No matter what your ideal birth plan entails, there are a huge variety of birthing options in Brisbane. Specialists are readily on hand within public and private hospitals and many professionals offer support in home or alternative birthing options, so you will always be able to find the right person to assist you in your chosen birthing experience.
Public Hospital Birthing Options In Brisbane
There are several Queensland Health administered hospitals offering a variety of birthing options in Brisbane. If you are opting for a hospital birth through the public health system, the hospital at which you deliver will depend on your current residential address, as catchments apply to the following hospitals –
The Royal Brisbane and Womenโs Hospital (RBWH)
The Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital offers several birthing options to Brisbane women, including โ
Team Midwifery and Shared Care provides care to women of all risk levels and gives women the ability to have their pregnancy care attended by midwives throughout the pregnancy, during labour and birth and afterwards at home.
Community Midwifery delivers care by a group of midwives in a convenient community setting. At the Nundah Community Health Centre, care throughout pregnancy is coordinated by the woman and a small group of dedicated RBWH midwives.
Tertiary Obstetric Care is offered for women with pre-existing health problems or those who develop problems during their pregnancy. They are cared for by a dedicated team who will cater for the womanโs specific needs.
The Private Practice Specialist Clinic offers several Obstetricians that care for private patients booked to deliver at the RBWH. This model of care offers private care in a public facility, whereby, the Obstetrician of choice manages your antenatal care, however is not obligated to attend delivery.
Other Greater Brisbane public hospitals offering the above birthing options include โ
Logan Hospital
Mater Mothersโ Hospital
Redland Hospital
Redcliffe Hospital
Caboolture Hospital
Ipswich Hospital
Private Hospital Birthing Options In Brisbane
Private hospital birthing options in Brisbane may be an option for you if you are covered by private health cover. Several of the public hospitals have private options for patients, along with the following private only hospitals –
Sunnybank Private Hospital
The nursing staff, health professionals and private specialists at Sunnybank Private Hospital are committed to individualised, holistic care and aim to assist in extending a patientโs knowledge and skills for a positive transition to their new parenting roles.
Mater Mothersโ Private Hospital and Mater Mothersโ Private Hospital Redland
Offering an array of birthing options to Brisbane women, the Mater Mothersโ Private Hospitalsโ midwives work closely with obstetricians to deliver exceptional care for you and your baby and will support your individual birthing plan.
The Wesley Maternity Unit
The Wesley Maternity Unit is part of one of Queenslandโs largest tertiary hospitals. The Wesley Hospital has more than 30 specialty areas and all of these multidisciplinary teams are available to support your birthing options as needed during your stay in the Maternity Unit.
North West Private Hospital
North West Private Hospitalโs Maternity services have been developed to provide flexibility and choice with a focus on you and your babyโs individualised care. In 2011, a suite of deluxe care rooms were completed, providing patients with an extra level of luxury for an additional fee.
St Andrewโs Ipswich Private Hospital
St Andrewโs Ipswich Private Hospital provides comprehensive maternity services to Ipswich, the surrounding communities and suburbs on the western side of Brisbane. The 23 bed Maternity Unit offers a mix of private and some shared accommodation.
Alternative Birthing Options In Brisbane
Childbirth choices in Brisbane are not just limited to hospital births. More and more women are opting for natural births that can take place in the home with as little medical intervention as possible.
Midwifes
A midwife may assist in the delivery of your baby in your home or in a hospital. This really does depend upon her credentials. Midwives can either be accredited or non-accredited. Accredited midwives in general have the option of performing hospital or home births, whereas non-accredited midwifes traditionally practice only within the home.
Doulas
A very supportive addition to the birthing process is engaging a doula or a labour coach. A doula will work to reduce your stress while in labour so as to produce a delivery with fewer complications. A doula will attend to you continually throughout the birthing process.
Homebirth Queensland provides a comprehensive list of Midwifes and Doulas, searchable by your location.
If you’ve got the right insurance and your pregnancy is classed as low risk, there are a variety of birthing options for Brisbane mums, no matter what kind of birth you desire for your Brisbane Kid.
About the Author: Leah Bieze sells designer maternity clothes online, she’s a vocal advocate of safe, flexible birthing choices for all mothers, from Brisbane to Bangalore, from Adelaide to Antigua.
Y Tan
Hi, this article is missing a couple of very important facts: The RBWH is the ONLY hospital in Brisbane where water birth is an option. The RBWH is one of 5 hospitals in Queensland that offer birth centre care ie 1-1 midwifery care in a home-like environment, where the woman is a key player in the decision-making process regarding her pregnancy and birth, and birthing partners and family are able to attend the birth. More information about Birth Centre care can be found at http://www.fbc.org.au
S. Higgs
I agree with comments above by Y Tan, very important fact about the RBWH – birth centre care is extremely beneficial for the birthing woman and partner/family. Also the option of a water birth is desirable for many birthing women. Also there are also great midwifery models of care at Mater Mothers Hospital and Ipswich Hospitals that provide continuity of midwifery care.
D. MacGillivray
I would also like to add that things are rapidly changing with Independent Midwives not only attending home births but currently offering a shared care model of antenatal care with your booking hospital and postnatal care in the home up to 6 weeks. It also won’t be long before you will be able to hire your own midwife/midwives to come to the hospital with you. Toowoomba, Ipswich and Gold Coast are already offering this model with continuity of care through your pregnancy, birth and beyond. Not all women can access the midwifery models of care mentioned above and the one downfall with the hospital based models is that it is a lottery, yes you have wonderful midwives but you don’t actually get to choose your midwife.