“I chose to give birth at home with the support of a trusted friend - The Village Midwife. Someone who has literally been part of helping me find my village in this parenthood journey. All I wanted for my birth was to be in the hands of someone I trusted and someone who knew me. Not a student, not an agency midwife in the NHS like my first birth. I wanted trust; to know the person who was going to see me in my most vulnerable state. Continuity of care shouldn’t be so hard to find, and it’s the biggest reason why I advocated for a home birth despite living in the middle of nowhere and us being a bit unsure of the safety - and breaking the societal norm of giving birth in a hospital. Sophie put our minds at rest, telling us stories of her experience, backed up by stats; and backed up by her vast experience of birth - she told us what medicines and what tactics she would use if I haemorrhaged, how she would calmly transfer me to hospital if there were any concerns, how she would deal with every emergency situation we could think of and how she would use her knowledge of biomechanics to safely deliver our baby.

When it came down to it, Sophie was there before my partner could even get home from work. Sophie supported me in labour and gently guided my partner in how to support me during intense contractions. She left me to it; quietly observing unnoticed by me as I did my thing with each contraction. In the end, I had the most amazing birth in just 5 hours of labour - and you can see the shock on my face at the fact I gave birth to our baby Belle, in my living room, with Tom holding me up, with just a comb, a pool and gas and air for pain relief. No tears, no stitches, no monitors, no ‘guided pushing’ and no giving birth on my back. Just a 3-4 powerful pushes and my baby was born safely.

Sophie knew me, she knew my baby through long antenatal appointments where she explored babies position and got to know her heartbeat. She knew my kitchen, she knew my partner and she knew what I wanted for my birth. She gave me the most amazing, empowering experience and I will never ever ever forget the most special day. I owe this amazing woman a truly special memory. I am incredibly grateful and I only wish more women could experience a home birth, with an experienced midwife who truly knows them. If we are blessed with a third baby, I will be cracking out the brith pool once again and calling The Village Midwife!”

— Emma and Tom - baby born June 2025

“We first met Sophie as she was teaching our Village Midwife antenatal class (which we found really useful). Through reading around the subject, group discussions and chatting with friends who had recent experience, we discovered the NHS would be unlikely to be able to support a home birth. Given the statistics for hospital interventions and caesareans, it became clear that if we wanted a home birth, it would be necessary to hire an independent midwife. At that point, Sophie was the obvious choice.

We already felt confident that her ideas on birth matched our own, and over the course of our antenatal appointments I felt she provided all the support and information we could possibly have wanted. By the time labour finally started she felt like a trusted and knowledgeable friend: working with our best interests at heart but able to advise us on the best course of action if things didn’t go to plan. On the day, things started smoothly but became more challenging at the crucial moment. Sophie noticed our baby was showing some signs of distress, but through her understanding of biomechanics and some persuasive encouragement our healthy baby was soon delivered!

Her postnatal care was equally kind and supportive, and she was able to provide regular advice by WhatsApp and she visited as often and for as long as we needed, in order to overcome some feeding challenges and concerns in the first two weeks. If we have another baby in due course then we’ll be booking Sophie as soon as we find out we’re expecting - we can’t thank her enough for leaving us with such a positive experience from beginning to end!”

— Ellie and Tom - 2025

The Complete Package: Full antenatal,

labour and postnatal care with Sophie

A thorough booking appointment and then regular, unhurried antenatal appointments in the comfort of your home until your baby is born
Full continuity with the same midwife (Sophie) throughout pregnancy and support with any questions/worries you might have
Guaranteed access to a home birth as Sophie will be on call for you until labour starts. Once in labour, you benefit from having a known midwife provide clinical labour care. We know continuity of care is what contributes to positive birth outcomes for families and you benefit from having already built a relationship with Sophie prior to the birth, so a familiar face is there throughout.
A second midwife (who you will also meet beforehand) will also be present at the birth and helping to provide care
If you go into hospital, you also benefit from continuity of care in that Sophie is there and able to provide non-clinical support and advocacy
After your baby is born, you have immediate postnatal care with Sophie and the second midwife and then you have up to 2-4 weeks of postnatal care dependent on what you feel you need. This is at your home and includes ongoing, holistic feeding support and emotional support in the beginning of the fourth trimester.
The Complete Package: £7500

Home Birth Package: For if you decide to have a

home birth & switch to private care later in pregnancy

Usually booked after 32 weeks, this is for parents who have decided to choose private care later in pregnancy, usually because they want a known midwife there when they give birth at home
It includes a thorough booking appointment with Sophie and then at least 2 further midwifery appointments - unhurried in your own home. This is important for us to build a relationship before labour and to make sure you both feel well supported. We usually take some time to discuss various aspects of having a home birth to make sure that you feel well prepared.
You have guaranteed access to a home birth as Sophie will be on call for you until labour starts. Once in labour, you benefit from having a known midwife provide clinical labour care. We know continuity of care is what contributes to positive birth outcomes for families and you benefit from having already built a relationship with Sophie prior to the birth, so a familiar face is there throughout. If you choose a home birth, you also have a second midwife who you will meet during your pregnancy.
After the birth, you have immediate postnatal care with Sophie and the second midwife and then can either have postnatal care with Sophie or be discharged back to the NHS for postnatal care
Home Birth Package: £5950 (£5650 for current antenatal course clients)
Home Birth Package plus 2 weeks Postnatal Care: £6500 (£6250 for current clients)

Postnatal Care: If you want unhurried, supportive

postnatal care at home with a known midwife

An appointment to get to know eachother before baby arrives - to enable me to make sure I support you with everything you need postnatally
A schedule of appointments of your choosing, all at your home, including the newborn blood spot test on day 5. You also get continual support with any questions/worries you might have and ongoing feeding support to help you reach your goals plus emotional support for you and your partner as you navigate the fourth trimester.
I can also help both of you with using slings safely and comfortably if you would like and can advise on newborn sleep
Care can last from 2-4 weeks of postnatal care dependent on what you feel you need - we can design the care around your needs
Postnatal Care: £1500 (£1250 for current antenatal clients)

Antenatal & Postnatal Care: If you want unhurried

antenatal & postnatal care with a known midwife

A thorough booking appointment and then regular, unhurried antenatal appointments in the comfort of your home until your baby is born
Full continuity with the same midwife (Sophie) throughout pregnancy and support with any questions/worries you might have
After your baby is born, you can then have up to 2-4 weeks of postnatal care, dependent on what you feel you need. This service is provided at your home and includes ongoing, holistic feeding support and emotional support during the early stages of the fourth trimester.
Antenatal & Postnatal Care: £3000

It is an entirely personal decision whether private midwifery care is right for you. The key part of the care I provide is that we can build a trusting relationship which makes a huge impact on your experience of pregnancy, your birth and the postnatal period.
Relationship based care is what most midwives want to provide but unfortunately can’t within the constraints of the NHS and so working outside of the NHS means we can offer the kind of support we want to.
I love being able to provide holistic, unhurried care and really get to know my clients. It enables me to make sure I can support them in the way they need during labour and the postnatal period - which are such pivotal times for new mums in particular.
You can give birth at home and have full clinical care from myself plus another midwife who you will meet during pregnancy. If you choose a hospital birth I can support you throughout with non-clinical care and advocacy within the NHS system
There's lots of research on the safety of home birth including a huge review which looked at 500,000 births (Reitsma, April 2020). It looked at the outcomes of people planning home births & found that women intending to give birth at home compared to hospital were less likely to experience:
- Caesarean sections and assisted vaginal birth
- Epidural analgesia
- Episiotomy or 3rd/4th degree tear
- Oxytocin augmentation
- Maternal infection
Plus - home birth as safe as hospital and birth centre births for babies (adverse outcomes in less than 1% of births). We also have lots of data from countries such as the Netherlands where home birth rates have been around 30% since the 1990's, which shows no increased risk to babies from planned home births.
Aside from the stats though, you get to give birth in the place that you’re most comfortable in with a trusted caregiver. You get to grab snacks from your own kitchen, use your own shower afterwards and get into your own bed! We can work around pets and older siblings as the entire experience is catered around you and you don’t need to plan a transfer to hospital at any point as you would if planning a hospital birth. Where you give birth is the most personal decision you will ever make and it is important to follow your gut instinct and choose where feels right for you - not based on fear or misinformation!
I am insured through a company called Zest - there is more information about this here
Absolutely! Most people pay by payment plans of their choosing, email me for more information about this
Drop me an email at sophie@thevillagemidwife.co.uk for more information - then we can arrange a chat about what you are looking for and what type of care would suit you best