Hi Mums, I need your help please. My husband and I are deciding between registering with Private Care for childbirth, or using the NHS facilities. My husband thinks £10K is an insane amount of money to pay for "normal" childbirth (we have private medical insurance, but it doesn't cover "normal" pregnancy). His rationale is that if there are any complications, then our private medical insurance would kick in. I, on the otherhand, think of course one would go the Private route if one could afford it. I want to have one Consultant care for me throughout my pregnancy. This is my first pregnancy, and the benefit and trust gained through regular and stable care from one medical professional is something I really want.
But, please tell me Mums, am I being unreasonable here? Is my husband right? Is Public care just as good as Private?
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Childbirth
Public or Private Hospital? What did you choose?
LondonT · 01/07/2011 10:36
Wish to God I had gone privately. I would have used a private wing within and NHS hospital. When I got pregnant my first thought was to go for a consultant led private birth, but I let myself get talked out of it by my GP and my doula, and to a certain extent by DH. The birth was a horrendous experience and I have been left with birth injuries that require extensive surgical repair. Part of the repairs needed are because a tear was misdiagnosed and was stitched incorrectly. And part of the reason why the birth was so horrendous was that it would have been better for me to have had an ELCS. I'm not saying that the reasons why I should have been ELCS would definitely have been picked up if I had gone privately, nor that it is guaranteed that I would have been stitched correctly. But I suspect that a consultant would have been more likely to have got it right than the registrars I saw on the NHS. But I suppose if I had forked out all that dosh and then it had still gone wrong there would be another level to my already quite large sense of being angry and pissed off 
! The comments other people have made about whether your local NHS facility looks nice or not are spot on. I had one night on the antenatal ward and another on the postnatal ward and the conditions were vile. No peace and quiet, lights on all night. The worst part was the broken and disgusting bathrooms - it is inevitable that women who have just given birth may have continence issues and will be bleeding heavily and I'd prefer any blood and urine that I encounter to be my own. If there is another DC, we will be going privately. I think you should do what makes you feel most comfortable and what you will find most reassuring during the pregnancy.
I think this is one of those "if you can, you should" situations. The Portland does a midwifery-led service and you can labour in your own room/bath if you want to. If you have a cs, the aftercare is tremendous. But having delivered all mine privately via cs, if I'd had the option (and confidence) and had had totally uncomplicated pregnancies, delivering at home would have been lovely.
(I decided that my absolute favourite option was ELCS at home, but I found that rather difficult to arrange! 
Hi,
I would personally love to go private if I could afford it. My boyfriend will probably say the same thing as your husband, but you know something? He's not pushing it out of his vagina! Childbirth is something people just assume women can do because they've been doing it for years. While that is true to some extent, I think the whole experience would be a lot better if it was treated with a little more sympathy and compassion by everyone. Men, those lucky bastards, will never know what it is like to have a period or give birth, so at the risk of sounding very rude, they need to get over themselves and be more supportive. As my american niece says "Suck it up, and fork over the cash". Pearls of wisdom straight from an obnoxious 14 year old;) Once I was having menstrual cramps and moaning in pain and my boyfriend told me to stop being a wimp.
Lets just say he didn't get any for a looooooooong time.
Anyway, I got a little off track. My colleague had her baby at the private wing in the Kensington(or was it Chelsea? I will confirm) hospital and she loved it. Her consultant was Dr.Nick something(again, will confirm) and he was really good, I believe. A friend had hers at Portland and loved it. I have never been pregnant, but have been told by the people I know who have children that consultant led care is better if you can afford it. Although, if you go private you can choose your midwife, so you will naturally pick someone who is good at her job and is nice and attentive. Private care will definitely give you more control over the whole experience. You will have more choice and your preferences will always be taken into account(within reason of course). That is not always possible on the NHS. Besides you get plenty of side benefits. You can choose your consultant or midwife-male/female, young/old, all your choice. You will get a private room after the birth. Your partner can stay with you overnight. New mums always seem to say how overwhelmed they felt when they had to be all alone at night with a screaming baby so soon after the birth. To me the biggest advantage of private care is that the consultant/midwife you are familiar and comfortable with is the one who is there during the birth. That security would mean a lot to me. I somehow associate private care with peace of mind! It sounds horrible, because the NHS has been so great on several occasions but if I have a baby, I'm going private.
Let me know what you decide:) Best of luck.
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