If you are having your baby in the delivery suite of a private hospital, a smaller public hospital or a small rural hospital then the decision to transfer you or your baby would usually be based on the level of intensive care facilities available at your chosen birthplace for either the mother or the baby.
Most private, smaller and rural hospitals are able to deal with the majority of emergency situations and the more common variations from the 'norm'. There are a few circumstances though that could mean you or your baby will need to transfer to a major public hospital with advanced intensive care facilities.
The main reasons would be:
The mother is seriously ill
The baby is very premature or seriously ill
The mother is seriously ill. If the mother is experiencing life threatening complications (such as extremely high blood pressure) she may need to be transferred for specialist care in an intensive care unit in a major general or maternity public hospital. Most private hospitals, smaller public hospitals and even some large maternity hospitals will not have the equipment and the expertise to care for the woman adequately.
The woman would need to be airlifted or taken by road ambulance to a major metropolitan hospital or a major rural centre for her care. If the baby has been born your caregivers will usually try and facilitate the transfer of the baby with the mother, to be close by (if the baby(s) are well enough to travel). If you need to be separated you and your partner or support person could be faced with difficult decisions regarding whether they should stay with the baby or go with the woman.
The baby is very premature or seriously ill. If your baby(s) are seriously ill or very premature, to the point where they need to have a ventilator machine to help them breathe, they will need to transfer to a major maternity or children's hospital with the staff and equipment to care for them (known as a 'Level 3 Nursery').