CHILD BIRTH OPTIONS IN AUSTRALIA
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Public Hospital Birth
Australia has some wonderful options for public hospital birth- state of the ark City hospitals and cozy country hospitals. The plus side of city hospitals is that you often have absolutely everything there so if something goes wrong everything is right there and you usually have the most knowledgable highly accredited doctors and nurses around to make sure all is well, the downside is city hospital are usually very busy and for that reason nurses and doctors can be a little bit less patient and not quite as relaxed as you would find in a country hospital- they try very hard but the fact of the matter is that city hospitals are very busy, very rushed and patients are often something that is on a conveyabelt that needs to be dealt with as quick as possible to get on with the next patient. Often unneccisary intervention is used such as inductions, and c-sections for convienience of doctors. Partners are often aloud to stay for the birth only - they are often not aloud to stay for the hours-days past this without good reason (for example the partner is the wifes proven carer as the wife is that injured or ill- or a language delema to help the wife understand).
Country hospitals are more inclined to be less medical when it comes to the enviroment, a lot more nurse or doctor to patient interaction (more one-one care) and a lot more relaxed due to country hospitals being not quite as busy as the BIG city ones You are more likely to be able to have your partner or family member stay with you for the hours or days after the birth before you leave the hospital. The downside to a country hospital is depending on the country hospital there may not be anything there to support a premmie if labour was to be premature which would mean the baby would be transported rapidly to the nearest hospital that would be able to care for the premature infant and you might not be able to go there with the baby straight away. Another downside is depending on the hospital it may lack in certain resources limiting their ability in an emergency situation (depending on the situation) and if cases such as BREECH or TWINS there are few country hospitals that are in tune with natural births and safety. This means that often you will either have to have c-section or delivery in a city hospital would be arranged, as most country hospitals are very much behind in the safety of natural births when it comes to breech and twins and will NOT allow a planned natural birth of twins or breech in their hospital and even in unplanned cases the chances are high of it ending with a c-section because a lot of country town hospitals dont see anything but c-section as safe for BREECH or TWINS.
All public hospitals in Australia are covered by medicare so maternity care is often FREE.
It is best to ring your local hospital to find out their policies and procedures.
Country hospitals are more inclined to be less medical when it comes to the enviroment, a lot more nurse or doctor to patient interaction (more one-one care) and a lot more relaxed due to country hospitals being not quite as busy as the BIG city ones You are more likely to be able to have your partner or family member stay with you for the hours or days after the birth before you leave the hospital. The downside to a country hospital is depending on the country hospital there may not be anything there to support a premmie if labour was to be premature which would mean the baby would be transported rapidly to the nearest hospital that would be able to care for the premature infant and you might not be able to go there with the baby straight away. Another downside is depending on the hospital it may lack in certain resources limiting their ability in an emergency situation (depending on the situation) and if cases such as BREECH or TWINS there are few country hospitals that are in tune with natural births and safety. This means that often you will either have to have c-section or delivery in a city hospital would be arranged, as most country hospitals are very much behind in the safety of natural births when it comes to breech and twins and will NOT allow a planned natural birth of twins or breech in their hospital and even in unplanned cases the chances are high of it ending with a c-section because a lot of country town hospitals dont see anything but c-section as safe for BREECH or TWINS.
All public hospitals in Australia are covered by medicare so maternity care is often FREE.
It is best to ring your local hospital to find out their policies and procedures.
Private Hospital Birth
Private Hospitals are not FREE care or birth, health insurance will help cover some or most of the costs and you will be required to pay the remainder without Private Health Insurance it will cost you several thousand the average stay rate per night not including everything else is $700-$900+. The Pro's of a private hospital care for birth is food served and the layout of the place is generally a lot nicer than that of a public hospital, partners are generally aloud to stay and you can choose your own Obstetrician. Cons- private hospitals in Australia have the HIGHEST intervention rates with over 50% c-section rate, so if you are set on an intervention free birth a private hospital might not be the best choose for you.
Australian Private and Public Hospital Directory
http://www.bubhub.com.au/directory/find/maternity-hospitals/
If you cant find the hospital you are looking for through the link above please contact us and we can add it for you here.
If you cant find the hospital you are looking for through the link above please contact us and we can add it for you here.
Birth Centres in Australia
Sadly birth centres in Australia are often attached to hospitals, however they are run by midwives and do offer a more natural approach to childbirth than a maternity ward hospital birth offers. As most birth centres are attached to hospitals this does mean that help isnt far away if it is needed- however as they are attached to hospitals it means that they are often still obliged to follow hospital rules and criteria, this means that there is a stricter criteria to get into a birth centre (as low risk in a birth centre in Australia is determined by hospital critera, meaning births such as breech, twins and VBAC are often NOT ALLOWED- people with other medical conditions can sometimes get in depending on luck however their is a HIGH chance of transfer from Birth Centre to Obstetric and Hospital during pregnancy or birth). The Pro's to a birth centre is a more homelier feel, midwives at the birth centre are focused on a more natural approach and encourage a natural drug free or at least drug limited (some birth centres have nitro gas etc but do NOT have epidurals) birth. They often have birthing bathes or pools so water birth is more likely, however this depends on each centre - some will not allow this. Most Birth centres practice continuity of care (meaning you see the same midwife through out pregnancy, during birth and some weeks following the birth).
Transfer rate for birth centres in Australia are between 30-50% and transfers can happen at anytime between pregnancy or labour.
Transfer rate for birth centres in Australia are between 30-50% and transfers can happen at anytime between pregnancy or labour.
Directory of Birth Centres in Australia
Homebirth
Homebirth is a safe experience proven to be just as safe as hospital births http://www.healthnetworks.health.wa.gov.au/publications/docs/plannedhomebirthsafety.pdf for low risk pregnancies (though you will find with a Independant Private Midwife deffinitions of 'low risk' are a lot more flexible- in other words you may still find some midwifes who are willing to birth Breech births, Twins and even VBAC also known as HBAC- in FACT VBAC at home known as HBAC has been found to be safer and more viable than a VBAC in hospital)...you will need to search around still though as due to ACM's (Australian College of Midwives new policies and guidelines stating HBAC, Breech etc are to no longer be done at home some private midwives will refuse to take the risk of being your midwife if you choose this.
Midwifes are HIGHLY trained proffesionals who care for you throughout your pregnancy, birth and after birth- they carry with them equipment and medical supplies to handle a variety of medical emergencies (life saving equipment for mums and bubs) these include resusitation equipment, drugs to stop bleeds (heamorrages) and other supplies.
Medicare is available to medicare registered midwives however to be eligable for medicare the woman will need a referal from a doctor and the doctors PERMISSION for a homebirth, these can sometimes be hard to get- this does not exclude women from care entirely some midwives will still be willing to provide care to you, it does however exclude you from medicare (meaning medicare will NOT pay ANY money to you for ANY payments you make to your midwife) this CAN be very costly as the average price for a Homebirth Midwife these days is $5000+ , you will however still be able to claim most of this on tax (but remember if you dont have health insurance you will find it hard to get most of this back).
Most Homebirth Midwives offer payment systems so you can pay the midwife off by making payments however little or much you can pay whenever you can pay it and some health insurance agencies such as Australian Unity Health insurance will cover $3000+ of homebirth and care (however just like other Health funds cover such as this is only available once you have been with them for 12 months). If you have health insurance and medicare the cost will work out being very little.
Homebirths allow you to birth your child at home with the safety of an experienced proffesional there who can deal with emergencoes if they should arrise- they allow for you to have an at home NATURAL birth, you can walk around, watch TV, have what music you want on as loud as you want, you can drink, eat and there are NO restrictions on who you have their or when you have them there, there will be no Obstetricians or other doctors throughout pregnancy or birth unless you choose to have them, there are no ultrasounds unless you choose to have them (however they do use dopplers to monitor bubs heart beat etc and you can hear bubs heart beat). Downside is if your midwife is sick and their is no back up you will either have to transfer to a hospital or you can choose to freebirth (birth without and attendant- however this is NOT recommended IF you are not aware of the possible risks including stuck baby, hemorrage, baby ressuss etc and how to effectivly deal with them), when it comes to birth the saftey of yourself AND baby is the number one priority.
Another downside is that if your midwife feels the labor is heading south you will need to transfer to hospital.
Some fantastic Homebirth facts and links are below.
http://www.healthnetworks.health.wa.gov.au/publications/docs/plannedhomebirthsafety.pdf - Australian Stats show Homebirth Just as safe as hospital birth
http://www.sarahbuckley.com/ - A well respected GP/Obstetrician/Family Practitioner in Australia - a homebirth supporter
http://www.sandiegohomebirth.com/kangaroo-care.php - An American homebirth information site it even has online radio shows that discuss different asspects of homebirth and even speak to people who have unassisted homebirth as well as people who have assisted homebirths
http://www.homebirthsydney.org.au/node/40 - Why choose homebirth
Study & Statistics done on over 12,000 woman showing outcomes of midwive vs other models of care
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD004667.pub2/abstract;jsessionid=762BE8E32310345D2E99F008F632445D.d03t01?systemMessage=Wiley+Online+Library+will+be+unavailable+17+Dec+from+10-13+GMT+for+IT+maintenance.
Perspective study on the outcomes of Homebirths in North America
http://www.bmj.com/highwire/filestream/367006/field_highwire_article_pdf_abri/0.pdf
http://www.maternitycoalition.org.au/infosheets/infosheets_water.pdf - water birth info sheet
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/when-push-comes-to-shove-home-births-dont-deserve-to-be-demonised-20111213-1ot0e.html - News article on Homebirth
http://www.homebirthaustralia.org/ - Homebirth Australia Website
Midwifes are HIGHLY trained proffesionals who care for you throughout your pregnancy, birth and after birth- they carry with them equipment and medical supplies to handle a variety of medical emergencies (life saving equipment for mums and bubs) these include resusitation equipment, drugs to stop bleeds (heamorrages) and other supplies.
Medicare is available to medicare registered midwives however to be eligable for medicare the woman will need a referal from a doctor and the doctors PERMISSION for a homebirth, these can sometimes be hard to get- this does not exclude women from care entirely some midwives will still be willing to provide care to you, it does however exclude you from medicare (meaning medicare will NOT pay ANY money to you for ANY payments you make to your midwife) this CAN be very costly as the average price for a Homebirth Midwife these days is $5000+ , you will however still be able to claim most of this on tax (but remember if you dont have health insurance you will find it hard to get most of this back).
Most Homebirth Midwives offer payment systems so you can pay the midwife off by making payments however little or much you can pay whenever you can pay it and some health insurance agencies such as Australian Unity Health insurance will cover $3000+ of homebirth and care (however just like other Health funds cover such as this is only available once you have been with them for 12 months). If you have health insurance and medicare the cost will work out being very little.
Homebirths allow you to birth your child at home with the safety of an experienced proffesional there who can deal with emergencoes if they should arrise- they allow for you to have an at home NATURAL birth, you can walk around, watch TV, have what music you want on as loud as you want, you can drink, eat and there are NO restrictions on who you have their or when you have them there, there will be no Obstetricians or other doctors throughout pregnancy or birth unless you choose to have them, there are no ultrasounds unless you choose to have them (however they do use dopplers to monitor bubs heart beat etc and you can hear bubs heart beat). Downside is if your midwife is sick and their is no back up you will either have to transfer to a hospital or you can choose to freebirth (birth without and attendant- however this is NOT recommended IF you are not aware of the possible risks including stuck baby, hemorrage, baby ressuss etc and how to effectivly deal with them), when it comes to birth the saftey of yourself AND baby is the number one priority.
Another downside is that if your midwife feels the labor is heading south you will need to transfer to hospital.
Some fantastic Homebirth facts and links are below.
http://www.healthnetworks.health.wa.gov.au/publications/docs/plannedhomebirthsafety.pdf - Australian Stats show Homebirth Just as safe as hospital birth
http://www.sarahbuckley.com/ - A well respected GP/Obstetrician/Family Practitioner in Australia - a homebirth supporter
http://www.sandiegohomebirth.com/kangaroo-care.php - An American homebirth information site it even has online radio shows that discuss different asspects of homebirth and even speak to people who have unassisted homebirth as well as people who have assisted homebirths
http://www.homebirthsydney.org.au/node/40 - Why choose homebirth
Study & Statistics done on over 12,000 woman showing outcomes of midwive vs other models of care
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD004667.pub2/abstract;jsessionid=762BE8E32310345D2E99F008F632445D.d03t01?systemMessage=Wiley+Online+Library+will+be+unavailable+17+Dec+from+10-13+GMT+for+IT+maintenance.
Perspective study on the outcomes of Homebirths in North America
http://www.bmj.com/highwire/filestream/367006/field_highwire_article_pdf_abri/0.pdf
http://www.maternitycoalition.org.au/infosheets/infosheets_water.pdf - water birth info sheet
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/when-push-comes-to-shove-home-births-dont-deserve-to-be-demonised-20111213-1ot0e.html - News article on Homebirth
http://www.homebirthaustralia.org/ - Homebirth Australia Website
Midwife Directory
Freebirth or Unassisted Homebirth
Unassisted birth (also known as Freebirth or Purebirth) is a birth where a childbirth is not had in the presence of a care provider, although sometimes women do enlist a Doula (Doulas are birth attendants who offer encouragement and aid throughout birth, including offering massage but they DO NOT offer medical aid in the event of an emergency and are usually NOT medically trained), this is perhaps the only way that 'true' natural birth can truly occur. Many people often critisis unassisted birth and those who choose it stating 'why would a woman risk her baby, birth isnt about her its about the baby- they are selfish' but usually its the oposite, most woman who choose to birth without a medical proffesional for fear of intervension and the veiw that a care provider being their would only hinder the natural progress of labour (which even in the case of homebirths with midwifes where it is more natural, as safe as and sometimes safer than hospitals - they STILL do hinder the process of birth slightly when put in comparrison with a woman who chooses to have and unassisted birth- however , with a trained midwife there with you for the homebirth THEY can tend to emergencies) and may present them with more risks due to this. They often also want a natural healthy outcome for themselves but most of all their child. A woman who chooses homebirth usually is comfortable with the idea, feels confident about her body and that of her babies - is very in tune (meaning that she will likely know when something seems OFF so that she can call for help), they are often very well educated in how to stop bleeds, deal if a baby gets stuck, how to deal with an umbilical cord that is wrapped around the neck, how to resusitate the baby if need be and how to monitor all other aspects involved. If a woman did not have this knowledge or feel confident in her ability to do all of this and deal with an emergency situation if it did arrise then this method of birth would be foolish- however there have been many a woman who have delivered their children at home without a medical attendant (some are not registered others are so the true honest number can never be said- but to assume that the number of births that happen at home unassisted is still VERY HIGH would be an understatement) . Sadly most people often only hear about the unsuccessful events (due to hospital transfer) very few people hear about the many positives and the many people who have delivered healthy babies- head down, breech, twins, vbac etc at home without and issue- and when issues have arrisen many people don't hear about how many women and families have dealt with issues at home (few- higher than that of an assisted homebirth have needed to transfer to hospital- more often than not the freebirths that are dealt with at hospital have either been unplanned or have NOT been planned enough.) Unfortunately even though there is a very WIDE community of freebirthers across the world with forums and success stories etc there are very few registered, due to many many reasons (including difficulty obtaining certificates, simply not declaring for risk of your family and childs life in cases like China and simply being to fearful of backlash from Social Services elsewhere). Please do not be fooled woman who choose to freebirth they are far from unintelligent, often have no other option (such as no medical care close by, medical care is out of their price range, they are in hiding as is their pregnancy, they have had terrible experiences in the past hindering their ability to have a safe natural birth elsewhere, or simply having done a lot of research supporting the benefits of an unhindered bith and understand/confident on how to deal with any possible negatives). With an unassisted birth a woman and baby are not rushed to timeframes (for example NSW's new 6 hour limit- a woman will have ONLY 6 hours to have her baby before intervention, 12 hours elsewhere in Australia) therefore, no interventions just because baby is 'not fast enough' therefore more chance for a nice safe 'calm' natural delivery when the 'baby' is ready to be born not when the attendant is ready to have it born. The woman can do what she wants, wear what she was and deal with labor how she wants.
http://www.unassistedchildbirth.com/ - Born Free Unassisted Childbirth
http://www.unhinderedliving.com/childbirth.html - Unhindered living
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/EmpoweredChildbirth/ - Empowered Childbirth Yahoo Group
http://www.freestone.org/articles/Freebirth-EveryMother.html - Freebirth Every Mother a Midwife
http://www.unhinderedliving.com/stats.html - Freebirth Statistics
http://www.unhinderedliving.com/homemademed.html - Homemade Tincture
http://www.unhinderedliving.com/variations.html - Unhindered living variations of normal
http://birthjunkie.com/homebirth/ - Birth Junkie Unassisted birth
http://www.writeaboutbirth.com/index.php/unassisted-childbirth-a-preparatory-checklist/unassisted-childbirth/ - Unassisted Birth Checklist
http://www.writeaboutbirth.com/index.php/birth-supplies-for-your-uc/unassisted-childbirth/ - Basic things needed
http://www.writeaboutbirth.com/index.php/fetal-position-and-unassisted-homebirth/unassisted-childbirth/ - babies position
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Unassisted-BirthFreebirth/226462721209?ref=sgm - Facebook Forum
Birth Certificate requirements for Freebirth in Australia are,
ACT
If the woman does not have any medical presence at the birth, and she chooses to not present at a hospital. She would then need to provide statutory declaration when reregistering the birth. These statutory declarations would need to be provided by the mother, father and a medical professional that has seen the mother before and after birth.
The office of BDM would prefer you to take the baby and yourself into the hospital following the birth of the child and even have 'birth out of the hospital' registration forms that ask if you have presented to hospital or not, however qereying this I found this is NOT compulsary and stat declarations are enough if the women chooses not to see a medical proffesional.
http://www.legislation.act.gov.au/af/2011-117/current/pdf/2011-117.pdf - Birth Registration Statement
http://www.legislation.act.gov.au/af/2011-122/current/pdf/2011-122.pdf - Death Registration Statement
http://www.legislation.act.gov.au/af/2009-32/current/pdf/2009-32.pdf - Notification of Birth not occuring in hospital (this is the one that asks if you have taken the baby to the hospital after the birth)
http://www.ag.gov.au/www/agd/rwpattach.nsf/VAP/(CFD7369FCAE9B8F32F341DBE097801FF)~StatutoryDeclaration200602.pdf/$file/StatutoryDeclaration200602.pdf - ACT Statutory Declaration
NSW
You will need an independant witness or 2 at the birth (this cannot be the parents of the newborn) and they need to be prepared to sign a statutory declaration form stating that they were there and witnessed the birth.
Births Deaths and Marriages will also need the contact details of the independant witnesses to confirm the details of the birth- if independant witnesses are not possible then people should take heart in the fact that many women have managed to register the birth of their children in NSW with merely a signature on the birth certificate no witnesses and no stat decs from ANYONE (though this in not garunteed to happen). If independant witnesses are not available it would be best to ensure proof of pregnancy (though a medical proffesionals letter stating they saw you at some point during your pregnancy or someone who is prepared to write a stat dec stating they saw you pregnant and if they saw you after the baby had been born that included in the stat dec is crucial)- stat decs from anyone who saw you pregnant and/or after the birth and photos of the birth.
http://www.bdm.nsw.gov.au/births/registerABirth.htm - NSW Birth Registration
http://www.bdm.nsw.gov.au/births/stillbirths.htm - Registration of Stillbirths
http://www.bdm.nsw.gov.au/OurForms.htm - Certificates & forms
http://www.dpc.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/35262/Statutory_Declaration.pdf - NSW Stat Dec
QLD
If you choose to have a freebirth it is a good idea to have an independant witness there (this can be a friend, family member or Doula- but it cannot be the parents of the newborn)
In the event of a free birth/unassisted birth they do ask for statutory Declarations often and they need to be signed by a Justice of the Peace- so its best to make sure your independant witness is preperared to write a Stat Dec if you are asked for one, you will also need to be prepared to write one if asked for one..
http://www.justice.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/7473/BDM-form-1-birth-registration-application.pdf - birth registration form
http://www.justice.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/105550/bdm-qld-stat-dec.pdf - QLD Statutory Declaration
VIC-
Statutory Declaration that you have given birth, when, where, the gender etc signed.
You will also need proof of pregnancy through either a letter from a medical proffesional who saw you pregnant or a statutory declaration from a family member or friend who saw you pregnant.
Statutory declarations from anyone else who attended the birth.
http://online.justice.vic.gov.au/CA2574F700805DE7/page/Births-Births+FAQs?OpenDocument&1=10-Births~&2=70-Births+FAQs~&3=~ - Victoria Births Deaths & Marriages
http://www.justice.vic.gov.au/resources/3/1/3128060041ca06659adbde57973ce764/statutory_declaration_form_2010.pdf
Above is the Vic Stat Dec Form
TAS
Both parents signatures need to be on the Birth Certificate and it needs to be signed as sighted (witnessed)
In the case where there is only one parents signature a statutory declaration explaining why needs to be added to the application.
Again a statutory declaration of the birth is recommended and a doctors sighting a some point during pregnancy (this can just be a general doctor writing such & such visited on (insert date) and she was pregnant at the time of this appointment).
http://www.justice.tas.gov.au/bdm/births/howtoregister - Tas Births Deaths and Marriages
http://www.police.tas.gov.au/services-online/statutory-declaration/ - Tas Statutory Declarations
NT
Statutory Declaration that you have given birth, when, where, the gender etc signed.
You will also need proof of pregnancy through either a letter from a medical proffesional who saw you pregnant or a statutory declaration from a family member or friend who saw you pregnant.
Statutory declarations from anyone else who attended the birth.
http://www.bdm.nt.gov.au/justice/bdm/births_deaths_marriages/births/birthreg.shtml - NT BDM
http://www.electricallicensing.nt.gov.au/licensing_forms/documents/StatDec.pdf - NT Statutory Declaration
WA
Statutory Declaration that you have given birth, when, where, the gender etc signed.
You will also need proof of pregnancy through either a letter from a medical proffesional who saw you pregnant or a statutory declaration from a family member or friend who saw you pregnant.
Statutory declarations from anyone else who attended the birth.
http://www.bdm.dotag.wa.gov.au/R/register_a_birth.aspx?uid=4871-3344-4979-9112 - WA BDM
http://www.courts.dotag.wa.gov.au/_files/Stat_dec.pdf - WA Stat Dec
FOR THOSE CHOOSING A FREEBIRTH IT IS ADVISABLE THAT YOU HAVE PHOTO'S OR VIDEO OF THE BIRTH ASIDE 'JUST IN CASE' THIS WAY IF YOU'RE CREDIBILITY IS QUESTIONED YOU HAVE PROOF- ALSO MAKE SURE TO GET STAT DECS FROM 'ANYONE' WHO SAW YOU PREGNANT, ATTENDED THE BIRTH OR SAW YOU AFTER THE BIRTH. TRY TO ATTEND A DOCTORS OR MIDWIFES APPOINTMENT AT LEAST ONCE DURING THE PREGNANCY - THIS WILL MAKE IT EASIER TO GET A BIRTH CERTIFICATE AS YOU CAN GET A LETTER FROM THEM STATING YOU WERE PREGNANT AT THE TIME OF THE APPOINTMENT. IT ALSO HELPS BY MAKING IT SO THAT YOU CAN STATE YOU HAD CARE DURING PREGNANCY- BECAUSE ALTHOUGH UNCONSTITUTIONAL IN SOME STATES WOMEN WHO DO NOT HAVE CARE DURING PREGNANCY OR BIRTH ARE AUTOMATICALLY APPROACHED AND LOOKED INTO BY DOCS- THIS DOESNT APPY IN ALL STATES... HOWEVER, IT IS ALWAYS BEST TO AIR ON THE SIDE OF CAUTION.
http://www.unassistedchildbirth.com/ - Born Free Unassisted Childbirth
http://www.unhinderedliving.com/childbirth.html - Unhindered living
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/EmpoweredChildbirth/ - Empowered Childbirth Yahoo Group
http://www.freestone.org/articles/Freebirth-EveryMother.html - Freebirth Every Mother a Midwife
http://www.unhinderedliving.com/stats.html - Freebirth Statistics
http://www.unhinderedliving.com/homemademed.html - Homemade Tincture
http://www.unhinderedliving.com/variations.html - Unhindered living variations of normal
http://birthjunkie.com/homebirth/ - Birth Junkie Unassisted birth
http://www.writeaboutbirth.com/index.php/unassisted-childbirth-a-preparatory-checklist/unassisted-childbirth/ - Unassisted Birth Checklist
http://www.writeaboutbirth.com/index.php/birth-supplies-for-your-uc/unassisted-childbirth/ - Basic things needed
http://www.writeaboutbirth.com/index.php/fetal-position-and-unassisted-homebirth/unassisted-childbirth/ - babies position
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Unassisted-BirthFreebirth/226462721209?ref=sgm - Facebook Forum
Birth Certificate requirements for Freebirth in Australia are,
ACT
If the woman does not have any medical presence at the birth, and she chooses to not present at a hospital. She would then need to provide statutory declaration when reregistering the birth. These statutory declarations would need to be provided by the mother, father and a medical professional that has seen the mother before and after birth.
The office of BDM would prefer you to take the baby and yourself into the hospital following the birth of the child and even have 'birth out of the hospital' registration forms that ask if you have presented to hospital or not, however qereying this I found this is NOT compulsary and stat declarations are enough if the women chooses not to see a medical proffesional.
http://www.legislation.act.gov.au/af/2011-117/current/pdf/2011-117.pdf - Birth Registration Statement
http://www.legislation.act.gov.au/af/2011-122/current/pdf/2011-122.pdf - Death Registration Statement
http://www.legislation.act.gov.au/af/2009-32/current/pdf/2009-32.pdf - Notification of Birth not occuring in hospital (this is the one that asks if you have taken the baby to the hospital after the birth)
http://www.ag.gov.au/www/agd/rwpattach.nsf/VAP/(CFD7369FCAE9B8F32F341DBE097801FF)~StatutoryDeclaration200602.pdf/$file/StatutoryDeclaration200602.pdf - ACT Statutory Declaration
NSW
You will need an independant witness or 2 at the birth (this cannot be the parents of the newborn) and they need to be prepared to sign a statutory declaration form stating that they were there and witnessed the birth.
Births Deaths and Marriages will also need the contact details of the independant witnesses to confirm the details of the birth- if independant witnesses are not possible then people should take heart in the fact that many women have managed to register the birth of their children in NSW with merely a signature on the birth certificate no witnesses and no stat decs from ANYONE (though this in not garunteed to happen). If independant witnesses are not available it would be best to ensure proof of pregnancy (though a medical proffesionals letter stating they saw you at some point during your pregnancy or someone who is prepared to write a stat dec stating they saw you pregnant and if they saw you after the baby had been born that included in the stat dec is crucial)- stat decs from anyone who saw you pregnant and/or after the birth and photos of the birth.
http://www.bdm.nsw.gov.au/births/registerABirth.htm - NSW Birth Registration
http://www.bdm.nsw.gov.au/births/stillbirths.htm - Registration of Stillbirths
http://www.bdm.nsw.gov.au/OurForms.htm - Certificates & forms
http://www.dpc.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/35262/Statutory_Declaration.pdf - NSW Stat Dec
QLD
If you choose to have a freebirth it is a good idea to have an independant witness there (this can be a friend, family member or Doula- but it cannot be the parents of the newborn)
In the event of a free birth/unassisted birth they do ask for statutory Declarations often and they need to be signed by a Justice of the Peace- so its best to make sure your independant witness is preperared to write a Stat Dec if you are asked for one, you will also need to be prepared to write one if asked for one..
http://www.justice.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/7473/BDM-form-1-birth-registration-application.pdf - birth registration form
http://www.justice.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/105550/bdm-qld-stat-dec.pdf - QLD Statutory Declaration
VIC-
Statutory Declaration that you have given birth, when, where, the gender etc signed.
You will also need proof of pregnancy through either a letter from a medical proffesional who saw you pregnant or a statutory declaration from a family member or friend who saw you pregnant.
Statutory declarations from anyone else who attended the birth.
http://online.justice.vic.gov.au/CA2574F700805DE7/page/Births-Births+FAQs?OpenDocument&1=10-Births~&2=70-Births+FAQs~&3=~ - Victoria Births Deaths & Marriages
http://www.justice.vic.gov.au/resources/3/1/3128060041ca06659adbde57973ce764/statutory_declaration_form_2010.pdf
Above is the Vic Stat Dec Form
TAS
Both parents signatures need to be on the Birth Certificate and it needs to be signed as sighted (witnessed)
In the case where there is only one parents signature a statutory declaration explaining why needs to be added to the application.
Again a statutory declaration of the birth is recommended and a doctors sighting a some point during pregnancy (this can just be a general doctor writing such & such visited on (insert date) and she was pregnant at the time of this appointment).
http://www.justice.tas.gov.au/bdm/births/howtoregister - Tas Births Deaths and Marriages
http://www.police.tas.gov.au/services-online/statutory-declaration/ - Tas Statutory Declarations
NT
Statutory Declaration that you have given birth, when, where, the gender etc signed.
You will also need proof of pregnancy through either a letter from a medical proffesional who saw you pregnant or a statutory declaration from a family member or friend who saw you pregnant.
Statutory declarations from anyone else who attended the birth.
http://www.bdm.nt.gov.au/justice/bdm/births_deaths_marriages/births/birthreg.shtml - NT BDM
http://www.electricallicensing.nt.gov.au/licensing_forms/documents/StatDec.pdf - NT Statutory Declaration
WA
Statutory Declaration that you have given birth, when, where, the gender etc signed.
You will also need proof of pregnancy through either a letter from a medical proffesional who saw you pregnant or a statutory declaration from a family member or friend who saw you pregnant.
Statutory declarations from anyone else who attended the birth.
http://www.bdm.dotag.wa.gov.au/R/register_a_birth.aspx?uid=4871-3344-4979-9112 - WA BDM
http://www.courts.dotag.wa.gov.au/_files/Stat_dec.pdf - WA Stat Dec
FOR THOSE CHOOSING A FREEBIRTH IT IS ADVISABLE THAT YOU HAVE PHOTO'S OR VIDEO OF THE BIRTH ASIDE 'JUST IN CASE' THIS WAY IF YOU'RE CREDIBILITY IS QUESTIONED YOU HAVE PROOF- ALSO MAKE SURE TO GET STAT DECS FROM 'ANYONE' WHO SAW YOU PREGNANT, ATTENDED THE BIRTH OR SAW YOU AFTER THE BIRTH. TRY TO ATTEND A DOCTORS OR MIDWIFES APPOINTMENT AT LEAST ONCE DURING THE PREGNANCY - THIS WILL MAKE IT EASIER TO GET A BIRTH CERTIFICATE AS YOU CAN GET A LETTER FROM THEM STATING YOU WERE PREGNANT AT THE TIME OF THE APPOINTMENT. IT ALSO HELPS BY MAKING IT SO THAT YOU CAN STATE YOU HAD CARE DURING PREGNANCY- BECAUSE ALTHOUGH UNCONSTITUTIONAL IN SOME STATES WOMEN WHO DO NOT HAVE CARE DURING PREGNANCY OR BIRTH ARE AUTOMATICALLY APPROACHED AND LOOKED INTO BY DOCS- THIS DOESNT APPY IN ALL STATES... HOWEVER, IT IS ALWAYS BEST TO AIR ON THE SIDE OF CAUTION.