Maternity services & antenatal care for expats in the UK

Maternity care in the UK: what expats need to know

The NHS provides comprehensive maternity care free to all ordinarily resident in the UK — including expats who have paid the Immigration Health Surcharge. As soon as you know you are pregnant, you should contact your NHS GP, who will refer you to a midwife team at your local NHS trust. Antenatal care typically begins with a booking appointment at around 8–10 weeks and includes routine scans, blood tests and midwife appointments throughout pregnancy. Labour and birth at an NHS hospital, midwife-led unit or at home with an NHS midwife are all free.

Many expats, particularly those used to private healthcare systems or who have concerns about NHS waiting times, choose to supplement NHS care with private services. Options include private consultant-led antenatal care at private hospitals such as The Portland or HCA's Queen Charlotte's wing, additional private scans from companies like Window to the Womb, or hiring an independent midwife to provide continuity of care alongside NHS services. Fully private births in dedicated private maternity units are also available, primarily in London.

Independent midwives can be hired to provide one-to-one continuity of care throughout pregnancy, labour and the postnatal period. This is a popular option for expats who want a single point of contact and may feel less familiar with the NHS system. The Independent Midwives UK (IMUK) register lists qualified and insured independent midwives across the country.

For antenatal preparation, NCT courses are widely regarded as the gold standard in the UK and serve a secondary but important function for expats: they provide a ready-made social network of other parents with babies of a similar age in your local area — something that can be invaluable when you are new to a community and do not yet have an established support network.