Going private...but what does that mean?

[LittleMissSnowShine]

I've recently had my first baby - he's a gorgeous wee boy, healthy, doing well etc and I'm loving being a mum so far! I'd always hoped to have 3 or 4 kids but I had a horrendous experience of pregnancy/birth and tbh it's put me right off having any more. I know the memories will fade in time and I probably will think about getting pregnant again in about a year's time but I would want things to be very, very different next time around.

Initially I thought I'd def be insisting on an elective c-section next time round but despite the horrible 53 hour labour I went through this time, the SPD, the episiotomy and the uterine infection I picked up in hospital I've still recovered pretty quickly and I've been out at the park with the buggy, driving and seeing friends all within a couple of weeks of DS arriving. So the typical 6 week recovery period following a c section has really put me off.

Instead I'd def consider going private next time round but what exactly does this entail? How much control does it give you over the delivery? How much does it cost? Is it money well spent? Your experiences and expertise very much appreciated!!

I know it seems crazy to be thinking about all this so soon after having a baby but I'm determined to have learned some lessons from my experience this time around and to only think about getting pregnant again when I've researched all the options open to me!!

Wow, it sounds like you really had a rough time. I'm sorry to hear this, but glad to hear you're doing better and your son is healthy. Concerning going private, you can find out a lot of information by ringing the private hospital/wings and asking them. I've found different obstetricians/doctors have different rates and that's on top of the hospital's rate. You can interview the various doctors, but expect to pay for the meet and greets. From the interviews, you may get a good idea about whether the doc is a good fit with your delivery goals. You will likely meet with this doctor for each appointment, not a midwife. From my understanding, you can also expect to have this same doctor whom you've become familiar with, deliver your baby. (Unless they are on vacation, etc., when their fill-in will takeover.) Your doctor is probably also going to be very reachable in between appointments, too. The hospital I'm going to also offers private delivery rooms as part of the private program.

It's expensive, but is tailored to give you individual attention.
Good luck and I hope next time is better for you wherever you deliver. :)

It will depend on your hospital and consultant.

I work at an NHS hospital. If you "go private" there it will mean the following:

All AN appts with "your" consultant, usually in their evening clinics.

If aiming for a normal delivery, you call your consultant when you go in to labour. They will meet you at the hospital.

A midwife will look after you in labour but the consultant will do vaginal examinations and eventually deliver your baby

After a night on the postnatal ward, you can go to the private ward (or go home, of course!).

You would pay extra for extra scans, a c section, or a private midwife who will look after you in labour and do your visiting at home afterwards.

Thanks, thats really helpful :)

I thought community midwives were great and the NHS hospital I delivered in was pretty good too but there was a huge breakdown in communication between staff at different points and the whole thing was pretty mismanaged so I think I'd feel a lot more confident having just one doctor to see. Def going to look into this for the next time round and see what the costs involved are like...

Hi there - Just checked and can see you are in NI. As there aren't any private hospitals here for maternity services - going private really means that it will be like hardertokidnap describes. I had a fairly bad time with ds last time - he's now 4.9, so for the next time (due April 2011) I'm going private. The fee for cranmore Medical (Lisburn Road is £2100 and this will cover scans etc. As you would be admitted to the RVH (in my case) as an NHS patient a c section would obviously be covered there. Hope this helps

hi shoofly - congrats!!

i was in the ulster this time around. hospital itself was grand and midwives on the ward were very nice but a lot of things seemed to go wrong which i think could have and should have been avoided so im really hoping to have a better experience next time round.

april 2011 is still some way to go so you prob haven't had much experience at cranmore yet, but have you been happy so far?

Hi

I'm currently 37 weeks pregnant and I have been in private care due to my partner's expat insurance. It is very, very expensive and I would not be able to afford it without the insurance. It is doctor's let care which is truly amazing but they usually charge about £200+ per visit (they ask you to come every two weeks on average). You also need to pay for scans and tests during the pregnancy and then of course for the birth. The hospital I'm in in London just requested a £5,000 deposit and the fee for the consultant is pretty much the same. This does not include all of the tests that are also quite pricey! I am still shocked how much money private care requires and feel truly blessed that I can do this. Otherwise there would be no way!

I have had a great experience so far and of course I would highly recommend it for those who can afford it. Happy to answer more questions.

Mxxx

I am really scared about things going wrong, I'm currently looking at independent midwives, hopefully home birth too, but at least if you do go into hospital then they go with you, then they liase on your behalf.

wow, momo, sounds really good - absolutely no chance of me locating a spare ten grand tho lol
good luck with the delivery, hope everything goes smoothly for you

merlino - in my experience the nhs midwives were absolutely fine and very competent, the biggest problem was the lack of registrars, consultants and anesthetists around when you needed them. but i had never planned on a home birth, so could be a v different experience if that's what you're aiming for...

Hi LittleMissSnowShine - I've been happy with Cranmore so far, but as you say very early days! I chose it on the recommendation of a friend who had both of her 2 babes with him. She had recommended him to another friend who was also very happy. If you were going to the Ulster again I've heard very good reports of a Mr Fogarty - he's based somewhere Helens Bay/ Crawfordsburn direction, and works out of the Ulster

Thanks shoofly, will look into that next year if I can bear the thought of another 40 weeks of stretch marks, hyperemesis and tiredness lol
I didn't see a consultant once the whole way through my pregnancy, even though it was first time around for me, I had traces of protein in my urine and the baby was breech until 32 weeks They didn't even screen me for gestational diabetes even though my dad is diabetic and I have PCOS which can mess with your insulin levels. Just blood pressure checks and away you go - good ol NHS!! I did like the Ulster tho, and I hope you have a good experience in RVH :)

thanks - tbh anything would be better than Antrim (I hope )