Is there a doctor present with a midwife home birth?
ByI don’t see how there couldn’t be, in case something goes wrong
but maybe they’re suppose to just rush you to the hospital in that scenario?
also, would my insurance have to approve of a home birth?
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- Anyone had a water birth? Was it really bad? Wanna Have one? Or a at home birth? ?
- I would like to do a water birth at my home. Any advice?
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6 Comments
April 14th, 2010 at 8:05 am
Usually there isn’t, that’s what the midwife is there for.
Some insurances might cover it but I’m 100% sure.
April 14th, 2010 at 9:04 am
No, usually there is just your midwife and whoever you choose to be there.
April 14th, 2010 at 9:22 am
If you are worried about the just in case then you need to deliver at a hospital. While the chances are that everything would go fine there is also a very slim chance that they may not and if you are not close to a hospital then things can go south very quickly. There will be the home birth gestapo out there that will tell you not to worry about it, but it is your pregnancy not theirs and you know that 99.9% of pregnancies go fine, but about 10% need cesarean and there is the 1 in 5000 that has a life threatening emergency; those are great odds unless you are the 1 person it happened to. Insurance will not pay for home birth.
April 14th, 2010 at 9:24 am
No, there isn’t. Most (good) midwives are trained in how to handle a lot of complications, and to recognize the need for a hospital transfer. Some women choose not to have any midwife present at all. I am one. I had a planned unassisted home birth last May. Just my husband and children were present. No medical professional. It is not for everyone, but it was the best choice for our family. I had spent almost 3 years researching and preparing (I would be willing to bet that I put more thought and research into this birth than your average pregnant woman puts into her hospital birth), was well aware of what I could handle and educated myself on what type of complications I would need to transfer to a hospital for.
And yes, some insurance companies do cover home birth, but many do not.
April 14th, 2010 at 10:07 am
Midwives are well trained to handle complications short of performing a C-Section. In case of a transfer to a hospital being needed, they are trained to keep the situation stable until you can reach the hospital. They come equipped with tools and knowledge, not just Birkenstocks and a leather strap.
Your insurance would have to approve for it to be covered by them, but you always have the option to pay out of pocket. I did so with my home birth. The insurance covered my back-up OB and I payed about 3500 out of pocket for the midwife and her services.
The home birth was most definitely worth it.
April 14th, 2010 at 10:11 am
No, no doctor present. Some midwives have official back-up OBs, or some moms have their own OB, in addition to the midwife. If there is a complication, midwives are trained to recognize it and get you to the hospital. That doesn’t happen often, though; my midwife has attended 150-200 births and only transferred once, and it was not an emergency.
Some insurance comapnies will cover some or all of a homebirth, but many will not. The most my insurance company was going to pay was about $1000 towards the $3500-6500 a nurse-midwife charges in my area. I decided to use my insurance benefit to pay for an OB to cover all my prenatal appointments, and am paying my midwife half her normal fee to see me twice before birth and attend the birth.