Complete Midwifery Care
Midwifery care through your entire pregnancy, support during labour and birth at home, and then 2-4 weeks of postnatal care following the birth, ensuring you have support from a trusted midwife for every phase of your childbearing journey.
Studies have shown that labour proceeds more smoothly and birthing people are more satisfied with their care when they know their midwife and have formed a trusting relationship with them. The Complete Midwifery package allows for this trust to develop over the course of many visits.
Care begins in the antenatal period with a Booking visit, usually around 12 weeks into your pregnancy, which is done in the comfort of your home, lasts about 2 hours, and includes questions about your medical, surgical, obstetric, social and mental health histories. After the Booking visit, further visits are scheduled every 4 weeks up until 28 weeks, every 2 weeks up until 36 weeks, and then weekly from that point until the birth (although this schedule is flexible and can be tailored to meet your individual needs). Each visit lasts about an hour, and can be scheduled Monday-Friday at a convenient time for you, either during the day or in the evening after work. Should your baby decide to go past their due date, visits are also provided at 41 and 42 weeks, information booklets on Induction of Labour will be reviewed to ensure you have all the information you need to make informed decisions about your care, and plans can be made for fetal-wellbeing checks either privately or through the NHS.
Antenatal visits are family affairs and involve checking on the physical health and well-being of you and the baby, as well as your emotional health and well-being. T
here is plenty of time to explore your birth preferences in depth, answer your questions and provide birth, infant feeding and newborn education and preparation. You also have access to my library of birth and breastfeeding books, as well as information booklets on birth choices, such as options for the third stage of labour and Vitamin K. In some cases we may even look at research studies together to ensure that I am providing you with the most up-to-date, evidence-based information possible. You can choose to either continue with your NHS antenatal appointments in addition to our visits, or you may prefer to opt out. Regardless of what you choose, you will still be able to access NHS care should it be needed. I can also arrange for scans and blood tests to be done either privately or through the NHS, and can refer and collaborate with other healthcare professionals as needed should any additional input be needed, as well as accompany you to consultant visits or scans.
Outside of our scheduled visits, I am available to support you throughout the antenatal period by phone, email or text at any point. Should you happen to go into labour early, I will make every effort to join you in the hospital during the birth, and can provide care and support to you and your family within the neonatal unit, as well as continue to provide postnatal care up through 4-6 weeks past the original estimated due date.
From 37 weeks in the pregnancy I will be ‘on-call’ for you, making myself available to you 24/7 and ready to come to you in labour whenever you call. This means that I stay close to home, carry my birth equipment with me wherever I go, and am prepared to provide midwifery care and continuous labour support from the start of active labour through the birth of your baby at home. After the birth I will stay with you for several hours (usually 4-6 hours) postnatally, ensuring that you and the baby are both doing well before leaving. If a transfer needs to occur from the home to hospital setting at any point, I will accompany you to the hospital and stay with you through the birth of your baby. However, due to hospital insurance policies, I am unable to provide clinical care in the hospital setting, so in this situation my role would consist of providing emotional support, answering questions and advocating for you.
At this time, I am only offering a home birth service for labour and birth care. If you are planning on giving birth in the hospital but would like midwifery care before and after the birth, please read more about the Antenatal and Postnatal packages that I offer. Additionally, I have provided further information about the advantages and safety of home birth in the FAQ, as well as some of the changes and accommodations I have made due to Covid-19.
The postnatal period is a very special and delicate time, when it’s important to cocoon a family in support so they can adjust to the many ups and downs of life with a new baby. As part of the Complete Midwifery Package, postnatal care begins in the period immediately after the birth, and then continues daily for the first 3 days, then on Postnatal Days 5, 7, 10, 14, 21 and 28, with the option to extend care through 5-6 weeks if desired (additional visits can also be provided during this time as needed). Postnatal visits last 1.5 hours and include checking in on your emotional and mental health and well-being, as well as a head-to-toe physical exam which will assess your breasts/chest, abdomen, uterus, bleeding, stitches and wound healing. A full physical exam will also be done on the baby, including assessing baby’s skin, umbilical cord, nappy output and weight gain. I also provide the Newborn Bloodspot Screening test on Day 5 if desired, and can arrange for the Newborn Physical Exam (NIPE) screening assessment to be done either at home or through the NHS in the first 72 hours after birth.
Postnatal visits are never rushed, and allow for plenty of time to answer all of the many questions that come with having a new baby. My expertise as an IBCLC can help to ensure that breast(chest)feeding gets off to the best start possible, and any extra lactation support is included as part of the package. If the baby has a tongue-tie or any other feeding difficulties, I am also very knowledgeable about diagnosing and handling these challenges, and can help refer you to tongue-tie practitioners as needed. Additionally, I have years of personal experience with baby-wearing, and can help you add sling and wrap use to your parenting toolbox (and boy are they versatile and fabulous tools to have!).
During the postnatal period, my aim is to promote your personal rest and recovery, help guide you through the steep learning curve of parenting during first few weeks, and help to nurture you so that you can focus on nurturing your amazing new baby.
Complete Midwifery Care pricing
I work in collaboration with Private Midwives and have full indemnity coverage for birth services.
Complete Midwifery Care includes:
Antenatal Care from Booking visit (usually 8-12 weeks in the pregnancy), monthly visits up through 28 weeks, then visits every 2 weeks up through 36 weeks, then weekly until your baby’s birth;
Birth preparation and breastfeeding sessions and access to my birth and breastfeeding library, plus other resources and research as needed;
Support at NHS obstetrician or consultant visits and/ or scans if needed;
Access to me by phone 24/7 throughout the pregnancy up through 6 weeks postnatally;
‘On-call’ from 37 weeks in your pregnancy until your baby arrives;
Continuous care in labour at home from active labour through the birth of your baby, and support in hospital in the event of a transfer to hospital care;
Postnatal Care for two weeks or four weeks, on days 1, 3, 5, 7, 10, 14, 21, 28, with the option to extend care through 5-6 weeks postnatally if needed;
Skilled lactation support in my role as IBCLC, including tongue-tie assessment and referrals as needed;
TENS machine;
Complete Package with 2 weeks of Postnatal Care: £6,500
Complete Package with 4 weeks of Postnatal Care: £6,900
Payment Plans are available.
If you feel like I might be the right midwife for you, or have any questions about home birth or the Complete Midwifery Care package, please get in touch for a free enquiry.
What people are saying:
“Who will we choose to not only share but guide us through one of the most special and intimate moments in our life?
I admit, in hindsight, I feel very lucky we didn’t really have to ask ourselves this question. Home birth only became obvious for me once I’d met Ali. She was that person for us, without a doubt. It didn’t take very much to convince my partner, Nic, who initially thought having our baby at home was my scariest, craziest idea to date.
Our daughter, Philippine, was born as the sun was rising over our bed, with palpable oxytocin all around. It’s hard to put into words how safe and calm having Ali with us through the pregnancy, on that night, and afterwards made us feel.
I think if we had to use just two words to try and describe the beautiful human being and midwife Ali is, they’d be ‘care’ and ‘balance’.
We found that Ali finds the perfect balance in everything she does. From her approach to birth and how she respects and loves the physiology and spirituality of it as well as knowing the value and beauty of modern medicine when it’s needed, to finding the right posture to support us in labour.
Philippine is now 2.5 months old, and we’re still on a high from her birth. We, as parents, her and her older brother have been so calm and happy together; and we are so deeply convinced that how, where and who she was born with has a lot to do with this.
I’ve agonised over this testimonial for weeks, as it feels impossible to put into just a few words the experience this birth has been for us as a family and the role Ali has played. But if you’re reading this, let us share two things: 1. You’re probably quite seriously considering a home birth: going for it was one of the very best decisions in our lives. Really. 2. Have a chat to Ali, listen to your gut. It’s down to chemistry, after all. But I can promise any boxes you have about experience, knowledge, care, openness and support will be ticked.
Have a beautiful birth!” —Lise
“Ali is the perfect midwife for our family. She is intuitive in the most ancient way, connected to the spiritual act of birth and honouring the process in the truest sense as a midwife. Whilst also being incredibly up-to-date with science, research and treatments, which she can competently use when needed. She cares, like a mother or a true friend would care, and after birth that is exactly what you need. She never made us feel like a question or concern was unimportant or silly, she respected our choices, our house, our children—and that respect is what made us feel we could trust her. Thank you again, Ali.'“ —Elizabeth
“Ali was brilliant throughout the process. Through the antenatal care, Ali set us up to feel so informed about birth, our options and different eventualities. Her visits were always enjoyable and she went above and beyond to help make the pregnancy special and memorable. At the birth Ali was exactly what I needed, giving support and guidance throughout including making the difficult decision to transfer. The combination of the antenatal preparation and her presence at the hospital helped to make the hospital experience as positive a one as possible, and Ali was always on hand to help us navigate decisions and information. Finally when it came to the postnatal care, I’m not sure what I’d have done without Ali. In a difficult, vulnerable time, Ali’s care and compassion was unparalleled. I am also confident I wouldn’t have been able to breastfeed without her practical and emotional support. I am so grateful to Ali and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend her to anyone.” —Helen
Midwifery Care in the Time of Covid
While Covid-19 has changed some of the ways that I practice and provide care, many aspects of midwifery care remain the same. For more information on the precautions I am taking to keep us safe during this unusual time, please read the FAQ here.