Mumsnet Talk

Does anyone have any recommendations for a private birth in SW London? I'm Richmond based and I've just discovered my work healthcare policy is going expat in January when I'm 33 weeks and amazingly I won't be excluded for being pregnant already (so 90% of costs will be covered).
Had my first at C&W which was good but a bore to get to and GP won't send you there for complications afterwards and ended up in Kingston the following week who were very snobby about the fact I hadn't given birth there and could barely bother to see me. Am having second at Kingston currently which has proved much easier for appointments etc.

Managed to give myself a spectacular anal fissure last time round that refused to respond to treatment and that I'm managing 16 months later through diet and a naturopath. Kingston have informed me there is no link between the fissure and birth (ha ha!) so am not high risk despite this and PPH previously.

Has anyone got some experiences of private births locally they'd be happy to share?

No personal experience, but if I were you, I'd have a look at Birth Centre http://www.birthcentre.com/. It's right next to St George's, so if there is any problem, you have access to their facilities.

I think there are some threads about it on here, somewhere.

Sorry, try this link

If someone else would pay for it I would be at the Birth Centre (as previously linked to) in a heartbeat. They support home births or have a birthing centre that is effectively in the back garden of St George's so you are a short trolley ride away from emergency facilities. I've known several people who had babies with them and they all have lovely stories <sigh>.

Thank you I've ordered the brochure, so will have a good look at it. I believe this is where Davina etc had theirs. Not that sleb endorsement means anything!

I had a private birth first time around at Queen Charlotte's but I guess Shepherd's Bush is a fair treck from Richmond. One thing I noticed though if you use a private wing in an NHS hospital like I did, as soon as the baby is out the consultants in my experience don't seem very interested in you and your baby is classified as an NHS patient. I had various problems with my caesarean recovery and it took a lot of pressure to get the consultant to focus on what had happened and how to fix it as he just wasn't that interested after the baby was born.

Oh dear...I hadn't thought about it...What if you make your baby a private patient soon after birth ?