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You can keep your NHS care and have a private midwife as well
You don't have to choose between the two.
Can I Have a Private Midwife and NHS Care?
If you're considering private midwifery care, you might be wondering whether that means giving up your NHS maternity care.
The answer is no. You can have a private midwife and NHS care at the same time.
Most of the families I work with choose to keep their NHS maternity care while having me alongside them for additional continuity, time and one-to-one support.
Choosing a private midwife doesn't mean opting out of the NHS. It simply means adding another layer of care around you during pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period.
What stays with your NHS maternity care?
You can remain booked with your NHS maternity service and continue to access the care available to you through the NHS.
This can include:
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Your NHS booking appointment
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Routine appointments with your NHS midwife
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Blood tests and screening
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Dating and anomaly scans
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Consultant or specialist care if you need it
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Hospital and emergency maternity care
You don't need to choose between seeing an NHS midwife and seeing me. You can see us both.
In fact, many of the women I care for continue with their routine NHS midwife appointments throughout pregnancy, alongside their appointments with me.
What does a private midwife add?
The biggest difference is continuity.
When you book your care with me, you know who your midwife is. We have time to get to know one another, talk through your choices and build a relationship over the course of your pregnancy.
Appointments can take place in your own home and aren't rushed. There is time for the practical aspects of antenatal care, but also for your questions, worries, preferences and plans.
Depending on the care you choose, I can support you with:
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Continuity of care with a midwife you know
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Postnatal care at home
My role is not to replace your NHS care. It's to work alongside it, giving you more time, greater continuity and the reassurance of having a midwife who knows you.
How do private midwife and NHS care work together?
It can be very straightforward.
You can continue seeing your NHS midwife, attend your NHS scans and blood tests, and see a consultant or specialist if you need to.
You then see me alongside those appointments.
I usually arrange my appointments around your NHS ones. NHS appointments can be harder to rearrange, whereas I have more flexibility, so it makes sense for me to work around the dates you've already been given.
Some women choose to attend all of their routine NHS midwife appointments as well as seeing me.
Others may choose to have more of their routine care with me. We can talk about what feels right for you.
With your consent, information can also be shared with the other healthcare professionals involved in your care where appropriate.
Why I recommend booking with an NHS hospital
Even if you're planning to have most of your maternity care privately, I genuinely recommend booking with your local NHS maternity service.
Having your NHS booking appointment means the maternity service is aware of you and your pregnancy. If you have your blood tests and scans through the NHS too, those results are held within their system.
That can be really helpful if, for any reason, we need to attend hospital during your pregnancy, birth or postnatal period. Rather than arriving with the hospital knowing nothing about you, they already have a record of your pregnancy and can access the information they hold about your care.
Booking with the NHS doesn't mean you then have to choose them instead of me. You can continue seeing your NHS midwife as well as seeing me, and you can still choose private midwifery care for your pregnancy and birth.
It's simply a sensible pathway to have in place should we ever need it.
What happens if I'm planning a home birth?
If you book me to care for you for a planned home birth, I can provide your midwifery care at home and bring the clinical equipment needed to care for you and your baby.
We'll spend time during pregnancy preparing together, including talking through your individual circumstances, your preferences and what would happen if you needed or chose to transfer to hospital.
This is another reason I encourage you to be booked with an NHS maternity service. If we do need to go into hospital for any reason, they already have a record of you and your pregnancy.
What happens if I'm planning a hospital birth?
Hospital birth works a little differently, and I think it's important to be clear about that from the beginning.
Very few independent midwives, myself included, have formal contracts allowing us to provide clinical midwifery care within NHS hospitals. This means that if you give birth in hospital, the hospital's own maternity team will be responsible for your clinical care during labour and birth.
I can still be there alongside you as your known midwife and advocate.
I know you, your preferences and the conversations we've had throughout your pregnancy. I can provide emotional support, help you understand what is happening, talk through your options with you and support you in communicating your wishes.
You have the hospital maternity team caring for you clinically, but you also have someone beside you who knows you and isn't meeting you for the first time that day.
Why choose both private midwifery and NHS care?
For many families, having both offers the balance they're looking for.
You retain access to NHS maternity services, including NHS midwives, screening, scans, specialist care and hospital services, while also having the time, continuity and individual support that comes from building a relationship with your own private midwife.
You don't have to choose one system over the other.
Private midwifery care can sit alongside your NHS care, and I can work around the appointments and services you already have in place.
If you're considering private midwifery care but aren't sure how it would work alongside your NHS care, you're very welcome to get in touch.
I can talk you through how I work and what your care could look like. There is no pressure to decide anything during that conversation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to cancel my NHS maternity care if I book a private midwife?
No. You can remain booked with your NHS maternity service and continue to access NHS maternity care while also receiving private midwifery care.
Can I still see my NHS midwife if I have a private midwife?
Yes. You can see both. Many of the women I care for continue attending their routine NHS midwife appointments as well as seeing me.
I usually arrange my appointments around NHS appointments because I have more flexibility to do so.
Can I still have my NHS scans and blood tests?
Yes. You can continue to attend NHS screening, blood tests, scans and other appointments while having private midwifery care alongside them.
I actively encourage you to remain booked with an NHS maternity service so that they have a record of you and your pregnancy should you need hospital care at any point.
Will my private midwife deliver my baby in an NHS hospital?
For an NHS hospital birth, the hospital maternity team will normally be responsible for your clinical care.
I can be there alongside you as your known midwife and advocate, providing continuity, emotional support and helping you to understand and communicate your choices.
Can I have a private midwife for a home birth and still use NHS services?
Yes. Having private midwifery care for a planned home birth doesn't mean giving up access to NHS maternity services.
Being booked with your NHS maternity service can also be helpful should you need or choose to transfer to hospital.
Do I pay for my NHS care if I also have a private midwife?
No. Choosing to pay for private midwifery care doesn't mean you have to pay for NHS care that you're eligible to receive.
You pay for the private care you choose to have alongside it.