Have any of you had a home birth? I'm trying to get some info on it because we are loosely talking about having more children, and if we do then I would defenitely want to try for a home birth. I'm SO out of the loop that I have NO idea how it works, how much it costs and all that jazz. Any help? Info?

So far, I have found out that it can cost anywhere from 600 to 3500+, depending on your income, how your midwife charges for your visits and such. That sounds really absurd to me, seeing as you (the pregnant woman) do all the "work", and all she does is sit there and make sure everything goes okay.

Alright, gonna sit back and wait for some responses! ::hugs::

I've looked into it... and think I'll go for a birthing center if the time comes.

Just be prepared to get some strong reactions, even just by asking. Even from your doctor(s) perhaps. I was watching on TV one doc saying "it should be illegal," (tone even made my heart jump!) while debating with a mom who successfully had one. The other people there didn't say much.

He thought it was needlessly risky to opt out of having advanced medical attention within a minute-ish if needed. She gave stats showing the risk of death or injury is the same (or a little less?) as in the HS.

Honestly, the whole debate made me think to prefer the "in between" option. I want a mid wife, a birthing room/center (with perks! Like a huge tub!), but next to or on the wing of a hospital, just in case. And no one will yell at me or give me disapproving looks too.. heh. That's not my reason though, just a side benefit.

I think if you're not 100% sure of having a home birth (as I'm not), it's probably best to find another alternative. But there are many moms who have been 100% certain and enjoyed the experience. I hope some speak up here because I'd love to hear their stories too...

I think it's a wonderful idea!! I would have loved to do it with either of my last two but, I have too many problems and a hospital was the only thing that would have made since! I wish you all the luck in the world!

I've had all of mine at home.

Laws and midwife availability vary by state, and thus does price.

I don't have any links on this computer for it, but do a search for homebirth laws for your state. Check out Midwifery Today for other info, they have a forum there as well, in which you can ask any and all questions and likely get better answers ;)

The first thing I always encourage is reading. Read everything you can get your hands on about natural and homebirth. Spiritual Midwifery, by Ina May Gaskin, is a wonderful resource. Allbeit, rather crass (for starters), she and the folks at 'the Farm' KNOW homebirth. Very good info there. Talk with dh, a LOT! If he's not onboard, don't try it. By all means, continue to try to persuade him, presenting him with all the info you discover, and pray about it. But don't *push* it if he's not cool with the idea.

My midwife, at last use, charged around $2000 I think. We've had a lesser amount due to being 'repeat customers' hehe We were her first ever 'repeats' Cool eh? Anyway...
That included her trips to my house. Gotta love that part!! Though, be forewarned, not all do that. She even came to me when I lived 2 hrs away. Yeah, she rocks! hehe Anyway, it included all the usual prenatal visits. However many that is..once a month, then once every 2 weeks, once a week...whatever the 'schedule' is, she follows that. During those visits she checks my weight, measures my belly, feels for the baby and listens for baby's heartbeat. We talk about anything going on with the pregnancy..and otherwise :D For us, it was mostly just a 'gab session' It took about 5 minutes to do all her 'tests' (oh yes, she does the 'pee on a stick' test at each visit also, checking protein levels and what not), then we'd just visit for the next hour or so. I was blessed with uneventful pregnancies..aside from morning sickness that couldn't tell time.
This price also included delivery..she was there as soon as we needed her (though, she was only present for one birth out of 3 LOL), she stayed around for a few hours after birth. Took care of clean up (clean sheets on bed, washed the dirties, yada yada yada) took care of me (fixed me food, made sure I was eating and feeling well), kept an eye on me and baby, did the initial baby check (got all its limbs, they move as they should, measurements, etc.). She would come back the next day or two. Then again at the standard 6 week post partum.
She also took care of the paperwork to get the baby's birth certificate. She had it on hand, filled it out, we just had to sign then she sent it in or dropped it off for us.
Oh, she also performed the PKU test on baby at...what is is...a few days old? Never immediately, whenever it's next recommended, I'm wanting to think 4 days ?? Maybe just 2. Anywho..she did that and sent it in as well.

Hmm what else?

As for the birth itself..'all she does it sit there and make sure all goes well' Well, not really ;) Most homebirth midwives actually also act as a birth coach/doula. They are not there as the doctor "Johnny Bench" waiting for the baby to shoot out. A midwife is more active than that. They are your support person, emotionally and physically. They fill in the gaps the husband cannot. They fill in the gaps as only a woman can. They also support the husband and encourage him to help the laboring mom. Midwives are also mediators. You may also have a doula or other 'birth coach' at your birth, I'm just saying, a midwife, a homebirth midwife, generally takes on all those roles, if you don't have a specified doula, and even then, the midwife still does those same things, just not to an extent to intrude on the doulas place. And of course, never to interfere withthe husbands place there either.

If there's anything else, ask away, I'll try to answer. :)

Homebirth has been the greatest thing for us. I couldn't imagine having my babies anywhere but our home. I encourage it any chance I get. Though I will say it is not for everyone. But it IS for much more people than they themselves realize ;) I just wish more would even see it, consider it as an option.

Tara did a great job covering this! :wink: As Tara said, cost, availability, and laws are very different depending on where you live. My midwife doesn't advertise or in other ways get her name out in public since it's a gray area whether she is practicing legally in our state. She was the ideal person to attend the birth of ds. She just charges $1000K for all prenatal visits, delivery, and 3 post partum visits, but most midwives cost more. Talking with prospective midwives is a great way to get a feel for whether this is the right option for you.

Um, what Tara said...LOL!
We had our DD at home.....we were initially scheduled to deliver at a hospital with my OB, but I started reading everything I could get my hands on about birth...every kind of place to birth, every kind of birth (i totally reccomend reading EVERYTHING you can with both sides of the debate) and after talking to Dh about things, we chose a homebirth. I switched to my midwife when I was 24 weeks. My midwife does all the prenatals, which if you choose includes all the prenatal testing including ultrasounds, she does (normally) one home visit around 36-ish weeks, the birth, and two or three postpartum home visits and the up to 6 weeks post partum visits.
And the whole, the midwife doesn't do anything but watch is soooooooo not true. My midwife prayed over me, she checked DD's heartbeat, she checked my cervix, she made sure I urinated while in labor, she had me try different laboring positions to get the most out of my contractions....even though I only wanted to be on my hands and knees in the tub...LOL! When my DD's heartrate dropped really low during contractions she stimulated her scalp to make sure she was doing well enough to stay at home, she helped massage my perineum, and she was ready to give me a shot of pitocin after DD's birth because I had a HUGE gush of blood right before she was born. (come to find out her placenta abrupted a mere moment before she was born)
She stitched me up, and along with her birthing team made us all breakfast, did laundry, took down and cleaned our birthing pool, and made sure we were doing well as a family before leaving.
She was and is always just a phone call away. Although we have grown into great friends also, she is there for any of her clients day or night with any question we may have. When I had pretty severe Braxton Hicks and we were unsure if I was in preterm labor, she cut her shopping day short to come and check me and run some tests on me, and she came to MY house.....won't find that with a doc...LOL!

Our midwife costs $2500 for everything. We didn't have to pay as much because we came to her later in our pg. Now with this pg....since I cannot deliver at home because our baby is very sick, she isn't going to charge us for any of the visits we have had, even though she has been there for us MORE with this pg than every before. She even comes to our apts sometimes if we ask.

I agree with Tara that homebirth isn't for everyone, but I think so many people get freaked out about homebirthing because of what docs think. If you are informed, pray A LOT about it, and feel this is where the Lord is leading you, I think it's an awesome idea. I mourned the loss of our homebirth for this baby, but know that it's best for him to be born at a hospital, and the Lord knows what's best. We trust his leadership.

I so didn't mean to sound like I was preaching from a soap box....I just LOVED my homebirth. There wasn't anything that could have made it better...so I get excited talking about it! If you have any questions feel free to ask me...as you can see I don't hold back much! haahaa

Blessings,
Amber

I have had three of my five vag births naturally and it was amazing; that's why I think a home birth would be a fabulous option for me! I had my second oldest daughter naturally and then my TWINS naturally, forceps and everything (ouch)!!!! I'm very proud of myself but, moreover because of my experience with natural childbirth I think I could definitely handle delivering at home.

I hate having to be hooked up to an IV, not being able to move and having someone different check me every fifteen seconds; it drove me crazy! I have NOT looked up a birthing center here, to see if we even have one, if we *do* then that would probably be a great option for me to start with, seeing as I'm a little nervous about being without the medical profession; I'm such a nervous nelly.

I loved my natural births though and find that I would pay a lot of money right now just to be able to experience it again! :) All that work for such a miraculous payment!!! :)

Hubby and I are both in this together (Marriage and everything), so whatever he says goes, but he is as willing to have me comfortable as I am to go without drugs! I think a home birth would be a wonderful experience that I would love to do at least once in my lifetime! We'll see! Thanks for the posts ladies! All very good info! Keep sending! :)

I noticed that you put having a homebirth would be done without the medical profession. Just FYI, midwives are medical professionals. They have to have numerous hours of training, attend and actively participate in many births before they can even think of practicing.
Now there are different kinds of midwives....I think most who do homebirths are what they call direct entry midwives or certified practical midwives, but there are some certified nurse midwives who do homebirths.
I think if you start seeing a midwife a a medical practioner, as they are, it may not seem as "scary" to you...KWIM? I actually trusted my midwife waaaaay more than my OB because midwives actually pay attention BEFORE something goes wrong...not just treat it when it does.

Also, most birth centers are staffed by the same midwives you would homebirth with...at least here in Oregon.....they have the same equipment there as they midwives bring to your home, and they would still have to transfer you to the hospital if something needed further attention. I am totally for birth centers, it's such a nice place to go if you have a busy home, or your home really isn't big enough or comfortable enough for birth, but it's not MORE medical than home...if that makes sense......and that's for here in Oregon, I don't know much about other states!

I think it's awesome you desire a natural birth....I was told by EVERYONE that once I was in labor I would be begging for drugs....and that was so NOT the case. I used water as my relief and it was amazing. I wish I could go back and tell those people how awesome it was, and that the Lord sustained me through the whole process.....and like you said, it does feel awesome to know the Lord gave us the strength to make it through...he knows what we can handle. :D

Blessings,
Amber

I had two home births attended by a doctor. I also had two that were planned as home births, but ended up as hospital births due to long labors and the size of the baby. I actually didn't mind the hospital at all. :)

I guess by "medical profession" I mean, emergency room, emergency medicines and all that jazz, not a "doctor" per-sey, because I know that Midwives have to go to school and such; they aren't just some crazy woman that we called off the street to come deliver our baby! :) Ha!

I worry a lot about something going wrong and then having to have emergency surgery but, would have to be emergency vehicled somewhere! Oy! But, my deliveries have been fairly uneventful... the only "event" being that I have had to have pitocin with EVERY SINGLE ONE because my water breaks and it's more than twelve hours later when the baby decides to come...

My whole problem with being in a hospital is all the "rules" you have to deal with; you have to sign a waiver if you want to do ANYTHING outside of what they allow... I wasn't even allowed to sit UP in bed when I was in the hospital delivering my twins... much less get out of bed and walk... thus, pitocin.

Have I mentioned how much I HATE pitocin????? Hate it, hate it, hate it... I don't know what birth would be like WITHOUT it. Those three babies that were born WITH pitocin really cause me a serious amount of pain, and I really *like* so much to think that it wouldn't have been soooooooooooooooooooooooooooo very painful, had it not been RUSHED on me with all the pitocin those IV guns were shooting at me. Am I wrong? UGH! Anywhooozers... off my pitocin-hate soapbox...

Uggg about your pitocin....most midwives won't really do much to induce you after your water breaks if your temp is staying normal. Women have gone weeks with ruptured membranes and had healthy uneventful (if that's possible) deliveries...so I you fear that you will repeat the cycle with your water breaking and then having to get pit....I would seriously talk to a midwife....they do things WAAAAY differently than docs....heck, they can't even give pit unless it's for after birth things....well unless they are nurse midwives, but not sure about that either!

The thing that helped me the most to be confident with our choice to homebirth is that we felt it's what the Lord led us to do. I feel you NEED to make sure you are following the Lords lead with where and how you will birth. If you truly believe that the Lord is leading you to have a homebirth, then I would put your trust in him. I cannot remember a time during my whole labor and birth where I felt uneasy or scared about being at home. I knew the Lord had blessed our path thus far, and no matter what happened, he would be there with us giving us the support we needed. I think everyone should feel that way, no matter their birth situation..KWIM?

:D Amber

We have 3 kiddos and all of them have been born at the hospital. I was group B strep posotive so I had antibiotic IVs during labor with all of them. We would like to have another child and we have no health insurance so we began looking into a midwife to see if it would be cheaper. Our last daughter caost nearly $7000 out of our pockets for a normal pregnancy and delivery. Anyway I went to talk to a midwife here who has a birthing center and her price was $3800 for all prenatal care, delivery in the birthing center, and a year of well baby checkups. She has 2 master's degrees, one in homeopathy from John Hopkins and another in midwifery. I really liked her and I think we'll go there when the time comes. She spent way more time with me than my doctor ever did, even though I really liked my doctor. She said a lot of things that made a lot of common sense and she told me I wouldn't need IVs because she wouldn't break my water as they did at the hospital. She said if I was worried I could use a tea tree suppository to eliminate most of the strep. I think it looks good even though I was leeary of the idea at first.

I had a homebirth and I loved it! My midwife is such a super lady and a good friend now! Her husband runs a natural food business and I just bought some bulk food from him today!

As for the comfort factor, I'm deathly terrified of hospitals, so I think that home's a better choice for me.

Money? My MW cost $1200. And if she tripled her fees tomorrow, you can bet that we would still go to her, even if we had to skip vacation to pay for it.

I loved being able to eat and drink, assume natural positions and push gradually (which resulted in delivering without tears, yay!) and not have the option of drugs.

When I'm in pain, I'm vulnerable to suggestion. I didn't want to be in a setting where drugs were an option.

Any more questions? Ask away! :)

the only "event" being that I have had to have pitocin with EVERY SINGLE ONE because my water breaks and it's more than twelve hours later when the baby decides to come...

My water broke early and I didn't go into labour either. Midwives dont' tend to be so quick to induce. I waited 3 days before I started having contractions. Because they didn't do an internal when my water broke I was able to wait for labour to start naturally.