Choosing a private hospital for birth means choosing private care for your newborn. At or after birth, your baby will be referred to a paediatrician. This specialist doctor will check and monitor your baby's health during their stay.
Burnside Hospital has a wonderful team of experienced, accredited visiting private Paediatricians within our Maternity and Obstetrics Unit. While Paediatricians do not normally attend vaginal births unless requested, Paediatricians routinely attend elective and emergency caesarean section births, and in some cases the births of multiples, premature babies, or for previously identified problems.
Paediatric care is available at Burnside Hospital 24 hours a day, seven days a week by our visiting specialists (including public holidays). The Paediatrician to whom your Obstetrician has referred your baby's care will examine your baby usually within the first 48 hours of life to check their overall health. This also provides an opportunity for you to discuss baby management, any family history of relevance or other concerns you might have.
This Paediatrician will visit you and your baby on a regular basis during your hospital stay. They will also offer a standardised review of your baby’s health, growth and development at 6 to 8 weeks post birth, or at any point that you may have concerns from the time your baby goes home from the hospital.
You can also continue to see your Paediatrician throughout your child’s life, even as they become children and teenagers. As your child’s primary health care provider, a Paediatrician can help you detect and prevent illnesses, manage chronic conditions, and cope with the physical, emotional, and behavioural changes that occur during childhood.
Our Doctors
Will I have to pay for my Paediatrician while in the Hospital?
You will receive an account for your visiting Paediatrician, which usually includes an out-of-pocket gap payment. This is emailed or posted to you a week or two after going home from the hospital.
Unless there are some specific problems, a baby does not generally need to be admitted to the Special Care Nursery and therefore medical care will be as an outpatient or boarder and so not covered by your health insurance. This will normally be rebated instead by Medicare.
The attending visiting Paediatricians aim to provide a supportive and informative service which complements the Maternity Unit quality of care provided and overall experience at Burnside Hospital.
How much will having my baby at Burnside Hospital cost?
The cost of your hospital stay when you have a baby at Burnside Hospital depends on whether or not you have health insurance and the level of cover you have.
We recommend you contact your private health care insurer and check that you have obstetrics cover. Ask your insurer what other out of pocket expenses there will be. Every insurer is different, and the cost to you will also depend on the type of cover you have. Please also check if you have family cover (or cover that extends to your newborn baby) so that your baby is also covered should it need to be admitted in his or her own right into the special care nursery.
It is important to note that Medicare does not cover private hospital stays but does contribute to the medical costs of your baby's paediatric care, e.g. if your baby is admitted into the special care nursery. Medicare generally does not cover or contribute to the costs of non-admitted care e.g. your Paediatrician or other
All babies, whether admitted or not into the nursery, are ordinarily required to be under the supervision of a Paediatrician as arranged by your Obstetrician, for which you will be invoiced after you and your baby go home.
In addition to the hospital costs (most of which your private health insurance will cover), you will have additional ‘out of pocket’ costs for the care of you by your Obstetrician, and your baby by their Paediatrician.
Please note, there may be other associated costs of having your baby such as for the services of radiologists (e.g. ultrasound), pathologists (blood tests), anaesthetist fees, etc. Although you may not require all of these services, please note that they are separate costs. Please check associated costs with your private health insurer and the relevant service providers.
What if I don’t have private health insurance?
If you don’t have private health cover, you are welcome to contact our accounts department on (08) 8202 7215 for further information regarding the cost of having your baby at Burnside Hospital.
Please note, the cost estimate that we provide will only relate to the hospital costs. This quote will not include any medical fees of any specialists including your obstetrician, paediatrician, anaesthetist or any other services that will be required to care for you and / or your baby.
