Justifying the cost when insurance would cover every penny of a hospital birth - Page 3

[pampered_mom]

Originally Posted by sunfish21

The only justification that I have is that is safest and best for me and the baby.

With our first homebirth it really was the only option. As a VBAC I knew my chances at having a vaginal birth in the hospital were slim to none. Not because it was unsafe or unwise, but because institutionally it's not exactly encouraged/supported/welcomed. If I go with a hospital birth I literally have no choice of provider available...other than choosing amongst a variety of OBs. The CNMs at one hospital aren't "allowed" to attend a VBAC nor is the only FSBC. There are also very few family practice docs who can/will do a VBAC. In those cases I'd have to travel around 45 minutes one way just to get to the hospital

This time around it's an easy decision - even though the pregnancy is a surprise and even though we have to pay more up front with the homebirth than we would if we were to go with an OB/hospital. After having given birth at home I just couldn't imagine ever leaving the house. I learned a lot about myself when it comes to being in labor/birthing and there is absolutely *no way* it would happen in a hospital (again not because it's unsafe or unwise, but because the institution has very limited ways of seeing labor/birth).

Ultimately it's what's safest/healthiest for me and my baby. Other women/families will certainly feel differently than I do. Ultimately when it comes to your situation it doesn't matter. You have to do what you believe is best/safest/right for you.

[erin_brycesmom]

After having two hospital births that were covered 100% by insurance, I knew without a doubt that having a homebirth and paying out of pocket 100% was going to be worth it. My hospital births were not bad but I knew that birthing at home was just as safe with the added priceless bonus of being able to have an unhindered birth, no separation (at all) from my baby and not having to "fight" for myself or my baby. It was definitely worth it to me.

[Tattooed Hand]

This is my first baby and I did explore the hospital with OB and hospital with CNM route before deciding to go with a homebirth midwife. I should note that we saw the Business of Being Born at a friend's place about 2 years before I got pregnant so that put some doubts in my mind and informed the kinds of questions I asked at the hospitals. I was totally turned off by their policies, which seemed much more about insurance liability and treating every woman as a worst case scenario, than in maternal and infant health.

I am healthy, in shape, slim, eat well and have had a low risk, problem free pregnancy. And I really really didn't want to go under the knife or have some other freaky intervention. The more research I did into these rates of intervention and the terms under which they happen, I was convinced that the only way to avoid such interventions (unless in true medical need) was to birth at home. We took the money out of our savings and never looked back.

Since then, when I tell my friends what I'm doing, alot of them come forward with the "truth" about their labors, many of which were total horror shows. My very conservative friend who has two kids flat out told me that she thinks she had 2 traumatic, unnecessary c-sections (like the anesthesia wore off while they were cutting her open) and is very eager to see how my homebirth goes. Of course, I only tell close friends, I don't want to deal with other people's reactions and it's none of their business anyway.

I think it's good that you're asking questions and considering this seriously. Many of my friends have told me they wished they had done this because their hospital births were just going with the flow, default route.

Good luck making your decision and I hope pregnancy and birth are easy and happy.

[Mama2Kayla]

My homebirth w/insurance was cheaper than my hospital birth w/insurance(it was a vaginal delivery).

I was very surprised it worked out that way---even if the homebirth ended up costing more $, it would have been completely worth it. Giving birth somewhere I felt safe made such a difference.

[OTMomma]

I justified the cost because my baby was only going to be born once. The experience of giving birth is not something I'm going to do many times, so I should get to do it the best way possible.

[laughingfox]

I'm lucky in that my husband hates hospitals as much (if not more) than I do.
I felt awful about the cost of the midwife vs. insurance-covered hospital birth, but he didn't want to see me putting myself and our next little one's health and safety at risk just to save money.
Then his employer changed our insurance policy, and now the homebirth is going to be cheaper out of pocket than our portion of a hospital birth would be, so that takes the guilt off my mind.

Of course, things are going to be very slim until we get that money saved up, and let's just say I am very thankful for sliding-fee-scales!