It always comes down to money, doesn't it?

People who truly want a good birth will pay for it, no matter what it costs. They'll interview midwives, visit birth centers if that's what they're after, figure out which arrangement feels right, and go for it. After that, they'll figure out the financial details. Birth is one time when money really should never be a top consideration.

It somewhat irks me when people ask me about birth center or homebirth and their first question is, "How do I get Tricare to cover that?" or "What's that costing you?" You know, this stuff didn't even come up in conversation when I interviewed midwives for our homebirth. Alyson told me during our 2nd appointment, that she knows how to get Tricare reimbursement for her clients. I had NO idea before that, that it was even feasible. We figured we'd pay out of pocket, and never see a dime of it back. That wasn't ever a drawback to us, though. We've found a way to pay, and Alyson (like all other midwives in the world) takes payments. We want this, so we found a way. People who want it find the right care arrangement for them first, and make financial arrangements as necessary.

My questions when asking about any given midwife or birth center are, in this order:

What's their policy on pregnancies that pass 42 weeks?
How many births do they oversee in a year?
What's their rate of hospital transfer, c-section, and induction?
Do they have affiliation with any local practitioners such as herbalists, chiropractors, or acupuncturists?
And finally, what's it cost?


Don't get me wrong, I'm glad people are looking toward doing things like birthing in non-hospital settings, but man, if the first thing you think of is the money involved, maybe you really aren't doing it for the right reasons. Money should be dead last priority when it comes to birth. Any midwife will even tell you that.