Just discovered site—I'm in Louisville

[calldeville]

Hello. I'm Callie. One of my dear friends and her husband just had a baby in the past week in the loving security and comfort of their home. I have been married two years and we're TTC and hoping to go a more natural route too.

I'm thrilled to see such a vibrant place here, and I look forward to getting to know people, doing research and doing what comes naturally. I'm studying education at Spalding and hope to graduate this time next year!

[Ky-Momma]

Greetings from Louisville as well! It's surprisingly crunchy here, some places more than others, but still, it's awesome! You'll love it!

[mkat83]

Hi!  Another Louisville (soon to be) mom here.  :)

[Seana]

Hi Ladies! I'm in Elizabethtown, due with our third in Feb,and I'm kind of freaking out about birth options here. My last was born at a freestanding birth center, which was heavenly, first was in the "best" hospital in the area, with the crunchiest ob, but it was still kind of a mess. I somehow missed the fact that hb is illegal here until I started looking for a mw. We just toured Clark Memorial in Indiana, and they have nice big tubs, but only two of them! I talked to The Farm in Tennessee, but that would be kind of expensive for out of pocket and a lot of travel. Sorry to be so whiny, I just didn't want this to be so complicated. Neither of us really want to do a home birth when none of the midwives are allowed to operate out in the open. Should I just get over that? I really just want another birth center birth! Wah!

[mkat83]

The politics of homebirth are tricky in KY, but nothing to be afraid of. Homebirths happen all the time and are attended by midwives.  Its perfectly legal for you to have your baby anywhere you want.  After all, babies are born in all sorts of places.  Kentucky does not issue licenses to homebirth midwives, which is where the issue lies.  However, that doesn't stop plenty of midwives from practicing, some very openly.  We will be having a baby at home in August with a midwife in Louisville.  It really hasn't been complicated at all.  I would definitely encourage you to talk to some of the homebirth midwives and express all your concerns before you cross it off your list of options.  I can give you the contact info of some midwives in Louisville if you want it, and I think there are probably some who operate out of E-town, too.

And about the tubs at Clark-- you can labor in them, but they don't currently allow you to deliver the baby in them, so that can be a bit deceiving.

There are people working very hard to make birth centers a reality in KY, but there is still a way to go before that comes to fruition.

[Seana]

Thank you, mcat! I would love some recommendations! I feel like there's still time to convince my husband. We both loved our last birth experience so much, I really want it to be wonderful again this time. I think the transfer issue is what's making us nervous. our last mw had a great relationship with an ob practice, even though she was not a cnm. We were on Medicaid at the time, and everything was covered, (except if we had wanted a circumcision it would have cost $100 out of pocket!)

[mkat83]

I will send you a message with some contact info for midwives.  

As for the transfer concerns, that was one of my husband's biggest concerns.  After talking to the midwives about it and hearing their responses, he was totally comforted.  Definitely ask them about that, their transfer rates, their experiences with different hospitals, etc.

There are several books out there that have sample questions to ask when interviewing midwives.  Ina May's Guide to Childbirth is one that comes to mind off the top of my head, but I know I used a couple of books for ideas when I was creating my list of questions.  You can probably even find some threads here on MDC with lists of questions to ask.

[Seana]

Great! I haven't had a chance to call anyone yet. (We're going to Florida Monday and our washing machine broke!).

[Adaline'sMama]

Seana,
I live just outside of Bardstown and delivered at Flaget last time. Its a super small hospital, and the rooms are really nice. No tubs, but worth touring. Its about 10 minutes off Bardstown exit of the BGparkway.

Dr. Amy Farell delivers there, and she has a CNM, Brenda Alexander.

[MJB]

My 8.5 yr. old was born at Clark and it was a nice birth. I labored in the tub (they only had one at the time), caught him myself, didn't have any drugs other than a shot of pitocin when I was bleeding a lot after the birth. My son stayed with me and we went home after 12 hours.