Maternity care options in QLD

Have you just found out you're pregnant and now you have no idea where to start? Don't stress, this is super common. Queensland offers a range of maternity care options to suit different needs, preferences, and situations. This post will help you understand the main models, what to expect, and questions to ask to find what’s best for you and your baby.

What is Maternity Care?

Maternity care refers to all the midwifery, medical and support services before, during, and after birth. It includes antenatal care (during pregnancy), birth, and postnatal care (after birth). Key care providers can include:

• Midwives

• General Practitioners (GPs)

• Obstetricians (specialist pregnancy doctors)

• Nurses and allied health professionals

• Support people (doulas, Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander health workers, etc.)

Where care is delivered—home, hospital, birth centre, or community clinic—and who leads the care depends on your preferences, your risk level (low risk vs high risk), and availability in your region.

Public maternity care

Once you've found out your uterus is harbouring a little alien, it's quite common to make an appointment with your GP to organise blood tests, ultrasounds and referral to your local hospital. Some hospitals accept self-referrals, which means you can jump online and find your local hospital and fill out some details about your pregnancy to secure a spot (particularly if you are interested in midwifery continuity of care services, as these fill up quickly, and they often operate on a 'first in, first served' basis). You will still need to see a GP to complete the referral to the hospital, regardless of whether you want to choose private or public care.

Private maternity care

If you're opting for private maternity care, you can most often choose the hospital and choose your private care provider- this could be a private midwife or a private obstetrician who supports you in hospital. Sometimes private practitioners will see you for antenatal appointments in their private clinic spaces, which may be located somewhere other than the hospital. You will then labour and birth at your home, birth centre or in the hospital. If you are interested in having a home birth with a private midwife, you can self-refer by choosing a midwife who resonates with you (often by word of mouth, or by searching 'private midwife near me' online) and send off an enquiry directly to them. From there, the midwife will contact you and arrange an obligation-free meeting. You should send off several enquiries and have several meetings to see who you feel most comfortable with and who will best support your desires for pregnancy care, labour and birth, and postnatal care. Remember, this is a person who will care for you in your most precious and vulnerable moments.

Major Models of Maternity Care in Queensland

Here are the main models available, along with their strengths, limitations, and typical suitability.

Model	What it is	Advantages	Things to Consider
Public Hospital Maternity Care	You receive care through Queensland’s public hospital system—midwives, doctors, specialists as needed.	Lower out-of-pocket cost; access to full medical services; offers various models depending on hospital (shared care with GP, midwifery-led, etc.).	May have less choice over who you see; waiting times; maybe less flexibility for birth location or methods depending on hospital policy.
Private Obstetric / Private Hospital Care	Care with a private obstetrician and/or private midwife, usually in a private hospital (or private patient in a public hospital).	More choice over doctor/midwife; often more continuity of carer; private room; sometimes more flexibility over birth preferences.	Higher cost; insurance issues; some services or specific interventions may cost extra; not all births are covered fully.
Midwifery Group Practice / Caseload Midwifery	You are cared for by a small known team, often with one primary midwife (with backup), who supports you through pregnancy, birth, and the early postpartum period.	Strong continuity; more personalised care; tends to lower intervention rates; more satisfaction among many women.	Not always available in all areas; often must be low-risk or accept criteria; fill up quickly; some limits on options depending on hospital/birth centre policies.
Shared Care Models	A combination of care providers–for example, GP, hospital midwife, and/or obstetrician. You might see your GP for part of the antenatal visits, hospital midwives for others, etc.	Can offer flexibility, cost savings; GP visits may be more accessible locally; mixing types of support may match your needs.	Could mean seeing different people each visit; less continuity; may require more coordination; in some cases specialist care may be delayed or fragmented.
Birthing Centres	Midwifery-led, homely-feeling environments often attached to or near hospitals. Water birth options, relaxed atmosphere. Only for low-risk pregnancies.	More relaxed atmosphere; more control over birth environment; often more continuity; less medical intervention.	Must meet criteria (low-risk); in case of complications you may need to transfer to hospital; fewer services/equipment on-site; limited beds / high demand.
Home Birth	Giving birth at home with a midwife (often private), for low-risk pregnancies. Queensland now has publicly-funded home births (starting in some areas).	Comfort and familiarity of home; more personalised; fewer interruptions; women report having very satisfying experience.	Your own comfort levels.

Is Continuity of Carer Important?

Yes—it’s one of the things many people value, and research supports continuity of care as the gold standard of care (meaning it's the best!). Continuity of carer means you see the same health professional (or a small team) throughout pregnancy, birth, and after birth. Models such as midwifery group practice (often referred to as MGP) and many private obstetrician-led models offer this. In Queensland, a sizeable proportion of maternity services offer at least some continuity of carer.

Benefits include:

• Higher rates of normal vaginal birth

• Lower intervention rates

• Better satisfaction with care

Considerations & What to Ask

When choosing, here are some questions to ask yourself or your provider:

1. Risk level & health history

   • Do you have any medical conditions or risk factors (e.g. previous caesarean, diabetes, hypertension) that mean you may need specialist care?

   • Is your care provider able to support you in the birth you want? For example, if you have had a previous caesarean section and you want to have a vaginal birth, who is the best person to support you in achieving your goals?

2. What kind of care do you value?

   • Do you prefer one main provider, or are you okay seeing several different people?

   • How much say do you want in how the labour unfolds (pain relief, birthing positions, water birth, etc.)?

   • What kind of environment do you feel most comfortable in (home-like birth centre, hospital ward, home)? This is a big question, and your first answer may not end up being the right answer for you- dig deep into how you feel about this, get curious with yourself. This may be the most important step in achieving your goals for labour and birth. The rest of the options will fall into place around where you choose to birth! Ask yourself- what feelings arise when you step through the hospital doors, are they feelings of relief? Or does it feel like going to the dentist and your palms start to get sweaty?

3. Costs

   • Public vs private—what will Medicare cover? What about private health insurance?

   • Out-of-pocket costs (doctor, specialist, obstetrician fees, hospital fees).

   • Any extra charges for things like private rooms, special pain relief, or special equipment.

4. Location and Accessibility

   • How far is the hospital / birth centre / home birth support?

   • Will you be able to get to the facility quickly if something unexpected happens?

   • Is your preferred model of care offered in your area?

5. Support and cultural safety

   • Do you want culturally specific care (e.g. Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander support)?

   • Would you like the support of a doula, or other personal support person?

   • How is postnatal care handled (home visits, community clinics)?

What’s Best for You?

There’s no one right answer—it depends on your personal circumstances, preferences, and what’s available in your area. Some people prioritise being in hospital with specialists; others prioritise having continuity with one midwife or low-intervention birth. The best approach is to:

• Start antenatal care early so you have time to explore options.

• Talk with your GP or midwife about which models of care are available near you.

• Ask about eligibility (especially for birth centres and home births).

• Consider both ideal scenarios and what you would want if things don’t go to plan.

Now that you've figured out what you will choose for pregnancy and birth, ask yourself how you want to be cared for in postpartum? There are some beautiful care options that you can put in place for after your baby is born, these include private midwives and doulas whose sole job is to care for you and your baby in the weeks following birth. Stay tuned for the next blog post about postnatal care ✨