Refund Policy

When you book care with me (Ali Monaghan, RM, IBCLC Midwifery & Lactation Services), I reserve a space for you based on the care package you have booked.

If you have booked a birth package, I will be on call for you from 37-42 weeks of your pregnancy. During these 5 weeks, I will not take :

  • Annual leave (unless previously clarified with you prior to booking care/ signing the Booking Contract);

  • I will be available for you 24/7;

  •  I will limit how many clients I commit to being on-call for at any given time. Typically, this is a maximum of two clients in any one month;

When considering cancellations and refunds, I will always try to be fair and proportionate. 

  • I want to give you choice and avoid you paying for any care you have not received; 

  • I want to deter people from reserving a place without thinking things through, then changing their mind and cancelling at the last minute and expecting a full refund;

  • I want to be fair to myself. I make a commitment to you when you book, I arrange my personal life around your due date and being on call 24/7.  I may have also had to decline other clients who are due at a similar time as part of reserving my care for you.

Trying to balance all of this is a challenge and there will always be exceptional circumstances that will be considered on a case-by-case basis. However, below is my general refund policy:

Antenatal Care

  • When booking a single antenatal appointment on a pay-as-you-go basis, I will send you an invoice with bank details after the visit and expect prompt payment of the visit within 7 days.

  • If you need to amend the date or time of a single antenatal appointment and give me more than 24 hours’ notice, no fee is incurred. If you cancel your appointment with less than 24 hours’ notice, I will charge a 50% fee (£110).

  • If I am unable to make your appointment at any time, for any reason, you will be offered the option to change the date and/or time.

  • If you book a package of care with me but have a miscarriage, you will only pay for the appointments you have received up to that point (billed at £220/ antenatal visit), and the remainder that you have paid over that threshold will be refunded to you in full.

  • If you book a package of care with me, you have the right to change your mind and cancel a package of care within the 14 day cancellation period as stated in the Notice of the Right to Cancel on the Booking Contract. If you cancel within this time, you will receive a full refund. If you have had any care in this time, the cost of this care will be deducted from your refund (billed at £220/ antenatal visit).

  • If you book a package of care and change your mind after 14 days, you pay for any care you have had or pay £500 – whichever is the greater.

  • Antenatal care consists of visits every 4 weeks until 28 weeks of pregnancy. From that point on the visits will be fortnightly until 36 weeks of pregnancy, and then finally weekly until baby arrives. If baby has not arrived by 42 weeks, visits will be twice weekly.

  • If you have booked a package of care and choose to miss or skip any appointments, you pay the same. There is no refund or reduction in fee.

  • If you have a package of antenatal care and you cancel an appointment on the day, it will be rearranged. If this happens more than once, I may not be able to rearrange this and you may lose that appointment. In this situation, no refunds will be offered.

  • If you go into labour after 36 weeks, you pay in full for all antenatal care; there are no discounts or refunds for babies arriving before their EDD.

  • If your pregnancy is prolonged past 42 weeks, there is no additional charge for any extra appointments. 

Birth Care/ Complete Midwifery Care Packages

The payment for birth includes the commitment to you, the on-call period, the care you receive from me while birthing, the equipment used and statutory clinical indemnity insurance. The cost of the clinical indemnity insurance is built into the package of care, i.e. there is no additional fee for indemnity insurance on top of the price of the package.

Payment for birth will also include:

  • A second midwife/birth worker being available for the home birth and on-call for you 24/7 from 37 weeks in the pregnancy, and in some situations delivering additional antenatal and postnatal care to you in a shared-care arrangement.

Please call me or message me as soon as you think labour is starting, even if you don’t need me yet. This will allow me to plan my workload, notify my second midwife and ensure I am available to be with you. 

As stated in the Booking Agreement, if you cancel Birth Care before 24+0 weeks of pregnancy, you will receive a full refund for this portion of your care. If you cancel ALL care (antepartum, birth care and postnatal care) before 24+0 weeks of pregnancy, you will receive a full refund of all fees paid up to that point, less the Booking Fee and any completed antenatal visits up to that point. If you cancel Birth Care or ALL care between 24+0 weeks to 36+0 weeks in the pregnancy, 50% of the balance paid will be refunded to you. However, I understand that sometimes clinical situations arise, and your plans may change late in pregnancy. For example, you develop severe preeclampsia or obstetric cholestasis, or there are concerns about growth. I have tried to balance these situations and be reasonable in my refund policy. However, in exceptional circumstances, each case will be viewed and calculated individually.  

If you change your mind or your circumstances change before labour starts

  • If you book a birth package of care and change your mind after 24+0 weeks and before 36+0 weeks of pregnancy, you will be entitled to a refund of 50% of Birth Package fees paid. You may still choose to continue with antenatal and postnatal care in this situation.

  • If you book a package of care and cancel care after 36+0 weeks (35 weeks plus 7 days) you are required to pay for the birth element of your care in full.

I appreciate that often the decision to change plans may sometimes be made after a 36-week assessment, scan, or obstetric review etc. I also recognise that this could be deeply upsetting for you. I want to be fair to you, so with this in mind, if the cancellation is due to a medical or maternity related condition:

  • You can cancel up to 37 weeks (36 weeks and 6 days) and receive a 50% refund for your Birth Care;
    OR

  • You can continue to have my midwifery support with you in hospital and pay in full for Birth Care;

If your plan of care changes after 37+0 weeks of pregnancy (for clarity, 36 weeks plus 7 days), you will still need to pay in full for birth care.

  • If you have changed your mind, you pay in full;

  • If your plans change from a home birth to a hospital birth, I remain on-call and will be available to support you in hospital. The cost remains the same;

  • If your plans change after 37 weeks (36 weeks and 7 days) for medical reasons AND for some (very unlikely) reason I am unable to accompany you into hospital AND you have received no care in labour at home, you will be offered a partial refund, which will be calculated on a case-by-case basis. During the time you are in hospital I will be available for you via phone or text for support but cannot give clinical advice. The partial refund below reflects my commitment to you and the on call-cover period I have committed to.

Labour before 37 weeks

  • If you go into labour before 37 weeks, I will try to accompany you into hospital to the best of my ability, and continue to provide emotional support and advocacy for you in a hospital setting. In this scenario, there will be no refund as I am still providing labour support/ Birth Care to you, just in a hospital setting. If I am not available (as the on-call period has not yet commenced), I will refund you the full proportion of your birth fee less the cost of the indemnity insurance.

  • 36+5 is the earliest gestation I am comfortable supporting a home birth, in situations where the baby is growing well and over 2.5 kg and a full informed-consent discussion has occurred and you are happy to continue at home; any labour occurring prior to 36+5 weeks is considered preterm, and I would recommend a hospital setting for the birth in that scenario.

Labour after 37 weeks

  • If you receive any care at home during labour from me, you pay in full;

  • If your labour progresses very fast and baby is born after you call me but before I arrive, you pay in full.  I will have prepared you for this situation and will guide you over the phone whilst I am travelling to you. On arrival I will provide immediate care to you and baby and complete the third stage of labour;

  • If labour is very prolonged, I may call a colleague to assist or take over care for a while. This is to maintain safety. Your fee will not be reduced in these circumstances.

Induction of labour

  • If you planned a home birth but labour needs to be induced or you choose an Induction of labour (IOL), I will remain available to support you. I will explain the IOL procedure to you. Induction is prescribed by an Obstetrician and completed in a hospital environment.

  • If you are being induced for medical reasons, an induction process can sometimes take several days, and usually starts on Antenatal Ward. In this situation, I will be available to give emotional support and answer questions over the phone through early labour on Antenatal Ward, and will then come join you in the hospital at whatever point you are transferred to Labour Ward in active labour.

  • The fee for birth care remains unchanged unless one of the circumstances above applies.

Failing to call me

  • If you do not call me and you choose to freebirth, you still pay in full;

  • If you fail to call me and request me to attend when labour is established in hospital, you still pay in full;

Postnatal Care

Postnatal care includes visits at home from me, each lasting 2 hours on average  Typically, there are 3 visits in the first week, 3 in the second week, 1 in the 3rd week and 1 final appointment in the 4th week, on Postnatal Days 1, 3, 5, 7, 10, 14, 21 and 28 (depending on whether you have booked 2 or 4 weeks of postnatal care in your package).

  • When booking a single postnatal appointment on a pay-as-you-go basis, I will send you an invoice with bank details after the visit and expect prompt payment of the visit within 7 days.

  • If you need to amend the date or time of a single postnatal appointment and give me more than 24 hours’ notice, no fee is incurred. If you cancel your appointment with less than 24 hours’ notice, I will charge a 50% fee (£120).

  • If I am unable to make your appointment at any time, for any reason, and you have booked a package of postnatal care, you will be offered the option to change the day, or a refund for that single appointment will be provided.

  • If you wish to shorten your duration of postnatal care, I will look at how much care you have received up to that date and calculate a refund for you that is fair and reasonable;

  • If you book a package of care and change your mind at any point after the first postnatal appointment, you pay for the care you have had or pay £500 – whichever is the greater.

  • Any refund would take into account the time already reserved in my diary for you and the fact that I was on-call to be available to start your postnatal care at whatever point the baby is born.

Lactation Care

Lactation care includes a visit at home from me. An Initial Lactation Visit lasts for 1.5-2 hours on average; a Follow-up Lactation Visit lasts for 1-1.5 hours on average.  

  • When booking a single lactation appointment on a pay-as-you-go basis, I will send you an invoice with bank details after the visit and expect prompt payment of the visit within 7 days.

  • If you need to amend the date or time of a single lactation appointment and give me more than 24 hours’ notice, no fee is incurred. If you cancel your appointment with less than 24 hours’ notice, I will charge a 50% fee (£90 for an Initial Lactation Visit; £60 for a Follow-up Lactation Visit).

  • If I am unable to make your appointment at any time, for any reason, you will be offered the option to change the day.

  • If you book a package of care and change your mind at any point after the first lactation appointment, you pay for the care you have received up to that point, but will be refunded the remainder.