00:00These women are patiently awaiting the arrival of their new babies, but they have another
00:07due date in mind.
00:09In just under a month, the Northern Territory will become the only Australian jurisdiction
00:14without a private birthing ward.
00:16We've already paid for it, and now that choice has been ripped out in the middle of our pregnancies.
00:22First time mum, Brooke Illingworth, is a month out from her due date, and facing a very different
00:27experience than what she expected.
00:30We have considered moving, and we possibly, most likely will, before we have a second child
00:36if we decide to go down having a second child.
00:38For Darwin mum Danielle, her first pregnancy sent her straight to surgery post birth.
00:44The complication that I had, which was a retained placenta, that is considered more common in
00:49IVF, and then once you've had it once, then that risk increases again.
00:53Worried about the limited postnatal care at RDH, she's opted to travel interstate to
00:58give birth to her second child.
01:00There's just a real ache in our hearts that our second child won't be born a Territorian.
01:06While the government promised to work with health insurers to offer families 24-7 postnatal
01:11care, five weeks out to the private maternity ward's closure, the government is yet to secure
01:16private providers to deliver these services.
01:19Almost 1,000 kilometres away, Ashley Bradford has now paused her plans for a second pregnancy.
01:26She was booked for a consult two days before the announcement.
01:29For me it was also a personal choice, as out remote you don't have regular doctors all
01:36the time, so I really wanted that consistency of care.
01:39The closure will also have a huge impact on Royal Darwin Hospital resources, with an extra
01:45300 births expected each year.
01:47A lot of the staff who were in the maternity ward at the private hospital are now coming
01:52across to the public system.
01:54An emotional rollercoaster, some expectant mothers are still stuck on.
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