Private vs nhs maternity care

[APSR]

Currently 7w after fet. Struggled a lot to get here. Which one would be better going ahead privateers nhs for maternity care and delivery? (discharged from the fertility clinic)
recommendations for private obstetricians/ clinics please?

[excitedmama2be]

You could argue that antenatal care is off higher standards , less waiting times , better facilities to give birth

but if you were to have anything going wrong with the delivery , they would transfer you to nhs hospital so you could pay thousands to get you to the birth and then end up with nhs. Delivery

[Croffle]

I would go NHS, although this isn't based off personal experience (mainly anecdotal and also after having read This is Going To Hurt). From my understanding, while you'll get a plush hotel room at a private place, they are not really set up for emergencies/complications.

[Croffle]

Sorry I should add that's just about the delivery really.

Antenatal care through the NHS can be hit or miss. I had a really shit midwife through the NHS first time round but was able to change on request. Antenatal care after that was pretty good and then very good second time around (different hospital). No idea what private antenatal care is like.

[fixies]

NHS. Don't risk a private hospital for birth. Spend the money on a night nanny when the baby comes.

[APSR]

Thanks for your opinion @Croffle and @excitedmama2be emergency situation is the only worry when thinking about private care. Have self referred at nhs and will definitely have a few private apnts and scans and see how it goes.

[Ozanj]

NHS plus private midwife plus private doulla / night nurse / breastfeeding consultant is what I would focus money on if it’s your first birth or you have complications.

[Mrsttcno1]

Honestly I know the NHS gets a lot of complaints but their maternity services, at least in my experience, are absolutely amazing!

I’m just a few weeks away from my due date now and genuinely have no complaints whatsoever. Every midwife I’ve come into contact with throughout this pregnancy has been amazing, they are very prompt in referring you for additional scans/checks if needed, and their care has been second to none. Twice in this pregnancy I’ve had to attend the pregnancy assessment unit after experiencing reduced movements, once was at 7pm the other time at 9am, both times when I rang they immediately told me to come down, within 5 minutes of arriving both times they had us set up in a private room and monitors on to check baby. Obviously this is just my experience and it may differ place to place but I couldn’t fault them x

[TobKat]

Do you live in London? If so, you could consider The Lindo Wing at St Mary's Paddington. Private, but with NHS facilities on site. However, any private delivery will be very costly (many thousands) and generally won't be covered by health insurance, if you have cover. Alternatively, you could opt for an NHS delivery and pay for a doula/private midwife to support you. Also, in some NHS hospitals you have the option of paying for a private room post-delivery. I was going to do this, but the room couldn't be reserved and wasn't available when I delivered. I would strongly advise looking carefully at your NHS options - going private does not necessarily guarantee better medical care. I've worked in both the NHS & private sector, so I speak from experience! Remember, if there's any problems once your baby is born in a private hospital, you probably won't have immediate access to a special care baby unit or emergency care for yourself, should it be required.

[Sara1988]

I can't afford private and ethically don't share with private healthcare however I'm worried about my local maternity units (both rated inadequate) so am considering a doula. The ones I've spoken to are around £1000, so more affordable, and I prefer the idea of paying self employed women rather than giving money to big business.

[LizHoney]

@Mrsttcno1

Honestly I know the NHS gets a lot of complaints but their maternity services, at least in my experience, are absolutely amazing!

I’m just a few weeks away from my due date now and genuinely have no complaints whatsoever. Every midwife I’ve come into contact with throughout this pregnancy has been amazing, they are very prompt in referring you for additional scans/checks if needed, and their care has been second to none. Twice in this pregnancy I’ve had to attend the pregnancy assessment unit after experiencing reduced movements, once was at 7pm the other time at 9am, both times when I rang they immediately told me to come down, within 5 minutes of arriving both times they had us set up in a private room and monitors on to check baby. Obviously this is just my experience and it may differ place to place but I couldn’t fault them x

Pleased for you. Come back to us when you've spent a night or two on an NHS postnatal ward. Utter hell.

[APSR]

@TobKat How do I get hold of a private midwife.

[Isitbedtimeyet3]

@excitedmama2be

You could argue that antenatal care is off higher standards , less waiting times , better facilities to give birth

but if you were to have anything going wrong with the delivery , they would transfer you to nhs hospital so you could pay thousands to get you to the birth and then end up with nhs. Delivery

This. Having worked for many private hospitals I would always go NHS

[Mrsttcno1]

@LizHoney

Pleased for you. Come back to us when you've spent a night or two on an NHS postnatal ward. Utter hell.

At our local hospital it isn’t a ward, you are in a private room for your entire stay & partners can stay with you if you want them to. ☺️

[SoftPillowAllNight]

I went to Queen Charlotte NHS hospital where my antenatal was NHS but for delivery and post natal I went private on NHS premises. Best of both worlds!

[RedRidingGood]

Hi OP. I did private maternity in London and best decision ever. I started off on the NHS and didn't feel like I was getting the care I needed. I switched to private maternity care midway. I was a "high risk" pregnancy as I had gestational diabetes but felt fine mostly. The consultant I had was amazing, I wanted an elective c section which I got and it was such a positive experience for me. I did my own research and picked the consultant that I felt was best for me. You can speak to a consultant/private midwife and see how you feel. When I was under the NHS, I didn't feel like I was heard, and TBH I didn't feel safe, it was my instinct telling me no this is not going to turn out well so I switched. Hope this helps x

[Businessflake]

Most private maternity care is in the private wing of an nhs hospital. So super easy to transfer either of you if you need to.

I would go private again in a heartbeat.

[APSR]

@SoftPillowAllNight how did you use both? I mean what is the procedure for registering at both nhs and pvt? I have already submitted my self referral for nhs waiting for hear back from them. How did you approach pvt obstetricians at nhs hospital?

[RedRidingGood]

@fixies

NHS. Don't risk a private hospital for birth. Spend the money on a night nanny when the baby comes.

As someone who did private I strongly disagree with this. It's not a risk, and it's best for OP to speak to a private consultant then make up her mind.

[SmallIslander]

Have you got a homebirth team in your ares? I received outstanding care from the local NHS team here and would want to go with them again if I fell pregnant. You get 1 to 1 care with a midwife in your home which you don't get with community midwives. This means they really get to know you and your wants and needs. Even if you decided at the end to go into hospital for the birth, its worth signing up for the antenatal care.

[APSR]

Do all nhs hospitals have a private maternity wing affiliated with them ? This looks like a good combination.

[MumChp]

@APSR

Do all nhs hospitals have a private maternity wing affiliated with them ? This looks like a good combination.

No not in our area.

[rubytubeytubes]

def private all the way if you can afford it.
nhs midwifery care is shocking

[KCSIE]

@excitedmama2be

You could argue that antenatal care is off higher standards , less waiting times , better facilities to give birth

but if you were to have anything going wrong with the delivery , they would transfer you to nhs hospital so you could pay thousands to get you to the birth and then end up with nhs. Delivery

I would also check out transfer times from the private facility to the NHS hospital 'just in case' should anything go wrong. Presumably it would be by ambulance so, what would the ambulance response time be and how far is the journey likely to be? And would you be comfortable with that potential time frame?!

I've had 2 NHS deliveries and cannot fault the care. First baby ended up in NICU, too.

[mynameiscalypso]

Are you based in London? I didn't think there were many private maternity hospitals if you aren't.

For what it's worth, I considered going private but decided that the £20k that aid probably end up spending on it would be better used during my maternity leave. I did have absolutely brilliant NHS care as well, I don't think private would have been much better in my case especially as it was quite complex in some ways.

[APSR]

@mynameiscalypso yeah based in London