What are my Penrith Hospital Maternity Care Options?
If you’re living in or around Penrith, then you’re likely fairly close to Nepean hospital! If this is the case, you actually have a few local maternity care options! When you fall pregnant it is natural to seek out a maternity care option close to your home! The less travelling, the better, given travelling in labour can be really difficult. So, it’s awesome that we have a hospital in Penrith so close and easily accessible.
Penrith Hospital Maternity Unit Care Options
Our closest hospital is the Nepean Hospital in Penrith which offers pregnancy, birth and postnatal maternity care services. Nepean hospital has some wonderful midwives and they work well in combination with local doulas too! If you’d like doula support, have a look at my services page. They offer water immersion for labour and birth (see the benefits here!). Additionally, they can provide care to ‘high-risk’ women and has a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Another awesome thing that Nepean hospital provides is a Next Birth After Caesarean clinic! They also have a Caseload midwifery option for a subset of women (but you’ve got to get in quick!). However, it’s worth considering all birth options for your family!
In addition to the public hospital at Nepean, there is a private hospital. This hospital is attended by various local Obstetricians and some wonderful midwives too. They are accepting of doulas and of ‘high-risk’ births. Unfortunately, while Nepean Private Hospital has a Special Care nursery, they have to transfer very unwell babies to Nepean public hospital’s NICU. If you decide you’d like Private Obstetric care I encourage you to meet with the possible options ahead of time. It is worthwhile noting that Private Obstetric care does cost more, and that private hospitals typically have lower rates of natural vaginal births. Consequently, it is worthwhile considering which model of care you want based on your birth preferences.
Penrith Maternity Care
The other option is home birth!! We have some INCREDIBLE privately practising midwives in the Nepean area, These midwives are able to provide antenatal, birth and postnatal care to the women they support. They provide medical care, do baby and mum checks, check the heart rate and are able to prescribe and administer medications. Additionally, they carry the necessary gear for an emergency situation at birth including Syntocinon for post-partum haemmorhage and Oxygen for baby if needed. If home birth is an option I encourage you to look into it! Meet with a private midwife and see how you feel – it could change your life!
If you’d like to read about my own birth experiences with home birth near Nepean, check them out here! I speak about Willow’s home birth caesarean, Hamish’s Blissful Home Birth After Caesarean and Evalie’s HBAC here! If you’re concerned about safety you can read more about the research on home birth here. But in essence, continuity of care with a midwife improves safety for mums and babies!
And that’s it! If you have any questions please get in touch, I’d love to chat pregnancy, birth and postpartum with you!
Penrith Birth Doula Support
If you would like support during your birth, why not consider a birth doula? Birth Doulas are an incredible asset to any birth team! They improve outcomes for mums and babies, and can provide you the support you need throughout your pregnancy, birth and postpartum.
If you’re looking for a birth doula, check out my doula services page!
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Who am I?
Hello, I’m Aimee! I support women and their families through pregnancy, birth, postpartum and breastfeeding. I am a qualified and experienced Doula and breastfeeding counsellor, providing support in the Blue Mountains and surrounds. I’d love to meet you for an obligation free catch up! Contact me here.