The Hospital Tour

As mentioned before, we have been paying exorbitant amounts of money to HCF for the past 8 years and this was the sole reason we decided to have our baby at a private hospital. Besides the obligatory trip to the dentist every 6 months or so, we have never used our fund and therefore wanted to get some value from it.

I'll be writing about the full costs of having a baby (and you thought everything was covered!) later when our poll has finished. If you have not yet voted you are more than welcome to by clicking on the poll on the left side of this page. Today however I'll recount an episode that occurred when we went for our first hospital visit a few months ago.

Going on a hospital tour is vital for anyone having a baby. If your hospital offers one, do it - it will put your mind at ease and you get to see where everything is, including where you can hide when it starts getting hectic in the delivery ward! Just kidding. Tours are great. They put your mind at ease and you get the general layout of the place.

Our group tour included two other couples who were at similar stages in their pregnancies. We first visited the delivery room. A lovely set-up complete with spa bath. "Just what I would need amongst the stressful atmosphere of baby delivery" (said in jest)..."It's for the mum," I was told sternly by the matron. We then moved on to the rooms and they looked very comfortable. Then again you'd want them to be if you just squeezed a watermelon out of your genitalia! We then moved on to the nursery (I'm sure there is a more accurate name for it than this) where all the new borns are all lined up. All the women in the group cooed at the cuties on display. Connected to the nursery is the room where the nurses put you through your daddy and mummy training after the birth with tips and tricks for cleaning stinky bums etc etc.

Finally the guide showed us the section of the ward which catered for premature babies and babies requiring a bit of help after delivery. The bloke next to me and I went to have a squiz and while doing so, the guide mentioned that it was an extra $1000 if a newborn required these facilities. "Whoa" we said, "$1000, hopefully we won't be needing this room," I added. The guide then corrected us: "No, not $1000 all up, $1000 per day!" This bloke and I lost some colour from our faces and we were both thankfull we were in a hospital in case we needed some oxygen. Luckily the guide quickly noted that this expense is covered by your private health fund, but that you had to make sure you had family cover. We both looked at each other said that this was the first phone call we would make upon leaving the tour.

If you are expecting a child and are in a private health fund, check that you have family cover, as any new borns won't be covered if you only have individual or couple cover. Thankfully we did, and hopefully we won't be requiring the services of the '$1000 dollars a day room'.

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Also, Congrats to our good friends Al and Josie on the first public appearance of their son Leon over the weekend. Baby, mum and dad all doing well. I might get Al to write up a guest report. Congrats again guys!