September 10, 2003

Suggestions for a pregnant mum about private health care

Had a nice time chatting to a pregnant mum today, who called looking for some books that would help her feel confident about having a natural birth in about three weeks time. We got talking (as I tend to do!) and I discovered that she is booked into a private hospital on the Gold Coast in Queensland under the care of the private obstetrician. She had attended the classes, but found that they focussed on the drugs for pain in labour (pethidine, epidurals and the gas) and when she asked questions about non-drug ways of easing pain she was apparently met with blank stares by the educator.

These days I don’t pussy-foot around with information for women who call me like this. I gave her the facts about private hospitals and obstetricians (high rates for interventions and a big risk of an unnecessary caesarean). The facts are known and the figures available, although I did point out to her that in Queensland, the Department of Health will not release the birth outcome data for private hospitals under any circumstances, even though it is obtainable in other states. In any case, if anything, the outcomes are likely to be worse in the sunny north than in NSW, given the data that has been passed on by midwives who work in these units.

We had a quick chat about her options and I pointed out that she is calling the shots here: no-one can lay a finger on her without her expressed permission and as she is paying the bills, she can tell the caregivers what she wants them to do for her. She already has a copy of Preparing for Birth: Mothers and is working on her birth plan. I pointed her in the direction of useful articles on our Essential Parent web site pages, and in particular these:

The Pain of Labour - which explains the physiology of pain, what makes is better and what makes it worse
No gain without the pain - which is a midwife’s perspective on this issue
Epidurals: real risks for mothers and babies - written by a doctor and women’s health advocate

I also recommended some books that she could read to bolster her confidence:

all essential reading for women who want to avoid a medicalised birth experience.

I hope that these suggestions will help her achieve her goals. She said she was having real trouble finding information and that the prenatal classes had been of little help, beyond explaining what the hospital offered. I also strongly suggested that she enlist the help of the midwives on the staff and explain what she was trying to achieve. Many midwives in private hospitals would welcome the chance to assist at a normal birth for once and I even suggested that if all was going well, she could ask the obstetrician to stand in the corner so the midwife could continue to assist her! As long as he is present he will feel justified in charging his fee, and for many of them, that is after all, the bottom line.

Posted by andrea at September 10, 2003 04:52 PM

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