very handy some advice on how it all works over here) and i was told they didn't really see me until after my 19 week scan. Hoping that then it will all start to get a bit more regular, I'm a permanent resident and as I don't have a bulkbilling doc I have to pay $15 each time i have an appointment(as normal) and I think the 1st scan cost about $50 after the refund from medicare. If you can get the hospital to look after you from the get go then it is free for their appointment. I do miss the doppler, in the UK my doctor had this out and let me listen from 15 weeks, this time i just have my figures crossed that everything is OK on friday.

Best of luck to you!!

Ange

movetoperth

Congratulations on growing your own little Aussie.

I had my 3rd son here, it was a much better experience than in the UK, more modern and "happy".

I'm 20 weeks now with no4 and i feel that your care can be as full on or as hands off as you want it. I had a dating scan at 8 weeks and a NT at 12 weeks, i had my 20 week scan this morning, all of this would have been covered by medicare except today i went to a private clinic for the scan, but will be able to claim most od it back via medicare. My care is shared between my doc and the hospital that i will deliver in. Ay the moment i see my doc every 4 weeks, i have yet to go for my booking in at the hospital but thats my laziness as i've only just out my form in. After my booking in at the hospital i wont go back there until 36 weeks, then will go every week until jnr arrives. I could have had all my care at hospital but prefered my doc as its easier to get to and i don;t have to wait, but i have to say he isn't too up on pregnancy, but i'm ok with that.

When hellboy was born the whole delivery was good IMO, i onnly had midwives in attendance,the consultant was just outside the door as it was a quiet night and he wanted to be there but said if i preferred he would stand outside the door so it was just us and the midwives.

I hope you have a healthy and happy pregnancy, what a fantastic start to your new lives

Lynn

Silky Chicken

Congratulations! Glad you started the thread as I was wondering about some of it myself as I found out I am pregnant two weeks ago with my first baby

Best wishes,

Sara

Lord Pom Percy

does'nt the oz govermentt give you $4,000 for each baby you pop out, you will end up making money not costing you money.

gedge

it doesn't go far though if your OH stops working and there is no statutory maternity pay

movetoperth

Hence the reason that there is a town somewhere (can't remember where) with something like 40 underage girls who are pregnant just to get the baby bonus, my god they are in for a shock.

Lynn

Gold Coaster

Yeah,

I always forget those that have it easy and have PR before they even get here not like people on business 457s. lol of course you are correct.

Tony