homebirth questions - please help!

[heatherweiss]

Hi all! I have some questions about homebirths I was wondering if you could help me with.

My husband and I are planning on having another, but I just found out that our insurance coverage would only pay for 80% of the birth, and that's after we paid for the first $250. That means having a baby in a hospital would cost about $2000-$3000, something that really surprised me. When I had my daughter, I was still covered under my insurance as a state employee, which paid 100%. Considering our biggest worry about having another is financial (I waitress a few nights a week and don't know that I could do it throughout the entire pregnancy and then would definately be out of work for at least 2 months), the cost of the actual BIRTH really surprised me. We were wondering where we could come up with a savings of $3000-$5000 to cover the time when I wasn't working, much less the cost of a hospital birth!

I was already planning on going with a midwife this time around, so the only difference would be birthing at home instead of at a hospital.

I was wondering if a home birth with a midwife is much cheaper than a hospital birth? And does most insurance cover the pre-natal and birth expenses the same way it would if you were going through regular conventional care at a clinic (we're in MN if that makes a difference)? And how do you go about finding a competent, qualified midwife in the first place? I was also considering going to a midwife at the clinic for the first 1/2 of the pregnancy so I wouldn't miss out on an ultrasound and then switching over to a home-birth midwife. Do you think this is OK, or can a home-birth midwife refer you to the clinic for an ultrasound at 20 weeks if you really want one?

If anyone knows some answers to ANY of these questions, I would LOVE to hear from you!

Thanks,

Heather

[CeraMae]

I was amazed at how much cheaper it was to do a homebirth, with or without insurance. There was a poll once (you should do a search) that asked how much people paid for their midwife, and not many went over $3000. I think $2000 is average, and that is for all your prenatal, labor and delivery, and 6 weeks post. I'm not sure about some of the specifics you asked, bc every insurance/midwife is different. Some insurance plans will pay a portion of homebirth if they cover out-of-network. Some pay all and some pay nothing. It really depends. In my situation, I have a deductible larger than what I pay for mw care, but if I spent enough they'd start paying 80%. Also, what I did as far as ultrasounds and things was Planned Parenthood. I only had to spend $75 to go in and have one done, although I only did one early in my pregnancy for dating as I didn't want one later. If you decide on a homebirth, your midwife should be able to refer you to clinics if you need ultrasounds for dating, determining sex, or just to have pictures
Finding a midwife wasn't that hard for me. I just did a search on the internet (sorry, I don't have a link) and found some in my area, and then met with them all. None of them charged me for the first visit, so I didn't have to worry about any of that. The first one I met was not what I was looking for, and the second was EXACTLY who I needed. There are accredidation sites that will list people in your area, and you can normally request information about them before even meeting them. You can also meet some of them on this site through the Midwives/Practitioners link.
Good luck with your search!
~Cera

[cottonwood]

How much the midwife charges tends to vary from region to region. Here it ranges from $1000-2500, but I've heard of it being even a few thousand more in some areas. Some midwives will do trade and sliding scale. My two midwife-attended homebirths were each $1500, including all prenatal visits but not lab testing and ultrasound. With my first I had the lab testing and U/S at the hospital where I was insured, although I had to see an OB to get it. Then I had the records transferred to my midwife. I had another lab test after that, but we used an independent lab. I didn't have any lab testing or U/S at all with my second pregnancy, so there were no extra costs. Some insurance will cover various things if you are having a homebirth, some will even cover the homebirth itself, but mine didn't.

I found both my midwives through word of mouth -- both, actually, referred by women who played ultimate frisbee with my husband. One was an LLL leader -- I often suggest that people looking for a midwife call their local LLL or start going to meetings.

As far as finding out how qualified the midwife is -- let's just say it's no more difficult than finding out how qualified your doctor is. At some point, you really just have to proceed based on your intuition. But if your midwife is licensed with the state or belongs to any accrediting organization, you can call them to see if she's had any complaints made against her. And of course you can do your own research so that when you ask about how she practices you have something to measure her responses against.

[MossbackMeadow]

I've used a lay midwife ( I'm in rural Ohio) three times and have paid $350-$600 each time. Our insurance won't touch a homebirth. For us, the cost is of no consequence ( and we're not rich - sometimes we've had to make payments) -- birthing at home is SO worth it.

[2much2luv]

I used a lay midwife for my last birth and she was very very loose and open on payment options. She charges $700-$900 depending on what you can pay and she even let us wait until our tax return came to pay her (our baby was born in January so she had to wait of couple of months after the birth) It all just depends, but you definately have a better chance with midwifes. They are much more likely to negotiate their fee, I think. than a clinic with an OB.
Just search for "midwife" on the internet and you will get some "find a midwife near you" sites (sorry I don't know of any in particular) I went to one of these sites and though it didn't show any midwifes near me I emailed one in the nearest city and she knew my midwife and referred me. So just do some searching. LLL is a good place to ask abou t these things too lots of times.
Good luck to you!

[earthpapi]

our midwife was cool she only charged us 1000 our first baby and 1200 our second. we went through the whole pregnancy with her the second time that is why it was a little more. i am in the military so of course they did not pay a dime but it was so awesome having them at home i would pay twice that much.

[ramlita]

worth every dime!!

We paid $1,800 for everything from the first prenatal to the last postpartum.
They'd have to pay ME ten times that much to birth in a hospital!

Here's a link to Midwives of North America, a good start to general info, as well as finding a midwife in your area:

http://www.mana.org/resources.html

Good luck!

[miriam]

MY TWO CENTS WORTH:


No matter what the cost of the home birth is, as long as you want a home birth, you have a competent attendant, are healthy and have good hospital backup, it is worth it in the long run.

I had four homebirths, and insurance never covered me for a variety of reasons. I paid every penny out of my own pocket and every penny was worth it.

My children are healthy. I know my children are mine - no nursery mix-ups here. I have had control from the very beginning of every part of their existence. NO hassels over ignored birth plans for eye drops, heel pricks, circumcisions, formula feedings, Rhogam shots, catheters, IV's, enemas, shavings, and so on. When you have just done the hardest job in the world and you have the longest commitment awaiting you, why complicate it all with a feud with the hospital staff?

Worth every penny.

[TiredX2]

Homebirth should definately be less expensive than a hospital birth. Hospital births are outrageously expensive!

That said, we had a LM with #2 and she was able to refer us for an u/s w/no problems (for initial dating and then one at 20 weeks, too).

We ended up paying like $50 for our homebirth, hospital birth would have been $0, but soooo worth it (even way more than that!!!). Its a once in a lifetime experience, definately worth as much as a wedding or major vacation

Good luck,
Kay

[kama'aina mama]

Originally posted by earthpapi
i am in the military so of course they did not pay a dime

I got Tricare to re-imburse me $1000 of the $1600 I paid for homebirth. A big factor is the legal status of homebirth and midwifery in your state.