About How Much Does Having a Midwife Cost?

It depends, my midwife at a hospital was $6, my home birth was 4k. Yes, global billing, it all gets paid at the end, though my midwife did charge me for my first appt.

I am answering more than you asked---my midwife cost $8000. I wrote some information our of concern. If you are not interested don't read the remainder:
In the state of California midwife's are not allowed to deliver, outside the hospital, if you have had a c-section. What is the reason the midwife cannot come with you to the hospital and help you have this natural birth. I understand wanting a natural birth. I had a midwife with my first birth and after completely dilating and pushing for 6 hours, I had to go to the hospital for a c-section. I desperately wanted the same experience for my 2nd child and attempted a natural again-only at the hospital-to have another c-section. Have you looked into all the complications that could arise from a VBAC after 2 c-sections? You have seconds if your uterus ruptures to keep your child from drowning in the blood and hopefully not losing your own life. I am all for natural child birth and midwifes, but when it comes to delivering that precious child, with the greatest safety in mind, wouldn't you want to do it under the safest of conditions? I am only saying this because you have had 2 c-sections. And I paid about $8000 for my midwife and then the fees of delivering at the hospital. And if you have to go to the hospital, insurance usually will not cover the midwife. Also, you might want to find out if your insurance will cover your midwife based on your two previous c-sections. You would be considered high-risk. I do not intend to scare you or not support you, I just want a happy ending. Many Blessings!!!

You can have a natural, drug free birth at a hospital.

My daughter had a midwife with water birth at home. Her insurance did pay. The cost was around $2000 if I recall accurately. I don't know if that was after the insurance paid. I do know that she paid several hundred in payments during her pregnancy. And she said this birth cost noticeably less than a hospital birth would have.

My last child was born 17 years ago, so I don't know what midwives are charging these days. We chose home birth for all four of our babies because our research led us to the conclusion that it was the best choice we could make for our babies. People who suggest that having a birth in the hospital can be just as natural as at home are not factoring in all the things that make home the best place for most moms to give birth. If you have a competent midwife, there is much less chance that you will be coerced into interventions that put you & your baby at risk, and the chance of infection is much less in your own home environment than in a hospital. You are likely to be more relaxed and comfortable in your own home, too.

I recall a woman who told me once that she would have died had she not given birth in the hospital because she hemorrhaged badly after the birth. I asked her whether the doctor had pulled on the umbilical cord to hasten the delivery of the placenta, and that's exactly what he did. A midwife would never have done that, so had she given birth at home with a midwife in attendance, she never would have hemorrhaged to begin with.

I haven't studied this issue recently, but when I was in my childbearing years, I did a lot of research and found that the mortality rates for midwife-assisted births were no worse than for doctor-assisted births, but the morbidity rates (sickness or injury or any state of ill health) were worse for doctors. This is even when considering the same types of moms & babies, so it's not just a matter of doctors working with high-risk cases & midwives handling the low-risk cases.

I didn't exactly answer your question, but I thought I'd encourage you so you wouldn't be discouraged by the other comments you were receiving. Have you looked at www.vbac.com? There you will find accurate information to support you in whatever choice you make.

Here in my area of FL - having a Midwife for a home birth or birthing center is between $4-5.5K and both are accepted by many insurances.

As a Nurse, I'd recommend a birthing center birth if your state allowed it - I personally was forced to choose having my VBAC at a hospital or at home - birthing center was not a legal option (FL sucks and thousands of ppl are trying to change that law). I attempted a home VBAC in August. I labored 14 hours at home and 10 at the hospital before ending in a cesarean due to baby being so large and bloated, he failed to descend. I recently found out that due to an ankle reconstruction surgery 10 years ago, I created an issue with my pelvis which may have been the undermining issue of not having vaginal births. My pelvis is tilted because one ankle corrected more than the other and one leg is longer.

ANYWAYS.... VBACs are over 80% successful and a Midwife will not take you unless she has a backing OB or CNM and a tried and true back-up plan if the need of transport is necessary. I truly believe your chances of VBACing in a hopsital with an OB is low. You will have a larger success margin with a CPM or CNM. Trust me, if you were NOT a good low risk candidate for a VBAC, no Midwife would accept you - They have licenses too and malpractice insurance - no way would they risk those.

My Midwife charged the insurance each visit and then for the birth and 6 week check-up. One ultrasound was included in the package and unless there was an issue (size of fetus, heart issues, etc) the other's you could pay out of pocket of $160 for any additional 'optional' ultrasounds.

Just call your midwife and ask her. Usually they have payment plans. Where I live, they are around $2-3K for everything. This includes all prenatal appts, delivery, postpartum care for you and baby. Sometimes it includes your bloodwork and ultrasounds, sometimes not. There is no reason to wait until the appointment to find out. Also ask about billing/insurance, etc. She will know how your insurance works because she probably has dealt with them before.

Do you mean for a homebirth midwife? It really depends entirely on where you live and what your midwife charges, whether she is a CNM or a lay midwife. I think I paid around $6,000 when I had a home birth 12 years ago, but that means nothing because I don't know what midwives charge. It is fine to ask up front what they charge and not wait for your appointment. BTW, my insurance covered mine as an out of network provider, so once I had met my co-pay, I only had to pay 20%

I had midwives for both of my pregnancies, and both were through my hospital. I delivered both kids in the hospital, but fully drug free, and with my wonderful midwives. So, through the hospital, my insurance covered it.

I think if you are trying to do a V-BAC, you may want to give birth IN the hospital. Even if you live close to one, there are always circumstances that can prevent you from getting there quickly should an emergency arise.

I have decided to see a CNM I have seen all OB's with my last 3 pregnancies & since they were all uncomplicated & i'm not high risk I have choosen to see a CNM this last time they have 3 in office where the OB's are they are all backed by the OB's incase things get complicated but the CNM will still be of great assistance incase of surgery& if I just happen to deliver before anyone gets there a resident would have no choice but to come in from the hospital or another OB from another location other than the office I see.As far as billing I know my deductible,& vaginal delivery is 3,000 not including the hospital,newborn care etc.
All you have to do is calling the billing dept. & they can further assist you in regards to billing & what all the charges will be then call the hospital that incase you have to go to & get their billing charges.
Added: You also have to ask if this is an in network midwife if it isn't non of your costs will be covered or a very small portion will be,same goes for all lab work,sono's,& additional tests if you know the hospital is in net work you may have to use their lab services & sono services to get charges paid for under your insurance plan,also asking your insurance provider if they even cover home assisted births

My midwife charges $5,200 for a birth at her birth center. She took a deposit and then reconciled everything after filing for insurance after the birth. Ultrasounds and such were paid direct to the imaging center. That amount was from mid 2010.

I'm a home birth vbac momma myself. I'm sure you've done your homework to make sure you are a good candidate for vbac and are making the best decision for your family. God Bless midwives that help vbac women. I really respect people that do not operate from a base of fear. Best wishes for a healthy & safe birth.

Mine cost the exact same as going through an OB. As a matter of fact, as a high risk mama, I went to a practice that was half and half. Half OBs and half CNMs. If everything went smoothingly, I'd have a midwife deliver, and if things got complicated it would be surgical. Things went smoothly, but the OB staff was on notice. It was a perfect fit for me.

Ignoring all the high risk and cancer stuff I had to do JUST the normal prenatal care and birth was about 10k. The rest? Maybe 50k-75k.

This was 10 years ago

When I was looking into it 3 years ago, homebirth midwives charged around $5000 on average around here. Some were open to barter and payment plans and such because unfortunately, most insurance companies in MA will not cover a homebirth.

Something else to ask, when considering cost--my cousin in Colorado had a midwife-assisted homebirth, and her midwife was able to get some of the cost of the birth paid for by the insurance provider! I'm not sure how common this is; I'm guessing regulations vary by state and provider, but it's still something worth asking--what is her success rate with insurance companies.

Most will bill your initial visit to insurance, and you'll have to pay for any labs or ultrasounds through the places that perform them this year. If she will be the only provider you see for prenatal care then she will bill it as global maternity care. Each region is different as far as what is usual and customary for that area, and each insurance company has an allowed amount. If she is a preferred provider with your insurance company, she will accept their allowed amount, so you'll pay any deductible, copayment, or coinsurance amounts they allow. In my region midwives bill between 3000-3500 for global care. I do billing for midwives so feel free to pm me if you have any more questions! And most insurance companies won't cover an out of hospital vbac delivery so you may get them to cover prenatal care and have to pay out of pocket for the delivery (1200-2000 in my region). And it does depend on what type of midwife you have, what types of midwives are covered by your insurance, etc. I'd do a hospital vbac with a certified nurse midwife personally.

T.