Country women travel for city care

Regional families in Victoria are travelling further to find expert care for delivering their babies.

Epworth Freemasons in Melbourne has reported a growing trend of new parents journeying from around the state to give birth in the city.

Marnie Doupain, who lives in a small town outside Traralgon, endured a rare medical condition and a 13-year battle to get pregnant, before recently delivering a healthy baby boy at the Epworth HealthCare hospital.

She regularly travelled 150 kilometres from the Gippsland region, almost two hours each way, to see Epworth obstetrician Dr Stephen Cole.

"It took me a long time to be able to have our baby, Tex," Marnie said.

"In 2012, after I had four miscarriages, I was diagnosed with unicornate uterus."

This rare genetic condition is referred to as a "uterus with one horn". It means Marnie has only half a uterus, with one fallopian tube.

She went through six rounds of in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) and then, finally, success.

"Tex was our ninth embryo transfer; this little one took," Marnie said.

Classified as a high-risk pregnancy, with gestational diabetes an added complication, Marnie became a patient of Dr Cole at the private hospital.

Dr Cole said there were many reasons why women from the country travelled for obstetric care.

"We are seeing an increasing complexity with our patient population, including more advanced maternal age – most are well into their 30s and older – and the problems that come with that," he explained.

"The number of women undergoing fertility treatment and giving birth in their 40s is substantial now. Our patients are willing to travel for expert care."

Maternity patients from the Goulburn Valley are becoming common at Epworth Freemasons, with women from Shepparton and Kialla regularly making the 200km drive – six in 2021, another nine in 2022, and four already this year.

In the past two years, the furthest a maternity patient has travelled to attend Epworth Freemasons was 540km from Mildura in 2021, also to see Dr Cole.

"In regional centres, there is often limited choice and fewer obstetricians providing care," he said.

"There may sometimes be problems with timely access to epidural, and emergency caesareans and nurses, meaning some hospitals cannot offer care for high-risk births.

"I had one patient travel down from Robinvale, which is 460km away, to have her twins at Epworth Freemasons. That was very successful."

Epworth's maternity unit also cares for interstate patients, including one in 2021 from Deniliquin almost 300km away in New South Wales. Others live in places close to the state border, such as Echuca, 220km away, and Swan Hill, 330km away.

Marnie said that with all the risks associated with her pregnancy, travelling to the city was the best option.

"The travel was hard work," she said.

"I had to see Stephen every two weeks and the long drives meant a whole day out each time. But I wanted the best care and took no chances."

Marnie and husband Lincoln were thrilled to deliver baby Tex at Epworth Freemasons in June 2023.

"We didn't know how far along I'd get, so I was booked in for a caesarean at 37 weeks and stayed with family a week prior, so I was closer to the hospital," Marnie said.

"I was stressed, but it all went smoothly. Tex was crying as soon as his head popped out. It was a great experience."

Read more: More IVF and elective surgery for Epworth Freemasons

Read more: Sister-in-law gives 'wonderful gift of life'

Next On The Ground:
23/8/2023 Fun-runners raise funds for patients

Previous On The Ground:
8/8/2023 Shark victim praises hospital's 'humanity'