Nine Months : Private Care

If you want private care, there are a couple of options available:

* A private home birth - this is performed by a private or independent midwife who will be responsible for your antenatal and postnatal care.

* You can decide to be associated with a private hospital or private maternity home all through pregnancy.

If you have private medical insurance and think that your maternity stay in a private hospital will be covered, do ask your appropriate helpline for complete details. Most private medical insurance companies don't pay for private charges for normal delivery. However, if there is a caesarean (emergency and not elective), an episiotomy or an assisted delivery, these are not considered as 'normal' and you may be covered. Amenity rooms in local hospitals which are partly private are not covered. Only the private wing of a local hospital is covered under most medical insurance companies.