Independent midwives - how much???

[rouge]

Caroline Flint seems to charge somewhere between 4 and 5 grand! Someone mentioned "Home Births" on another thread charging 2 and a half thousand, which we might just about be able to afford. Which of these is nearer the going rate? Do you get what you pay for? Does the content of the packages offered vary a lot??

I think our midwife charged 2.6K. I think the standalone midwives are cheaper than the teams, and to some extent you get what you pay for - no birth centre, and only one midwife attending at the birth.

hi rouge, about £2,500 is the going rate ime. cf does charge more, as i explained on the other thread. i did a thread on this subject myself when i was looking for an independent mw - will see if i can find it. factors for comparison include number of ante natal visits, how long the post natal care lasts (e.g. six weeks).

there should always be 2 mws attending a home birth!

here it is

btw - you will see me in my former incarnations as "ngpy" and "bossykate".

Most independent midwives seem to charge a rate of between 2-3k. As far as I know they are worth it - individualised care, you in charge etc. Also I believe that many will allow you time to pay.

CF charges a fortune but is the most well known.

If you're in London the St John & St Elizabeth Hospital have a very good name for supporting normal birth - very into water births and hypnotherapy.

Mandy

Thanks all for the info, and thanks for the link SQ - very useful. Had a chat with DH last night and we're now thinking of trying the NHS route for a home birth and seeing what our local community midwives team is like before opting out. Am going to start yet another thread for thoughts on this!

3 mothers from my NCT group had homebirths using community midwives - all very happy with experience. Very much depends on actual midwives me thinks.

Good luck whatever you do.

Thanks Nimme