Cost of Hiring An Independent Midwife (IM) & Why Would You Hire One?

The cost of hiring an independent midwife varies depending on many factors including;

• location.
• service provision type
• experience & qualifications

Location

Urban areas for example have a higher cost of living

Rural areas = the cost of living is slightly lower resulting in some reduction in price however regardless of cost MOST IM’s do offer payment plans to help spread the cost (most of these are over 12 – 18months)

Different Countries

ALSO have very varied charges and this is many due to differences in Healthcare systems, regulations, laws and demand.

So What Do IM’s Offer

On your search for an IM you will notice a trend of differing skillsets and experiences or expertise. Most offer;

Antenatal (Pregnancy) Care

These include check ups in the comfort of your home at a time to suit you and a lot of the time you can block book bundles or packages of care or choose one off visits.

some IM’s like me, feel it is very important for client and midwife to gel and therefore we offer a FREE initial consultation.

Birth Attendance

Many IM’s offer Birth Attendance as art of their full care package whether this is attendance for home birth or support at a hospital birth * it is worth noting this component of Midwifery Care is the most costly as explained in the last paragraph of this blog.

Postnatal Care

This is one of the important parts of IM care where we visit your new family at home checking on both mother and baby doing all the recommended screening and physical checks. Not only this we also provide emotional, practical and the vital feeding support.

Additional Service Provision

On your search you may find that some IM’s offer complementary services such as

• Hypnobirthing
• Antenatal & Postnatal education
• Acupuncture
• IBCLC Lactation Consultant feeding support
• Sneak Peek gender DNA reveal Tests
• Mother Blessings
• Fitness +/ nutrition.  and more

opting to include these may bump up the cost of your hire however most will do discounts for bundle or packages OR like me may give you the option to add on services.

Qualification & Experience

What you will probably want to know is how qualified or what qualification the Midwife you choose has. You can find the governing body NURSING & MIDWIFERY COUNCIL (NMC) online and search for the midwife or simply ask their experience and that may be enough for you (do be aware re insurance etc being nil/void).

Of course many Midwives have a diverse, lengthy & in depth experience that may not be attached to a recognised qualification.

less experienced IM’s or newly qualified Midwives sometimes charge slightly less than those with many years of experience.

Overall

In the UK cost of hiring an IM is on a fairly wide spectrum and not all IM’s offer Birth Support. For instance some of us offer Gold Standard Antenatal & Postnatal care and preparation for parenthood so you still receive the continuity of care /carer. Where this is the case the cost of hire will be cheaper mainly due to the Midwife not needing to apply for birth insurance (Birth Insurance is legally required to be paid for each birth we attend) therefor if not attending birth this doesn’t apply.

For context, the birth component part of care hire alone can cost anywhere between £4000-£5000 (insurance for birth is not cheap!)

whereas the full package of care may be between £6000-£8000. this includes

• all antenatal care provision(this may include dropping off and or collecting letters/forms/bloods etc from hospital or gp)
• all postnatal care provision (this may include dropping off and or collecting letters/forms/bloods etc from hospital or gp)
• your Midwife being on call for approximately 4-5 weeks
• payment to the 2nd midwife
• equipment required
• time, knowledge & experience

So Why Choose An IM Over Mainstream Maternity Care?

1. personalised care tailored to you throughout pregnancy birth and beyond
2. continuity of care through your parenthood journey
3. flexibility – more flexibility around appointments and care options not rigid but within the midwives capacity/joint team effort to figure out if she can provide the care you are seeking
4. builds personable relationship, trust and transparency and enables true midwifery care and support provision

OVERALL, the cost of hiring an IM can be seen as substantial, however, most families consider this type of care worthwhile and an invaluable investment due to the high calibre and level of care and attention provided that commonly surpasses the mainstream care system!

Hopefully this has given you a little insight into Independent Midwives as practitioners for the women and families we care for.