Independent midwife -do I need postnatal care.. please help..

[aiti72]

I'm trying to book an independent midwife to be with me at birth in Royal London, however some of them have (more expensive obviously) packages that cover a few postnatal visits.. My question is how is the postnatal care through NHS? This is my second child(first in the UK), but I have no idea how lost I'm going to feel with a newborn... Should I just pay for the birth if I get NHS postnatal care? Any opinions/experiences welcome!!

[thisisyesterday]

in my experience nhs aftercare can be a bit dire.
midwife is supposed to visit for 10 days after you bring baby home. mine came 3 times with my first.
now, admittedly I was very capable, had no probs etc etc, but I have heard similar stories from people who really wanted and needed the support the midwife should have been giving.

so, I guess it depends on how you feel you'll cope. If, like me, you'd prefer to be on your own and get on with it then just pay for the birth. if you feel you'd like the support from a midwife and you can afford it then definitely pay for the aftercare

[canofworms]

I think it depends on the midwife and her caseload. Mine have all visited me up to 28 days following the birth

But they also
i)didn't do anything about me having retained placenta and I ended up haemorraging v badly

ii)not noticing baby no 3 having such severe jaundice the gp immediately admitted her to hospital when he saw her and the paediatrician being shocked at the state of her

iii)advised me to top up with formula because I was struggling with breastfeeding - completely against my wishes and I ignored her with no detriment!

[meemar]

Agree with thisisyesterday. If postnatal visits are important to you and you can afford it then pay.

If you have used a private midwife for your birth, you may feel that the NHS postnatal visits are not what you expect as they will have limited time and resources to give you.

[minster]

I'm having a section with the NHS & an independent mw for post natal care - after care is dire here (I'll be having a couple of extra antenatal visits with the IM too). We get one midwife visit, then one HV visit (newborn hearing check) then a HV assistant nurse to do the PND check.

I'm planning on a 24/36 hour discahrge & my independent midwife will do newborn check etc at home.

[HarrietTheSpy]

In my experience, the post natal care that IM's offer is one of the most valuable things they offer.

[SueW]

I think if you are going for an independent midwife, then go for the whole package.

Many women complain that staff on the postnatal ward are very stretched and once you are back at home, you might be lucky to get a daily phone call, let alone a visit in some areas.

Can you talk to some local parents about what care is like in your area?

[aiti72]

Great advice. I don't know anyone who had a baby in Royal London so cannot really ask. Funny how I don't remember how the postnatal care with DD1 was in Finland, only remember I stressed out about coffee and cake when the midwife visited.

[HarrietTheSpy]

Is it even possible to opt out of the post natal care? because part of what they will be doing is examining you and making sure that your body is returning to normal. Not sure an IM would be prepared to bypass this.

[aiti72]

But don't you know whether your body is returning to normal (well, mine took months)? Am I going to be "smarter" this time (my second) about all of that?

[HarrietTheSpy]

I don't think they would be willing to rely on that. If you've had stitches, etc someone needs to check those and make sure that your uterus is returning to normal size, etc. You need to have postnatal care, but maybe the NHS midwives could do this, as you say.

[aiti72]

Thanks Harriet, didn't know they'd do that as well. Back in Finland I had to go to hospital for those checks(actually, there might have been only one after 6 weeks), midwife only checked the baby.

[chilledmama]

I got zero NHS support after DS was born. I had to persuade a doctor to come to my house to do a newborn examination (home birth). My Health Visitor turned up after 16 days and basically said I was fine so she'd be back for the 6 week PND check...Thank god for IMs

[mistermoo]

I found NHS postnatal support non-existent with my first two. A couple of home visits max (at time of their choosing, not mine), then the HV, but any out-of-hours concerns and it's calling NHS direct, or flogging out to your own GP.

For my third, born last week, I hired an IM, and actually the postnatal care has been one of the most valuable bits. I can call any time, day or night, and they will come out if I want at any time. Has been great as have had a couple of concerns and have been able to get immediate reassurance. I am on the more angsty end of the mothering spectrum though (blush)

[Fidgetsmum]

I had an IM and if I could afford it, would absolutely do it again. Their post natal visits were invaluable after what ended up as a less than perfect birth. From the NHS, we had only 2 (very short, form filling ) visits from the HV and then the standard GP postnatal check and that was it. My IMs came to see me every day for the firt 10 days, and then every other day for a week and then twice a week for the next two weeks and then one more visit after that. It was a life-saver. If you can afford it, then choose your IM carefully to get the right one for your personality and then go for it. Good luck

[auntyspan]

This is an amazing thread - independent midwives - possibly the answer I'm looking for. I have a DD who is just over 2 and we are looking to TTC number two but I'm very scared as I had a rotten pregnancy, pre-eclampsia, emergency section and then severe babyblues. I got chucked out of hospital after a couple of days and felt totally overwhelmed with it all. My post-natal care was pretty non-existant.

Can someone give me an idea of
a) where you go to find an im
b) roughly how much they charge? I'm in Cheshire.

[curlywurlycremeegg]

auntyspan, email me, info @ lancashiremidwiferypractice . co . uk

Not currently taking on clients as have two children under three so having a break, but know of good IM's who are

[nkf]

Have the whole package. You want the postnatal care.

[chilledmama]

Am pg with DC2 and if I possibly can I will be using IM again. The continuity of care was wonderful, not having to wait for hours for antenatal appointments was brilliant and the after care was second to none!!! If you can afford it, do it!!!