Increasing numbers of parents are opting for private maternity services in London, due to the capital’s reputation in the field and their desire for a highly personalised service. This can also provide an additional degree of reassurance in cases where there are complications during pregnancy.
London’s private maternity hospitals and units also provide a degree of comfort that is on a par with some of the city’s high-quality hotels, with en suite rooms and extensive dining options.
Among the most prestigious is The Portland Hospital for Women and Children, the UK’s only private hospital with an onsite neonatal intensive care unit, and offering both consultant and midwife-led care. All its rooms can accommodate a partner to stay, and room service is available around the clock to provide a variety of high-quality meals.
International visitors are well catered for, with a range of services including arranging interpreters for non-English-speakers, who can act as liaison between patients and staff. The hospital also offers a Middle East food menu and provides Arabic-language television and newspapers.
Among the best known of London’s maternity hospitals outside the UK is The Lindo Wing at St Mary’s Hospital, which has often featured in global news bulletins as the setting for a succession of births to the British royal family. Founded in 1937, The Lindo Wing witnessed the birth of the children of Princess Anne (the Princess Royal), the Duchess of Gloucester, Princess Michael of Kent, and Diana, Princess of Wales. More recently, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge welcomed their children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, to the world at the same location, in 2013 and 2015 respectively.
At the Westminster Maternity Suite, part of St Thomas’ Hospital on the south bank of the River Thames, the high standard of maternity services is complemented by recently refurbished facilities and an impressive view of the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben.
For couples experiencing difficulty in conceiving, London clinics are a popular port of call, particularly for those who have yet to find a solution through previous treatments elsewhere. UK scientists and doctors have been at the forefront of in vitro fertilisation (IVF) research and treatment for more than 40 years, with the first ‘test tube’ baby, Louise Brown, being born at Oldham General Hospital, Greater Manchester, in July 1978. Today, one in 50 children in the UK is born as a result of IVF treatment. IVF treatment involves an egg being taken from the ovaries of a woman and fertilised by sperm in the laboratory. Once this embryo begins to grow, after two to six days, it will be placed back inside the womb to develop and grow. IVF treatment can be carried out with a couple’s own sperm and eggs, or with those provided by donors.
There are several stages to IVF treatment, which begins with suppressing the woman’s natural menstrual cycle with medication. Further medication is then used to encourage greater production than usual of eggs from the ovaries.
The patient is then monitored for a period of around two weeks, with ultrasound scans to check the development of the eggs and blood tests to help determine the best time to collect them and the drug doses required. The eggs are then collected via a needle inserted into the ovaries, via the vagina.
After collection, the eggs are mixed with sperm to fertilise them over a period of two to five days. Typically, up to 75% of the eggs will be fertilised (becoming embryos) and are then transferred into the womb. A pregnancy test two weeks later will determine whether the treatment has been successful.
London has numerous options for couples seeking IVF treatment. Among the capital’s leading IVF clinics is The Lister Fertility Clinic in Chelsea. As the UK's largest private IVF unit, it proudly boasts of more than 17,000 babies being born as a result of its fertility treatments since 1988.
Elsewhere, the Centre for Reproductive and Genetic Health (CRGH), on Great Portland Street, claims the highest rate of live births of any IVF or ICSI treatments per embryo in London. Established in 1990, it also has one of the UK’s largest donor egg banks.
The London Fertility Centre in Harley Street advertises its services as a treatment destination for international visitors, highlighting that all its doctors speak Arabic and that its staff are conversant in 20 other languages. The clinic also offers consultations via Skype or phone to reduce the need for a lengthy stay.