Independent Midwife Price Comparison

In this page you will find the independent midwife price for all the packages, services and events I offer if you are considering paying for maternity care.

HOMEBIRTH PACKAGES 2025 PRICES

You can find out all about my different home birth packages by visiting the home birthing section. Below however I provide a convenient independent midwife price comparison between the comprehensive, traditional and basic packages. A little tip, if you are viewing this page on your phone, turn your screen horizontally to view three packages at the same time and compare their features.

COMPREHENSIVE

The most complete package
£ 8000
  • From 8 weeks pregnant
  • Until 6 weeks postnatal
  • 15 antenatal appointments
  • 10 h of birth preparation
  • Biomechanics course
  • Colostrum harvesting kit
  • Support during scans and consultant appointments
  • Birth care at home or hospital
  • 10L Entonox
  • TENS hire with pads
  • 12 postnatal appointments
  • NIPE and NBBS check
  • Lactation consultant review if clinical need (tongue tie, slow weight gain, feeding plan)
  • 20 luxury goody bag worth £200 (Not available for discounted packages)
  • Sling for baby wearing or rebozo
Best value

TRADITIONAL

The most populat option
£ 7000
  • From 20 weeks pregnant
  • Until 4 weeks postnatal
  • 11 antenatal appointments
  • 10 h of birth preparation
  • Biomechanics course
  • Colostrum harvesting kit
  • Support during consultant appointments
  • Birth care at home or hospital
  • 10L Entonox
  • TENS hire with pads
  • 9 postnatal appointments
  • NIPE and NBBS check
  • Lactation consultant review if clinical need (tongue tie, slow weight gain, feeding plan)
  • 15 luxury goody bag worth £150 (Not available for discounted packages)
  • Sling for baby wearing or rebozo
Popular

BASIC

Budget or Last minute option
£ 6000
  • From 31 or 34 weeks
  • Until 1 week postnatal
  • 7 antenatal appointments
  • Birth plan discussion only
  • Biomechanics course
  • Colostrum Harvesting Kit
  • Support with consultant appointments at £150/app
  • Birth at home or the hospital
  • 10L Entonox
  • TENS hire with pads
  • 3 postnatal appointments alongside NHS care
  • NIPE and NBBS check
  • Lactation consultant review if clinical need (tongue tie, slow weight gain, feeding plan)
  • Small Goody bag worth £50 (Not available for discounted packages)
LAst minute

All packages above include

– Antenatal, birth and postnatal care.
– 2 hour long appointments at home.
– Family members welcomed.
– Evidence review for those difficult decisions.
– Unlimited text and calls during working hours

– Two midwives at your birth.
– On call from 37 weeks.
– Drugs, PPE and safety equipment.
– Birth insurance.
-Natural parent magazines

– NIPE and NBBS check.
– Unrushed breastfeeding support.
– Co-sleeping guidance.
– Mileage up to 1 hour or 50 miles.
– Birth pool rental NOT included.

Not what you are looking for?

OTHER SERVICES

Any questions on the independent midwife price comparisons?

Hello! My name is Irene Vine and I am an independent midwife  covering Suffolk, Essex, Cambridge and East London. I provide full antenatal, postnatal and birth care including homebirths and outside of guidelines care. I am passionate about supporting women achieve a birth experience where they feel empowered, heard and understood. If you would like to experience the best possible care with unrushed appointments and a midwife who is always at the other end of the phone, give me a call! I cover most cities and villages in East Anglia, such as Chelmsford, Colchester, Ipswich, Cambridge, Harlow, London or Southend.

Great News!

From June 2025 I am working with the fabulous lactation consultant Jenny Harmer and her services are included in all my packages free of charge if there is a clinical need for a referral such as a tongue tie review, baby not putting on enough weight, feeding plans, etc. 

(Tongue tie division is not included in the price and it will have to be arranged with Jenny separately. This is only available for clients in Essex and Suffolk. For clients in other locations I will source a different lactation consultant)

Resources For Fetal Heart Monitoring

1.When did we start monitoring babies in labour?

For more high quality evidence around fetal monitoring please visit Kirsten website here, an obstetrician with a PHD in CTGs. https://birthsmalltalk.com/

In this post she discusses intermittent auscultation: https://birthsmalltalk.com/2023/08/23/what-is-intermittent-auscultation/

Hear her talk about the lack of evidence behind CTGs in this podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1eXZY973Oxbs1ducavpSAk?si=872f8c4077be4ba5

Post on the history of fetal heart monitoring: https://birthsmalltalk.com/2023/08/09/listening-to-the-fetus-the-history-of-fetal-heart-rate-monitoring/

Cochrane review comparing CTG to intermittent ausculation (CTG increases interventions
): https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD006066.pub3/full

Does CTG use improve outcomes for high risk women? https://birthsmalltalk.com/2024/10/16/the-story-behind-our-paper/

2. How should we use intermittent auscultation in labour?

These are the NICE guidelines for fetal monitoring in labour: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng229/chapter/Recommendations

Midwife researcher and lecturer Rachel Reed has a brilliant article and podcast about this where she unpicks the evidence around the recommendations for intermittent auscultation protocols here https://www.rachelreed.website/blog/listening-to-baby-during-labour

and podcast here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3sJeIR3xUOr20EBRGilHxl?si=818537594dd04457

The WHO recommendations for intrapartum care: https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/260178/9789241550215-eng.pdf?sequence=1

3. How does intermittent auscultation detect fetal distress?

For more on normal and abnormal heart rate monitoring watch this explanatory video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ni48bbtiZgs

4. What happens if there are concerns with the fetal heart rate at a homebirth?

NICE guidelines for fetal monitoring in labour: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng229/chapter/Recommendations

5.What is better for fetal monitoring in labour: a Doppler or a Pinard/fetoscope?

To read about the research and the experiences of midwives using a fetoscope/pinard antenatally and in labour check these links out.

Short facebook comments compiled in this magazine here: https://www.midwiferytoday.com/mt-articles/wisdom-of-the-midwives-issue-131/

Midwives perceptions of fetoscope vrs Doppler Tanzania https://bmcpregnancychildbirth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12884-018-1736-y

Midwives experiences of Pinard use Norway https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0266613822000407

Defense of fetoscope article by American midwives

https://hearthandhomemidwifery.com/blog/fetoscope-a-tool-of-the-midwifery-trade#:~:text=Fetoscope%20uses%20go%20beyond%20just,birthing%20person%20and%20the%20baby.

A Cochrane review that compares Doppler and Pinard use in low income countries: https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD008680.pub2/full

For a compilation of research that compares the use of Doppler to Pinard check this link: https://www.cochranelibrary.com/content?templateType=related&urlTitle=%2Fcentral%2Fdoi%2F10.1002%2Fcentral%2FCN-01110791&doi=10.1002%2Fcentral%2FCN-01110791&p_p_id=scolariscontentdisplay_WAR_scolariscontentdisplay&_scolariscontentdisplay_WAR_scolariscontentdisplay_action=related-content&p_p_lifecycle=0&p_p_mode=view&type=central&contentLanguage=

6. What if you decline some or all fetal auscultations?

Is fetal monitoring essential?: https://birthsmalltalk.com/2024/11/06/myth-busting-3-fetal-monitoring-is-essential/

7. What to bear in mind about intermittent auscultation in labour?

Examples of womens experiences of fetal auscultation in labour: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1871519224002658#bib14