Why Choose An Independent Midwife?
By choosing an Independent Midwife you are able to have an individualised
experience, offering care designed to meet your requirements at a
time and place to suit you. You will be given continuity of care and
carer, an important issue to most women, which had been shown to reduce
women’s need for pain relief and to improve birth outcomes.
By working independently or privately outside the NHS system I can
offer a service not always available; for example waterbirth, homebirth,
vaginal birth after caesarean, birth with family present and most
importantly birth with a known midwife.
I am usually available 24 hours a day/7 days a week for urgent advice
and can be
contacted by telephone or e-mail for consultations as needed.
Research shows that good continuity of care can:
- Reduce the length of labour
- Increase normal vaginal delivery rate (reduced need for forceps,
ventouse, caesarean)
- Reduce need for pharmacological pain relief
- Increase breastfeeding rate
- Increase satisfaction of experience
- Decrease postnatal depression
It is recognised that home birth is as safe, if not safer than hospital
birth for low risk women
Insurance:
Independent Midwives work outside the NHS and take on clients privately.
Unfortunately since 1994 no professional indemnity insurance has been
available to independent midwives; the IMA remains committed to resolving
this issue, however this does mean that I practice with no professional
indemnity insurance. I am, however, strictly bound by NMC rules and
their Code of Practice; my practice is also supervised by the Local
Supervisory Authority.
