Private maternity care Post Reply

[mumtotwo]

I'm wanting to go private with my pregnancy and wondered if anyone had any recommendations with consultants/hospitals etc.

I've been looking into the Portland, C&W and St Thomas' although after having my 1st child with St Thomas' on the NHS I'm slightly put off by paying private here.

I had a prev C/S but this time would like to try for a normal delivery so really looking for somewhere or someone that really listens to your wishes and who doesn't always want to rush you in for a C/S at the slightest problem.

I'm thinking it will cost around £10/11k max for C/S if unplanned. Does anyone have any thoughts or experiences they wish to share?

[emsken]

I had my daughter at the portland and cant recommend it more. From the antenatal care through to the 6 week check i cant fault it. I cant actually recommend my consultant as he has now retired though (and actually wasnt an obstetrician but was my gynaecologist before etc.. bit random but he was lovely).. but a friend used Carl Chow who she HIGHLY recommended. And also Guy Thorpe-BEeston and Keith Duncan also have fab reviews...

People will give you scare stories about if things go wrong then you will be moved to an NHS hospital at the portland but they have excellent facilities if your babies has problems and excellent staff etc... My dr was of the opinion that if anything went drastically wrong then you are likely to be moved to a specialist ward of a special hospital anyway so being in an NHS hospital doesn;t make this any less likely!

I think you have to go on your gut feel on this but I am having my second delivery at the portland - but this time midwife led.

[mumtotwo]

I've heard things about the Portland before that if you need an emergency then you will be transferred to an NHS hospital?

Do they not have the facilities at the Portland?

[emsken]

Here is a link to their emergency facilities... http://www.theportlandhospital.com/Emer ... lities.asp

As i said though it is completely your choice and if you feel more comofortable with NHS facilities then perhaps choose a private wing of an NHS hospital. I Was very happy with the portland and felt safe and secure from the outset (but i did have a straight forward natural delivery)...

[stayathomemuminsw11]

I had my daughter privately at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital (Kensington Wing).

It was the best money I've spent. I did end up with an emergency CS so it wasn't cheap, but totally worth it. I (personally) wanted to be at a major teaching hospital with all the facilities and specialists should anything go wrong....

I was consultant lead as I was too high risk (kidney problems) to be midwife lead...

Feel free to PM me if you want to chat further...

[Momofone]

I had my baby at the Portland and had a great experience. My consultant is amazing but she practices outside the hospital but delivers at the Portland. Keep in mind that consultant led care is paid separately to the Portland's own costs (as were scans and blood work). They list prices on their website. Consultant prices will vary by person as will what they include.

All that aside, the rooms are comfortable which was important as was knowing I could be admitted even when I was only 1 cm dilated. They seem to be known for elcs and epidurals but I had a drug free vaginal delivery and everyone was supportive.
Best wishes!

[Mommyto2lovelygirls]

I had both my girls at the Lindo wing. (St. Mary's) with Tariq Miskry, he was great, very down to earth and always available throught pregnancy.
Two friends had c-sections with him and they were really happy about how it all went.
The lindo i think just finished huge renovations! If u want more infos just email me.

[darlingbabs1]

I have had 2 babies at the Kensington Wing in the C&W. Both under Keith Duncan (who is, in my opinion, not exactly a charmer, but is a brilliant obstetrician). First baby in Apr 2010, second a month ago, both by cs so I was in there for 3 days with each. I would not recommend the C&W, I found that, since my last birth, the levels of midwifery care on the wing had dropped dramatically. There appeared to be a lot of temp staff on when I was there, most of whom were not allowed to collect and administer the drugs I had been prescribed for the pain post cs. As a result I would regularly have to stagger out to the midwives desk to ask for pain relief, often an hour or so after the medication was due carrying my catheter bag! Requests were often ignored and forgotten. This was not what I paid c.6k for and I might have well saved the cash and been on an NHS ward. It was really hit and miss with which midwife you got each shift and it would have been nice if they had come to introduce themselves each shift change. I would definitely use Keith again but I would not go back to the C&W privately as it seemed to be very chaotic and understaffed this second time around.

[emsken]

If you are concerend about the portland i would go to the LIndo wing at st marys over C&W... i have about 5 friends who had babies there and all of them had at least one complaint!!

[stayathomemuminsw11]

Hmmm I'm not delighted to hear this about the Kensington Wing at C&W, I had my daughter there in 2009 and it was fine-we're planning #2 and were planning on going back there... Hmmm.

[Newmum2010]

We also went to the C&W Kensington wing. Our consultant was Nick Wales, who I can strongly recommend - he always made us feel relaxed and it was easy to get appointments that fitted in with my work. Our son was actually delivered by Roger Marwood who didn't have the same personality as Nick but that was more than made up for by his skills (people told me afterwards how lucky we'd been to get him in Nick's absence given his forceps and stitching abilities!)

Also had the same problem re: post-birth meds, but the room was large and comfortable and we were pleased with the security on the wing.

Good luck with your choice...

[mummy_dani]

I looked at St Thomas's private wing, Lansdell Suite, and it would have cost about 10k for a natural delivery. In the end I used the caseload midwives and they were incredible. All ante natal appointments are at your home, you are assigned to 2 midwives and one of those will be present at your birth, they come to your home when you are in labour to check how far along you are (preventing a wasted trip to the hospital) and stay with you throughout your labour and delivery. I had my baby on the home from home centre and the rooms were better than the private rooms (no medical equipment - midwife led and you can only be there if you have no pain relief other than gas and air). My room overlooked big parliament and I timed my contractions on big ben! And best of all, it's free! I'm using them again for my current pregnancy and cannot praise them enough.

Good luck with whatever you choose

[cosmopolitanmum]

hi there
i have heard great things about the lindo wing too. my sister in law went to the portland and highly recommends carl chow there. i saw mr mascarenhas at st thomases but went nhs in the end as my labour and birth was low risk. overall i think its the consultant that makes the big difference. if you want to have a natural birth this time check this with the consultant and see how supprotive he is of this and this may help you make your decison. best of luck with your pregnancy and the delivery!

[swlmummy]

My first baby was delivered by emergency c-section at st Thomas, and then I had a vbac at st Thomas' under mr mascarenhas earlier this year. I transferred to private care for last ten weeks of pregnancy, and then delivery etc. He was fantastic, quite matter of fact but knows what he's doing. The lansdell suite is nothing spectacular in itself but the on demand care was exactly what we wanted and, for me, worth every penny. Nothing was too much trouble We ended up paying about 7k I think.
Personally I would go for private care at an nhs teaching hospital with everything there, as opposed to one of the maternity hospitals.
Good luck.

[whirlwind]

I went with Con Kelleher and was in the Lansdell Suite at St Thomas' and would recommend both. The great thing about St Thomas' is that if anything does go wrong, you have everything available on site - both an ICU and a neonatal intensive care unit: I had a friend who ended up in a different hospital to her baby and that just added to the stress. One thing I'd say is that if you go with consultant-led care, you have to accept that there might be a slightly higher chance of intervention. My view is that midwives are more likely to take a "wait-and-see" approach, whilst doctors will intervene more readily. The flipside of that is that you may end up being in pain for longer with a "wait-and-see" approach. I was very pleased with consultant-led care and would recommend it, but if you are against intervention, then you may want to opt for a midwife-led delivery.

Re the Lansdell Suite, it is expensive, but it's worth every penny - a private room means you are actually able to sleep at night, plus the midwives are available whenever you need them and are of invaluable help with breastfeeding etc.