independant midwives?

[allysarah]

Hi all, this is my first baby and mumsnet post so please bare with me! What are other mums thoughts about employing an independent midwife? I cant work out if i am being unreasonable as my current midwife talks to me as though i am 12, failed to miss high blood pressure and protein in the urine and insists that i need anxiety treatment as i had one pannick attack when i lost three members of my family in the space if 2 months. I am under consultant care now due to a history of problems with my cervix but i have lost all faith in the midwives. I would like to be able to have an adult conversation with someone, which seems to confuse this hospital, so is this the best way forward? Apologies for typos but i am using a mobile phone.

thank you for any thoughts x

No way I would, these MW while qualified have no insurance.

Currently there is no professional indemnity insurance available to Independent Midwives (IMs), which means we are personally liable for any negligence claim made against us. Midwives who are employed by the NHS are covered through their Trust which belongs to the Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts (CNST) run by the NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA).

I agree with forty doors.

It's doubtful that they'd take you on anyway as they are only supposed to do low risk home births. History of cervical issues and higher risk for pre eclampsia likely removes you from the low risk category.

However, if you're unhappy with the standard of care then swap midwives and do complain.

I'm not sure those answers are accurate. Have a look at the independent midwives website here. It gives a more detailed answer to the question of liability.

And you can have your private midwife in hospital with you, although they'll probably at a your advocate rather than providing your care, unless they have an arrangement with the hospital.

We seriously looked into this option but decided against it because of the costs involved.

Should say that it's true they don't have PII but the implications of that are not straight forward.

Thank you, i have already complained. In all fairness to the midwives they are in an area of high immigration so they do come across a lot of people who do not have English as a first language but is there some one i can have to bounce medical opinions off as i will not be treated like an idiot and i want to be as factually informed as possible when i go in. It also concerns me that one midwife got my bmi wrong, so what else will she get wrong....

I met one when I was pregnant with my first and decided not to use them and go with the NHS. You might be better with a doola if you just need a chat and some support. BTW, I found the midwives useless at all the appointments and pretty annoying! But they were fab during labour!

I nearly used one when I was 30 weeks pregnant and would definitely not recommend her. Thank goodness I only paid her £50 and was able to tell my NHS midwife what she had done.

Be very careful.

BTW It was going to be £3000 for 9 weeks care and no guarantee she would actually turn up for the 4-5 weeks out of nine she was available.

Thank you eeyoreish for the link. I will look at that more closely. I ideally want an advocate.

The implications of Independent Midwives not having indemnity insurance is that in cases where a baby is born damaged, and it is proved to be due to the midwife’s negligence, there would be no financial recompense via an insurance company. If negligence was proved any pay out to you and your baby would depend on the independent midwife’s assets and therefore is unlikely to be large.

It would mean that if sadly a baby is born 'damaged' and needed a lot of care, equipment like hoists specialist wheel chairs ect then you wouldn't have the funds the NHS or private hospital would pay via compensation to be able to give the child for medical needs.

Of course I think large payout for this are rare, so don't panic OP

I think there is a huge assumption being made here that private midwives only do home births. We had one for both of our children, both born in a hospital setting, and she was fantastic.

She took all bloods at home, did everything else required, and came every day for the first ten days after birth. We had her mobile which was answered by her 24/7 and we received professional advice whenever we were concerned. I would highly recommend the idea. Obviously pick one with good references and one that preferably has also kept up her NHS work so is as up-to-date as possible. She cannot be the midwife at a hospital delivery but she can be your advocate which is worth a lot when you are being ignored by the midwives in a busy hospital.

The indemnity insurance is surely not the main issue. Better a higher chance of a stress free and safe pregnancy than the fact that you can better sue the NHS in the unlikely event that something goes disastrously wrong.

If I could go back in time, I would have found the money to hire one, as I was left along for most of my time in hospital. They were too short staffed and I am left still picking up the pieces of the nightmare that it caused.

I have never used one and do not have any idea if it would be the solution to your problems. I'd first encourage you to ask for another midwife, it seems bad to me that you should have to pay privately in order to be treated respectfully.

Nevertheless I don't think Forty or Bernice are correct. There are independent midwives who have insurance in South London (see www.neighbourhoodmidwives.org.uk/) and there may be some else where. And they will support you through a hospital birth, though I don't know if they are entitled to support you in an NHS hospital.

Ooh, x-post, sorry. Was interrupted mid message and didn't refresh before posting.

If you want an advocate and supporter, what about a doula? www.doula.org.uk

When dd was a baby, there was a nursery nurse who worked with the hv's. She later trained as a midwife, and has an independant midwifery centre in Northwich. I'd go to her in a second.

When dd was born, the 3 midwives attached to our gp practice each had 30+ years of experience, and were all brilliant, so it wasn't a consideration, which was just as well, as we didn't have the funds.

I had one. She was fantastic and not only did she treat me like a sensible adult, she treated DH like one too (it seems so rare for medics to even speak to the bloke, which if you have an anxious partner just makes everything worse). Check out what's on offer in your area - you could probably just arrange a few antenatal appointments to put your mind at rest. Most of them work in pairs or threes so they can guarantee to be at the birth, whether that's at home or in hospital (in hospital they are there to support you only, as due to the insurance they can't be the official midwife).

You shouldn't have to pay to be treated respectfully, but I found if I wanted the checkups done at times that didn't mean risking my job/sanity (as a teacher I couldn't take regular time off during the school day to drive for an hour to the "local" hospital in the middle of the day - or not without creating hours of catch up work), I had to pay... It's funny how being a customer changes the dynamic, also.

I had one with ds1 and she was wonderful. Impeccably professional, up to date, able to practice to the highest standards as she had been trained in a way she says is impossible in most nhs settings. If you make sure you get a good one they will be worth their weight in gold, wherever you have the baby.

OP if I were you I'd speak to a supervisor of midwives and get some support through that route.

Thank you for your time this evening. It has given dh and i a good starting point for research.

If your under consultant led care then I think you should discuss your doubts with your consultant. Chances are they can arrange to have all of your appointments done by their staff so you don't have to deal with your local witchdocter - sorry midwife.

Remember to do your own research. I was regularly told by the midwife and consultant 'you can't do that'. Err yes I can. It may not be what they want me to do but I can do it. I changed hospitals, they facilitated my hypno/ water birth after a c-section, oh and shock horror allowed me to remain in the pool despite me not dilating a cm every hour, oh and no constant monitoring. Change provider and speak to them on the phone prior to going to see them.

I had one. She was amazing.

I couldnt afford her with my second dd and ironically developed a life threatening condition. You know what, we'd developed such a bond the first time she rushed to visit me in hospital and stayed with me answering questions and helping me get my breadtfeeding sorted after scans etc. All free of charge because she was amazing.

In terms of the care i paid for, with dd1. I wanted a home birth and as a first baby i got a lot of tutting and head shaking, i approached my indie midwife and nothing was too much trouble.my antenatal appointments were lengthy intellectual discussions about events such as shoulder distocia, respiratory issues etc. no she wasnt covered in the event of a negligent act but we developed a bond and discussed just that, to me money wouldnt have changed the outcome. She assured me that she'd take more risks with me in my home than in a hospital.

When it came to it, i transferred to hospital. I laboured for 36 hours and she never left my side. Had i chosen the hospital she was licensed at, she would have had a contract to care for me in those hours. I chose a different hospital and they respected her as my midwife. They handed my dd1 to her in my c section and it was her who brought my dd to me and weighed her in the scales with their hospital nurse.

My antenatal care was 20 days care but a month if contact/visits. Breastfeeding support was like gaving my own la leche support worker every day.

I cannot praise my independant midwife enough.

take no more risks at home than hospital