These days, prospective parents are increasingly choosing private maternity care over NHS care, and perhaps you are too.
Patients put a high value on receiving personalised care from a leading consultant obstetrician, but it is important to understand the costs involved and as such, this transparent guide allows for informed decision-making.
The main point to understand when considering the costs of private care is that there are two, or (in the case of an elective caesarean section) three, providers: The obstetrician and the hospital, and perhaps an anaesthetist too.
Dr Duncan’s fees cover personalised care, including regular consultations, checks and scans in clinic, your delivery by him, postnatal care until 6 weeks, and direct access to Dr Duncan 24/7 for any niggling concerns or emergencies.
Dr Duncan has a reputation for personal warmth and professional expertise, and many patients are devoted returnees. He has safely delivered more than 4,000 babies in a careering spanning 30 years (so far!). He now delivers exclusively at The Portland Hospital, the UK’s only private-only hospital dedicated entirely to the care of women and children.
The confidence and peace of mind you will enjoy from choosing Dr Duncan as your obstetrician will be enhanced by the superb luxury facilities of this state-of-the-art hospital.
Fixed Price Maternity Care Packages
Most expectant parents prefer a fixed price maternity care package which in Dr Duncan’s case include all antenatal consultations with scans (every 2, 3 or 4 weeks, depending on where you are in your pregnancy, and clinical need), delivery (either vaginal or C-section), postnatal consultations as required, and direct access to Dr Duncan.
His fixed price care packages are based on your care start date:
| Care Start Date | Price | Included Extras |
| From 6 weeks | £12,500 | 6-7w Fetal heartbeat scan
8w Viability scan 10w Illumina Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing (NIPT) 12w Nuchal scan 16w Early Anomaly scan 20w Anomaly scan |
| From 12 weeks | £12,000 | 12w Nuchal scan
16w Early Anomaly scan 20w Anomaly scan |
| From 20 weeks | £11,000 | 20w Anomaly scan |
| From 30 weeks | £10,000 | – |
| From 35 weeks | £9,000 | – |
| C-section only | £9,000 | Antenatal consultations and growth scans at 28w, 34w and 37/38w, and caesarean delivery |
A unique feature of Dr Duncan's consultant fee structure is that twin pregnancies are charged at the same rate as singleton pregnancies, however additional fees may be levied by other providers. Please get in touch with the practice to discuss this in more detail.
‘Pay As You Go’ Fees
Individual consultations are typically priced as follows:
| Consultation | Price |
| Early Pregnancy Consultation & Scan (from 6 weeks) | £350 |
| Obstetric Consultation & Scan (from 16 weeks) | £500 |
| NIPT Testing — Illumina and Panorama - includes consultation, scan and blood test (from 10 weeks) | £500 |
| Online Consultation for UK and worldwide patients | £300 |
The pay-as-you-go fee structure suits patients who choose to have ‘top-up’ consultations with Dr Duncan but who are essentially following an NHS pathway towards NHS delivery, or patients who require complete antenatal care with Dr Duncan but have plans to deliver elsewhere/abroad.
If you require 24/7 direct access to Dr Duncan for the duration of your antenatal care with him, but are not booked on a delivery package, then a fee of £250/month will be levied for this access.
He offers an initial complementary ‘Meet & Greet’ appointment to provide a no-obligation opportunity for friendly discussion, and better understanding of what you can expect should you choose to have you baby with him.
Hospital Fees
Hospital fees cover the cost of your admission for delivery, the medical facilities of the labour ward or surgical theatre during birth, and your postnatal in-patient stay.
Private obstetricians usually operate from a standalone private hospital, or from a private wing within an NHS hospital. Dr Duncan’s chosen hospital, The Portland Hospital in London, is the only fully private maternity hospital in the UK. The Portland places great emphasis on safety and choice, as well as providing a bespoke service to ensure you and your partner are looked after throughout your stay. It has state-of-the-art facilities, and is fully equipped with a paediatric intensive care unit.
The Portland Hospital fees for consultant led delivery are based on mode of delivery.
For 2026, a normal delivery is priced at £8,910, an emergency caesarean section at £10,410, and an elective (planned) caesarean section at £10,215. These are hospital charges only. Dr Duncan’s consultant fees, as set out above, are separate and are paid directly to him.
What the hospital package covers
The hospital fee covers your pre-admission midwife booking appointment and routine blood tests, your 24-hour admission for delivery, and the routine aftercare you will receive during your stay.
It also includes Baby’s examination by a consultant paediatrician after birth, and nursery care. If a baby unexpectedly needs neonatal intensive care, the first three nights in NICU are also included.
Partners are accommodated free of charge in the patient’s room hospital and receive complimentary breakfast and dinner, and there is 24-hour room service for the new mum, with afternoon tea served daily throughout the stay. Every mother is given a complimentary hospital gift on discharge, and has access to The Portland Hospital education app.
The differences between the three packages
There are only two differences between the three delivery packages offered by The Portland, the first being theatre fees. These do not arise for a normal delivery, and are covered in full within both the emergency and the elective caesarean section packages.
The second is the resident obstetric anaesthetist. This is included in the normal delivery and emergency caesarean section packages, but not in the elective caesarean section package. For a planned caesarean, the consultant anaesthetist’s fee is paid directly to the anaesthetist and sits outside the hospital package.
Every other element listed above is identical across all three packages.
Deposits
The Portland Hospital collect a deposit 12 weeks ahead of the estimated delivery date: £10,000 for a normal delivery, £11,500 for a caesarean section, and £20,000 for non-EU patients. A final invoice is calculated once the patient has been discharged, and any difference is either refunded or requested. Patients remain liable for any costs incurred that fall outside the package. All patients are also asked to provide a debit or credit card at registration, either over the telephone or on attendance. Those details are held securely for up to three months, and the hospital gives notice before taking any payment from the card.
Additional charges
A number of items sit outside the delivery package price at The Portland. For mothers who wish to stay longer after giving birth, additional nights are charged at £1,250 for a standard room, £1,850 for a deluxe room, £2,250 for a suite and £3,340 for a premier suite. Every booked patient is guaranteed a standard room on admission; upgrades depend on availability.
An epidural, if one is needed, is £995, with a further £85 for each top-up, and covers the anaesthetist and the relevant drugs for a normal delivery or an emergency caesarean section. An instrumental delivery using ventouse or forceps adds £500, and an induction adds £635. A multiple pregnancy carries an additional charge of £500 on the hospital package, but note that Dr Duncan does not charge extra as a consultant for multiple pregnancy packages.
In-patient investigations such as bloods, swabs, cultures, should they be deemed necessary, are charged in addition.
With regards specialist neonatal care, for self-funding patients, should their baby require an unexpected admission to neonatal intensive care, the first three nights are included in the package fee. Thereafter a daily fee will be applied. Readmissions are also chargeable.
Similarly, any antenatal or postnatal care received at the hospital that falls outside the self-pay maternity package is charged separately.
Patients with private medical insurance
Insured patients are billed differently, so it is important to speak to Colette, Dr Duncan’s secretary in advance. Coverage, authorisation and billing arrangements vary by policy; insured patients’ insurers are billed in arrears after each antenatal consultation, and after delivery. The patient is responsible for ensuring appropriate authorisation from the insurer is in place. To enable direct billing, Dr Duncan and The Portland need the insurance details as well as a letter from the insurer confirming cover. It is advisable to confirm a newborn baby’s post-delivery insurance cover prior to the delivery date: if a baby is admitted to NICU the hospital will contact your insurer, and invoice the insurer directly, provided there is provision for newborn care within the member’s policy.
The Portland Hospital Loyalty Discount
Mothers who have previously delivered at The Portland Hospital receive a 10% discount, and the same discount is offered to patients or partners who themselves were born there. The discount applies to the hospital package fee, and it reduces the hospital’s package prices and the cost of additional nights only, and is calculated at discharge. It does not apply to Dr Duncan’s professional fees.
In Conclusion: Three Worked Examples
Because the consultant and the hospital bill separately, it is easy to look at either figure in isolation and underestimate the whole. The table below brings the two together. Each scenario assumes Dr Duncan’s fixed price package from 6 weeks, the most comprehensive of his options, and delivery at The Portland Hospital in a standard room with no additional nights.
| Normal delivery | Elective C-section | Emergency C-section | |
| Dr Duncan’s package (from 6 weeks) | £12,500 | £12,500 | £12,500 |
| The Portland Hospital delivery package | £8,910 | £10,215 | £10,410 |
| Anaesthetist | Epidural £995 | £1,500 | N/A |
| Indicative total | £22,405 | £24,215 | £22,910 |
Two points are worth making about these three scenarios. The first is that an emergency caesarean section is not something anyone books. It is what a planned vaginal delivery becomes if labour takes an unexpected turn, or if an elective-caesarean-booked patient unexpectedly needs an emergency delivery, so that column is best read as the upper end of the normal delivery figure rather than as a third option to choose between.
These totals are not a ceiling, clinical need may add epidural top-ups at £85, an induction at £635 or an instrumental delivery at £500, and any investigations, scans or blood tests taken outside the two packages are charged as they arise. Additional nights begin at £1,250 for mothers who wish to stay a little longer. In the other direction, a mother who has delivered at The Portland before, or who was born there herself, receives 10% off the hospital package. That discount reduces the hospital’s fee alone and leaves Dr Duncan’s untouched, so in the normal delivery scenario it takes the hospital package from £8,910 to £8,019 and the total to £20,519. Insured patients are billed on an itemised basis instead, so neither the package prices nor the loyalty discount apply.
Taken as a whole, a complete pathway of consultant-led private maternity care, from 6 weeks through to the six-week postnatal check, comes to a little over £22,000 for a normal delivery and a little over £24,000 for a caesarean section, before any extras. It is a considered investment, and one that buys continuity of care from a single consultant who knows the mother and her pregnancy, in a hospital equipped for whatever the day of delivery brings.
Dr Duncan’s complimentary ‘Meet & Greet’ appointment is the natural place to start for anyone who would like to talk this through. There is no obligation, and it offers a much clearer picture of both the care and the cost.
Contact us today to book your appointment or book online.
Frequently Asked Questions
Taken as a whole, a complete pathway of consultant-led private maternity care - from 6 weeks through to the six-week postnatal check - comes to a little over £22,000 for a normal delivery and a little over £24,000 for an elective caesarean section, before any extras. The indicative totals combine Dr Duncan's fixed price package (£12,500 from 6 weeks) with The Portland Hospital's delivery package and, where applicable, the anaesthetist.
Dr Duncan's fees cover personalised care including regular consultations, checks and scans in clinic, your delivery by him (whether vaginal or C-section), postnatal care until 6 weeks, and direct 24/7 access to him for any concerns or emergencies. His fixed price packages are based on your care start date, ranging from £12,500 from 6 weeks down to £9,000 from 35 weeks or for a C-section only. These fees are separate from the hospital's charges and are paid directly to him.
When considering private care, there are two providers, and in the case of an elective caesarean section, three: the obstetrician and the hospital, and sometimes an anaesthetist too. Dr Duncan's consultant fees and The Portland Hospital's delivery fees are billed separately. For a planned caesarean, the consultant anaesthetist's fee sits outside the hospital package and is paid directly to the anaesthetist, whereas the anaesthetist is included in the normal delivery and emergency caesarean packages.
For 2026, the Portland Hospital's consultant-led delivery fees are £8,910 for a normal delivery, £10,215 for an elective caesarean and £10,410 for an emergency caesarean. The package covers your pre-admission midwife booking appointment and routine blood tests, your 24-hour admission for delivery, routine aftercare during your stay, baby's examination by a consultant paediatrician, nursery care, and the first three nights of NICU if unexpectedly needed. Partners stay free in the room with complimentary breakfast and dinner, and mothers receive 24-hour room service, daily afternoon tea, a gift on discharge and access to the hospital education app.
A number of items sit outside the Portland's delivery package. Additional nights start at £1,250 for a standard room, rising to £3,340 for a premier suite. An epidural is £995 with £85 per top-up, an instrumental delivery using ventouse or forceps adds £500, and an induction adds £635. A multiple pregnancy carries an extra £500 on the hospital package, though Dr Duncan does not charge extra as a consultant for multiples. In-patient investigations such as bloods, swabs and cultures are charged in addition, as is NICU care beyond the first three included nights.
Yes. Mothers who have previously delivered at The Portland Hospital receive a 10% discount, and the same applies to patients or partners who were themselves born there. The discount reduces the hospital package fee and the cost of additional nights only, and is calculated at discharge. It does not apply to Dr Duncan's professional fees.
