[ozmidwifery] RE: out of pocket expenses & new VBAC forum

[Wayne and Caroline McCullough]

Title: Message

I am paying my obgyn an extra $850 and the gap between medicare fees and what my doctor actually charges per visit (about $15 extra). Everything else is covered by medicare or my health insurance. I spend on average around 15 to 30 minutes in his office but then I have a lot to discuss with him at present regarding my birthplan. My first visit was about 1.5 hours (highly unusual I must say). I figure if I have to wait up to an hour for my appointment, others can wait too! On the other hand, my midwife visits have lasted in excess of 2.5 hours each time.   Anyway, I wanted to draw everyone's attention to a new forum on the www.essentialbaby.com.au website for VBACs. Some pretty awful things were being said by C-Sect advocates so I requested a new forum that would be safe for VBACers. They took my request on board and created a new discussion board. Today was the first day this board was up and already there are several questions by women who really want to know what their options are and what they should take into account when trying to make an informed choice. Most of these women are in the mainstream medical system and need encouragement, support and accurate information. Sadly many of these women would be freaked out at the suggestion of homebirth (especially VBAC homebirth) so please take this into consideration if you are anti-hospital and obgyn and wish to post a response to questions.   Cheers,   Cas McCullough   ps: I may yet get my homebirth : ) ... my hubby is now saying if we had the baby closer to the hospital he would be okay with that... so know any good hotels near the Mater in Brisbane that don't mind a bit of loud noise?  : ). -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] On Behalf Of Julie Clarke Sent: Thursday, 30 January 2003 4:23 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: RE: [ozmidwifery] out of pocket expenses I had a woman in my class last night who told me she was paying her OB $5000