It's a tale of two deliveries. One surrounded by plush furnishings and freshly cooked meals, the other, by a lower standard of room fixtures and food.

Yet both will take place in the new Northern Beaches Hospital, a public hospital that will be run by the private sector.

Artist's impression of the new Northern Beaches Hospital, which is due to be completed by 2018. Credit:NSW department of planning and environment

Women who end up in the hospital, which will be built over the next three years, will be given different services depending on whether they have private health insurance, mothers and midwives were told recently in a heated meeting.

Women who were at the meeting were left furious after they were allegedly told mothers giving birth in the hospital would not be able to access services proven to reduce pain and encourage normal birth, including water immersion, as the hospital's insurance coverage was not the same as other public hospitals.