private birth London

[Anna0221]

Hi Everyone,

I've just found out I'm pregnant and currently considering my birth options. Ideally I would like to opt for a c-section and a private hospital/private wing attached to NHS. So far I've emailed the Portland and the Kensington Wing. I pretty much ruled out the Portland as the basic fee is £11,500 (versus £8,150 for Kensington Wing). I also had a look at Lindo Wing and Queen Charlotte & Chelsea Hospital (I think they operate under the same company group?). The fees at QC&C seem low in comparison to the others (in the region of £6k for a c-section) but I wonder if there are some additional hidden costs that are included in the other packages. I'm aware of the additional cost per night's stay etc. Which one out of the two (Kensington and QC&C) would you recommend and why? In terms of consultants I was thinking Mr Guy Thorpe-Beeston in Kensigton or Bryony Jones at QC&C. I'm so confused, any advice would be much appreciated!

It would be hospital fee + consultant fee. The published fee you see on their website would just be the hospital and theatre fees - you would have to contact the individual consultants to get their fees.

I work in the City and know a fair few people who’ve had private births - all in you’re looking at 12-15k I suspect

Wow, I had two nhs births and one at home and never thought of the cost. Hope you sort out whatever you need to to make you feel supported. Xxxx

Constant fee for pregnancy and delivery inc section will be circa £7k. You will also have to pay the anaesthetist which will be about another £1.2k. Total cost of a section will be between 15-20k.

I had mine at the London wing under Tariq Miskry. They are currently closed to new patients but if you can get in there I can highly recommend him and Lindo!

Guy Thorpe Beeston is wonderful. Delivered 2 out of my 3 boys at the Lindo Wing. Just make sure you take into account all costs - scans, bloods, the consultant and the hospital. It all adds up! That said, my care was amazing both from Guy and the midwives at the Lindo.

I had a csection few month ago with Guy Thorpe-Beeston at Lindo wing. I highly recommend him. He charges 9k for the antenatal care and csection. Lindo wing also charges separately. In total cost about 22k, this includes consultant fee and all hospital costs and 3 nights hospital stay.

Kensington wing is £8150 but that is only for the hospital stay, and then £9-10,000 for the consultant - the average from those I spoke to was £9500, unless you go midwife led (no c section) in which case it is £8750 excluding scans and blood tests etc.

Thank you all so much for your replies. I need to decide between Lindo and Kensington although Lindo's website says they're not currently taking on new patients so the decision might be taken out of my hands anyway. From your comments it sounds like you can't go wrong with Mr Thorpe-Beeston so I'll probably go with him. @Ella32, apart from the 22k
in hospital and consultant fees, did you pay much in additional fees for blood tests, scans etc? Also, how does it work with mixing NHS an private care - can I still attend the 2 NHS scans?

@Anna0221 you can book a late booking with your consultant (sometimes at a reduced rate) eg go with NHS care until your anomaly scan at about 20weeks then switch to private care afterwards. You'll save a bit on the reduced rate and not have to pay privately for scans and blood tests etc.

If you're having a c-section then UCH would be an option.

Also the Westminister Suite at St thomas and St Guy is meant to be excellent and cheaper than Lindo or Portland and slight cheaper than Queen Charlotte

So here are all the costs:
*9k consultant fee
*10k hospital fee including 3 nights stay, dinners and lunches for my husband.
*1700 for Anaesthetists for csection
*600 for 3 scans with a consultant, about 200 each
*300 initial blood test
*500 optional DNA harmony test

You can carry on with your NHS antenatal care as well and do all your NHS scans or tell them you are doing your scans privately and you can reject them, it's up to you. Even if you go private, you are still entitled to free NHS prenatal and postnatal support.

Please let me know if you have any more questions.

Thanks @Bells3032, I'll look them up! Do you know of any good consultants that work at either of those?

@LillianFullStop, can I book with a consultant for a late booking now (so book now but only start attending appointments at 20 weeks). My concern is that if I don't actually book until 20 weeks, the popular consultants will have no availability. Similarly, can I book with a private hospital now (but don't tell NHS) and continue with NHS until 20 weeks? Sorry for all the questions!

@Anna0221 I asked a few weeks ago on the pregnancy board about St thomas. I think the names Con Khellher and Gaby Gray came up a few times. They also only charge £6k for the delivery (plus consultant fees) compared to between 8-10k at other places

I don't know about UCH I am afraid.

I carried on my NHS till I was 35 weeks alongside private appointments, at my last appointment with midwife I told her I'm doing the birth privately and I called my local NHS hospital and let them know that I'm giving birth in a private hospital.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/pregnancy/3889083-Private-hospitals-in-London

Here is my thread from a few weeks ago

Thank you @Ella32, this is so helpful! So even if I book now with the consultant and/or hospital I can continue my NHS appointment until 20 weeks? I'm assuming it's best not to tell them of my intentions just yet! Looking at the scan prices, it seems like it wouldn't make a massive difference if I have the 2 scans on the NHS or privately but I guess every little helps when we're spending so much money. This is probably going to be my first and last baby so I've decided that it's worth some sacrifices to (hopefully) have a nice experience and avoid potential trauma.

@Ella32 cross-posted, thank you!

Thank you @Bells3032, I'll take a look!

I didn't tell NHS that I'm going private till I was 35 weeks.

It does worth every penny, some people prefer to spend the money on a nice car or some luxury holidays, I decided to spend it on a private birth. It was such a nice experience that I can't even describe it.

You can also be very relaxed and not stressed out if you go into labour in the middle of night as your consultant will be available 24/7 to perform the csection.

@Anna0221 definitely you can meet and choose your consultant now and tell them you choose the post 20w package. Depending on the consultant they might as for a deposit or give you a date when a deposit is due. The hospital booking they will do for you as you can't actually book at the hospital yourself you need to go via your consultant.

@Ella32, @LillianFullStop thank you both for your posts and sorry for the slow reply. I've decided to wait until my viability scan (which I had this weekend) before proceeding with booking a consultant etc. I've done some more research and think that based on reviews as well as the price I might go with St Thomas private wing and one of their consultants. @Ella32 I agree, I'm happy to sacrifice other things to reduce the stress of it all as much as possible. Due to Covid we can't go on holiday this year anyway so we will be putting that money toward private birth instead. If anyone wants to share any more experiences regarding private birth, especially in London, I would love to hear about it.

@LillianFullStop @anna0221 @Ella32
I'm in the exact same situation but 35 weeks.

I would have love to give birth under the NHS but covid made me think twice about what birthing could look like during a pandemic and a few stories from my friends convinced me to go private.

I've been investigating private birth due to covid restrictions since March before making a late decisions last week. My private favourite was always St Thomas for many reasons.. being a leading maternity, leading neonatal care unit and price.

We ended up picking the Portland because this is the only hospital today where I can have my birth partners with me at all the time during early, active labour as well as recovery. While it wasn't my top choice initially, I'm hoping we have made the right call. Thank you for starting this thread.

@Grainedesesame are you under consultant care or midwife care at Portland?

@Ella32
I'm under midwife care. Finger crossed, I'm hoping that I won't need a consultant or it will add to the bill.

You've had lots of helpful replies.
I'm going to make an alternative suggestion, feel free to ignore if it's not helpful.
Would you consider hiring a private midwife and/or doula to support you during birth at an NHS hospital?
I know several women who had very positive experiences of doing this.
It's not the full private experience of course but obviously a lot less expensive.
Depends on your finances and priorities.
Of course, if you are absolutely sure that you want to go fully private and can comfortably afford it, go for it.

If your pregnancy is low risk and you want a c section you can book c section only packages w most consultants or late 3rd tri transfers into private care. Saves about 4-5k.