Questions
Questions
Will my insurance pay for my homebirth?
It really depends on your insurance provider, but most will cover home birth. I'm experienced with obtaining in-network reimbursement rates, as well as helping your insurance company understand that they'll be saving a lot of money by supporting you in your out-of-hospital birth experience. You can easily call your insurance provider and ask them what they will cover. I file all claims myself, so there's not a 3rd party billing service to pay or to negotiate through. Currently in Colorado, CHP+ partially covers homebirth, and Medicaid declines to pay any benefits for homebirth. Homebirth is an option for you, even if your insurance doesn't cover the full fees or only partially covers the fees.
I'm committed to birth at home with a midwife, but I'm low-income and don't have insurance that covers the costs. Do you offer a sliding scale or payment arrangements for this type of situation?
One of the traditional hallmarks of midwifery care is its accessibility to women and families of all income levels. Mountain Family Midwifery continues this tradition by offering sliding scale fees to low-income families, as well as flexible payment plan
Is homebirth safe?
It's important to understand how the American culture of childbirth impacts and influences your perspectives towards your pregnancy and birth. Although hospitals are widely believed to be the safest place to give birth, there has never been one study that shows this belief to be based in fact for low-risk women. Homebirth has been proven through decades of research to be as safe or safer than hospital birth for low-risk women.
Low-risk women who are attended at home by professional midwives have better outcomes at birth than low-risk women who give birth in hospitals. Babies have better outcomes as well, with better chances of gentle, non-traumatic births at home. If you're low-risk and hospital environments or physician protocols don't appeal to you, your best birth will probably happen at home. Here's a partial list of health or living situations that would indicate that homebirth is not right for you:
- Diabetes, Hypertension (>140/90) or Preeclampsia
- Heart, Kidney or Lung disease
- History of clotting or pulmonary embolism
- Blood dyscrasias, Hepatitis B, HIV Postive or AIDS
- Seizures controlled by medications if the mother has seized in the last year
- Current use of pyschotropic medications or substance abuse
- Rh sensitization, incompetent cervix or previous uncontrollable postpartum hemorrhage
Even if a woman was high-risk in a previous pregnancy, she may be low-risk in her current pregnancy. If this applies to you, feel free to call to discuss your situation.
What if there's a problem in labor or birth?
Most of the time, minor complications in labor or birth are corrected at home safely, and are not true emergencies. Rarely, major complications arise at home which require specialized care outside of the midwife's scope of practice. Major complications regularly come with some warning signs before the situation becomes serious. Homebirth midwives are trained not only to bring minor complications into balance naturally and safely, but also to recognize if a situation is becoming unsafe at home. Remember, for high-risk situations, hospitals are the safest birth location. The safety of your health and your baby's health is always our top priority.
Do I need to see a doctor before getting midwifery care?
Homebirth midwives are autonomous primary-care providers for maternity and neonatal care. This means that you receive care from your midwife during your pregnancy and birth without the need to consult with a physician. There are times where moms and babies need specialized care outside of the midwife's scope of practice, and these moms and babies would be transferred to the physician of their choice.
