Not too posh to push at The Portland
On 7 July I was part of a select group of BritMums bloggers who were invited to The Portland Hospital to learn more about their Maternity and Paediatric Services. Being 19 weeks pregnant and having had more than my fair share of antenatal frustrations with the NHS this time around, I was more than a little curious to learn more about the “infamous” Portland Hospital.
What did I know of The Portland before attending this blogger event? Well, I knew that celebrities and people with loads of money went to The Portland to have their babies. I had heard that most of the deliveries at The Portland were c-sections for celebs who were “too posh to push”. I thought that The Portland was inaccessible for patients like me.
Let me tell you…I was wrong! For instance, did you know that The Portland has an extensive Midwife-Led Unit which takes women through their antenatal care and has a tag-line of “An Empowering Choice”? The Midwife Led service empowers women by working in partnership with women and their partners, offering evidence based choices on all aspects of care, individualises care according to need, proactively supports women’s choices and enables women by becoming their advocates.
The Portland Hospital’s Midwife Led Delivery Service is carried out by a team of 6 dedicated midwives who provide continuity of care, compassion, support and clinical expertise throughout pregnancy, labour, birth and the postnatal period. The Portand midwives carry out antenatal care and classes for all women as well as labour and delivery care for established mothers. The midwives also provide full back up of medical and obstetric staff if a problem occurs during pregnancy, labour or the postnatal period including 24 hours access to advice and support. In addition to a very flexible appointment schedule, The Portland Midwives also run active birth workshops and hypnobirthing training for the MANY who are most definitely not too posh to push at The Portland.
When I listened to Midwife Stella (@MidwifeStella on Twitter) and Midwife Sian at our presentation on 7 July, I was very nearly tearful over the amazing standards of care that are provided for pregnant women at The Portland. EVERY WOMAN should have this standard of care. Midwife Stella had been an NHS midwife for 20+years and loved every moment of her time as an NHS Midwife. But stretched budgets and cuts in funding made her job as an NHS midwife very challenging indeed. She chose to become a midwife at The Portland to be able to give her patients the care they deserved. This is a sad statement about the NHS. Wonderfully trained, caring and competent midwives are being forced to leave the NHS which just perpetuates the vicious cycle of lower standards of antenatal and maternal care in the UK.
I related the story of a good friend who, in an NHS hospital, had demanded to have an epidural, as is her right. She was put off a multitude of times by the midwives until it was too late. When I told Midwife Stella about this she replied with one word: RESOURCES. More than likely, there would have only been one (possibly) trainee/resident anaesthetist for the whole of the hospital. Giving epidurals is low on the importance scales when only one anaesthetist is available for any and all emergencies. More than likely the midwives had no choice but to try to convince the mother-to-be that she should wait for the epidural because the anaesthetist was not available. Due to NHS funding cuts the hospitals are struggling to provide the services that patients should have because they simply don’t have the resources to cope.
Yes, at The Portland, you are paying for what you get. And you do get THE BEST. As you should. If I had thought about it properly I would have started saving for The Portland two years ago. Would you like to know what antenatal services you are given when you pay for The Portland?
- 14+ Antenatal appointments (NHS- 1st pregnancy=10 visits/ 2nd pregnancy=7 visits)
- All routine blood tests
- Three Ultrasound Scans: a) The combined test at 12 weeks; b) The Anatomy Scan at 20 weeks; c) The Growth Scan at 32 weeks
- Active Birth Workshops and Hypnobirthing Classes
- 1-1 Debriefing and Counselling sessions for PTSD
- Access to complementary therapies at The Portand Hospital
- Referral pathway to other medical personnel if required- Consultant Obstetricians, Anaesthetists, Fetal Medicine Consultants
- Newborn examination by the Resident Paediatrician
- Averages costs for all antenatal + delivery care (first 48 hours including delivery) in midwife led unit range between £7,250-9,250 + supplemental costs depending on individual situations/labour & delivery circumstances
This is what every woman should have. In this, my second pregnancy, I had an appointment at 8 weeks for my “booking in”. My next appointment with the midwives was not until 16 weeks. Inbetween those appointments I had my “combined test” scan and blood tests at 12 weeks. Due to shoddy admin I never received an appointment for my consultant referral (due to risk factors) until I called and got my own appointment on 4 July (17 weeks). We have our 20 week anatomy scan this Wednesday and then I will not see another medical professional of any sort until 15 September when I am 28 weeks pregnant. My next appointment with the consultant is not until 36 weeks (9 November). This is antenatal care on the NHS. I don’t pay for it. I know there is a trade off but particularly when a woman is pregnant for the 2nd time, why should they receive any less care as a first-time pregnant mother? Surely we all deserve the same amount of time and care from our midwives but it seems that the NHS thinks not. Been there, done that…apparently?!
I’ve carried on too long but will be blogging more about our visit to The Portland. Perhaps paying for medical care is not such a bad idea after all? What are your thoughts? If you could afford it, would you pay for antenatal care at The Portland?
I leave you with a sneak peek of one of the rooms at The Portland and the Nursery where babies are cared for (and taken during the night so Mummies can get some rest).
*The Portland paid for our travel to London in addition to treating us to a wonderful 3-course lunch and goody bag upon leaving. The words, sentiments and wishes of this post are mine and mine alone.*
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I would most definitely pay to use The Portland! Maybe i’ll start saving so i can go for when i have baby number 3….
Good Luck with your scan on Wednesday!
If I had the money, I think I would go. x
I don’t think there’s an expectant mum alive who would choose the regular maternity units at NHS hospitals over the Portland, should the Portland be free of course! Anyone who says otherwise is kidding themselves.
CJ xx
YES! Without a shadow of a doubt I would definitely pay for private medical care during the birth of another child if I could afford it. I point-blank refuse to set foot in the hospital that I had The Boy in, there is no way that I will have another child there. If they won’t refer me to the other local maternity unit then I will take out a loan and have it in BUPA.
I was gutted I couldn’t attend this (it was my little girl’s first birthday on the 7th). If I had a bit more spare cash I would most definitely pay to go here!
In hindsight, with the NHS treatment I had I would have paid for it in a heartbeat, it might have meant I could have more children. And considering how much I’ve spent in childcare since I’ve had my daughter it’d would have been worth it.
After having two previous C-Sections if money was no object then I would definetly pay to go private
The care I received on the NHS was exceptional, so no, I wouldn’t pay to go private.
Like Rosie I also think that the NHS care I received was great. My first labout didn’t go as I would have liked but that wasn’t down to anything other than luck on the day. (My baby’s head was in a very odd presentation)I had very good care on the NHS for all 3 pregnancies & births including two elective c-sections and it was all “free” although of course we have already paid really through our taxes. I also had lots of physio afterwards. I don’t know that I would have got better care had I paid for it, although the surroundings may have been more luxurious!
I can’t fault the ante, peri and post natal care I received bringing my children into the world, neither were straight forward by any means either. It’s clear there is a geographical lottery when it comes to maternity care though for me I would not consider private maternity care however I do have private health care for both the children to speed any diagnosis and treatments up. I support socialised healthcare and whilst the system isn’t perfect the core fault lies with government rather than the NHS who seem to gets a bashing in this post yet they treat everyone in need without question or financial contribution.
I’m lucky that the NHS hospital I had both my children in was a brand new hospital and the staff were lovely (well most of them) though they were very, very busy and the time and care offered was limited. When I had my second baby I couldn’t understand why they saw me less, surely every baby and pregnancy is unique therefore we should receive the same no of appts etc whether it is our first pregnancy or our sixth pregnancy!
I used private treatment during pregnancy and I agree, it’s lovely. I had repeated episodes of heavy bleeding during pregnancy and booked extra scans at a Bupa hospital because it was convenient, I was reassured, and I wanted them.
That is what private healthcare delivers – choice, convenience and reassurance. It’s nice, but it isn’t necessarily better clinical care just because you pay for it.
Giving birth on the NHS may be less comfortable or empowering than it would be in a private hospital but if something goes wrong during a birth at the Portland, you and your baby will be blue-lighted to an NHS specialist unit faster than you can say “300 thread count sheets”.
Personally, I always thought that, actually, I’d rather be in the NHS maternity unit just downstairs from that neonatal unit, thanks, not a 50 mile ambulance journey away. I might not get as many pillows, I might not get a choice of three hot meals for dinner and I might have to wait a while for my appointments, but I’d trade all of that for knowing I have immediate, free access to some of the best clinicians in the world.
Like Rosie, my health care on the NHS was exceptional. I also found that I didn’t need the additional antenatal appointments. The midwife was available if I felt I wanted to talk to her about anything, but given that I was a lowrisk pregnancy I was happy with the number of times I saw the midwife.
I’d also add that my room, on the NHS looked like the one you had a picture of – but I was exceptionally lucky to get that room!
The room I gave birth to my daughter 15 months ago in a northern NHS hospital was not dissimilar to the photo you have shown above. My NHS care was not magical with each pregnancy and it did seem to become less and less contact each time around. However, during labour, I cannot fault the midwives and doctors for their care. Each labour of mine was complicated and far from straightforward.
I’m not sure what women expect now for their antenatal care, it seems to have become a little hysterical. Do they need to have such regular contact as you are suggesting? I watched a documentary recently where a woman (from an African country) in labour had to walk for 2 hours to her nearest hospital, where she received help with delivery (no pain relief) then left a few hours later, walking the two hours home carrying her baby.
It seems to me that some mothers feel they need to be mollycoddled throughout pregnancy and if the care doesn’t live up to their high expectations then the miracle of childbirth has practically been ruined.
Why would I pay £9k for a luxury room at The Portland? The room doesn’t matter as long it’s hygienic.
Be grateful of the care you receive, many others are less fortunate.
Kelly,
I am grateful for the care I receive. I’m happy that your experiences with the NHS have been positive. Apparently my expectations are far too high.
Karin
The reason for the additional appointments are to catch a problem before it goes on to become very serious for mother or baby. If you have a straightforward and routine pregnancy, it’s not a big deal to have fewer appointments. If you have a problem, those extra appointments can mean the difference between life and death for you and your baby, as was the case fora friend of mine who was forced to deliver at 28 weeks after she was diagnosed with a very serious problem.
It’s true that private care gives you more “choice, convenience and reassurance,” and more empowerment. There is just no question about that. The real question is, why are more women not demanding that from the NHS and the UK government? Why are women not holding them more accountable? Why are women sitting by complacent, when there are so many acknowledged problems in the existing system, rather than demanding that this issue is addressed? It baffles me that women don’t stand up and make change happen in this country.