A new post-natal experience born in lap of luxury

TWO days after her son's birth, Keren Smolarski had a pedicure. Her husband, Daniel, played tennis. They ordered room service to their $388-a-night deluxe hotel room at the Park Hyatt, where they can watch television from the spa.

For a rising number of Melbourne women in the private-health sector, this is the new post- experience: five-star overseen by a midwife down the hotel corridor.

The city's largest private maternity hospital has just started sending some lucky new mothers to the Park Hyatt for post-birth recovery. The move by St Vincents and Mercy Private Hospital follows Frances Perry's decision in late 2004 to send mothers to the Sofitel.

Frances Perry has since had 1400 newborns - six or seven each night - start their life in swish style at the Sofitel. And although the St Vincents and Mercy program has just begun, soon-to-be parents are already lining up.

"We've got people booking into obstetricians knowing they can come here, because we've been talking about it for a while," said the hospital's maternity services manager, Deborah Vaughan.

Under the service, paid for by private health funds, couples have four nights' post- recovery. They might spend one or two in the hospital and the rest at the Park Hyatt (or Sofitel). A 24-hour in-hotel midwife service is available for advice and to check the health of mother and child. Hospital beds, it turns out, are more expensive than paying for suites, and this allows hospitals to ease waiting lists - a growing problem as more women are turning to the private sector to have babies.

The upside for the hotel is a reliable lift in occupancy rates. The downside for staff is emptying nappy bins. "But the staff are really enjoying having babies around," said the hotel's marketing manager, Emma Veale.

The trend is being driven by health economics, patient demand and competition between private health services.

Private-sector mothers are the targets of a big sell and the rivalry is fierce. Mark Page, chief executive officer of Frances Perry, pointed out that his new mothers get "panoramic views from the 41st floor of the Sofitel". The Park Hyatt mothers get their own terrace.

The Park Hyatt is starting with four maternity rooms with a per-night value of $298 to $388. The women must have had no complications and a vaginal birth to get their obstetrician's approval to stay in the hotel.

On the ninth floor of the Park Hyatt, behind glass doors and down a corridor, the Smolarskis are enjoying what they call their "family holiday". Their newborn, three weeks premature and, as yet, nameless, lies quietly in a crib. Their 18-month-old, Eden, is also staying with them.

There are wood-panelled walls and muted lamps. Their bathroom is Italian marble with twin basins.

"One positive for us, and a huge advantage," said Mrs Smolarski, "is that we can have our daughter staying with us and we could really be as a family unit, which we wouldn't otherwise have the opportunity to do. She's been able to bond with him, as well as us."