When to consider a Private Midwife in Sussex (and what actually changes)

I ordered some medical supplies in my local pharmacy last week, and the pharmacist had no idea private independent midwives exist. He looked at me blankly. So, that’s why I’m sitting down to write this.

If the pharmacist doesn’t know we exist, how on earth is a pregnant woman meant to know?

So this is for you. Maybe you already know you want an independent midwife and you’re just looking for the right one. Maybe you’d never heard of it until today. Either way, I will tell you how it works.

I’m Virginia. I run Rise Midwives, a private midwifery practice, Im based in East Sussex. I work with women across east and west Sussex, Brighton, Worthing, Eastbourne, Hastings and the borders of Surrey, and Kent. I’ve been a midwife since 2009. I’ve had two home births of my own.

I set up Rise because I’d seen, from both sides, what birth can look like when a woman is truly held, and what it looks like when she’s not. I’ve had two home births of my own. I know what it feels like to be trusted. To be given time. To have someone who knows you walk you through it. It changed me forever! I’ve also spent years watching women walk out of birth feeling small. Not because their midwives didn’t care, they did but the maternity care system just runs too fast, especially now. Rise is my answer to that. One midwife. Real time, presence, humanity and respectful relationship based care. The kind of care I knew was possible because I’d lived it.

So what is a private midwife

A qualified midwife, registered with the NMC, working independently of the NHS. I’m registered with the NMC  and I’m also a member of the Royal College of Nursing, and insured through Zest.

What I actually do

As your midwife, I provide full clinical care and continuity throughout your pregnancy, birth, and postnatal period:

• Antenatal appointments at home, usually an hour or more, covering all the checks you’d have with an NHS midwife (blood pressure, urine, listening to baby, abdominal palpation, growth monitoring)
• Birth care at home, hospital, or birth centre, wherever you choose (However I only have clinical responsibility if you have your baby at home, in other settings I can be your birth support and advocate).
• Access to Homebirth care
• Newborn care: checks, feeding support
• Postnatal visits: for you and baby, including feeding, wound care if needed, emotional support, and the newborn examination

One midwife. One to one. In your own space.

Your care, your decisions

Here’s the bit most women don’t realise: I was doing my clinic and a women told me “oh I thought I have to do all of the tests that you are telling me about”!

Bloods, scans, and screening appointments, even midwifery care, aren’t mandatory in the uk. They’re offered, and you choose.

If you want them, they can happen through the NHS or privately. I can arrange private scanning, or you can stick with the NHS for testing. This is totally up to you, and you can change your mind at any point.

You can also have as much or as little NHS involvement alongside me as you like, including none at all. Some women use both. Some step away from NHS maternity care completely once they’ve hired me. Both are valid choices.

Whatever you choose, I’ll give you the evidence behind the informations and the offerings  and the time to actually think it through, so you can make the choice that is right for you and your family.

Working alongside the NHS

If you want to keep NHS involvement, I work alongside your NHS team. If transfer to hospital is ever recommended, I come with you. As your midwife and your advocate.

Who hires a private midwife

Honestly? All sorts of women. Let me tell you about some of them.

There’s the woman who’s just had her booking appointment and already feels like a number. She’s not against the NHS, she knows the midwives are doing their best, it’s just 30 minutes with no continuity. And deep down, she’s thinking: this isn’t what I want. I want to be known, and I want to know my midwife.

Then there’s the one who wants a home birth and is sick of having to fight for it. Look, she’s done her reading. Just wants a midwife who doesn’t pull a face when she says it out loud, and who’ll actually be there on the day, not whoever’s on call, and believe in her ability to do it. She also wants the service not to be fragmented and unreliable like it is now in the NHS.

Or the VBAC woman. Last time ended in a caesarean and this time she wants to try. Everyone’s told her it’s risky. What she’s looking for is someone who’ll sit down with her, go through what the evidence actually says, and back her whichever way she goes. The kind of care and support, that will actually help to have a vagina birth not sabotage it!

The ones with more complex pregnancies

Another one I see a lot, the mums and people whose baby is breech.They have been told caesarean’s her only option. Then she’s googled at midnight and realised that’s not quite the full story. Now she wants a midwife who’s actually support and discuss breech births options and can have a real conversation about it.

Sometimes it’s the woman carrying something from her last birth. Maybe she can call it trauma, Maybe she doesn’t. Either way, she knows she can’t do it the same way again. She needs someone who gets that birth and the nervous system aren’t two separate things.

The “high-risk” one, (who is not hight risk these days?)  She’s watched her options quietly shrink. Induction by 39 weeks. Continuous monitoring. No water. No home. She’s not refusing care, she’s just trying to understand the actual numbers behind what she’s being told. What she wants is someone who’ll help her navigate all of this and hold her in the process of choosing what is best for her.

And the ones who just want to be known

Then there’s the woman with no story at all. No trauma, no complicated history, nothing dramatic. She just doesn’t want a stranger at her birth. Honestly, that’s more than enough.

I’ll be straight with you, some of them are women who’ve watched the news. The staffing, the national reports and enquiry the stories. They’re not blaming anyone. They just want to know the person walking them through this, and they want her to have time.

What continuity actually means

I’ll be with walking with you and your family the whole journey!

All your antenatal appointments, usually at home. On call for you from 37 weeks. I come to your birth. I do your postnatal visits afterwards. Basically, you’re not re-telling your story at every appointment. You’re not explaining your birth plan to a stranger at 4am while you’re having a contraction. I know your history. I know what scares you. I know what you’re hoping for, we have created a relationship of trust and we know each other.

The evidence is strong. The 2024 Cochrane review found women with the same midwife throughout are less likely to have interventions and more likely to feel good about their care, have better outcomes and experinece. The World Health Organisation said the same thing in 2024: midwifery models of care save lives.

If you want to read more, Sara Wickham has a brilliant summary here.

Why the NHS struggles to offer this

The NHS isn’t failing families by accident, now more than ever. As Sara Wickham and others have written, standardised care systems can’t easily accommodate the relational, time-rich midwifery that actually delivers the best outcomes. It’s the model, not the midwives.

That’s why independent and private midwifery exists. Not because the NHS midwives aren’t good. Because the system they’re working in doesn’t give them the time.

What’s included

I have two main packages, Cosmo and Sunrise. Full details on my services page, but here’s the gist.

Antenatal appointments at home, usually an hour or more. Me on the phone 24/7 from the start. I come to your birth wherever you’ve chosen, home, hospital, birth centre. Postnatal visits after. Feeding support, newborn checks, all the usual stuff plus the embodiment, holistic approach that see you as a whole.

I’m also passionate about energy healing,  placenta medicine, and ceremonies, these can be part of your care if it resonate with you.

I also offer other options and ways to work together: single home visits antenatally or postnatally, feeding support, birth trauma release,  virtual consultation, NIPT test, …

How much does a private midwife cost?

Packages run from £3,000 for tailored support up to £9,000 for the full Cosmo package. I want to talk about something here, because it comes up a lot.

There’s something that feels uncomfortable about paying for healthcare in the UK. Like you’re jumping the queue. Like you’re saying the system is broken. You can love the NHS and still know it can’t promise you what you need as a person. It can’t promise someone who knows you. Who believes in you. Who has time.

Choosing a private midwife isn’t a rejection of anything. It’s a recognition of what you need.

And it’s not about luxury. A good birth experience isn’t a nice-to-have, it’s a right. Too many women have been told to just be grateful their baby is healthy. It’s silenced them. Kept them from naming what went wrong. Kept them from grieving what they deserved.

You only birth this baby once.

Think of it as an investment. In your experience. In your health. In your baby’s start. In how you feel walking out the other side of this. You’re paying for time, for care that sees and respect you,  for an experience that stays with you and your family, your children, their children, FOREVER. Did you know that trauma can be passed to 7 generation? BUT SO CAN LOVE, KINDNESS, AND A PEACEFUL BEGINNING!

How do you know if it’s right

You probably already know. If you want to talk it through, that’s what the free exploration call is for.

What happens next

Book a free 45-minute exploration call,or email me at virginia@risemidwives.com if you have any questions.

Not ready for a call yet?  come and say hi on instagram, my inbox is always open and I’l love to see you there!!!!

I hope this has helped you and to hear form you if this kind of midwifery is what you are looking for !

With love, V