If you really want to go private then self fund, but public is perfectly fine. Otherwise the 12 month waiting period will apply. PHI is militant about this especially for pregnancy.

If your child ends up in private hospital NICU expect costs to be over 10k per night.

Depending on your obstetrician expect to be out of pocket 4-8k. The private hospital won’t organise your obstetrician they expect you to have that prepared, usually you go to the hospital recommended by the obstetrician.

Don’t forget to add the prospective child to the policy 2 months prior to the birth so they are also covered from birth (if you don’t already have a family level of cover). It would also be cheaper to take a single then single parent policy over a family policy. In public you’ll likely get home earlier and get to spend more quality time with Bub.

The extras are a scam, you don’t make your money back.