Birth Options in Victoria

When it comes to pregnancy and birth, the most common question that most women consider is whether to go through the public or private hospital system. However, in Victoria, we are lucky to have multiple options for the pregnancy and birth care that we receive.

When do I need to decide which birth pathway to take?

You might be wondering ‘When do I need to start thinking about birth?’ and my answer might surprise you – having an idea of what type of birth experience and birth support you’d like to have, before you’re even pregnant, can help you to prepare for the best experience for you. Once you fall pregnant, you are enrolled in your desired pregnancy-care stream very quickly, so it can be hard to have the time to really consider your options once you’re already pregnant. If you are wanting to birth your baby in a private hospital, it’s also important to ensure that you’ve upgraded your health insurance to ensure that waiting periods don’t impact your rebates.

Public or private birth?

Public hospital vs private hospital is a valid question, and there are a few considerations when making this decision:

• Do you want a physiological birth, or would you like some extra help?
  1. A physiological birth refers to a “birth where the baby is born vaginally following a labour which has not been modified by medical interventions” (The International Childbirth Education Association, 2015)
  2. Types of ‘extra help’ include epidurals, inductions, caesarean births & assisted delivery (using vacuum cup or forceps)
• Whether you’d like obstetrician led care or continuity of care with a midwife

Birthing in a public hospital

2023 statistics showed that of mother’s who birthed in hospital, 75% chose to birth within the public hospital system (AIHW, 2025). An exciting option now available in many public hospitals in Victoria called the Midwifery Group Practice (MGP) program. The MGP program is great because it means that you receive continuity of care throughout your pregnancy and birth. You are allocated a midwife who you see right from your first hospital appointment through to supporting you in labour. Your midwife also provides home visits after baby is born, until you are discharged from the program. You can read more about the Eastern Health MGP program here.

Not all women are accepted in or want to be a part of the MGP program. Within a public hospital if you don’t participate in MGP, you will see various midwives through your pregnancy & birth. There are also obstetricians within a public hospital who will provide you care if deemed necessary. The big difference between obstetric care within the public system vs the private system is that you may not see the same obstetrician throughout your pregnancy and at your birth in a public hospital. Public hospitals tend to have lower rates of caesarean sections compared to private hospitals (AIWHb, 2025). A big benefit of birthing in the public system is that Medicare covers your care (however your ultrasounds may still have out of pocket fees – check this at the time of booking).

Birthing in a private hospital

Pregnancy & birth support in a private hospital incurs an out of pocket fee. Your health insurance may help to cover these costs – however it’s important to check your policy and see what’s included and how much they will cover. Birthing within a private hospital means that you get to choose an obstetrician to support you through your pregnancy and birth. Your partner is also able to stay with you in hospital, and you have the option of staying in hospital longer than what you generally would in a public hospital. There is also the option of having an elective caesarean section when birthing in a private hospital. In 2023 48% of births in private hospitals were caesarean sections, compared to 33% in public hospitals (AIWHb, 2025). This is a considerable difference and may be an influencing factor if you’re going into pregnancy wanting to either have a caesarean section or a vaginal birth.

You can have a look at the website for Mitcham Private Hospital to learn more about this option.

What are the other birth options?

Additional to choosing to birth within a hospital, families in Victoria also have access to Homebirth. A Homebirth refers to a planned birth that occurs within the home with medical support, generally provided by a qualified midwife.  In Victoria, the requirements for homebirth are that one qualified midwife attends the birth as well as one other APRAH registered health care practitioner who is trained in maternity and neonatal emergency management (Safer Care Victoria, 2021). Homebirth is often confused with freebirth which refers to when families make the intentional decision to birth at home without the care of a healthcare professional.

When it comes to having a homebirth in Victoria, there are two options. Once again – do I choose public or private?

Public homebirth:

A publicly funded homebirth is run through a local public hospital. Continuity of care is provided for the mother-to-be throughout her pregnancy by a dedicated midwife, with the midwife & a secondary midwife attending the birth & also providing in-home postpartum care to mother and baby for up to 2 weeks after the baby has arrived (Mercy Health, 2025). There are requirements to be included in a homebirth program, which are based on hospital policy, and may be different from the inclusion criteria when working with a private midwife.

The major benefit of a publicly funded homebirth is that it is an affordable option available to families – there are generally no extra costs associated with this option in comparison to birthing in a public hospital. And, like the MGP program, you have the benefit of continuity of care, which is “the evidence-based, gold standard of care for mothers and babies” (Australian College of Midwives, 2023).

The homebirth programs in Victoria are run by:

• Mercy Hospital for Women
• Royal Women’s Hospital
• Sunshine Hospital
• Casey Hospital

Homebirth with a private midwife:

Pregnancy care & homebirth with a private midwife incurs an out of pocket cost – often above $6000. The benefit, however, is that not only do you receive continuity of care, but you also get to choose your own midwife, and you get to have a lot more autonomy over the process. Where certain testing and scans are generally required to stay enrolled in a public homebirth program, you have a lot more choice when it comes to private midwifery care. Additionally, some public homebirth programs may exclude you from the homebirth program during your pregnancy due to factors including developing gestational diabetes, testing positive for Group B Strep (GBS), or not going into labour by a certain date. While it’s important to check with the individual midwife you are considering working with, these criteria may be different when working with a private midwife. If the midwife deems that there is a medical reason for you to either birth in hospital or have a caesarean section, they will let you know.

Is Homebirth safe?

Homebirth (again – specifying Homebirth with 2 registered midwives as per Victorian standards) is considered to be a safe way of birthing your baby. Most studies have identified no increase in risk for the outcome of the baby, improved maternal outcomes and an increase in satisfaction with the birthing experience following a homebirth (Zielinski, Ackerson & Low, 2015).

Plus, homebirth comes with the added benefit of increased rates of breastfeeding (Zielinski, Ackerson & Low, 2015)

You can learn more about homebirth – both publicly funded and privately funded on the Homebirth Victoria website.

So what’s the best option for me?

Where to birth your baby is a very personal decision. The type of birth that you’d like to have, your location, health status, finances and support that you have available all contribute to making this decision. I don’t believe that there is a blanket answer to this question. Homebirth is the right option for some families, and planned caesarean for others. What I do see as important is that women are provided with information on each of these options so that they can make an informed decision around what is the best option for them, and then put in the right supports to help them have the most positive experience (ie. Having a doula for emotional support during labour, or doing Calm Birth classes, etc.).

Where to from here?

At KBW, we do not provide birth support, however we do provide support through preconception, pregnancy & postpartum. By supporting optimal nutrition and helping to manage the challenges that can pop up in pregnancy (such as changes in gut health, recurrent thrush, gestational diabetes, iron deficiency and more) our goal is to help you to be a well nourished mama. If you’d like to learn more about how we can support you, book in a free discovery call, visit our free resources page, or have a look at the KBW Hub – where you can access affordable life-stage specific education & support. We also have the Sacred Mother online membership – which is our hub of videos and resources to support you, right from preconception through to postpartum. 

More than just one on one:

We know that one on one consultations simply aren’t right for everyone, and that’s why we are in the process of putting together some really great resources for those of you who would prefer to learn from webinars, do self-paced online courses or join a monthly membership. Please keep an eye on our Health Hub to see what we have available and sign up to any of our Free Resources that interest you.. By joining the mailing list we will also let you know when new resources are uploaded.