Private Midwife Services Melbourne Victoria
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The Role of a Midwife
Many women assume that midwives are more or less just nurses who help doctors deliver babies. In reality, this is far from true. Unlike nurses, midwives specialize in just one area of healthcare: they help mothers carry their pregnancies to term, give birth, and recover from the process. In Melbourne and elsewhere in Australia, women can pursue midwifery continuity of care, or caseload care, either in hospital settings or through private midwives. Those who choose to work with a private midwife can now get the care they need subsidized by Medicare. Women can self-refer to private midwives who don’t work in hospital settings and receive Medicare rebates for their visits. Also known as endorsed private practice midwives, these highly trained professionals retain visiting rights in most hospitals in Melbourne, as well, which means they can provide antenatal and postnatal care in either home or hospital settings. How does a Private Midwife work? Hiring a private midwife works in largely the same way as working with those provided by the hospital system with a few exceptions. Women can seek care at any point in their pregnancies and will work with their midwives until at least six weeks after giving birth. The primary difference is that private midwives aren’t employed by hospitals, so they don’t have to follow hospital policies. Women who opt for endorsed private practice midwives will also be able to develop relationships with their caregivers throughout their pregnancies since they will see the same professional at each visit. What is your midwife's role during pregnancy? Your midwife’s role during pregnancy is to provide most forms of antenatal care. Those who are planning home births can expect to see the same midwife or small team of caregivers throughout their pregnancies. They will come to the home to perform routine visits, which will include checking the baby’s position, growth, and overall health, advising pregnant women about routine tests and checks, offering advice and support, and preparing women for labour and birth. What is your midwife's role at birth? Your midwife’s role at birth will be to assist with labour and the birth of the child. For a routine home birth, that might include offering encouragement and emotional support, supplying relevant information and strategies to help with labour, monitoring progress and the baby’s health, and arranging for medical help if it’s required. When this is the case, the midwife will call an ambulance to address complications that require medical intervention and will accompany the woman or the couple to the hospital. What is your midwife's role after birth? In Australia, a midwife’s job doesn’t end after the mother gives birth. Immediately following the birth, the midwife will provide basic care, like checking to make sure the mother hasn’t lost too much blood and doesn’t need any stitches. If everything goes smoothly, the midwife will usually continue to visit the mother at home or in the hospital on a daily basis for the first few days, then schedule additional visits for up to seven weeks after the birth. During routine post-birth visits, midwives can help new mothers learn how to breastfeed, settle their babies, change nappies, and give baths. They can also perform basic health tests like newborn screenings and make arrangements for mothers to get access to pain relief through a doctor as needed. Call us today 03 9860 4440 to book your free 15 min phone consultation. |
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Frequently Asked Questions
The decision to start a family or add a new member to an existing family is a big one and choices about pregnancy, birth, and postnatal care all play an important role in determining how a new baby will get his or her start in the world, so it should come as no surprise that most women have a lot of questions. You can find answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about finding a midwife for home birth.
How to find and choose a midwife?
The first choice expecting mothers who want to use a midwife will have to make is whether to use a public midwife or a private midwife. Since public midwives work in hospital networks, women who want to give birth at home will have to find a home birth private midwife. Not all midwives offer this service, so it’s important to ask about practitioners’ experience levels with home birth.
The ability to receive care at home is just one of the advantages of hiring a private midwife for home birth. Private midwives are also better able to develop a rapport with their clients since the same midwives will attend to the mother and her baby throughout the pregnancy, birth, and postnatal phase. They can better advocate for women throughout the labour and birth and can provide all the same services as public midwives without requiring healthy women to receive care in a hospital setting.
Private midwives are also trained in addressing common problems with pregnancy, labour, birth, and breastfeeding using natural techniques. Women who choose this route won’t have to worry about feeling pressured to use techniques or medications they aren’t comfortable with, and they will receive all the practical and emotional support they need to go through their pregnancies and births on their own terms.
Women should take their time when choosing a midwife. They should consider factors like how much experience she has with home births, whether she will be available for phone or virtual consultations, how often she will perform in-person wellness checks, and, most importantly, whether she is registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA). Women can get recommendations from friends, family members, general practitioners, obstetricians, and others if they aren’t sure who to hire.
Does Medicare cover any midwife services?
Both public and private services are covered by Medicare, so the cost of home birth with midwife should not be the primary motivating factor behind women’s decision about whom to trust with their care and the care of their babies. The overall cost will range from $3,500 to $6,000, but private insurance will cover some services and Medicare offers rebates of between $1,000 and $1,800 for pregnancy care and postnatal care if women choose private midwives who have Medicare provider numbers.
When choosing a home birth midwife, find out what fees she will charge in advance. They will depend on the level of care required and how women choose to give birth. Expect to pay more for the hire of a birthing pool or the inclusion of a second midwife to attend the birth. It’s best to be clear on cost from the beginning to avoid unpleasant surprises.
Will my private health insurance cover any costs?
Private insurance can help to offset some of the home birth midwife cost. Most insurance providers will not cover all nonessential procedures, though. Women may have to pay for things like extra ultrasounds, consultations with doulas, new mother classes, and other non-essentials out-of-pocket. The best thing for those concerned about the cost of home birth to do is to contact their insurance providers and ask what services will be covered. The ability to offset some or all of the costs of essential pregnancy, birth, and postnatal care can free up extra money for options like hiring a birthing pool or scheduling extra ultrasound exams with an obstetrician.
How to find and choose a midwife?
The first choice expecting mothers who want to use a midwife will have to make is whether to use a public midwife or a private midwife. Since public midwives work in hospital networks, women who want to give birth at home will have to find a home birth private midwife. Not all midwives offer this service, so it’s important to ask about practitioners’ experience levels with home birth.
The ability to receive care at home is just one of the advantages of hiring a private midwife for home birth. Private midwives are also better able to develop a rapport with their clients since the same midwives will attend to the mother and her baby throughout the pregnancy, birth, and postnatal phase. They can better advocate for women throughout the labour and birth and can provide all the same services as public midwives without requiring healthy women to receive care in a hospital setting.
Private midwives are also trained in addressing common problems with pregnancy, labour, birth, and breastfeeding using natural techniques. Women who choose this route won’t have to worry about feeling pressured to use techniques or medications they aren’t comfortable with, and they will receive all the practical and emotional support they need to go through their pregnancies and births on their own terms.
Women should take their time when choosing a midwife. They should consider factors like how much experience she has with home births, whether she will be available for phone or virtual consultations, how often she will perform in-person wellness checks, and, most importantly, whether she is registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA). Women can get recommendations from friends, family members, general practitioners, obstetricians, and others if they aren’t sure who to hire.
Does Medicare cover any midwife services?
Both public and private services are covered by Medicare, so the cost of home birth with midwife should not be the primary motivating factor behind women’s decision about whom to trust with their care and the care of their babies. The overall cost will range from $3,500 to $6,000, but private insurance will cover some services and Medicare offers rebates of between $1,000 and $1,800 for pregnancy care and postnatal care if women choose private midwives who have Medicare provider numbers.
When choosing a home birth midwife, find out what fees she will charge in advance. They will depend on the level of care required and how women choose to give birth. Expect to pay more for the hire of a birthing pool or the inclusion of a second midwife to attend the birth. It’s best to be clear on cost from the beginning to avoid unpleasant surprises.
Will my private health insurance cover any costs?
Private insurance can help to offset some of the home birth midwife cost. Most insurance providers will not cover all nonessential procedures, though. Women may have to pay for things like extra ultrasounds, consultations with doulas, new mother classes, and other non-essentials out-of-pocket. The best thing for those concerned about the cost of home birth to do is to contact their insurance providers and ask what services will be covered. The ability to offset some or all of the costs of essential pregnancy, birth, and postnatal care can free up extra money for options like hiring a birthing pool or scheduling extra ultrasound exams with an obstetrician.
The Bottom Line
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Welcoming a child into the world can be an incredibly positive experience, but it can also be stressful. Expecting mothers usually have lots of questions and they need all kinds of practical and emotional support. Hiring a private midwife gives them access to a dedicated, compassionate, and experienced professional who can perform routine exams, answer questions, provide family support, assist with the birth, make arrangements for additional care, and generally ensure that everything goes smoothly.
Hiring a private midwife can reduce the amount of stress that mothers must face during one of the most important times of their lives and create a more positive experience that can occur on their own terms from the comfort of their own homes. Browse the website to learn more or get in touch 03 9860 4440 to discuss options in greater detail today. |