Expectant mothers are paying for private midwives to help them give birth on the NHS amid claims that maternity services are in crisis.
It can cost up to £5,000 to hire a private midwife for antenatal appointments, private scans and to oversee labour in a hospital ward.
But faced with the prospect of seeing several midwives on the NHS, rising numbers of women are choosing to pay a premium for one-to-one attention.
Expectant mothers are paying for private midwives to help them give birth on the NHS amid claims that maternity services are in crisis
A commercial midwifery company now has a contract with ten NHS trusts, with up to 300 women a year using a private midwife during their pregnancy.
Meanwhile, in the NHS, one report shows 88 per cent of women never met their midwife before going into labour while 5 per cent saw more than ten for their antenatal appointments. Trish Nolan Melfi, of Private Midwives, which has the NHS contract, said: ‘I was particularly drawn to the opportunity to develop long-term working relationships with women. In some cases I have cared for women through several pregnancies, which is very special.’
A commercial midwifery company now has a contract with ten NHS trusts, with up to 300 women a year using a private midwife during their pregnancy
She was previously an NHS midwife for 17 years.
Tina Perridge, a midwife and director of Neighbourhood Midwives, which provides the same service in London and the South- East, said: ‘Many women develop a great relationship, then the shift changes and they have to get to know a new midwife and establish a relationship all over again.
‘This is all at a time when they don’t want to be interacting with anyone, because they are in labour. Women want someone by their side who they know and can trust.’ Private Midwives has signed deals covering 18 hospitals and birth centres. In 2012 only 50 women paid for its midwives, but in five years that has risen to 500.
While part of the rise comes from the growth of its NHS contracts, and the increase also includes home births, its midwives took 200 women into NHS hospitals in the 12 months to July.
Earlier this year, figures showed that maternity staff are making more than 1,400 mistakes in NHS wards a week. At least 259 women or babies died between 2013 and 2016 due to avoidable or unexpected circumstances.
Maternity units are coming under increasing strain due to the rising birth rate and the higher number of older and obese women having complex labours.
Elizabeth Duff, of the National Childbirth Trust, said the issue is being driven by the ‘threadbare’ NHS maternity service.