i'm not yet. at this point i am PCAP pending, which is like medicaid for pregnant women. my mother and grandmother are setting aside money as a gift to pay for a midwife if need be. very sweet of them. so i will know my financial situation better in a bit -- i may have medicaid, i may have funds to pay out of pocket. for now, i am going to bracket the financial issue and focus on finding somebody i can connect with and i feel confident i will be able pay them off over time one way or another. worst case scenario, i am looking at unassisted home birth. as a "PCAP pending" patient i have been receiving traditional western medical care. it's been quite stressful. i would like to get my toes in the water of what it's like to be seen by an excellent midwife instead. and in the end, who knows, it may have to be DIY.