When is an NFZ midwife enough, and when should you look for a private one?
In many situations a POZ midwife is enough. This is a primary care midwife with an NFZ (National Health Fund) contract. You choose her free of charge by submitting a declaration at a clinic or through the Internet Patient Account (IKP). She provides free antenatal education from the confirmation of pregnancy until birth, and after the birth she comes to your home for at least 4 postnatal (patronage) visits between the 1st and 6th week of your baby's life. The first visit should take place within 48 hours of her receiving notice of the birth. We explain how to choose or change her in our article on choosing a POZ midwife.
People usually look for a private midwife when they need something NFZ care does not provide, or does not provide straight away. Most often this means:
- timing: a visit in the evening or at the weekend, because a POZ midwife is available on working days between 8:00 and 18:00
- a home visit outside the planned postnatal visits, for example right after leaving hospital or when a new problem comes up
- breastfeeding: a longer consultation with a midwife who holds a lactation consultant certificate, when feeding hurts or the baby is gaining weight slowly
- birth: care from a midwife you have chosen during labour or while preparing for it
- language: a midwife who speaks English, Ukrainian or another language in which it is easier for you to talk about your health
- a specific person you know from antenatal classes or through a recommendation who is not your POZ midwife
One does not rule out the other. A private visit does not take away your right to free care from a POZ midwife, so you can use both at the same time.
Where can you find a private midwife?
- Your POZ midwife and clinic. Ask your POZ midwife whether she also sees patients privately, or whom she recommends. Some clinics and private healthcare networks offer paid midwife visits, including home visits.
- Online booking sites. They show midwives' profiles with services and available dates, and some let you book and pay for a visit straight away. The rules and the information shown differ between sites, so we describe them below.
- Hospitals, antenatal classes, lactation clinics. Midwives who work on a ward or run classes often see patients privately as well. The Centre for Lactation Science (Centrum Nauki o Laktacji) publishes a list of certified lactation consultants (CDL) that you can search by city.
- Recommendations and local groups. Friends who have recently given birth and local parents' groups on social media are a common source of names. A recommendation tells you a lot about how a midwife works, but it does not replace checking her qualifications.
MyMidwife, the site that publishes this guide, specialises in midwives: profiles show prices, the area the midwife travels to and the languages she speaks, and you book and pay online for a home, clinic or online visit. When registering, midwives give their licence number and upload their PWZ document for checking. Reviews on profiles can only be left by patients after a visit booked through the site. A service fee of 10%, capped at 99 zł, is added to the visit price, as described in the price list.
ZnanyLekarz is a general site with profiles of doctors, other healthcare professionals and clinics, which also has a Położna/położny (midwife) category. On 3 November 2026 we checked that in the search results for midwives in a given city you can select the service Wizyta domowa (home visit) in the filters. Each profile then shows a price or a note that no price was given. There are also filters for language, online consultations and insurance, including NFZ. The results include both private practices and clinics, where a home visit is sometimes marked as free. Whether you can book online depends on the individual profile.
You will also come across directories and websites of individual practices. Before using them, check whether the details are up to date, whether prices are listed and how appointments are made.
POZ midwife, booking site or recommendation: how do they differ?
| Criterion | POZ midwife (NFZ) | Online booking site | Recommendation or local group |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | free | the midwife's price, on some sites with a service fee | price agreed directly with the midwife |
| Choice of person | among POZ midwives with an NFZ contract, by declaration, 2 free changes a year | any midwife with a profile on the site | someone recommended by friends |
| Appointments | working days 8:00-18:00, first postnatal visit within 48 hours of notification | free slots in the calendar, if the midwife keeps one | arranged by phone or message |
| Price before the visit | not applicable | usually shown on the profile | you need to ask |
| Checking qualifications | midwife with an NFZ contract, you can check her PWZ in the NIPiP register | depends on the site, you can check her PWZ in the NIPiP register | you check her PWZ and practice entry in RPWDL yourself |
| Reviews | experiences of friends at the same clinic | reviews from other patients, collected under rules set by the site | few, but first-hand experiences |
How do you check a private midwife before the visit?
- Licence to practise (PWZ): you can check it for free in the search tool of the Polish Chamber of Nurses and Midwives at nipip.pl/weryfikacja-pwz. You need her surname and PWZ number, which is 7 digits followed by the letter A. We explain it step by step in our article on checking a midwife's licence.
- Practice entry in RPWDL: a midwife who books private visits herself and takes payment for them should have her practice entered in the Register of Entities Performing Medical Activity (rpwdl.ezdrowie.gov.pl). A midwife employed by a clinic or hospital does not need her own entry, because the facility is listed.
- Lactation qualifications: you can check the CDL title on the list of the Centre for Lactation Science and IBCLC certification in the IBCLC Commission's public registry. We explain the difference between these titles in our article on lactation consultants.
- Specialisation and courses: these are not shown in the public register. If they matter to you, ask to see her diploma or certificate.
How much does a private midwife cost in Poland in 2026?
Midwives set their own prices, so they vary by city, length and scope of the visit. The figures below come from our own site: they are median prices for a single visit from 27 published midwife profiles on MyMidwife as of 3 November 2026, excluding the service fee. The ranges covering the middle half of offers come from the MyMidwife 2026 report (data from 22 October 2026).
| Service | Median | Middle half of offers |
|---|---|---|
| Home visit | 200 zł | 150-250 zł |
| Private postnatal (patronage) visit | 280 zł | 225-300 zł |
| Lactation consultation | 250 zł | 200-258 zł |
| Postpartum care | 220 zł | 128-265 zł |
| Antenatal class (session) | 150 zł | 143-213 zł |
| Online consultation | 150 zł | 70-180 zł |
In Warsaw the median price of a home visit is 250 zł. These are data from one platform and a small sample, not official statistics. Antenatal education and postnatal visits from a POZ midwife remain free on the NFZ.
What should you ask a midwife before booking?
- How much the visit costs and what it includes, for example weighing the baby, assessing feeding, or checking a caesarean wound or the perineum.
- How long the visit lasts and whether extra time is charged separately.
- Whether she travels to your address and whether travel is included in the price.
- What the rules are for cancelling or rescheduling and whether she takes a deposit.
- How you can pay and whether she will issue a receipt or invoice.
- Whether she can write a prescription or a referral for tests if needed. A midwife with a master's degree or a specialist title who has completed the relevant course can prescribe certain medicines on her own, and a midwife with at least a bachelor's degree can refer you for certain diagnostic tests, including laboratory tests.
- How to contact her after the visit if you have questions.
How do you book a visit with a midwife, step by step?
- Decide what you need: a home visit, a clinic visit or an online consultation, and what it is about.
- Compare a few midwives: price, visit length, travel area, languages and qualifications.
- Choose a free slot in the calendar, or write to or call the midwife if there is no calendar.
- Briefly describe your situation: week of pregnancy or day after the birth, how you are feeding, what worries you, your address and directions.
- Wait for confirmation of the appointment and the cancellation rules. Pay online or agree to pay on the spot.
- Get your documents ready: your pregnancy card or hospital discharge summary, your baby's health book and a list of questions.
Booking a visit is not for urgent situations. If you have heavy bleeding, severe pain, seizures or shortness of breath, or your baby has trouble breathing or turns blue, do not wait for a visit: call 112 or go to the emergency department (SOR) or a hospital admissions unit.
What rights do you have as a patient of a private midwife?
The Act on Patients' Rights and the Patients' Rights Ombudsman applies to private visits in the same way as to NFZ care. The rights that matter most to you are:
- The right to information: the midwife must give you clear information about your health within the scope of the care she provides, and about nursing care and procedures.
- The right to medical records: the midwife keeps records of the visit and must make them available to you. You get the first copy of the requested records free of charge.
- The right to confidentiality: information about you and your baby is covered by professional secrecy.
- The right to an invoice: a midwife's medical services are usually exempt from VAT, but if you ask for an invoice within 3 months of the end of the month in which the visit took place or you paid, the midwife must issue one.
If you think your rights have been breached, talk to the midwife first. You can also contact the Patients' Rights Ombudsman (Rzecznik Praw Pacjenta), and report matters concerning professional conduct to the regional chamber of nurses and midwives.
