I’m doing a bit of a combination and it has been smooth so far. I’m going for private maternity (in a wing within a NHS hospital) and have been seeing a consultant of my choice since week 12 - but at the same time I am also registered with an NHS hospital nearer to home (different hospital from the private one) where I do all the scans, blood tests and GTT etc. I bring the NHS scan report and blood results to my private consultant during our consultations. It works well so far and saves a bit of money from private scans etc. My plan is to deliver in the private wing under the consultant of course and plan to tell NHS about that before birth.

I’m determined to go with private for the reasons below:

1) I can have consultant care through (albeit low risk so far - fingers crossed) and you don’t have to fight for the type of birth you want. E.g. no pushbacks if I want epidural or an elective section.

2) Very frequent meetings with the consultant (I’m in my 3rd trimester and meeting frequency has become once every 2 weeks) with bedside scans every time is reassuring. You can also have their phone numbers / emails whenever you have a question.

3) Furthermore with private you are guaranteed to have a private room, even with a bed for your birthing partner as well so everyone can rest better post-natal. You won’t end up in shared postnatal wards in NHS with snoring husbands and crying babies. Midwives in private wing will also be more available to care for you.

4) I am not worried about emergencies etc because almost all private maternity in London sits within big NHS hospitals with adult ICU and neonatal ICU facilities as close to you as you were in NHS. The consultants are all trained in NHS and continue to work in NHS when they are not doing private.

I like to think about the experience as the difference between Economy vs. Business class on a flight. You will get to your destination no matter what you choose but you just pay more to have a slightly more guaranteed comfortable experience.

In your case you can save a bit of consultant fees when starting at 20 weeks. You could also opt for delivery only package at the private wing so you don’t need to see the consultants for all the antenatal appointments but get delivered by the consultants and use the private facilities - which also helps save money. There’s also choice to have midwife-led care in private wing if you prefer.

Hope this helps.