How much do you pay for midwifery services?

[grapejuicemama]

I'd like to know how much other hbers are paying for midwifery service, broken down.

How much per visit? What about the birth itself?

Thanks in advance!

[jerawo]

With #1, I had two MWs because we moved out of state when I was 6 months. My first MW charged me $25 a visit, plus labs. The total fee my second MW collected from insurance was around $2500, which included $200 we paid the assistant out of pocket so she reimbursed us. I'm not sure what we'll pay her this time since we have no maternity coverage; I'm guessing around $2500 unless she has raised her fees.

It seem like most MWs collect the bulk of their fees from the birth itself.

[Sihaya]

Initial Prenatal Visit - $75
Subsequent Prenatal Visits - $35
Birth - $2000 (would be $1500 if it wasn't my first baby)

Labs are charged at cost. She has a cost list of other things and how much they cost (Oxygen, suturing, vitamin K, Pitocin, etc.). In case it matters, these costs are for home visits, where she drives to our home on a Saturday.

[lachingona1]

Inital prenatal visit $300

We pay payments of $420 a month until the $3600 the MW charges is paid for, (about 8 1/2 mths)

[panda]

For our homebirth midwives it's a set fee - $3500 or $3000 if you pay in advance by a certain week, maybe by week 28?

They said that if we decide to transfer our care elsewhere they will work out a partial refund depending on the circumstances.

[~Kristina~]

Originally Posted by Sihaya

Initial Prenatal Visit - $75
Subsequent Prenatal Visits - $35
Birth - $2000 (would be $1500 if it wasn't my first baby)

Labs are charged at cost. She has a cost list of other things and how much they cost (Oxygen, suturing, vitamin K, Pitocin, etc.). In case it matters, these costs are for home visits, where she drives to our home on a Saturday.

Ditto, but I'm paying 1500. because I have kids already.

[bryonyvaughn]

Originally Posted by Sihaya

Birth - $2000 (would be $1500 if it wasn't my first baby)

Originally Posted by ~Kristina~

Ditto, but I'm paying 1500. because I have a "proven pelvis".

Wow. I've never heard of an "unproven pelvis" surcharge. That's a little creepy/unsettling to me.

[~Kristina~]

Originally Posted by bryonyvaughn

Wow. I've never heard of an "unproven pelvis" surcharge. That's a little creepy/unsettling to me.

That's how our midwife refers to it. Sorry if it creeps anyone out, I didn't come up with it.

[NightRose]

My midwife's fee is $2000, to be paid in full by week 36. Anything outside of her direct care (blood work, lab stuff, ultrasounds, etc.) would run at the cost of whatever lab were providing the care, but the only testing she asked of me as something of a necessity was a prenatal blood panel and anything else is optional.

[momto l&a]

When we lived in Idaho we paid 35 for prenatals and 1700 for the birth and postnatals. $65 for the birth kit

In California we paid 3,200 for everything but the $65 birth kit

[Pattyla]

Both local m/w's that I have seen charge a flat $1500 for the prenatals and birth. Any testing I want I'll have to arrange on my own.

[Sihaya]

Originally Posted by bryonyvaughn

Wow. I've never heard of an "unproven pelvis" surcharge. That's a little creepy/unsettling to me.

Originally Posted by ~Kristina~

That's how our midwife refers to it. Sorry if it creeps anyone out, I didn't come up with it.

Though we have the same mw, she didn't call it that to me She explained that first-time moms tend to take more time and energy and often call the mw and want her to arrive far before an "experienced" mom would. The way she does her pricing is fine with me. She was well within our budget either way!

[True Blue]

In Florida, we paid $3200. Here in NYC, the charges are $5000-$7500!!!!

[GinaRae]

I don't know what it is broken down, but ours is $3500 to be paid by a certain week or $3,000 if paid off early. They use a billing company that specializes in the crap insurance companies pull (like mine who is giving us the run around for something not even relevant).

So they will be billing the insurance company for everything and we will be reimbursed where applicable.

We also bill for labs and what-not and the insurance pays that with no problems. We're attempting to bill prenatals and they will attempt to bill the birth.

No mattere what, we've committed to the full amount, as it's worth it! If we get some back, that's just icing on the cake!

[twilight girl]

I'm overseas, but for comparison's sake:

$30 - prenatal visits
$800 -birth (including 3 postnatal home visits)

$30 to rent the inflatable pool
$200 to rent the portable jacuzzi.

You could call this a little pricey, considering that my OB visits (including 3D/4D u/s) are $65, and it would probably cost $1000-$1200 to deliver in the hospital.

[Groggie]

Our MW charges a "global fee" of $3800 (we have out of network coverage that will cover a percentage so we will end up paying $1860 out of pocket, which includs a $400 deductible). The global fee covers all prenatal visits, the birth, and a few postpartum visits as well. Besides that, we paid about $55 for a birth kit, and we have to pay for the birth assistant - the one we picked charges $650, but the insurance might cover a percentage of that too. But bear in mind we are in the DC area so cost of living is pretty high around here.

[orangeiron]

In Maine, my midwives have a sliding scale $1500-$3000 depending on income. You can work it out however you want for insurance purposes. Lab fees are not included, but our insurance I think covered those.
In Chicago it was also a sliding scale, I don't remember the figures, but we were making less and paid more.

[orca]

Originally Posted by True Blue

In Florida, we paid $3200. Here in NYC, the charges are $5000-$7500!!!!

I’m not paying a thing. In Canada the health care system pays for absolutely everything, homebirth or hospital, midwife or OB, including all lab fees. I did have to pay $15.00 for a homebirth kit that includes all the disposable sanitary products that the midwives use.

[bryonyvaughn]

ARGH!!! My post disappeared into the dark corners of the internet. :

Originally Posted by Sihaya

Though we have the same mw, she didn't call it [unproven pelvis surcharge] to me She explained that first-time moms tend to take more time and energy and often call the mw and want her to arrive far before an "experienced" mom would. The way she does her pricing is fine with me. She was well within our budget either way!

Well that seems reasonable. It might sound less prejudicial if she framed it as a "multiple-mom discount" or some such thing as women who've birthed before tend to call her later in labor. It just doesn't have the same insinuation that first time moms are high-maintenance.

Originally Posted by ~Kristina~

[Unproven pelvis discount is] how our midwife refers to it. Sorry if it creeps anyone out, I didn't come up with it.

When I first read Spiritual Midwifery I was shocked to learn the first thing Ina May would do after arriving at a laboring mom's place was pelvimetry (sp?) to determine if the woman was capable of vaginal birth. That such things happen didn't shock me but that they'd be the protocol for a leader in the midwifery and natural childbirth movements did.

The unproven pelvis discount sounded to me like another HB MW with serious doubts of women's ability to birth.

~BV

P.S. Ten years ago my MW charged $1000 globally. That was for all but one of the prenatals and the post-partum check up at her house and one prenatal and the birth at the client's house. She'd cover birth's up to two hours in any direction so prenatal's at a clients' houses weren't economically or logistically feasible. She's since raised her rates but I have no idea what they are now.

[LoveChild421]

$2500. You pay $300 upfront at the first visit and then just have to pay the rest before the birth or make arrangements with her.