Northern Territory women delay pregnancies, travel interstate as only private maternity ward shuts

ABC NEWS (Australia)

The Northern Territory will soon become the only jurisdiction without a private birthing ward. Expectant families are heading interstate to give birth or delaying pregnancy altogether due to the uncertainty. The NT government is yet to secure providers for its promised "private experience in the public system" care, five weeks out from the ward closing.

Transcript

00:00These women are patiently awaiting the arrival of their new babies, but they have another

00:07due date in mind.

00:09In just under a month, the Northern Territory will become the only Australian jurisdiction

00:14without a private birthing ward.

00:16We've already paid for it, and now that choice has been ripped out in the middle of our pregnancies.

00:22First time mum, Brooke Illingworth, is a month out from her due date, and facing a very different

00:27experience than what she expected.

00:30We have considered moving, and we possibly, most likely will, before we have a second child

00:36if we decide to go down having a second child.

00:38For Darwin mum Danielle, her first pregnancy sent her straight to surgery post birth.

00:44The complication that I had, which was a retained placenta, that is considered more common in

00:49IVF, and then once you've had it once, then that risk increases again.

00:53Worried about the limited postnatal care at RDH, she's opted to travel interstate to

00:58give birth to her second child.

01:00There's just a real ache in our hearts that our second child won't be born a Territorian.

01:06While the government promised to work with health insurers to offer families 24-7 postnatal

01:11care, five weeks out to the private maternity ward's closure, the government is yet to secure

01:16private providers to deliver these services.

01:19Almost 1,000 kilometres away, Ashley Bradford has now paused her plans for a second pregnancy.

01:26She was booked for a consult two days before the announcement.

01:29For me it was also a personal choice, as out remote you don't have regular doctors all

01:36the time, so I really wanted that consistency of care.

01:39The closure will also have a huge impact on Royal Darwin Hospital resources, with an extra

01:45300 births expected each year.

01:47A lot of the staff who were in the maternity ward at the private hospital are now coming

01:52across to the public system.

01:54An emotional rollercoaster, some expectant mothers are still stuck on.

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