Although I am currently working primarily online (meaning I am not limited by geography),  if you are in Cumbria, I may also be able to offer you face-to-face visits/antenatal & postnatal care packages. If you are planning an elective section or scheduled induction, we may be able to arrange via the Cumbria Trust whose staff bank I am on, for me to be present to support you. 

As The Online Midwife I can offer antenatal and/or postnatal support to you, via zoom. Care involves “virtual visits” over a cuppa, where we can discuss your wishes, look at the relevant evidence, guidelines, and resources, and make an adaptable plan of care that’s right for you and your family. (Click here to read how that went for a recent client…)

If needed, I can be part of liaising with NHS staff to help achieve that plan. A full package means I am contactable 24 hours for you and your family, to help with any worries or concerns.

• Initial 15 min introduction online/phone chat – free (just to get a feel for your wishes and how I can support you)
• one-off/pay as you go online “virtual visits” lasting approx an hour – £75
• initial face-to-face consultation (often available in Cumbria/Lancashire) – £85
• bespoke package of care – designed for what you need, different flat rates. To help make care packages financially manageable, I always ask clients to suggest their own payment plan that fits their monthly budget.

Bespoke care packages might include:

• short term for breastfeeding support
• support for pregnancy and birth around a complex health issue
• a week of daily support straight after birth
• a full package of care: regular antenatal sessions throughout pregnancy, birth planning, NHS liasion, daily support post birth, postnatal support up to 6 weeks approx as needed. See below re birth care. 

One-off sessions are often used to discuss a previous birth experience, maybe to understand it better (we can obtain and review your notes together, or just talk through what you remember) or to create a birth plan for the birth ahead.

What might we cover in our visits? Well, anything you wish – but here are some ideas…

Birth care? Although I attended homebirths for many years, and love to do so, a lack of affordable, ethical birth insurance for UK independent midwives has meant I haven’t since 2020. However, something new is on the horizon, more info here.  It is also possible for your local NHS hospital to cover your independent midwife’s legal requirement to have birth insurance, if they wish to support your choices. It’s not common, but quite a few Trusts have done it – more on that here. I am very happy to speak with your local Trust about this. 

Scotland? Scotland has an extra level of registration, requiring independent midwives to pay nearly £3000 initally to register to practice as a “private clinic”, and then approx £1000 per year to remain registered – even though we aren’t a clinic and just go to people’s homes! (England and Wales don’t require this, they consider our registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council is enough.) Most of us don’t earn enough to afford this, especially as we aim to offer affordable payment plans to our clients. Quite what the answer is to this we don’t know yet, but we are thinking hard.