The Best Hospital To Give Birth In Sydney

  • Parents Only

Even after 2 years, Ryde and Wyong are still the top 2 hospitals in NSW to give birth in. The Bureau of Health Information surveyed almost 5000 mothers who gave birth, asking them about the quality of care they received during pregnancy, during labour, after the birth and during home follow-up visits, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.

The Top 2 In NSW

Ryde and Wyong hospitals appear to have made new mums happiest, with Ryde Hospital, in particular, scoring especially well in terms of cleanliness, and the helpfulness and skill of their midwives, according to the study. Hospitals in the Blue Mountains and Queanbeyan were also up there with the top contenders.

new baby

Less Than Impressive

But who ranked the lowest? According to the same research by The Sydney Morning Herald, Bankstown, Liverpool and Tamworth hospitals all ranked among the lowest, with Fairfield hospital taking the cake. Mums from south-western Sydney appeared to have to the lowest rate of satisfaction with their health care experience, whereas mothers from North and South Sydney seemed to be the most pleased.

Giving Birth During Covid-19

The global pandemic has given expectant mothers much to worry about, however experts assure you are in good hands. Women giving birth in public hospitals are likely to be discharged in as little as four hours in a move aimed at protecting new mothers and babies.

Hannah Dahlen, Professor of Midwifery at Western Sydney University, said those women who have uncomplicated births could be disharged within four to six hours.

"When you have your baby in hospital, get out of there as soon as you can," she told Sydney Morning Herald. "That is my advice. What is important then is that the postnatal care continues, either by phone, video-link, or in person when needed."

Most Sydney hospitals will only allow the partner of the woman giving birth to visit or be present during the birth, although other countries have banned birthing partners altogether.

The World Health Organisation believes it is a fundamental human right for a woman to be supported by a birthing partner.

It Seems The Midwives Make All The Difference

So, according to the experts, what makes Ryde and Wyong hospitals such a pleasant birthing experience for mums? Dr Nigel Harvey, the deputy secretary of NSW Health told the Sydney Morning Herald: “One of the factors impacting on the performance of hospitals like Ryde and Wyong is that these maternity units provide midwife-led care for women with uncomplicated pregnancies. Women do not stay as inpatients at Wyong and Ryde Hospitals and return home soon after birth, when it is safe and appropriate to do so, with ongoing and continuous support at home from the same midwife who supported birth at the hospital.”

ryde maternity Ryde Hospital’s midwife specialist Jane Grant with new mums and bubs. Source: Adam Ward/The Daily Telegraph

According to then-new mum Vanessa Huang, who gave birth to her son at Ryde Hospital, her “wonderful experience” came from the midwives, and she encourages other maternity patients to look beyond the not-so-impressive rooms. She told the Sydney Morning Herald: “The rooms at Ryde are pretty dingy but half the time you’re screaming with your eyes shut so you’re not looking at it, and the other half of the time you’re listening to what the midwife is telling you. So put your money where the midwife is, not where the decor is.”

Although, have you seen the Maternity Ward at the Sydney Adventist Hospital? The view is pretty impressive! On almost 100 hectares of garden and bushland, the hospital is in the most elevated area of Sydney's North Shore. 

 

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Reviews


Michele Batey

May 01 2020

I am writing in response to your article about the best maternity hospital in Sydney. Of course there would be a bias toward midwife led centres as all the patients with complications are transferred out to other hospitals and therefore are not included in the figures! They also only book low risk women who are thought to be likely to have straightforward births. I think this should have been pointed out in your article as the women who are transferred out mid labour with complications have the most horrific birth experiences you can imagine! Imagine travelling for 30 minutes in an ambulance in terrible pain with no pain relief available to you, wondering the whole time if your baby will be still alive by the time you get to the hospital that can perform your Emergency Caesarean. This is the other side of midwifery led units when things go wrong! I would not recommend delivering in such a unit to anyone!!! The risk is too high!