Private midwife + NHS

[LSteeleS]

Hi, it's still early days for me (first pregnancy), but I am due to have my care with the NHS at Chelsea & Westminster Hospital. I am naturally a nervous person, and am worried about the lack of continuity of who you see during antenatal care & during delivery. I have looked into private care in London (£13k) or a private midwife alongside NHS care (£6k). Does anyone have any thoughts or recommendations about using a private midwife? Thanks!

The care u get in the nhs is excellent regardless of different people.

Even privately I can't imagine you can be guaranteed the same midwife you see for antenatal appointments. Annual leave or if you were to have a v long labour they will still have work hours and will have to come and go exactly like they would in the nhs. And then afterwards post Natally you could never be looked after by just one person.

Have you thought about having a doula? I had one for both of my births, in a brilliant NHS hospital. She acted as my advocate, she and I had discussed the birth I wanted at length and she was such an incredible support, along with my mum who was my other birth partner.

*The care u get in the nhs is excellent regardless of different people.

Even privately I can't imagine you can be guaranteed the same midwife you see for antenatal appointments. Annual leave or if you were to have a v long labour they will still have work hours and will have to come and go exactly like they would in the nhs. And then afterwards post Natally you could never be looked after by just one person.*

Nhs care is extremely variable. I have done both. I had the same midwife for all antenatal care and delivery, if she hadn’t been available I met her back up who would have been there. Post natally the midwife to patient ratio is much smaller, it was 1 between 2, they were truly able to spend time supporting breastfeeding and offered amazing support. I’ve had 2 on the NHS. It was ok. Private was fantastic.

Thanks! Yes I don't think we will go fully private, as it's too expensive. But i've looked into hiring a private midwife (independent or through a company) to be my advocate and help me through the pre and post-natal periods (and with the birth!).

No I haven't looked into a Doula, although I've heard about them! Not sure what the difference is between a Doula and a midwife, will have to do more research :)

What about just getting extra scans to ease your mind and a doula for just the birth ? Seems unnecessary as the nhs is very good but they don't routinely give scans later unless there is a reason.

Hi there. I’m in my 3rd pregnancy and I have a private midwife.

I’m consultant led as I’m on my 3rd pregnancy and will be having my 3rd c section, but to be fair, that’s been pointless. I basically go in, they say a few words to me and then I leave. Although, I guess There’s not really much to say when it’s your 3rd and there are no issues!

Last two pregnancies NHS care has been awful. Never saw the same Midwife twice and they were always rude and dismissive.

This time I got to chose my midwife, she comes to my house for checks and that’s far more often than I’d get on the NHS, plus I can call 24/7 if there’s a problem.

I also have all my bloods done at home.

She will also accompany me for the c section (My last two have been awful and the ‘care’ during and after laughable and almost killed me the first time) and she will stay with me on the ward afterwards and she’s going to do 4 weeks postnatal care. As she’s a registered midwife they have no problem with her on the ward.

I would have preferred a private birth but couldn’t stump up the £15k. So the private Midwife was a good medium, it was about 4.5k all in.

She’s also through a company so if she’s ill or whatever they can send another in her place.

@LSteeleS if you want to PM me I can send you details
Of the company, they are nationwide.

Independent or private midwives are brilliant for continuity of care. The other option is an NHS caseload midwife, if you are in an area that has that service. Do you fall under any of the postcodes for Kings? They tend to be really good for continuity of care, so if you were open to switching hospitals, you may be able to be seen by one of their caseload teams.

That seems expensive for a midwife.

My Consultant obstetrician was £12k for a cesarian and all pregnancy care.

Hospital fees for bloods, scans, anethestst and room service and room type etc were all extra obviously.

Watching this thread with interest as I'm also contemplating booking a private midwife. Mainly because I would like to try for a home birth and my local NHS trust is being very cagey about whether it will even be possible due to Covid. Apparently they are always quite short staffed even before that and women who'd booked a home birth were regularly told to just come into hospital. It also sounds as though it'd be a way to get good continuity of care and know the people who'd be helping me in advance, if it really is one or two midwives all the way through, although it's v expensive.

I'm very much in the same boat. Currently registered at Queen Charlotte's but I really like the idea of homebirth or a private midwife who can attend me in a birth centre.

I just want the reassurance of continuity of care, and that the person helping me deliver my first child will know who I am before they walk in the room.. I'm also anxious about the nhs being overstretched during covid or potentially a second wave, so have been investigating options.

According to IMUK all private midwives are currently having an issue with indemnity insurance as the US company that used to cover them has withdrawn cover as of 20th June, so they can only do homebirths if they're operating on a contract with a hospital. Something to do with Brexit & covid. They're campaigning to start their own fund, but it's currently unknown whether they'll be able to continue being self employed independent midwives... if they can't get insurance it would basically make private midwives illegal.. which is awful for women's health, especially as other health practices inc osteopaths etc have no problem getting insurance.. but apparently offering women choices & support whilst they grow and deliver humans isn't that important... if you visit the IMUK website they're currently fundraising to set up their own insurance system.

@willowlondon no, not all independent midwives are affected.

The company I’ve booked mine though aren’t affected at all. But they are a large company who employ midwives to work in a private capacity.

They are nationwide - If anyone wants the details feel free to Dm me.

As pp says, the insurance issue only affects one group of non-NHS midwives. Others of us are still fully insured and offering full continuity of care including homebirths or supporting hospital births.
I aim to offer full care for clients myself from early pregnancy through until a few weeks after birth -that includes 24 hour contact in late pregnancy. Right now I am in touch with one of my clients who is in early labour & will go out to her as soon as she asks.
Happy to answer any questions

That's really helpful. Is there a resource/website for finding insured midwives? For some reason I thought IMUK was the only certifying body. Many thanks!

@willowlondon Mumsnet doesn’t seem to like we links in replies , so if you do an internet search for private midwives you will readily find an organisation (of that name) which can match you up with a fully insured midwife. If you want to PM me I can give you a direct link to their site or answer any questions.
These organisations are not certifying bodies. We are registered and regulated by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) Organisations for independent and private midwives are about networking, sharing skills and knowledge, insurance etc

@willowlondon I sent you a dm