Babies born in private hospitals a lot more most likely to have well being difficulties

Babies born to healthy mothers in private hospitals are more likely to suffer health problems and be readmitted to hospital in the weeks after birth than those delivered in the public system, a University of Western Sydney study shows.

Looking at nearly 700,000 “low-risk” births in New South Wales, researchers found that 5% of babies born in private hospitals suffered birth trauma such as damaged scalps, jaundice or broken bones, and were readmitted to hospital within 28 days. In public hospitals it was 3.6% of newborns.

Resuscitation at birth, feeding difficulties, sleep issues and behavioural disorders were also higher in babies born in private hospitals, the report, published on Tuesday in the British Medical Journal, said.

Higher rates of medical intervention in private hospital births were the likely culprit, according to the study’s lead author, UWS midwifery professor Hannah Dahlen.

An earlier study found that delivery interventions such as the use of forceps or vacuums, induced or caesarian births and epidurals occurred 20% more often in the private system.

“It is this intervention that’s causing that morbidity,” Dahlen said. “The more times, for example, you put implements or a suction cap on a baby’s head, the more likely you are to cause some trauma.”

Expectant mothers in private care delivered their babies earlier, with 43% of births occurring in the first 40 weeks of pregnancy compared with 39.7% in public hospitals. Early term delivery may also be associated with infant morbidity, the report said.

Dahlen said the study had broader implications for “the current federal and state governments’ agenda around privatising of health”.

“The bottom line is, if you’re paying more for health in Australia, it doesn’t necessarily guarantee a better outcome for low-risk babies and women.”

She said a “surgical bias” in private care led to medical procedures that were not needed, particularly as private patients tended to be “the healthiest, well-off women”.

“Giving birth at home, or giving birth in a midwife-led unit that’s not even connected to a hospital, you have better outcomes,” she said.

Babies born in private hospitals a lot more most likely to have well being difficulties