So you want to know how much a homebirth will cost you in the UK?
This post will let you know all of the potential home birth costs. Plus some things you might not have considered. It will also give you the links to get organised and ready for your home birth… Are you ready? Great… I’ll beginMain things to be aware of when considering a home birth and its costs:
Having a homebirth for free
This is totally possible and a LOT of people have home births for very little or zero cost. You can be supported by NHS midwives (ensure you discuss this at your antenatal appointment), they should go through anything you might want or need, and on the whole, it can be pretty straightforward. If you are wanting water involved, you can use your shower or bath (be sure to how easy the area can be accessed and allow support in this area.)
Birthing Pools
Birthing pools come in a variety of sizes, styles and costs, but here’s what you need to know. You can get a few different styles of inflatable pool (there are a couple of solid ones, but I haven’t heard any reviews of them), you can hire them or buy them (the resell value is normally pretty good, so if thinking of having more than one or you just prefer to own, then this is a good option) and they need a variety of accessories so make sure you know what you need, for example, what tap attachment. The hire ones come with the accessories, but you can choose extras. The main companies out there which have fantastic feedback are.
Barefoot Birthing Pools
Size options – Mini or regular
Hire length – 3 to 5 weeks (but no additional cost for longer)
Hire cost – £120 for both sizes
Refundable deposit – £100
Gentle Births Birthing Pool Hire
Size options – Mini or regular in a box or Bassine
Hire length – up to 6 weeks
Hire cost – £110 for both sizes or £105 for Bassine
Deposit – none
La Bassine Birth Pools
Pool Options -Original, Maxi, Professional Original or Professional Maxi. The professional versions are the same size as others, just made from heavier duty material
Buying cost – Original with kit and liner = £189.95, Maxi with kit and liner = £199.95, Professional Original with kit and liner = £219.95, Professional Maxi with kit and liner = £249.95
Birth Pool In A Box
Pool Options -Regular, Mini, Professional Original or Professional Maxi. The professional versions are the same size as others, just made from heavier duty material
Buy cost – Regular and Mini with liner = £159.49, Basic kit = £25.00, Standard kit = £47.00, Complete kit = £59.00
Independent Midwife
An independent midwife is a fully qualified midwife who has chosen to work outside of the NHS. They offer continuity of care for a woman or birthing person through their pregnancy, birth and afterwards. The IMUK (Independent Midwives UK) believes strongly in professional autonomy for all midwives and states it should be the norm, not the exception. Unfortunately due to Covid 19 and a required change by the insurance providers, IMUK doesn’t currently have indemnity insurance, so their midwives cannot currently attend births. Something I hope is sorted soon as they do such an amazing job. If you have a look at the stats for IM’s vs NHS care, the outcomes for mother and baby are so much better. If you want to know more take a look at their website – The cost for an Independent Midwife can be anywhere from £2000 to £5000, they normally offer payment plans to help out with the financial side
Private Midwife
You may choose to go for a private midwife, especially if you are wanting a guarantee of continuity of your midwife during your pregnancy. Private midwives often have a lot more experience of home births due to the nature of their work. Unlike Independent midwives, private midwives have not been affected by indemnity insurance issues, so are still able to support and attend births. Here is the link for their site. The cost for a Private midwife to support a home birth can be anything from £3370 to £6500 plus some optional extras, depending on what level of package you were to choose.
Doula
YA Doula is a person who supports the whole family through pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period. They are there to support (practically and emotionally), advocate and give information. They do not take a clinical role, but more that of a birthing partner. They cost on average £14 to £25 per hour depending on their level of experience. Which could be anything from £800 – £2000 for a home birth plus support before and after. There are a lot of Doula organisations out there and I am not going to be able to list them all. But here are a few of the larger ones –
Doula UK
Find My Doula
The doula Collective
Potential Additional Costs To Consider
Some things you may want to consider, these are not specific to home birth but are useful to any birthing location
What are you planning for your umbilical cord and placenta? Are you just going to leave this to the midwives? They often use a large plastic clip on the umbilical cord, you may want to use a tie instead, these are relatively inexpensive and can be bought from ETSY. Are you planning on a Lotus birth? Or maybe you are thinking of doing something with your placenta; having it encapsulated (anything from £150 to £500) or made into a smoothie (yummy I hear you say, but I’ve heard people say it made such a difference to them). Take a look at these websites for options –
Placenta Remedies Network
Placenta Plus
Placenta Practice
Birth Photographer
Now you may be a private person and want to limit the people at your birth, or you may want to capture it all so you don’t forget this amazing life-changing experience. The prices can vary massively depending on their and your location I have seen prices from £1175 upwards. I have seen cheaper but these are from less experienced (I didn’t say they weren’t as good) photographers.
Summary
So as you can see, a homebirth can cost anything from £0 – £8000+ depending on what you want from it. “Wow, that is a lot of money” I hear you say… But let me ask you this, how much did you spend on your wedding, your car or your house deposit. Birth is one of the most important moments of your life, something you will remember forever, for some people this will mean doing it totally themselves and not needing to spend anything, for some it will mean getting “the best” birth photographer going and having a Doula for support. The thing is, there is no right way to do it… The wrong way however would be not listening to your heart and pushing (pardon the pun) for the birth you deserve.
