While that may have turned out to be true, they now wish they had have stayed in Sydney until all their children were born.

"Sadly we did not appreciate how risky it was to actually give birth to children in the ACT," Mr Campton said.

The couple was one of three families to give evidence at public hearings on Tuesday for an inquiry into ACT's public maternity services.

Another women, Sarah Moloney, told the hearing her life was put at risk due to her care at Canberra Hospital.

She said both her pregnancies should have been considered high risk - one involving regular bleeding and the other twins - but was made to feel like a troublemaker and critic whenever she tried to access specialist advice.

Ms Moloney told the hearing that readings of foetal monitoring scans were wrong, meaning she was at risk of a massive hemorrhage if she went ahead with a vaginal birth as she was pressed to do.

"I chose to disregard the bullying of the midwives who were pushing for a birth that I was never going to be able to safely carry through with," she said.

"I still remember my surgeon at the time saying thank goodness I pushed for this."

She said she was actively encouraged by staff to make a formal complaint to the hospital after this birth.

During her second birth she said her baby was resuscitated in front of her but no one told her what was happening.

"I remember repeating over and over again, 'Please tell me that my baby's going to be OK'," she said.

Karen Schlage told the inquiry about her miscarriage in the ACT, calling for a perinatal hospice to provide more emotionally supportive care.

She said since sharing her story in The Canberra Times on Monday, she had heard countless stories of women with similar experiences to her own, one woman having her baby referred to as "medical waste".

Ms Buxton said her previous pregnancy had been at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney, but Canberra Hospital was "a world apart".

She was carrying twins in a breech position but wanted the opportunity to have a vaginal birth considering her previous uncomplicated pregnancies.

She was told doctors had been deskilled at birthing children breech and there were only two doctors at the hospital who could, who may not be available when she gave birth.

"I felt very much coerced about having a procedure I didn't want to have," she said.

She moved her care to Calvary John James Hospital and was able to have a vaginal birth with the assistance of a private, Canberra based obstetrician.

"We are abundantly aware from talking to other parents of multiple births ... had we not had that choice we would have had a very poor outcome with regard to the birth of our twins," Mr Campton said.

"It's quite clear from the conversations we had with the medical staff at Canberra Hospital they were playing Russian roulette with the lives of our twins."

The inquiry was launched after midwives and staff at Canberra Hospital penned an anonymous letter to the government saying patients' lives were being put at risk due to understaffing and poor management.

It prompted women to come forward and share their experiences of giving birth at the hospital.

Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith thanked the families who gave evidence at the hearing.

"Every day our hospitals and clinical staff strive to provide the best possible birthing services and to do this in a compassionate and supportive way," she said.

"Unfortunately, we are hearing through this inquiry that this is not always everyone's experience, and we acknowledge there is further work to do to ensure consistent access to care and support for women and families.

"I welcome the inquiry that is underway and the conversation happening in the community on the ways we can improve our maternity services for families in the Canberra region."

daniella.white@canberratimes.com.au