My rambling thoughts.....

I think this is a very good question. My health insurance does not cover homebirth either. With only one parent working, we have made adjustments to make things work.

My mother practiced midwifery in the 70's and 80's. She charged $200 or trade.

Times have certainly changed!

in some states midwives can take medicaid, which is great for both midwives and low income moms. im other (most) states they cant.

i will say two things:

first, i have never in my life met a rich midwife. i do know some midwives who either have a second career that makes money for them, and some have partners who make a lot of money, or come from wealthy families. but i have never met someone who was a midwife for the money. the $1000-4000 that people ask for a birth is really not a lot when you consider the work that goes into it.

that said, it doesnt make it any easier to afford, and its a doubly hard choice when medicaid will pay for you to give birth in the hospital. i will say that most midwives i know care about financial accessibility, and if need be are often willing to reduce rates, set up payment plans, and arrange trades. if its something you want, ask for it.

its a less than ideal situation, but you can say that about almost everything related to health care in our country. id love to see women having free access to any kind of birth they want, and midwives making a comfortable living without having to risk legal trouble. lets all keep working towards that goal.

That's an issue that many parents face here in Oregon where I am currently living. Only one insurance plan officially covers homebirth. Even though few insurance companies admit to covering homebirth, midwives, even unlicensed ones, report that they have had good luck getting insurance companies to pay.

Call around the homebirth midwives in your community. Some may have sliding scales, and others may accept different payment plans.

Considering that the average cost of a wedding or new car in the US is $20,000, the cost of $2000 for a homebirth midwife is absolutely reasonable. If you are saving money at all, what more worthwhile to spend it on then for your child's health? I feel it is sooo worth it!

Good luck!

I know other expecting parents who have been creative, and hosted benefit partys or other events to raise money for their homebirth.

Or you could move to a different state for the birth where it will be covered. I had a homebirth in Seattle and state insurance paid for my midwives.

this seems like an american thread but ... i had a homebirth in vancouver, bc. i had a traditional birth attendant instead of a registered midwives so i had to pay out of my pocket. she charged 1,300$ which is a lot but when it comes to giving birth, i wanted to be in full control. i knew that would never happen in the hospital and the two registered midwives i initially had didn't share my birth wishes. my birth attendant was very understanding of my low income statue and let me make monthly payments. it took me a year to pay the full amount. for me, every dollar was worth it. i had a beautiful birth and was in complete control of the decision-making. it seems like so many wimmin have sad birth stories to share where they feel they were powerless. i would pay that amount again in a heartbeat.

really, when you think about the 1,300$, it is not that much in comparision to how much dedicated energy they offer in return.

How does one afford NOT to birth at home? Funny how expensive the most basic & traditional things have become. If you want milk, just plain fresh milk from cow to table with nothing added you have to pay more; it is the same with birth. The average vaginal birth with out intervention in the hospital will run around $10,000 the average Homebirth (in California) is $1,000 to $5,000. You are right it does seem that now days it is only the wealthy who can afford fresh organic milk & a homebirth, however just because you are low or no income does not mean you have no resources. Both of my babies were born at home in the SF Bay Area. During the first pregnancy in 2003 both my husband & I were full time students. My insurance covered about 15% of my midwife's fee of $3,000 the rest came together from a barter/trade with our midwife (I did promo for her, put her flyers everywhere), a party & my mom. Yes a party. When I was 30 weeks pregnant we had a huge gathering to celebrate the new baby to be & invited EVERY ONE we knew. We stated on the invite instead of bringing presents to please make a donation to the Midwife fund. Folks in our community were happy to do it. We got $20 here, $15 there, and $40 here & at the end of the night collected $1,000. I am a birth doula & tell my clients who are low income to always throw a doula fundraising party. My last clients did, had a potluck & rose $500 in 5 hours. So yes coming up with that much cash is daunting but not impossible. If you can birth at home, try a birth center many take medi-cad, if you do have to birth at hospital birth with a midwife, at the county/free hospital. Usually public hospitals have much lower rates of un-needed intervention. Good luck!!

Warmly, Earth

Earth C. Lande, Director
The Natural Birth Institute
Transforming how you see birth.
510.410.5640
3331 17th St.
S.F.,CA 94110

NBI is fiercely committed to preserving the art of birthing naturally. The preservation of natural, unadulterated childbirth is essential to the well being of humankind as well as the ecological health of our planet.

How does one afford NOT to birth at home? Funny how expensive the most basic & traditional things have become. If you want milk, just plain fresh milk from cow to table with nothing added you have to pay more; it is the same with birth. The average vaginal birth with out intervention in the hospital will run around $10,000 the average Homebirth (in California) is $1,000 to $5,000. You are right it does seem that now days it is only the wealthy who can afford fresh organic milk & a homebirth, however just because you are low or no income does not mean you have no resources. Both of my babies were born at home in the SF Bay Area. During the first pregnancy in 2003 both my husband & I were full time students. My insurance covered about 15% of my midwife's fee of $3,000 the rest came together from a barter/trade with our midwife (I did promo for her, put her flyers everywhere), a party & my mom. Yes a party. When I was 30 weeks pregnant we had a huge gathering to celebrate the new baby to be & invited EVERY ONE we knew. We stated on the invite instead of bringing presents to please make a donation to the Midwife fund. Folks in our community were happy to do it. We got $20 here, $15 there, and $40 here & at the end of the night collected $1,000. I am a birth doula & tell my clients who are low income to always throw a doula fundraising party. My last clients did, had a potluck & rose $500 in 5 hours. So yes coming up with that much cash is daunting but not impossible. If you can birth at home, try a birth center many take medi-cad, if you do have to birth at hospital birth with a midwife, at the county/free hospital. Usually public hospitals have much lower rates of un-needed intervention. Good luck!!

Warmly, Earth

Earth C. Lande, Director
The Natural Birth Institute
Transforming how you see birth.
510.410.5640
3331 17th St.
S.F.,CA 94110

NBI is fiercely committed to preserving the art of birthing naturally. The preservation of natural, unadulterated childbirth is essential to the well being of humankind as well as the ecological health of our planet.

I know this post is old, but I was searching the net to find out how much a homebirth in CA is. I am realIy surprised to find it's not nearly as 'unattainable' as I thought!
I currently reside in Argentina, where I've had a homebirth with my first baby. I'll be moving back to CA this year and would really like to have a homebirth there with my second child. I was surprised to see that it doesn't cost nearly as much as I thought. I say this because my husband and I paid about $1000 US dollars in Argentina for a homebirth - on my husbands salary alone in 2008. It was a sacrifice for us and really it was over 10% of our yearly take home income, as the wages are much lower here. The cost of living is NOT that low though, so we just lived simply to afford the 'luxury' of a homebirth. But we did it, we just wantedit that much and we saved and made small sacrifices so we could have the birth we wanted. I don't think homebirth is so unaccessible.. it's just a matter of managing your finances and focusing on your goal.