Public delivery V Private delivery

LordSutch

A friend of mine recently confided in me that she is 'expecting' her first baby, she also asked for my advice re which route to take (Public or Private), but not being a parent myself I wouldnt have a clue, so can anyone advise what routes are open to her re a first pregnancy (age 36) non smoker, full health, fit, and definately pregnant, conception mid Oct (she thinks).

She has no Private Health insurance (probably too late for this pregnancy anyway)?, so should she take the Public route or the Private route? Midwife or no Midwife? might she be wise to go Private at her age? What are the Pro's & Con's of each route? - I cant advise her or her partner because I know absolutely 'zilch' re such isues, > do most women go Private or Public these days when embarking on the nine month journey?

Should the GP be her first port of call ........... or ...............

All advise & recommendations very welcome for a first time pregnancy.

Many Thanks in advance.

PoleStar

Just a point of view on the financial aspect.

Even with good medical insurance, the fee to go privately for maternity care on top of your VHI or Quinn or whatever you have, for fully private can be as much as 4000 euro. So I assume without insurance it is much more.

texas star

well id go for midwife and cut out the Dr,I dont think you really need the Dr to be honest:)

eimsRV

Your friend has the option of going private, semi private or public. I found out I was pg in August and first thing I did was go to my own GP. He gave me info on the different options you can find some info on here http://www.citizensinformation.ie/categories/birth-family-relationships/before-your-baby-is-born/choices_in_antenatal_care

I'm going private, the fee I pay is 4k, and then VHI pay 313euro.
In addition, VHI cover 3 nights accommodation in private room if available. According to the info I received the cost of private room is 758per night, or semi private room is 432 per night.
I'm glad we chose private as there have been some complications and my consultant is very attentive. However I went in to the public clinic earlier this month with a bit of a scare and have to say the midwives there were fantastic too.

If I were your friend I would call the health insurance companies to see what the waiting/cooling off time is in place before claiming maternity benefit.

LordSutch

But is there an issue about taking the Public route when taking into account her age? re complications, etc, not that 36/37 seems old in my eyes, but apparently (in pregnancy terms) she's knocking on a bit

Moonbeam

Maybe Semi Private?
I am not sure if she would be classes as too old for the Midwife led unit schemes (MLU) that some of the hospitals offer.
Her 1st point of call is her gp.
I do know that a lot of the hospitals have their options and pricing online eg www.nmh.ie (Holles St)

Quackles

In all honesty, if I didn't have health insurance, I wouldn't even consider going private. I'm going public and the care I receive is second to none. When problems arise with the pregnancy, I'm sent on to the relevant caregiver with no hesitation.. My sister is also pregnant at the moment, she went private on her first two and is going public this time, she says the only difference is that the consultant doesn't refer to her as Mrs

I don't think the age thing is an issue at all, maybe getting pregnant, but not once the pregnancy is underway. The only issue may be that she might not be offered screening tests such as amniocentesis by default, she might have to pay extra to get that done herself? I don't know, it's never been an issue for me, maybe there'll be a mammy of a similar age on here who will tell you otherwise.

deisemum

I went public with my second (not long enough in the country to have insurance cover) and found the care extremely good. I was well looked after and if the medical team suspect anything they'll keep a close eye on you.

Even if you go private there's no guarantee that your consultant will deliver your baby. Personally if I had the money I'd keep it and would consider using it to pay for someone to come into my home to give me a helping hand or watch baby so I could catch up on some sleep instead.

36 isn't too old. I think you're friend's general health and lifestyle would stand to her.

Grawns

With no health cover only If she's rich - go private or semi-private , if not rich go public.

Priscilla Duck

I'll be 35 when I have my first leanbh next July and have decided to go public even though we're covered by Quinn. Even with insurance, private cover is expensive, and if you're going private in a public hospital the end care you get may not be much different anyway. We're going to get a private scan done as I won't get my first public-funded scan until 18 weeks which is a bit late for my liking. If there are any complications we might consider going private at that stage.

As for your friend's age, at 36 there are some increased risks like gestational diabetes, but if she is in good health she should be grand. There are other increased risks like chromosonal disorders in the child, but even if you go private such things are not routinely tested for. If she goes public, she can always opt to pay for extra tests/scans at a private clinic without losing her entitlement to public care.

VeryBerry

We went through the same public/private dilemma. In the end of the day, we just couldn't justify spending the €4000-€5000. Tbh, we felt that money would be much better spent after babs is born.

Really the only benefit I could see from going privately is that you get to see the same consultant at each appointment, you spend slightly less time in the waiting room, and he/she is 90% likely to be present at the birth (if they're not away on holidays or with another patient).

I also couldn't really see any benefit of going semi-private, as it seemed exactly the same type of care as going public i.e. no gurantee consultant will be present at birth, only get to spend 10-15mins with doctor at appointment etc. But you have to pay for your own scans/blood tests and spend almost as long in the waiting room.

In the end of the day, if your fit and healthy, and there is no complications, its the mid-wives who deliver the baby anyway. The obstetrician is only called in if things aren't going smoothy, - or if your paying them privately they'll pop in to check up on you (if they're not away no holiday or with another patient! ).

We decided to go with the Community Midwives/Domino scheme, which we're very lucky is running in our area. Our experience so far has been fantastic. I know its not available, or suitable, for everyone. But for those who it is, I'd definitely recommend it.

Mrs.T

I'm going public for the second time. I had the best of care and fortunately everything went smoothly first time round. This time I've opted for the midwives clinic, this means I don't need to go to the consultant unless (touch wood) I really need to. When I was in having DS I loved being able to talk to the other women about the experience and listening to tips from the more experienced, so I wouldn't have liked to have been alone.
I think you need to have insurance for 1 year before you can get private cover, is that right?

sarahv

If you go semi-private but you have to stay more than 3 nights then how much do you have to pay? If you have a problem before the birth like pre-eclampsia would you have to stay for that stay in hospital also?

SanFran07

Here's a breakdown on the different kinds of options available in Ireland

http://www.doulaireland.com/birtharticles.html

Moonbeam

sarahv wrote: »

If you go semi-private but you have to stay more than 3 nights then how much do you have to pay? If you have a problem before the birth like pre-eclampsia would you have to stay for that stay in hospital also?

If you need to stay there will be a medical reason so health insurance should cover it,

amen

go public. If there issues consultant will see you and you get best of care( speaking from experience of two troublesome pregnancies with wife!)

Other items to consider, if you are private in a public hospital you will be in the same delivery rooms as a public patient and prob (pre birth rooms), after birth you not get a private room. It depends on how many other patiens and type of birth i.e cesarian (spelling) and you most likely be in a common ward for first 24-36 hours near a nurses station so they can watch you. When our first was born my wife was the only one breast feeding (of approx 20 mothers) and the nurses gave her a private room!

If you are private and a doctor the doctor on call is used not your consultant (unless he is hospital) and the doctor on call is the same for public/private

If you are private in a private hospital and something goes wrong the chances are its into an ambulance and transfer to a public hospital