Re: [ozmidwifery] homebirth costs

[Jo Bourne]

Actually my out of pocket costs for my OB were pretty much equal to  
my out of pocket costs for my midwife. Even with private health  
insurance and the medicare safetynet private OBs are far more  
expensive in Sydney than elsewhere too.

The real question as far as Im concerned (& yes I have a 'vested  
interest' as a midwife, which I guess is slightly different to the  
vested interest I had when I was a consumer of homebirth midwifery  
services) is why are women being made to pay out of their own  
pockets at all just because they choose to birth at home? If women  
had to pay up-front for obstetric services, ie they were not  
provided 'free' by the public health system nor were rebatable by  
the majority of private health insurance companies, then this  
conversation might have some balance to it.
I think some of the answers to the question of differences in  
charges of homebirth midwifery services is more about supply and  
demand, cost of living in different geographical areas, the fact as  
Mary has stated that midwifery service is traditionally undervalued  
not just within the profession but by other health professionals  
and consumers alike.....and we are meant to be seen as 'caring' and  
how caring can you be when you actually charge what your service is  
worth, when you want to provide care to women whether they can  
afford it or not, regardless of their financial situation, when the  
midwife in the next suburb or state charges significantly  
differently because she has different financial needs or different  
ways of practice or .....
Please just take into account that every single independently  
practising midwife I know has worked for no or very little pay,  
sometimes by choice because we dont want to turn away a woman  
desperate for a homebirth, or because we've had a client who either  
didnt pay or didnt pay the agreed amount. Please also take into  
account that every single homebirth a midwife attends is a major  
financial risk in terms of the lack of PI insurance - we can be  
sued by anyone at any time with no recourse to any sort of support,  
and yes we all want to believe this doesnt happen but it does  
actually, enough that a significant number of midwives stopped  
practicing independantly after the PII was no longer available.
Rather than asking why are women in NSW paying more, the question  
should be why are women in other states paying less? And why are  
they being made to pay at all, when homebirth is provided free in  
some very specific areas and obstetric care is 'free' everywhere?

--
Jennifairy Gillett RM

Midwife in Private Practice

Women’s Health Teaching Associate

ITShare volunteer – Santos Project Co-ordinator
ITShare SA Inc - http://itshare.org.au/
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