Moving across the country during pregnancy?

[averlee]

My daughter, who is almost 4, was born at home and I received almost all my prenatal care from the same midwife who attended the birth. Our insurance didn't cover any of the midwife's fees, but at only $2000, we were able to pay out of pocket.

This time our situation is already a lot different. My husband's job is over in August, and that means, we will be moving wherever the new job is- maybe across the country. We know we want another homebirth but I will be 5/6 months pregnant when we move. I have no idea what kind of insurance we'll have but we're trying to put some money aside to pay a midwife, but I doubt we'll be able to save the $5,000 that I hear is a common midwife fee in some areas. Or if I can even find one who will take me so late in the pregnancy.

For now I'm just seeing my regular family practice doctor assigned through my HMO. She probably expects to deliver my baby in November at the HMO's designated "Maternity Surgery Center".

Does anyone have experience moving a long distance during pregnancy? I am afraid to be so far away from all my friends & family, but the logistics of finding care for myself & baby seems especially scary. Will I be able to find a midwife and doula to help me give birth at home when I'm 5/6 months pregnant?

[bird_verde]

I have never moved across the country while pregnant (which would be incredibly stressful - good luck) but I did switch from my family practice doc to my homebirth midwife around 24 weeks (I think?)  Her main concern was that I was healthy and the baby was healthy and she was more than willing to take me on as a client.  I get the impression that many hb midwives are used to clients transferring into their care mid-pregnancy for a variety of reasons. Good luck with everything.  I am sure the Tribal Areas will be a good resource for finding a midwife once you know where you are going!

[kalamos23]

I didn't move crosscountry, but I moved 2 hours away when I was 22 weeks pregnant this time - 10 weeks after I switched from an OB to a CNM practice/birth center. I had a couple of weeks tops to find a new HCP and interview them. My next appt. ended up being at almost 29 weeks with a HB MW (and I love her!). I would recommend looking into the tribal areas once you know where you are going, that really helped me so I could call them and set up interviews before we moved. I also found out all I could about our insurance and how well they paid through the tribal areas and the birth and beyond area  - search is a wonderful tool. 

One thing you can ask the MW for is to prorate the appts for you since you will be decently far along OR (and this is what ours did) ask if you pay in full by a certain time - in my case it was 32 weeks, if you can have a discount. We got 20% off this way, bringing her fee from 4k to 3200 OOP. Our insurance will be billed after the birth and whatever she gets back will come back to us. This might work for you? Also, if you have an HMO, look into getting a gap exception asap. You can get some money back this way sometimes. With PPOs I've heard sometimes it is better to not rock the boat with a gap exception and just see how much they pay out. 

Hope this helps and good luck!!

[lizzie]

I just moved from CO to SC, via SoCal, and was 20 weeks the week we got to South Carolina. It was not as bad as it sounds - seriously the most stressful part was being at my MIL's for Christmas, and that's just life in my marriage. ;) The best advice I can give you is wear super soft stretchy maternity pants - the only problem I had driving was finding out that the jeans I wore just fine around town were NOT my friends on long drives (my husband drove the moving truck, I drove our car), and I would, if you know where you're headed, get on the "finding my tribe" forum here and ask about recommendations for midwives and/or doulas and pedis and anyone else you think you'll need. Through the info I got there, I found a midwife who was perfect for my still kind of bizarre situation, and she took me with no problem at 26 weeks - (took me awhile to make calls and figure out who I wanted to meet with and such).

Then find out when and where any crunchy mama meetings take place - LLL, and here I found a babywearing group that is great, and there's a cloth diapering group I'm sure I'll be headed to when I realize I don't know WHAT I'm doing with these diapers, LOL. They're great opportunities to meet like-minded mamas where you can almost always take your kids with you! I guess in a perfect world I would've stayed where we were, but the move was not and resettling has not been nearly as upsetting as I was worried it would be! Though granted, my kids are older than your little one, and just helping her to cope with it may be enough of a challenge that you won't have time to worry about anything else!

Hope things come together for you the way you'd like them to! Best wishes with the whole situation!

[Chamomile Girl]

I moved across country at 34 weeks (drove...three day roadtrip). I knew where I was moving about a month before hand so I was able to call around and find a provider. It was no biggie really. The insurance thing might be more of a stress really, so please keep in mind that if you end up between insurance providers that you can get COBRA.

The most stressful part for me was the logistics of the move itself. Once we actually pulled the car out and were on our way I felt soooooo much better (but my mom still made me make a list of all the hospitals on the way "just in case" ).

[lizzie]

Originally Posted by Chamomile Girl 

The most stressful part for me was the logistics of the move itself. Once we actually pulled the car out and were on our way I felt soooooo much better (but my mom still made me make a list of all the hospitals on the way "just in case" ).

except the hospital part - honestly that didn't even cross my mind! Maybe it should have... but the preparation was MUCH worse than the move itself. Except for going off the road in that one blizzard...  LOL.

[GoGoGirl]

We are considering a move cross country during this pregnancy...we're hoping to move back to my hometown (from NYC to St. Louis) if DH can find a job there.  Honestly, the idea of finding a HB midwife part way through the pregnancy was stressful enough that we thought long and hard about TTC before we were settled.  But we took a chance and here I am, 13 weeks pregnant. 

I'm seeing a HB midwife here, and haven't actually told her that there's a possibility we're moving.  And then last month I went to visit family in St. Louis, and while I was there I researched the HB midwife options there and interviewed a few midwives.  I found a midwife there that I click with and discussed the situation with her...she's happy to "save a place" for me in October if I just pay a small holding fee.  I was surprised that it was so easy!  DH and I both feel a lot more at peace with the uncertainty of moving now that we know that we have a midwife ready for us whether we're here or there.

Can you start looking into the HB situation in the city you're thinking of moving too, and maybe getting a list of midwives and talking to them about it?  When I called around the STL midwives, one of them said she didn't want to save space for a client who might not actually be in town for the birth, but all the others were very open to the idea.

And holy moly, Maternity SURGERY Center?