Why mums to be are paying £5,000 to take a private midwife to their NHS birth
WHEN Grace Brackstone felt the first contractions, she immediately called the adored midwife, Rene, who helped bring her son Ronan into the world two years earlier. Rene rushed to Grace’s home, rubbed her back and helped her stay calm. When the pain peaked, Rene — a mother-of-four and grandmother of 11 — called the hospital to alert staff, gave Grace gas and air and held her hand in the car over. Three hours later, she was still at Grace’s side when baby Amelia gave her first cry.
When an exhausted Grace was discharged that night, Rene assisted with breastfeeding and tucked mum and baby up in bed.
Grace’s experience is a long way from the horror stories often told about modern maternity wards — with women rarely seeing the same midwife twice, appointments just 20 minutes long and minimal post-birth care.
The only snag? This wonderful birth came at a price: £4,950.
That’s because 32-year- old Grace hired a private midwife, despite having an NHS birth. ‘I loved the idea that there would be one person I could trust who would be on call 24/7,’ says the stay-at-home mum to Ronan, two, and fivemonth-old Amelia who lives with her businessman husband in Erith, Kent.
Grace says she didn’t care about the luxuries offered by private hospitals such as London’s Portland — used by the Duchess of York and designer Victoria Beckham — which charge up to £30,000. She chose a private midwife over concern for her baby’s safety.
‘I’m a worrier, and the thought of building a relationship with a midwife who would not be there at the crucial moment scared me,’ says Grace.
‘I have two friends who had difficult NHS births so we wanted as much support as possible.’
A recent report revealed NHS maternity staff make a staggering 1,400 mistakes every week, while Britain’s stillbirth rate remains high. Each year, 2,200 babies are stillborn — more than in countries such as Croatia, Poland and the Czech Republic.
One in three of these stillbirths have been deemed ‘avoidable’.
AS THE Royal College of Midwives warns that NHS maternity services are ‘ reaching crisis point’, with a shortage of 3,500 midwives, a rising birth rate and greater numbers of older and obese mothers experiencing more complex labours, who will fill the gap in care?
Private midwifery companies are only too happy to do so — and make a tidy profit.
One firm, Private Midwives, says bookings have increased tenfold in five years, at a charge of up to £5,000.
‘A stretched maternity service is a factor but many professionals like the flexibility of our service,’ says Liz Halliday of Private Midwives.
‘They don’t want to take time off work for appointments and prefer someone who can come to their home. Birth can often feel out of control, and there’s nothing better than having someone you trust to help you through it.’
For women like Grace, the latter was most important. ‘Most of my friends thought I was nuts paying for a private midwife, but I wanted just one person.’
That’s in contrast to a report that found 88 per cent of women giving birth on the NHS had never met their midwife before going into labour.
Clinical psychologist Alison Knights believes constantly changing maternity staff can contribute to problems adjusting to life as a new mum. She says: ‘ To have an expert offering support throughout reduces anxiety and could even cut postnatal depression.’
Grace says having a personal midwife alleviated her anxiety.
‘Once I didn’t feel the baby move for a few hours, so I called Rene at 1am and she came over to reassure me,’ recalls Grace, who booked Rene through Neighbourhood Midwives.
Private midwives are registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council. They aren’t insured to work actively in NHS hospitals, so support their NHS counterparts. Legally, private midwives must have their own insurance.
However, last year, the Nursing and Midwifery Council found that 80 members of Independent Midwives UK were practising under an inappropriate indemnity scheme.
In the main, however, private midwives are seen as a help by the NHS. Under a pilot scheme in North-East London women can use Neighbourhood Midwives’ services for free. It is paid £3,000 per woman by the NHS — the same amount as any hospital or midwife centre would receive.
Unless the programme is rolled out nationally, though, only those who can afford it will receive such personal care.
Samantha Rodwell feels the £3,000 she paid for private midwife, Siobhan, was worth it.The banker, who is married to Scott, 43, began seeing Siobhan a month before her due date. ‘The thought of labour worried me,’ says Samantha, 31, of Manningtree, Essex. ‘I wanted to know if things didn’t go to plan, my wishes would be followed.’
After 24 hours, Samantha’s labour stalled and her son Humphrey, now eight months old, was delivered with forceps.
She believes Siobhan made the gruelling experience less traumatic. ‘She told me when to ask for an epidural, practised reflexology on my feet to calm me and sent Scott off to rest. ‘Humphrey was in special care for a week afterwards as we both had an infection, and Siobhan checked in with us both every day, helping me with expressing breast milk to feed him.’
This intimate relationship harks back to a different era — one that midwives also miss.
‘When you train to be a midwife you want to be with women throughout their pregnancy and birth, but in the NHS this was difficult as midwives would be swapped in and out,’ says Kay Hardie, who in 2001 left the NHS. She is now a board member of Independent Midwives UK.
‘More midwives are definitely drifting over to the private sector for this reason.’
This desire for a close relationship drove 37-year-old first-time mother Kate Wilson to book a private midwife two years ago. Kate, of So
uth-West London, who runs a firm with husband Jeremy, had abnormalities of the uterus and wanted extra reassurance.
SHE says: ‘I never had the same midwife twice at NHS appointments and became tired of having to explain myself.
‘I felt happier knowing my midwife Tina would hand-hold me through pregnancy and my prebooked caesarean-section.’
Kate gave birth to a healthy son, Benjamin, and credits Tina, from Neighbourhood Midwives, for smoothing the way.
‘She was our guide through everything,’ says Kate.
With glowing testimonials like this, it’s little wonder that private midwifery is on the rise.
An NHS England spokeswoman claims the shift is simply due to personal choice. ‘This isn’t about maternity services being overstretched, this is about women choosing who they want to be present and supporting them during childbirth.
‘ We’re increasingly offering more personalised choice including improving continuity of the person caring for women before, during and after birth.’
A fine aim. But unless it’s achieved, even more women will be calling the (private) midwife.