Private Independent Midwifery Care
From the same midwife you know and trust
Antenatal Care
Each antenatal appointment will last up to 2 hours and will assess the holistic health and wellbeing of you and your baby with a full antenatal check. The care you receive is completely bespoke to your needs and wishes. Your care package will include:
Booking appointment - includes taking a full medical and pregnancy history, creating your own personal maternity notes and care planning for your pregnancy and birth. Blood pressure measurement and urinalysis. Referral to multi-disciplinary medical team if required.
I recommend all packages are dual booked with your local NHS maternity service, to access screening bloods, maternal wellbeing bloods and ultrasound scanning. This facilitates a collaborative, multi-disciplinary team approach which is best clinical practice. However, advice on private blood and screening tests, including ultrasound scans can be arranged if you prefer at additional cost.
Previous birth debrief (if needed).
Antenatal appointments - include a full holistic health assessment including blood pressure measurement, urinalysis, fetal well-being and growth.
I can refer and accompany you to obstetric, anaesthetic, physiotherapy, ultrasound and specialist appointments if required.
Sneek Peak Early Gender DNA Test (If required).
WhatsApp and telephone support available in between appointments.
Antenatal education is provided at every home visit depending on individual needs including KGHypnobirthing and biomechanics for birth.
Colostrum harvesting kit (if required).
You can arrange a home visit at around 8-10 weeks for your booking appointment and then home antenatal visits around 16, 20, 25, 28, 31, 34, 36, 38, 40 and 41 weeks.
I am in the fortunate position to work with a collective of experienced midwives, all of whom are registered with Zest to attend births as well. As part of providing gold standard midwifery care, we routinely have two midwives attending a homebirth. You will have all of your antenatal care with myself but will meet your second midwife at the 34-36 week antenatal visit. This gives you the opportunity to get to know them, benefit from their experience too, and feel relaxed knowing your birth team in advance.
I offer a full continuity of carer plan, individual antenatal appointments or antenatal care only plan according to your individual needs.
Labour & Birth Care
As your midwife I will be on call for you 24/7 from 37 weeks and you are guaranteed to have support for your birth whenever you need it.
If you have chosen to birth at home, I can provide full clinical midwifery care. I will come to your house when you are in established labour and will stay with you until after your baby has been born. When the time of your birth is nearing, a second midwife will also come to your home. At a homebirth you can be guaranteed the support of two experienced and confident practitioners who fully believe in the process of physiological birth and will help you to trust your body throughout the process.
If you have chosen to birth your baby at hospital on a birth centre or labour ward, by elective caesarean or if during a homebirth we recommend for you to transfer into hospital for additional medical care, I can support you as a professional birth partner only and will be unable to provide any clinical midwifery care. This means I am able to offer you emotional and physical support and be an advocate for you, offering continuity of carer until your baby is born.
Labour care includes:
Myself on call for you 24/7 from 37 weeks until birth
Use of TENS machine and disposable pads
Homebirth midwifery care OR
Myself as a birth partner at a NHS birth centre, labour ward or elective caesarean birth until your baby is born. I am unable to provide any clinical care in a NHS setting.
Additional midwife to be on call from 37 weeks of pregnancy for your homebirth. You’ll have the opportunity to meet them at an antenatal visit.
Aromatherapy massage for birth
Active birth techniques, including biomechanics to support labour and birth
Entonox for homebirth (if required)
Use of birth pool including disposable liner, hose and pump for homebirth (if required)
Immediate postnatal care for the whole family at a homebirth
Assistance with initiation of your chosen method of feeding
Vitamin K for baby if desired at a homebirth
If you have birthed your baby at home, we will do all the clearing up and make you feel comfortable. This leaves you to focus on your new addition and enjoy those precious early moments as a new family. Your birth team will stay with you for 2-4 hours and make sure all is well before they leave.
Postnatal Care
I will be there every step of the way as you adjust into life with your newest little family member. Each postnatal visit will be 1-2 hours and include a full postnatal health check for you and your baby, support with feeding and advice on caring for your newborn. Your baby's weight will be monitored on day 5, 10 & 28 and you will be offered the Newborn Blood Spot Test to screen for genetic and metabolic disorders on day 5 (included in fee).
I can arrange for a private newborn infant physical examination (NIPE) screening test to be completed, in your home within 72 hours from birth for an additional fee or you can access this examination for free via the NHS.
I offer a full continuity of carer plan, individual postnatal appointments and a postnatal care only plan according to your individual needs.
“Cheryl was very friendly and approachable from day one and really put me at ease. She has really helped us prepare for the new addition in our family and we both now look forward to the birth with excitement rather than the nerves we had previously. I cannot thank you Cheryl enough for the support and guidance throughout my pregnancy and I would strongly recommend her“. - Laura ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
If you would like to book a free video consultation or to book midwifery care, please fill in the contact form below and I will contact you as soon as possible -
Your Safety
As a Zest registered midwife safety is always at the forefront of the midwifery care I provide. You can be assured that your birth team will be highly experienced and trained medical professionals. I carry equipment and drugs for all emergency situations and we are highly trained to manage these, with yearly updates and training.
As midwives, we use the NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) guidelines to provide gold-standard midwifery care, as well as being up to date with the latest research to ensure the care you receive is current and underpinned by evidence.
All midwives are registered with the NMC and work under their code of conduct to maintain their professional PIN. I am also a member of The Royal College of Nursing and Independent Midwives U.K.
It is a legal requirement in this country for all midwives to have full indemnity insurance and this is included in every package of birth care. If you are receiving antenatal or postnatal care only, insurance is provided by The Royal College of Nursing. All of our birth collective are registered with Zest and we access indemnity insurance through them, from an insurance company called SKUL.
At Zest we have access to clinical support from a consultant midwife, professional midwifery advocate and senior midwife team to ensure our midwifery care is of the highest quality and safety standards. If any complexities arise, I can refer you for additional medical care from your local maternity unit.
