Despite its relative brevity, giving birth can be one of the toughest parts of parenthood.
Yes, it is a joyous event, unparalleled in its momentousness and emotion. But entering motherhood, for the first time or fifth, can also be daunting. You have just endured 9 long months of your body stretching an utterly unreasonable amount, and are days away from stumbling blindly into months of sleepless nights and dirty nappies.
Sandwiched in between all of that is labour. Likely to be the most intense experience of your life.
This review is for you if you have ever endured the marathon of labour only to have your partner trudge home shortly afterwards because there was nowhere for them to sleep.
Or if you agreed to be discharged before you were ready, because reality set in and started nagging away at you (when really all you wanted to do was stay in the newborn love bubble a little longer).
Or if you simply understand that labour is one of the biggest and hardest jobs a woman will ever undertake and know that you will need to conserve all of your energy to get through the next few months with your newborn.
I can tell you from personal experience that birthing at The Luxe Way in Kareena Private Hospital was the best decision I ever made.
The Luxe Way suites are offered to every patient at Kareena Private and include perks such as:
- Guaranteed four nights’ stay in a private room (privacy!)
- Unlimited nappies, clothing, bedding and nutrition for your new bundle (a lighter hospital bag is a happier husband)
- Complimentary high tea with scones, cakes, sandwiches and tea (because sometimes you forget to celebrate!)
- Access to an on-call lactation consultant (your new best friend)
- 24 hours access to a patient pantry (hello snacks)
- Personalised education classes (essentially, how to mum)
But my friends, there is also a Deluxe upgrade available to those wanting the full works. Which I did.
With a less than ideal environment for the delivery of my first child a mere 13 months earlier (renovations were happening at the time), I knew as soon as I fell pregnant the second time around that I wanted to go big. So I opted to upgrade to the Deluxe Parenting Suite. Second best decision of my life.
On top of all the wonderful Luxe Way benefits, we also received a daily fresh fruit basket and a cute welcome gift for the bub which were welcome distractions from the constant feeding/napping cycle. My husband enjoyed the same meals as I did each day (brekkie, lunch and dinner) so he didn’t have to constantly leave the room to get food.
Our room was peaceful, calm and vast – I had a double bed to share with my husband. I know it doesn’t sound like a big deal but when you have just been prodded and poked by strangers for the past 48 hours or so, space suddenly moves higher up the list of valuable commodities.
Staying for five nights, my husband and I had time and space to get to know our new daughter. Being able to stay in hospital for so long after birth is a privilege modern society no longer affords new mothers. But it is these first few days at home with a newborn that can rattle even the most self-assured of mums. My milk came in before my stay was over, which meant I had the very welcome support of the lactation consultant to guide me through those first few tentative feeds.
Although my son wasn’t allowed to visit because of COVID restrictions, I have no regrets with how things turned out because those first few days were truly special.
Thanks to my private health fund, the majority of the cost of my stay was covered – I ended up being only $250 out of pocket. I was charged an additional $165 per night for upgrading to the Deluxe Suite which was worth every penny in my opinion!
If you have a private health fund but are not sure the extent to which you will be covered, it’s worth checking directly with your health fund to see what additional hospital benefits are included in your plan.*
For more information, visit The Luxe Way or call maternity bookings on 02 9717 0223.
* Levels of cover and applicable co-payments vary between insurers and health insurance products. Please discuss your specific insurance cover with your health fund.
