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!

@Grainedesesame I am thinking about Portland or Kensington Wing and talked with Jasmine from The Portland who told me that midwifery led package covers any emergency and there’s no extra fee if any section is required passed 37 weeks. I would like to ask if the food menu is different every day or if you can just order what you want or it’s a menu of 10 options every day? They told me the husbands’ meals are also included. And they have a nursery on site which is included in the cost. I’m not sure the cost of any blood tests needed post c section to determine if anti blood clots injections are needed and if they give the pain meds on discharge inclusive the fee or it’s extra cost , also the injections. I know that Kensington Wing has a menu of 9 items that doesn’t change and there’s no nursery but they have baby care but it’s more to ask a midwife to take the baby for 2-3 h away to let you rest but not nursery. Cost is the same so I would like to know how it really is. Thank you!

St Thomas’s is the cheapest private wing in London to give birth, there’s no ramp up of the cost for little things as all included in the package, baby check and anaesthetist is extra but they don’t have resident obstetric team and what it really is is the private postnatal ward and option to choose a consultant who would choose anaesthetist that is a consultant. The entire team is nhs team currently available and they may not be aware you are a private patient. I’m wondering how natural birth is working as you rely on the consultant and nhs midwives I guess. So it’s kind of private but not really private. Food is not so great. All midwives are good but I m not convinced they are all only working at private wing.

[quote sakura1982]@Grainedesesame I am thinking about Portland or Kensington Wing and talked with Jasmine from The Portland who told me that midwifery led package covers any emergency and there’s no extra fee if any section is required passed 37 weeks. I would like to ask if the food menu is different every day or if you can just order what you want or it’s a menu of 10 options every day? They told me the husbands’ meals are also included. And they have a nursery on site which is included in the cost. I’m not sure the cost of any blood tests needed post c section to determine if anti blood clots injections are needed and if they give the pain meds on discharge inclusive the fee or it’s extra cost , also the injections. I know that Kensington Wing has a menu of 9 items that doesn’t change and there’s no nursery but they have baby care but it’s more to ask a midwife to take the baby for 2-3 h away to let you rest but not nursery. Cost is the same so I would like to know how it really is. Thank you![/quote]
There will be no additional hospital charge but the Obstetrician and Anaesthetist will charge a hefty fee if you have a caesarean after 37 weeks. I know from personal experience.

[quote sakura1982]@Grainedesesame I am thinking about Portland or Kensington Wing and talked with Jasmine from The Portland who told me that midwifery led package covers any emergency and there’s no extra fee if any section is required passed 37 weeks. I would like to ask if the food menu is different every day or if you can just order what you want or it’s a menu of 10 options every day? They told me the husbands’ meals are also included. And they have a nursery on site which is included in the cost. I’m not sure the cost of any blood tests needed post c section to determine if anti blood clots injections are needed and if they give the pain meds on discharge inclusive the fee or it’s extra cost , also the injections. I know that Kensington Wing has a menu of 9 items that doesn’t change and there’s no nursery but they have baby care but it’s more to ask a midwife to take the baby for 2-3 h away to let you rest but not nursery. Cost is the same so I would like to know how it really is. Thank you![/quote]
To add to that we paid for my husbands meals plus there is more cost if your baby needs special care. Meds apart from ones at discharge were included. It may well have changed since I had my babies there but worth clarifying as these extras are not cheap.

Thank you @Bellisima234, I’m not eligible for midwife package due to previous c section.
Now Portland offers 24 h stay in NICU included in any package after that it’s £4K a night but they told me there’s a choice to transfer the baby to UCLH. I think it will be another planned c section. When did you have your baby in the Portland?
KW is charging for blood tests also the booking blood group and I guess Portland would be same but only for after c section to decide on the injections. As nhs insured patient these injections can be provided free of charge so I’m not sure why KW which is part of nhs hospital told me I would need to accept them from them. Also Portland Hospital told me that some after discharge go to nhs for postnatal ward if they need more days. It sounded surreal. Why would a hospital discharge a patient so that they would go to another hospital. She did not mention that it was a transfer.

That sounds very odd transferring to an NHS ward after the Portland. I had mine in 2005 and 2011 so a while back so things may have changed. When I had to transfer from midwife care for my first I had to pay for the Obstetrician etc and partners meals were not included nor was scbu. However in my day (that makes me sound old now) my medical insurance covered complications leading to a c section and with my second I was probably one of the last to have such cover as insurance companies were really clamping down on this.

At the Portland she said that the baby needs to stay a bit longer and sometimes people are not willing to keep paying for extra nights. The circumstances were not clear. We looked for an insurance to cover the birth in 2016 and Bupa international offered it with anything claimable after 10 months of taking it out but max sum was €20k eq anywhere in the world. We hv just had our 1st baby then on one of the wings (St Thomas’s) and when we were searching for such an insurance in 2020 there was none available, my previous planned cs was a preexisting condition. I saw that the Portland changed how few structure is working in 2017 and now in 2020. Due to covid they offer free meals to partners and normally it’s breakfast only. I am though more concerned about medical staff looking after you in a postnatally. If the midwives/nurses are resident staff or a contractor working in many places. Makes a huge difference.

Just thought I would update this thread as I was the one who had started it originally. I had my baby at st Thomas’ private wing and I’m really happy with my experience there (planned c section). The only downside was that my husband was not allowed to stay overnight due to Covid which is stupid really considering it’s private, I had my own room of course and he was there for about 6 hours every day. This meant that nights were a bit tough considering I had section and couldn’t really move. My baby would not settle so I had to press the buzzer all the time and didn’t get any sleep. Some of the night shift midwives weren’t as nice as the day ones (I think some of the night ones were agency workers due to staff shortages at the time). Overall I really liked it there and would return for any second pregnancy. Oh and the view from the room was AMAZING!

Hi @Anna0221, could you please write a break down of the costs? Thank you.

When I had my babies a lot of the midwives were there both times and there were some who had been there for many years and very experienced but that may have changed now as well.

Sorry if this is a naive question, but what is the advantage of giving birth privately over on the NHS? Is it just that you can definitely have a c section if you want? Where I live I don’t even think there is a private birthing facility so I’m fascinated by this thread!

@Ella32 sure it was 7k for antenatal consultant care, 4K for delivery and 6k hospital fee (+ 950
For anaesthetist and 250 for baby doctor check before discharge) Also extras such as private scans on top of it (we used feral medicine centre). It’s a lot but still less than other places. I also had numerous blood tests at the hospital and was not charge extra for those which was great.

At maloney123
You can choose the consultant, the day of the c section and you don’t need to wait until there’s no emergency sometimes 8 h, you get your own room where your partner has their own bed and lots of happy midwives to help a bell away. In c section it matters what are the skills of the operator: nearly invisible scar and faster recovery with much less pain. Unfortunately in the Uk one cannot pay for the consultant and care afterwards and had to cover private birth hospital fee.

@maloney123 not just for c-sections. you get extra care with private including having more scans and more 121 time with a doctor during prenatal. during labour and post delivery you get your own room (prior to covid a partner was a allowed to stay but some of that has stopped now due to covid) with your own ensuite as well. You also have a lower midwife to patient ratio and a consultant at your birth so extra vigilance to anything going wrong.

Some private hospitals also have nurseries where they will take your baby for you to get some sleep (though another thing currently on hold due to covid)

@Bells3032 I can definitely see the advantage of getting your own en suite room!!

@maloney123 to add what others have said above, what was really important to me was continuity of care. You see the same consultant at your monthly (and later in weekly) visits. They get to know you really well and so can spot any issues early on and act quickly. I was very relaxed on the day of my section as my consultant came to see me and talk to me the day before and the morning of surgery and I trusted his skills completely. The last thing you want is a brand new face when you’re about to face a surgery/labour. As far as I know On NHS you don’t get a consultant for your c section unless it’s a complex one. This means that people often has issues with their scars due to inexperienced doctors making the incisions. My scar looked great after only 2 weeks.

@Ella32 sorry I realised I made a mistake re consultant’s fees, it was 7k all in for the consultant (3k antenatal care + 4K c section).

Also sorry for typos, was typing while holding the baby with the other hand!

Hey Anna, thank you so much for the helpful thread and advice about your experience.

I am currently 18w pregnant with my first and I am considering giving birth privately St Thomas, the different fees did confuse me. So, was your total about £14k (7k consultant fees, 6k hospital and the £950 for anaesthesia)?

I am currently with NHS at kings and I had a lovely experience with them at the first scan and most of the midwifes have been lovely. However, the more I read about childbirth the more it terrifies me. I am anxious about the whole experience and would like to have the extra support, so having the anaesthetist and consultant with me will help. I was also hoping that in private there is more support for the baby at night. You said you did not have a good experience with the night midwives, are they supposed to come and take care of the baby? Or Are women expected to care for the babies as soon as they are born?

Sorry if this is a stupid question, I have no idea what would be like to have a baby.

Hi @RiriM, congratulations on your pregnancy! Regarding the baby, there is no overnight nursery so the baby is with you at night. If you need help, you just press the button and a midwife will be with you within minutes however as I couldn’t move at all the first night (c section) I had to call them non stop. It would have definitely been easier if my husband could have stayed overnight or if there was some sort of nursery. Having said I really enjoyed my experience overall, I think I’m just being extra critical because of how much it all cost! Regarding the fees yes it was about that all in (7k consultant, 6k hospital, £950 anaesthetist, oh and £250 for baby check by neonatal doctor). I also had some private scans at the fetal medicine centre during my pregnancy (you can check their current prices on their website) and a couple of private blood tests (approx £100 per test ). It was probably closer to £15k all in.

Thank you @Anna0221 ❤️ That’s very helpful and reassuring.

Hopefully partners are allowed to spend the night, I don’t get what’s the point of that restriction if there have already been there for the birth.

Other private wing and the Portland Hospital allow partners to stay overnight. When I was there at St Thomas’s a while ago I had a midwife who turned out to be a locum with no idea of the hospital and she also abandoned us in the recovery room had no idea we were a private birth. So this time I would go to another wing/hospital ( Kensington or Portland) even though the st Thomas’s cost is the lowest in London. Queen Charlotte n Chelsea also worth considering but consultants are much more expensive than st Thomas’s. All the best !

@RiriM, I checked and it looks like partners can now stay for the duration of your hospital admission at st Thomas’.

@Anna0221 you are amazing! Thank you so much!

I would love to be at St Thomas, as my consultant is there and at Portland. But at St. Thomas sounds safer, they have everything in case things go wrong. It’s also closer to my house.

Thank you for your advice. Xx

No problem @Ririi! Is your consultant Mr Kelleher by any chance? I know he delivers both at St Thomas and Portland. If so, you are in great hands! Although from what I’ve heard the whole team at St Thomas is really good.