We now offer two types of care. We can provide your complete midwifery care throughout your pregnancy, labour, birth and postnatal period. Or, for those living in a 5 mile radius of Clapham or Stockwell, we offer postnatal care on its own.

Full care for pregnancy, labour, birth and the postnatal period

Free consultation We offer a free consultation in our home. This is an opportunity to meet us, ask questions and find out more about the care we provide. Should you choose to book with us, one of us will return to take a detailed medical history and, with you, make a plan for your individual needs and those of your family.

During your pregnancy all appointments take place in your home and last up to an hour. In this unhurried and relaxed atmosphere, we do regular checks to ensure the well being of your pregnancy as it progresses. We also spend time helping you prepare for labour, birth, breastfeeding, and the transition to parenthood. The usual appointment schedule in pregnancy is:

• Visits every 4 weeks until 28 weeks

• Visits every 2 weeks until 36 weeks

• Then weekly visits until the birth of your baby.

Hypnosis, as preparation for labour and birth, is done as part of this schedule of appointments in your home. Allow additional time for these appointments.

During your labour, one of us will come when you need a midwife and be there to support you and provide midwifery care throughout your labour and birth, staying until you and your baby are comfortably settled in bed. Should there be a need, a second midwife will be there for the birth. If you are planning a hospital birth or you need help in labour that requires transfer to hospital, one of us will accompany you there and support you throughout.

After your baby is born, we place great emphasis on the importance of good aftercare, individualised to suit you, your baby and your family. Our initial daily visits become less frequent as you recover from the birth, gain confidence and your baby’s feeding becomes established. Ninety eight percent of the women booked with Birth Rites are fully breast feeding by the time of discharge in the fourth week.

Cost The total cost of your care is £3,500. Our care includes full antenatal care in your home, hypnosis as preparation for labour and birth, the loan of an inflatable birth pool, a midwife on call who comes out to you in labour and stays until you and your baby are tucked up in bed, and postnatal care into the fourth week after your baby is born.

Postnatal Care Only

We offer this for women planning hospital births who have discovered how little care is given in some Health Authorities following their return home. We know good postnatal midwifery care improves rates of successful breastfeeding, ensures a full recovery and raises a mother’s confidence in caring for a newborn.

To ensure good preparation for breastfeeding, baby care and recovery we start the postnatal care preparation with two home visits late in your pregnancy. After birth seven postnatal visits are made to your home.

Before the birth, two visits at home to find out your needs, and to prepare you for breastfeeding and the postnatal period.

Breastfeeding workshop – this will prepare you for successful breastfeeding and covers the physiology of breastfeeding, attachment to the breast, positions for mum and baby, sign that a baby is successfully feeding, nutrition and breastfeeding, advices on books, and much more

Recovery and postnatal care - this session will help you to prepare for the physiological process of recovery after birth, emphasising the importance of rest to your recovery, and covering the normal patterns of emotional changes, perineal hygiene, postnatal exercises and contraception .

After your baby is born your midwife will visit you soon after you return from hospital, seeing you most frequently in the first week and then spreading visits over the next 3-4 weeks to include seven postnatal visits in total.

During these visit your midwife will:

• Give assistance and support with breastfeeding.

• Help you gain confidence in recognising your baby's wellbeing and feeding

• Check your health to ensure the optimum recovery

• Check baby’s health and provide physical examination

• Give information about bathing, sleeping positions, the prevention of cot death and recognising situation such as a jaundice

• Help you gain confidence in caring for your baby.

• Keep you in touch with opportunities to meet with other parents and local support groups

• Provide telephone support until six weeks after the birth.

Cost of postnatal care alone is £700.