# private maternity care/births



## hopedance

i was wondering if anyone has gone private for maternity care or their baby's birth? 

it's a long story as to why i am considering it, but i'd love to know any experiences, especially if you've had NHS maternity care before too and so can compare the two. and any clues on how much it can cost? from what i can see on google it seems to be between about 5 and 10 thousand pounds which is scary!!! i thought it would be much cheaper than that, more like 2 thousand ish!


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## soon2b6

I would have thought about 2k ish for a home birth, is that for the full maternity care or just the birth? Is it in your home or in a private hospital?
I dont have any experience of private maternity care although Ive read up on the internet about it and its much more of a can do experience from what I can tell. If I could afford it I would seriously consider it even at 5k. Its not an everyday occurence after all! Sadly I dont have that kind of money though.


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## Incubator

I looked into - the Portland (London) charges about £15,000 all in. It's a bit cheaper if you have a natural birth but you have to pay for a consultant (if the pregnancy is uncomplicated they might let you just see a midwife which is cheaper), and they charge extra each night you spend in hospital. There are loads of hidden extras and the 15 grand amount we came to was after we'd added everything up. They were really helpful when I called them. Still, it was way too much and I went the NHS route. 

Have you got private health insurance? Some cover pregnancy and birth. Mine did but only if there were complications such as GD and I'm with BUPA.

Good luck.


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## hopedance

unfortunately i don't have private cover, i'd be pulling the money together from wherever i could as we can't really afford it. wow £15000 is just far, far too much. i would be a complicated pregnancy too, as i have a high BMI, intermittent high blood pressure (from pre-pregnancy) and tons of other issues going on - which is actually why i am struggling with the NHS care as it isn't really designed for people in my situation. i want a home birth but if i knew i could have an uncomplicated birth i'd be up for staying NHS, i'm just worried that if complications arise the issues i am having now with the NHS would become a major problem and lead to a traumatic birth for one reason and another. 

thank you for the info ladies, i suppose that is all i needed to know as sadly i just can't afford that kind of money.


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## Incubator

good luck with it all. i hope you find the right care for you.

x

it's probably worth hunting round for cheaper places - we chose the portland because it's the closest to our home but other places may do a better deal.


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## TinkerbellB

Too be honest it might not be an option without the money issue. I really wanted to look into the option of going private but unless you're going for a home birth there are hardly any (if any) hospitals outside London that do maternity. I was told I could go to the Portland but I can just imagine trying to get there if LO decides to make an entrance in rush hour on a Monday morning!


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## marley2580

An independent midwife should cost between 2k-5k and that's for all the anti-natal and post-natal care as well as the birth. You would likely need to go for a home birth though as most hospitals don't allow IMs to practice in them. Have a look here https://www.independentmidwives.org.uk/?node=9788


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## lindypops

I met an independent mw who works in the Norwich area. This, as an example, is what she does:

1. all ante natal care at your house, much more time than you would get at the docs (she says)
2. birth at home OR planned hospital birth, where she acts as a doula as she isn't insured to deliver - so an NHS mw would
3. 24 hour 'callout' in the first four weeks after birth.

All for £3000. 

Obviously, this is the only situation where you would be guaranteed 100% certainty of a homebirth, if that is the route you want to go down.

Mind you, she spent a lot of time talking about how after 10 years delivering babies for the NHS, their ethics/morals don't tally with hers - then said she takes on bank shifts at a local hospital. I wouldn't have minded if she hadn't laid it on so thick with the criticism!


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## RebaMc

I got my Boots Parenting magazine through yesterday and that had a list of all the various maternity options. They suggested about £3000 for private maternity care.

I guess it's a question of seeing what's available, and for how much, near you :)

Good luck.


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