Is this a decent business idea for pregnant women/mothers?

[neewred]

I'm a midwife wanting to increase my earning potential and looking to leave the NHS soon for a while host of reasons.

Still a very early idea, but was thinking of opening a centre that offers services such as:

Pregnancy/postnatal yoga
Pregnancy aromatherapy, massage, acupuncture etc.
Antenatal classes
Breastfeeding support
Perhaps private antenatal/postnatal appointments
Tongue tie cutting

You get the gist.

There must be a reason nobody is doing this yet? I feel like I'm missing something!

Sure start used to do this.

What a shithole we've become

Yes, there are independent midwives.
I was one for ten years.

I don't think this is a feasible business idea, for a myriad of reasons, not least the potential for jeopardising your MNC registration.

There's a company local to me called Huddle and Bliss who do most of this, from their own premises. The postnatal classes are always oversubscribed. I think location is key, will you actually have a client base where you are. Tongue tie provision privately (from IBCLC qualified person) is popular here as the NHS waiting list is so long.
If you had your own premises, you could offer a regular time slot to your local sling library as babywearing advice is probably a complementary service your clientele may want.

I would have loved something like this when mine were babies BUT I don’t think I would have paid to use it regularly simply because we were anxious about money when I was on maternity leave. (I think a lot of people will be, particularly in the cost of living crisis)

I think you have a good idea in that these are services lots of women might benefit from and it would be lovely to have a hub where you might meet other parents and be looked after by professionals, but I think what the business advisor poster said about your customer base not being “sticky” makes a lot of sense.

You might consider seeking funding for it and running it as a non-profit? If you aim to serve women who might not access this kind of support elsewhere you might be able to secure grants or a reduced rent on a council owned building. You could still pay yourself a better salary than you get on the nhs and you’d be building a reputation as an expert in mother and baby care which could lead to other income streams like a YouTube channel or books/articles.

Unless the yoga is prescribed as treatment, no employer has to allow (paid) time off for it. It’s not a medical appointment.

(20+ years in HR.)

Apart from tongue tie cutting, this is all available through the free or small payment groups in my town. My local NCT also offers the same, as does La Leche League combine with some other health care professions to offer the equivalent.

That says to me that there is definitely a market for it and you need to find out whether that market isn’t where you are (which is why no one is already offering it) or you’ve overlooked what is available. If neither and you can make a business of it, then go for it and good luck.

I think there would be a good market for that round here (South east). Especially the sleep consultancy.