There are many different models of maternity care around Australia and these are made up of the care provider you choose and where you plan to birth. Not all models of care are available to everyone, which may be because of geographic location, financial limitation or the availability/high demand of some services. The most commonly used care model (and most widely available) is midwifery-led care from clinic midwives, with birth in a public hospital.

Here we have placed care providers and birth places along two spectrums showing aspects of care that women often want to know about. The first displays care providers and the spectrum of continuity of care that they offer. Private Midwives offer complete continuity of care. For a full explanation on the levels of continuity different care providers can offer, see our continuity of care article. 

The second spectrum shows the average level of medical support/intervention provided in a particular birth environment.  You can also see the different care providers that work in these areas (in no particular order). While large public hospitals can offer broad medical care (from low risk to very high risk pregnancies), private hospitals tend to have higher levels of intervention. 

You can find more information on our care providers and birth places pages.