Cost Portland vs Kensington Wing BIRTH ONLY

[nichnachnoch]

Hi everyone,
I've read the posts re costs at Portland vs Kensington wing for a private birth but I think the costs people mentioned include antenatal care too.

Now expecting my 3rd baby and considering my options. I live abroad at the moment so almost all the antenatal care will be done here in italy.

Can anyone tell me whether it's possible and how much it would cost for a vaginal delivery midwife-led birth with epidural at these 2 hospitals (ie for JUST the birth, bit excluding antenatal)? Obviously there would be an extra cost if i need an emergency cs (hopefully not, since first 2DDs came out without cs). I have an insurance but it has a limit of £10,000 so i need to know if I'm going to have to fund anything extra myself.

thanks so much!

I don't have my notes/cost sheet with me but off hand I think the whole midwife led birth (including antenatal) is around £6/£7000, possibly less. Certainly no more. I'm not sure what the facility is for just having the birth rather than antenatal care - it's probably worth calling them to check. Epidural is around £500 and I think around £250/£300 for each top up. It all includes one night's stay at the hospital.

Def call them to discuss the options for delivery-only. I'm not sure if they offer it but if they did I would imagine it would be cheaper.

Hope this rather vague response helps.

Hi,

The cost quoted to me by the Kensington Wing was £6000 for birth only.

Thanks for the info!

hi, i looked at both hospitals. the hospital fees (birth only) are roughly the same.

Unless you have a complex pregnancy that requires obstetric input I should consider an Independent Midwife. www.independentmidwives.org.uk.

Cost in the region of £3-4000.

Does your policy cover your baby once he's here? It's very important to check this as if he needed say, monitoring in SCBU, this would be NHS at Kensington but private, and therefore £££££ at the Portland.

Who is your policy with? I have Insurance but it dosen't cover birth or antenatal care outside of any irregular problems i'd love a private birth after having one on the NHS.

Going to Portland for "birth only" will still cost you £8,000 as you will have to use one of their midwives. And this includes only the actual delivery and first 24hrs stay and no pain relief etc etc. Anything else is extra (inc assisted delivery, vontouse etc).

C&W may be the better choice for you as their midwife package is £7,000 (provided you are under 37 years of age otherwise they require you to pay for a consultant and you will not see change from £10k either).

C&W will allow you to transfer to NHS care at any time before during and after birth if complications should arise (as you live abroad, I don't know whether you qualify for NHS anyway).

HTH

Hi ohdoone, so sorry not to reply to your question - just seen the final posts on here a whole month later.....
I have an international comprehensive insurance from Axa PPP. I think it's only available to people with an international address (i think i had to prove that)
It covers me and my 2xDDs and costs me a small fortune/ month! I took it out when pregnant with nr 2 when I realised it would be a nightmare to get onto the local italian public health care system and it's served me really well. They have been really helpful and sensitive, particularly when it turned out DD2 was sick as an infant (all well now) and needed very expensive in-patient treatment at Gt Ormond St.

The insurance covers normal pregnancy up to £10,000 after a 10 month exclusion window which I've long passed now, and it works in any EU country I choose for treatment.
x

Ah...just double check with them that they cover Chelsea and Westminster for a Kensington Wing Birth. I was given very contradictory information. Initially I was told that it was fine so I booked in and had all my ante-natal care there and then the week before the birth they contacted me to tell me I'd have to transfer my care to another hospital or go NHS! Eventually they backed down because the initial conversation happened to be on a recorded phone line and I had the evidence, but it seems that they cover C&W for other treatment but not maternity. It was a year and a half ago so it's worth checking how things stand.

Aswell as the Portland and Kensington wing there is also the Lansdell Suite at Guys and St Thomas.
There also appears to be something called The Knutsford Suite at Watford General hospital.
The Birth Company at Harley St also might be worth looking at. I would recommend the Birth Centre in Tooting but they don't offer epidurals so probably not what you are looking for.
Good luck Nichna!
privatebirth

Nich feel free to PM me, I have a price list for Kensington Wing I can forward to you, but for birth only you should be fine with under £10,000. Mine is about £12,000 alltogether, consultant lead. Weirdly, Kensignton is cheaper than Portland, but Portland tends to have deals with insurance companies. Happy to write more later, running off now!

Fridakahlo - Birth Centre in Tooting has closed down a couple of months ago now, as has John and Lizzies (for maternity care):(

Really I had a google and their website is still up and running? That would be a terrible shame if they have as they really were brilliant!

Maybe they are finishing off the caseload that they are already carrying, but we had an emailed letter from them to us (at the hospital where I work as a midwife) saying that they were closing their doors. Very sad really.