homebirth questions

[rachaeljohnson]

DH and I toured the hospital last night and the nurse doing the tour irritated the crap out of me. Talked about how great epidural is and how a circumcision is better at birth bc they don't remember (She didn't like my comment about "you wouldn't torture and alzheimer's patient bc they won't remember" but i digress), she also talked about cytotec being great and fetal monitoring every 30 min (which i know we can decline) but....

now i am wondering about a homebirth. I know they are safe...but what stuff do you need? How much does it cost? With insurance we only pay $100 for the whole shebang at the hospital.

We have a midwife and a doula so the hospital may not be that bad...i can always tell that nurse (if god-forbid, she is ours) to get lost.

[shutterbugmom]

homebirth is SUCH a personal choice. For me, it was the most amazing thing I have ever experienced. ( I can show you the montage I made if you like )

But it is totally YOUR choice to make.

what you need:

some midwives have a supply list for you

some midwives include everything in their fee.

Mine was the prior. Hth!

[foodie.yarnie.mommie.]

Well our HB was almost $2500 out of pocket, that was after insurance covered my MW at a 60/40 rate. That was for everything, my MW's cost and all the needed supplies. Your MW will give you a list of supplies that you need to get, most of them come in kit from one website and then the other things are easy to find usually. It was sooo worth every penny for us, one of the most amazing things I have ever experienced.

Shutterbug- I was typing while you posted, didn't mean to copy to, but I think almost every HB mom with tell anyone the same thing, "most amazing experience"

[nadjarea]

Originally Posted by rachaeljohnson DH and I toured the hospital last night and the nurse doing the tour irritated the crap out of me. Talked about how great epidural is and how a circumcision is better at birth bc they don't remember (She didn't like my comment about "you wouldn't torture and alzheimer's patient bc they won't remember" but i digress), she also talked about cytotec being great and fetal monitoring every 30 min (which i know we can decline) but.... now i am wondering about a homebirth. I know they are safe...but what stuff do you need? How much does it cost? With insurance we only pay $100 for the whole shebang at the hospital. We have a midwife and a doula so the hospital may not be that bad...i can always tell that nurse (if god-forbid, she is ours) to get lost.

I didn't read any replies, but some midwives do take insurance. I have tricare prime and my midwife cost us nothing out of pocket. The only thing we had to pay for was our birth kit and I think that was like forty bucks. No big deal. Good Luck mama! I hope you can enjoy your birth at home!

[ChurchPunkMom]

If it's something you're interested in, it's TOTALLY worth looking into.

Do you have an HMO or PPO ins? PPOs usually do cover some if not all. HMOs are more difficult and often don't cover anything. A home birth midwife can charge anywhere from $1500-$4500 - it just depends. (A BIG factor in that is if they have malpractice ins. It is $$$$.) Even birth kits will vary in price. My midwives that I had at Eliana's birth (the boys were all born in the hospital with OBs) used Cascade and their kit cost us about $65. They had their own tubs too, so that was included in their fee (which was $2500). The midwife we have now charges $500 for the birth kit, but our ins will cover that. It will also cost us $150 for a tub rental (or we could buy one as cheap as $40-$50) since she does not have her own tubs. Her fee is $2700.

After having our first homebirth, J and I knew we'd never go back to the hospital unless we HAD to.

[bobandjess99]

See if your insurance covers midwives. Don't say homebirth, because that will just mess up the person. HMOs normally won't, but PPO's normally will, at least in part.
Or better yet, call and find a midiwfe, ask her what she takes. She'll know if she takes your insurance. A possible issue at this point is you are.24 weeks. Some midwives are just already booked up, as they only take a limited number of clients per month in order to have enough time to give everybody individual care. Also, some might have "screening" criteria you will need to meet...
but anyway....you could also look at just using a different hospital, if you want, some are way better/worse than others.
As a first time mom, I just really want to make sure you make the best decision you can, because what happens during this first birth is really going to affect your future birthing options......and if you fall prey to the cascade of interventions and end up one of the 30% who cross the hospital's threshold who get a C/S, you will have such a struggle in front of you to birth naturally in the future.

[rachaeljohnson]

thanks to everyone for your replies...i will call my insurance and find out. They cover my midwife i have now...but she is part of a practice so, not sure if they will cover home mid-wives. I feel totally confident in my birth going naturally with minimal interventions...between the Bradley classes, my reading, my very detailed birth plan, and my amazing doula...i think the hospital birth will be as good as a hospital birth can be. If insurance doesn't cover a homebirth...i will have to go the hospital route...i just can't pay $2,500 vs $100...even if it will be the most amazing experience ever. I imagine it will be the most amazing experience no matter where i am. Thanks again for your help!

[katy_mb3]

ditto what everyone else said! We had a hospital birth for our first and I would never do that again unless absolutely necessary! There's a link in my siggy to our HB last December and we're planning our next one for November. I can't wait!

Our first HB cost us $1500 including all prenatal/birth/postpartum care. Our current MW charges $1200 for the birth and prenatals are $25 - pay-as-you-go. My insurance covers out-of-hospital births just like they do hospital births. IMO, however, a homebirth is so worth it that I would pay out of pocket in a heartbeat if that's the only way I could do it.

Many MWs give the birth-supply list out in their information packet. Most of the items on the list are things already around the house - crockpot, stainless-steel bowl, towels, linens, flashlight, etc. The disposable items can be purchased for pretty cheap and isn't a burden at all, IMO. (I can PM you with my MW's actual list if it would help you get an idea of what's recommended to have at hand.) On a side note, many people worry about the 'mess' of a homebirth, however MWs are excellent at preventing messes and cleaning them up when they do occur. An hour after the birth, it will look like nothing ever happened.

I'd say that if the hospital makes you at all uncomfortable, then it's worth it to at least investigate a home birth. The best thing you can do for yourself and your baby is be well-informed and have an open mind!!

[rachaeljohnson]

ok, so i do have a ppo...so maybe that's a good sign...i will call a local homebirth mid-wife i know and see what she says...wish me luck!

[ChurchPunkMom]

If they cover the midwife you have now, then they'll probably cover at least part of another midwife. Just call and ask them what your coverage for 'out of network providers' is. Basically, that's what you'd be getting. Rather than an 'in-network' midwife with a practice, you'll have an 'out of network' independent midwife. You never know though, my midwife works on her own and her clinic operates out of a church, but she's still 'in network' with my insurance.

Still, it's not likely to only cost you $100. Out of the $2700 fee that our midwife charges, we'll be paying our $500 deductible plus 20% of what's left - it comes out to a little less than $1000. This is actually cheaper for us since we'd have the same coverage with a hospital birth (which are more expensive out of pocket).