Jessica has private health insurance – but she will have to drive 150km to the Gold Coast to have her baby delivered privately

Closure of maternity wards reflects gender bias in funding for private health services, where procedures for men attract higher rebates, Ranzcog says. Photograph: Halfpoint Images/Getty Images

Despite paying for private health insurance for the last four years, Jessica* has no idea who will deliver her baby.

The first-time mother felt assured by the policy’s promise of continuity of care and comforted that the doctor who saw her at the beginning of her pregnancy would be there to deliver her baby when her January due date arrived.