Hospitals...

[Erin Pavlina]

Thanks to all your suggestions, I called my health insurance company and discovered to my utter shock and delight that they cover homebirth 100%!

I'm now looking into finding a midwife who can do a homebirth or a hospital birth, just in case things go awry.

[Ginarama]

There are a few OBs in my area who will do a home birth. There may be some in California as well. We are perfectly happy with a Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM), which is what I would recommend. Contrary to the OB I first saw, the CNM does not treat pregnancy like an illness.

I recommend a CNM over a "direct entry" midwife -- one who's not also an RN. A CNM has more thorough medical training.

As for "if something goes awry," some CNMs have hospital privileges. Ours does not, but she does work with three collaborating OBS -- two of whom have other CNMs on their team. I will see one of these OBs in a few weeks, so I know them just in case. Their hospitals are about 25 miles from our home, so we'll also be touring the birthing center at our closest (3 miles) hospital -- which also, fortunately, has a midwife on staff.

Check around and don't be afraid to interview a few midwives. Bradley instructors are also a good source for referrals -- you may want to check with the AAHCC (Bradley method) in Sherman Oaks, CA.

Good luck -- everyone I know who's had a home birth has raved about the experience. I trust we'll soon be among them!

Gina

[CarlaJ]

Congratulations Erin! That's SO exciting that it's covered by insurance!! My mom had me and my younger brother at home with a midwife and loved it compared to the hospital birth she had with my older brother.

Carla

[kykarraliv]

The midwife I am using is costing my about 1400. That covers all the prenatal appointments and a water birth. She brings the birthing tub and all the supplies. Her prices go all the way down to about 800 for complete prenatal care and birth. She accepts payments. She is a really competent midwife with OBGYN back up. I am happy to have found her. She completely supports me being vegan.
Kim

[Christa]

Both of my daughters were born in a hospital with certified nurse midwives. The first was a very bad experience, the second wonderful. I would say that the main reason my first went so counter to how I had wanted it to, was the midwives. If you are sure that your medical provider will adequately inform you of what is going on & follow your wishes, I would think that that would be the most important thing. Also, with this being your second child, I would also think that you will know more of what to expect & thus have a better shot of it going how you want, as well.

With my older child, the midwives wanted to induce b/c she was nearly 2 wks past due, however there was no indication that she was stressed. If I had known more, I would not have agreed. It took 3 days of the maximum dosage of Pitocin, cytotec (a little pill that they put near your cervix to make it dialate), manually forcing my cervix open & more to get her out. I was not told & did not find out until later that the usage of cytotec & pitocin together significantly increases risk of uterine rupture. I also was not told that it is basically impossible to manually dialate the cervix w/out an epidural b/c it is so excruciating. I started thowing up from the pain when they did the manual dialation & continued to throw up for 24+ hrs until I finally had an epidural - I was only 6 cm dialated at the time. Angelina was finally born on a Sat. morning - the induction began on Wed. morning. I also was given an episiotomy w/out even being told that they were going to do it. My midwives knew that I did not want one unless the baby was in danger. I don't believe that she was, but was more upset that they didn't tell me that they were doing it until they already had. I also wound up hemoraging after the delivery due to my uterus being overstimulated from all of the Pitocin.

Needless to say, I changed midwife practices with the second. She was born at the same hospital, but was a completely different experience. My wishes were honored & supported. When it got truly painful & I wasn't sure that I could do it, the nurse & midwife were very supportive & I delivered Tessa with no pain meds having gone into labor with no induction.

I guess that my main point is that you need someone there who will tell you the truth about the consequences of any interventions and will support your desires for the kind of birth that you want. It can be done at a hospital if you are an informed consumer with a supportive practicioner.

[tina]

I completely understand your fear. My first birth was a planned hospital birth that I expected to be as natural as possible in a hospital. It tuned into a nightmare!!! Ending in an unnecessary ceasarean. (My birth record actually states that things are ok but "will proceed with ceasarean anyway"!) After this experience I decided never again. My second birth was a 10lb VBAC at home.
I too would say be VERY prepared! My favorite book that helped me to understand hospital procedures more and what can be done about them is A Good Birth A Safe Birth by Diana Korte.
Also I wanted to mention that HBs in our area are only $1200. This is a lot less that the copayment after my first birth. Maybe if you check around you can find a cheaper rate. Also it is not covered by insurance in IL. As a matter of fact, some lay-midwives are being "hunted" down to put an end to it in IL!
Another idea would be to hire a doula. It would be her job to know what you want and help you get it. In the heat of the experience, it can be difficult for you or your DH to take care of this. I know some who have stayed strong and alert enough, but I know of many who weren't able to, including me and my husband.
I wish you the best.
Tina