Illinois - Midwives - Medicaid ??? - Page 3

[Greenlea]

Its not too close to you but I had my 1st son at Rush copley with midwife Karen Barr and she was great.

I had an all natural waterbirth, did limited fetal monitoring, no IV's, they have a large shower in the room you can labor in, birthing ball/bar, lots of stuff to help with natural birth.

My baby never left my side, did not get a bath, and we refused all newborn stuff (except PKU) with absolutely no problem.

We stayed our mandatory 24 hrs then left with no problems.

I had a homebirth with my 2nd birth with no insurance. I used an underground midwife and she charged me $2000 plus $40 for each prenatal visit, which was only once a month.  We did urine samples to check for protein & finger pricks to check for iron, but no glucose test or HIV test.

Also, you may want to hire a doula to get the birth you want while in a hospital setting, especially since you seem to have limited options.

[boomer78]

Originally Posted by Greenlea 

Its not too close to you but I had my 1st son at Rush copley with midwife Karen Barr and she was great.

I had an all natural waterbirth, did limited fetal monitoring, no IV's, they have a large shower in the room you can labor in, birthing ball/bar, lots of stuff to help with natural birth.

My baby never left my side, did not get a bath, and we refused all newborn stuff (except PKU) with absolutely no problem.

We stayed our mandatory 24 hrs then left with no problems.

I had a homebirth with my 2nd birth with no insurance. I used an underground midwife and she charged me $2000 plus $40 for each prenatal visit, which was only once a month.  We did urine samples to check for protein & finger pricks to check for iron, but no glucose test or HIV test.

Also, you may want to hire a doula to get the birth you want while in a hospital setting, especially since you seem to have limited options.

Thank you Greenlea. Sounds like a very positive experience. Aurora is, however, a good hour away from my house.

So I had seen a midwife and have mixed feelings. First, I chickened out and didn't refuse the vaginal/breast exam. Even while changing when I could have simpy stopped I didn't. I get really uncomfortable in a doctor's office setting and was out my element. I feel violated. Is that strange? I'm also really, really mad at myself. :( I only refused the pap smear. I was kind of surprised to know the diabetes test is manadotory in this office, as is the initial blood work and group B strep test. I didn't know midwives had mandatory tests. I feel like maybe I will end up giving birth at home, by myself. I don't think it would be the experience I wanted, during pregnancy or labour. The fact that I have Medicaid isn't helping me much. And on top of it a genetic test was ordered and only AFTER (before I left, at the front desk) I was told I have to pay for the test because Medicaid doesn't cover it. Isn't it something I should have been informed about BEFORE it was done? The other midwife was going through my file when giving me the choices for the genetic tests so she knew what insurance I had. Or is that standard? I just feel like this is another disguised doctor's office that maybe pushing stuff on me. Sorry for the rant. :(

[DoulaSam]

Pretty much any hospital based midwife is going to automatically do GBS and gestational diabetes, a vag exam, want to do the nuchal fold and probably a quad screen-it kind of comes with seeing a hospital based provider. Some midwifery practices will still treat you if you refuse certain tests, others won't. They are great questions to ask early while you still have time to find another provider 

[Greenlea]

Just wondering, but where did you decide to go? Did you decide to stay near your home?

I am 9 weeks now and decided to go with West Suburban Midwives in Oak Park, even though they are a good hour from my home.  Which yeah, I'm a little nervouse about since my last birth was 4 hours start to finish (homebirth). I just hope I can make it to the hospital!

[boomer78]

Originally Posted by DoulaSam 

Pretty much any hospital based midwife is going to automatically do GBS and gestational diabetes, a vag exam, want to do the nuchal fold and probably a quad screen-it kind of comes with seeing a hospital based provider. Some midwifery practices will still treat you if you refuse certain tests, others won't. They are great questions to ask early while you still have time to find another provider 

DoulaSam, you're absolutely right. I spoke with a pregnant friend of a friend of mine who wanted to see a midwife and she has the exact same experience (seeing other group). We came to the conclusion that the hospital birth is to blame, not the midwifes. :)

[boomer78]

Originally Posted by Greenlea 

Just wondering, but where did you decide to go? Did you decide to stay near your home?

I am 9 weeks now and decided to go with West Suburban Midwives in Oak Park, even though they are a good hour from my home.  Which yeah, I'm a little nervouse about since my last birth was 4 hours start to finish (homebirth). I just hope I can make it to the hospital!

Greenlea - PM'd you.

[boomer78]

DoulaSam - I think your hints are just slowly getting to me now.

I think I'm about to be kicked out of the practice for refusing drinking glucola (I would like to eat/drink something less artificial) and doppler at every visit. The midwives are really nice and talk to me openly about my issues and concerns but their hands are tied by the person in charge of the rules - the OB. Plus I may not be able to avoid unnecessary intervention at the hospital because of the somewhat strict rules of the OB (timing, etc.).

I guess soon I'm back to square one.

[emmagrace]

I am thrilled to announce that at 33 weeks pregnant, I have finally found my homebirth midwife!  She is wonderful, and our long meeting today made me feel so confident and excited about my upcoming birth.  I was really getting down, and feeling like I'd have to give up and just birth in the hospital.  I'm so happy!

Yet another reason CPMs need to be recognized and licensed in IL.  It would be such a reduction in hassle and headache for would-be homebirth mamas in the Chicago area if we felt we had more than 3 or 4 choices, and had more than underground access to these wonderful, skilled providers.  Think of how many women there are in Chicago!  The need simply isn't filled by the few homebirth CNMs (of which only ONE accepts Medicaid and will currently do births in the the city of Chicago).