[charleysmama23]

Hi ladies. Due to obnoxious insurance issues and our inability to pay $6,000 for an out of network midwife birth I have to find an OB I don't hate to deliver my next baby (due Nov).
Did anyone have a GOOD experience with an OB trying to achieve a natural birth???
Or, did anyone use a midwife at home that didn't cost 5 million dollars??

Thanks ladies!!

 

[onlygirls]

Can you narrow down your location?

 

[Briannasmom]

Are mw costing $6000 now? I delivered 3 yrs ago with Davi Khalsa (loved her soooo much!) and it was about $4000.... as were most other mw at the time. The only one that was $6K was the birth center in Sherman Oaks...
You should definitely talk with some mws and ask if they'll do a sliding scale and payment plans. Consider going into debt for it if you need to and you have the credit. I did for both kids and I don't regret it one bit. Some of the best loved mws...

http://www.tlcwomanscenter.com (Davi - LA)
http://www.westhomebirth.com/ (Diane West - SFV)
http://www.socalbirth.com/shelly/mid...ie-gibson.html (Seannie Gibson/Shelly Girard)
Leslie Stewart, Home Birth Services of LA (Studio City) (818) 760-6541

As far as natural friendly OBs, Dr. Crane in Beverly Hills or Dr. Dwight at Good Samaritan...

 

[mom2geminibaby]

How about having a Doula? They can't deliver your baby but they can be there to help make decisions when OB's offer their interventions. I don't know what they charge in your area but they usually cost $500.

 

[deymm]

I delivered at home with Selly and Seannie and would recommend them highly!

They didn't cost $6k, but then again, that was over 5 years ago, so maybe their rates have changed.

 

[charleysmama23]

My specific location is North Hollywood. I actually ended up making an appointment with Dr. Wu in Glendale. I've read some good stuff about him and the midwife I saw two weeks ago always uses him as her back up because she feels he is very pro-natural birth. Hopefully that's true.
The doula suggestion is a good one, I mentioned it to dh. He's a little hesitant because he's a Bradley trained daddy and takes his job very seriously, but I pointed out that it would be nice if his job was NOT to argue with a stupid hospital and he agreed with that.

 

[JudiAU]

I don't know what kind of insurance you have but I would point out that some midwives (like those at UCLA) practice out of a group practice with OBs. When we checked our insurance we actually used a doctor's name to confirm the group was covered. You might have better luck with someone like that.

Good Samaratian has a reputation as being natural-friendly. I know I thread about it that said one of the OBs is really old school and will deliver breech vaginally.

 

[Ironica]

The only doc I know of that does vaginal breech delivery is Dr. Wu, and he's at Glendale Adventist. I went for a consult with him when I was considering HBAC. He said straight out that he felt like the place for a VBAC was in the hospital, but that it was *my choice* and if I chose to birth at home, he'd back me up. I ultimately made a different choice, based in part on the hospital; Glendale Adventist as a whole has a pretty high c-section rate and not so good indicators in other areas too. But I do think now that if I'd gone with a homebirth, my outcome may have been better (i.e. non-surgical).

As hospitals and OBs go, Dr. Dwight and Good Samaritan are pretty good. They didn't *impede* my designs on a natural birth, they just didn't do everything in their power to make it happen. (And neither did my DH or my doula... yeah, I've got baggage.)

 

[Rikki Jean]

Since you're in North Hollywood, I can recommend someone to you who is in L.A., but she doesn't have a license (working on it), so if that's something you're comfortable with, PM me.

 

[charleysmama23]

that's interesting Ironica. I have an appt with Dr. Wu and plan to deliver (if all goes well with him) at Glendale Adventist because the midwife i met with suggested that hospital as being patient friendly. I deliver last time at Providence St. Joseph and that hospital is ARCHAIC, they still insist on taking a perfectly healthy baby away from mama for (in my case) 3 HOURS to "bathe them and regulate the temperature", such a load of CRAP. I HATE that hospital, the midwife said that they don't do that at GA, although dh and i already discussed that no matter what, this time around no one is taking our baby away barring some medical emergency.
Rikki: thanks, but I'll pass, I'm just not comfortable with an unlicensed mw, but thank you!

 

[Rikki Jean]

Quote:

Originally Posted by charleysmama23 Rikki: thanks, but I'll pass, I'm just not comfortable with an unlicensed mw, but thank you!

No problem, I totally understand!

ETA: Sue Gill with Blessed Beginnings might travel to your area. IIRC, she's around $3,200.

 

[Nannysbaby]

My 3 daughters birthed with Dr. Rebecca Perlow. She is WONDERFUL! Very supportive of natural birth choices and lets daddy catch the baby. The nurses at the hospital love her too and don't mess with her patients. I highly recommend her.

http://www.drperlow.com/drperlow/

Here is a great resource for the LA birth scene...

http://www.supportedbirth.com/resources.htm