Terms and Conditions

DEFINITIONS

When the following words with capital letters are used in these Terms, this is what they will mean: 

  • Event Outside My Control: is defined in clause 7.2;

  • Booking Contract: My Booking Contract for the Services

  • Services: the services that I am providing to you as set out in the Booking Contract;

  • Terms: the terms and conditions set out in this document; and

  • I/My /Me: Ali Monaghan / Ali Monaghan, RM, IBCLC Midwifery & Lactation Services, unless I say otherwise.

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.

  • 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 £200/ 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 and change your mind after the first appointment, you pay for the 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 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- no refunds will be offered.

  • If you go into labour after 36 weeks, you pay in full for antenatal care.

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

Birth Care

The payment for birth includes the commitment to you, the on-call period, the care you receive, the equipment used and statutory clinical indemnity insurance (currently charged at £1,600 per birth). The cost of the clinical indemnity insurance is built into the package of care, there is no additional fee for indemnity insurance on top of the price of the package.

Payment for birth will also include:

  • A back-up second midwife/birth worker being available for the home birth and on-call for you 24/7 from 37 weeks in the pregnancy.

  • 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. 

I do understand that sometimes, clinical situations arise, and your plans may change late in pregnancy. For example, your baby is breech, you develop severe preeclampsia, 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 package of care and change your mind before 36 weeks of pregnancy (35 weeks plus 7 days), you pay for the antenatal care you have received plus a £500 fee for reserving the birth care and holding the space available for your birth.  You can cancel the birth element of your care and receive a refund for this less the holding fee.

  • If you book a package of care and cancel care after 36 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 only 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 full refund for your labour and birth care, less the holding fee of £500;
    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 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 reason I am unable to accompany you into hospital AND you have had no care in labour at home, you will be offered a partial refund. 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 I have committed to.

    • Birth after 37 weeks where I cannot attend you in Hospital and have provided no care at home you will receive a partial refund of £1,500 (please note there is no £500 holding fee due in this scenario);

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. If I am not available (as the on-call period has not commenced) I will refund you the full proportion of your birth fee less the £500 holding fee.

  • For insurance purposes, 36+5 is the earliest a home birth can occur in situations where the baby is growing well and over 2.5 kg and a full informed-consent discussion has occurred and the couple is happy to continue at home; any labour occurring prior to 36+5 weeks is considered preterm and should occur in a hospital setting.

Labour after 37 weeks

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

  • If a transfer to hospital in labour (before birth) is required AND you have received no care from me at Home and I am unable to attend you in labour I will refund you £1,500 and will be available to provide support via text, phone or video call;

  • 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 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 1.5-2 hours on average  Typically, there are 3 visits in the first week, 3 in the second week, 1 in the 3rd week and on final appointment in the 4th week. 

  • 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.

  • 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 had to 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 account of the time already reserved in my diary for you and the fact that I was on-call to be available to start the 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.

  • 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.