FAQs
Can I have a water birth?
Absolutely! Home Sweet Home offers birth pools that you can borrow for your home birth and this is included in your cost of care. You will need to purchase a liner to put inside of the birth pool. Being in water during labor is wonderful to help with discomfort and can be very relaxing for many women during labor and birth.
Do you accept insurance?
Home Sweet Home is a cash pay practice only. In our initial consultation, I will lay out the pricing at each stage throughout pregnancy, and all clients must be paid in full by 36 weeks. If you have a health share, generally home birth services are covered very well. If you have traditional insurance, we can talk through what those options would look like. I can provide you a superbill, which is a detailed document that you can submit to your insurance company. In return, the insurance company may reimburse you for home birth services that you paid for. There is also an option to work with a biller who can help you navigate the reimbursement process. I highly recommend this as this is how you are most likely to get the best reimbursement for your midwifery care and home birth.
Is it an option to transfer from hospital care into your care during pregnancy?
Yes! Each client and pregnancy will be evaluated on a case by case basis in regards to transferring in. In order to maintain a healthy work/life balance and strong relationships with my clients, I have a set number of clients that I will take on each month. I encourage you to call right away when you find out you are expecting!
Can I birth with you if I have had a cesarean birth?
Women who have had a cesarean birth will be evaluated individually by Lauren to discuss VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) options and what that may look like.
What happens if there is an emergency?
This will obviously be on a case by case basis in regards to the type of emergency. As midwives we are trained to handle certain emergencies during the labor & birth process. We have skills to help us in these situations and also access to certain medications and we will be assisted by registered nurses during this time. In the event that a transfer needs to happen, most often times it will be in the family car. If it is an issue regarding the baby after birth, we would transfer to a local hospital that has NICU services. If there is an issue regarding mom, there are a few options in the metro area where she could receive the care she needs. Most transfers from the home setting are not immediate emergencies, and are usually due to the need for pain medication, augmentation of labor due to prolonged rupture of membranes, maternal exhaustion, etc. These are not emergent transfers, and is why they would happen via the family car. If an immediate emergency were to happen, 911 will be called for transport. Whenever a transfer happens, the midwife will be in contact with the hospital to provide them with information they may need.
ACNM (American College of Nurse-Midwives) has a position statement regarding home birth and they have listed 20 references/research articles that have great information. Please see here: https://www.midwife.org/ACNM/files/ACNMLibraryData/UPLOADFILENAME/000000000251/Home%20Birth%20Aug%202011.pdf