I received this email from Sarah today and thought that maybe, just maybe, there might be more than one of you out there with the same questions so I’m going to share my limited expertise in this area with all of you.
My husband is also a “perpetual grad student,” and we learned this week we are expecting. We’re thrilled by this blessing! But also nervous… I’ll stop working once the baby arrives. He gets a stipend, but it’s small. Since you’ve navigated these waters, I was hoping you could offer me some advice (I don’t know you, but I love your blog!). I have insurance now with my job, so I’m not sure quite what to do about payment for the birth since my insurance will change right before the baby comes– as in, I’ll be uninsured when I quit my job. I’d like a natural birth, but my husband is worried about an in-home midwife. Even now, going to my usual OBGYN would cost over $5,000 for the birth since I have a high deductible with my insurance. Anyway, could you please give me some guidance? What do you wish you knew when you started on the mommy journey? I’m so happy but also overwhelmed about the financial side of this announcement, and I have no one else to ask.
First of all, CONGRATS! Yay, baby. Love the babies. 🙂 And I approve of your decision to stop working when the baby arrives (and not everyone will be supportive – just a head’s up). There are ways you can save your family money by staying home (namely in the daycare department!) and I’ll show you what I’ve learned in that area in Part Two. Part One of my response is going to focus on lowering the cost of birth.
First, I would check with your insurance to see if they have a grace period of 30-60, maybe even 90 days after you quit your job. Some are nice like that. Then you could still use the insurance for your birth.
Also, look into the possibility of getting on your husband’s school insurance policy. For my husband’s policy, loss of a job was a good enough reason for a spouse to sign on at any time.
Lastly, there is the option of Medicaid, which covers pregnant women all the way through the post-partum visit.
Besides those options, here are some ways you can reduce the cost of your birthing experience:
- Either opt out of unnecessary ultrasounds or only have the one halfway through. These things are EXPENSIVE, as I recently found. And if you don’t have good insurance coverage, they are one thing that you can eliminate. Believe it or not, people did survive without ultrasounds back in the day. Now, if your doctor finds medical reason for an ultrasound, they can help identify problems and save babies lives. But most of the time, they’re just for photo albums and baby names.
- Do consider a homebirth if you live close to a hospital. My husband shares the same fears that your does, I’m sure, but most of his are in the 20+ minute ride to the hospital that it would be for us. If we lived 5-10 minutes from one, I’m sure he’d be more easily convinced. And a lot of that convincing was done by The Business of Being Born, which we watched together. An in-home birth would only cost a fraction of a hospital birth, since one major reason the cost of hospital birth is so outrageous is because of ridiculous malpractice insurance premiums (thanks, John Edwards…), which most home birth providers do not have. Of course, hospitals rack up charges in other areas: they even charged my baby for room and board! And he slept in my arms and ate from my breast! 🙂
But if your husband just does not have peace about a homebirth, not matter what literature and documentaries you make him sit through, ultimately, I would submit to his authority and try to reduce the cost of a hospital birth in all possible ways. - One of those ways would be to opt out of all pain medications. Epidurals are pricy!!! And my best advice for avoiding one of them is to…
- Stay home as long as possible. When you are home, moving around, on your feet, not only are you distracting yourself from the pain, but your exercise and upright positioning is speeding your labor along beautifully. In a hospital, you would be out of your comfort zone and bored out of your mind. Most likely, you would be in bed, laying down, from lack of other options and that position would slow labor, making you desperate for relief. Staying home and avoiding pain medications also lessens your chance of needing a…
- C-Section – avoid these! VERY expensive and a very serious surgery! When your labor slows in the hospital, the most common solution is an IV with a Pitocin drip attached. Not only does the extra needle ring up yet another charge, but it raises the baby’s heart rate, and increases your pain level, making you moan for the epidural. But being numb from the waist down immobilizes you, making your labor last even longer, while your baby stresses out under the extreme chemically-induced contractions. Which brings us to the point of the bulleted item – C-sections. BabyStress+LongLabor=C-Section. Take whatever steps you can to avoid these!
- Try to birth in a position that is as upright as possible. The position that makes the most sense to me is squatting. The opens the pelvis and reduces the odds that any tearing will take place. The lack of tearing means one less procedure your doctor will have to perform, and also a faster healing time. The faster healing time means you can discharge after only 24 hours – one less day of room and board!
- Bring your own food. 🙂
- If it’s a boy, opt out of circumcision – it’s not medically necessary anymore, and it’s one more procedure to have to pay for.
- If you don’t circumcise, or decide to do it Biblically (on the eighth day), you won’t need the Vitamin K shot, which helps with the clotting of blood. A baby’s vitamin K levels are highest on the eighth day, anyway (above adult levels, actually!). 🙂 Someone planned that right, huh?
- Another procedure immediately following birth that you may have the choice to opt out of is the eye ointment. Unless, of course, you have gonorrhea or chlamydia. Then you should get it to protect the baby’s eyes from infection.
And those are my humble suggestions. I’m not even sure exactly how much money they will save you. I just tried to go through the birthing experience and cut out things that weren’t as necessary as others.
In Part Two, I’ll go through Bringing Baby Home and the things you could cut out of your shopping list there to try and save even more money. Hope that helps, Sarah! (And others!)
I’m not pregnant yet, but thank you! I really appreciate hearing the wisdom of those that have gone through the process before.
Definitely go for the homebirth option! Ours cost $2600 for all services – prenatal, the birth and postnatal. The best care you could ever get. They are like my best friends and so lovely. Definitely the best option if your husband is agreeable.
thank you for such great info. I wil pass it along to some pregnant friends! I will also link back to your post on my next article “organic Nursery on a budget” I think it’s fitting!
Blessings- Donna
Wow. Avoid a c-section….I wish I could have “avoided” it….but then my baby might not be here with me. I was insured, thank God, but I would have paid the almost $20,000 that the hospital charged to have my healthy baby in my arms. Telling women to avoid a c-section…well…it makes it seem like it is a choice…….
Maggie – of course I didn’t mean “at all costs” and I hope neither Sarah nor anyone else assumes that I did.
I simply meant to provide tips on *how* to avoid a c-section. I am glad you had that option, and took it, and have a healthy baby because of it!
one note about staying home as long as possible…
I learned from experience, do not wait so long that you deliver in the ER. because then you have to pay for the ER AND your doctor AND your room and the ER doctor. and yes, your doctor still charges you the full amount even though they don’t deliver the baby. it’s crazy.
Great tips! Let me add a few more.
If you’re really really hoping for a natural childbirth and end up working with an OB, it might be worth your while to take a Bradley childbirth prep class. Mine costs $250 for the course, but I know it will be of tremendous help to my husband and I when I’m in labor.
Our insurance will reimburse us, thankfully, but I know my teacher said that if cost was an issue, she’d be willing to barter. Maybe other Bradley teachers would do the same!
Also, be sure to review your bill with eagle eyes. Sometimes, things are thrown on the bill just because that’s how the hospital does it. My Bradley teacher was billed for an epidural, yet she had none! So of course she was like, “take that off!”
Thank you, Beth! And thank you to the other commentators for the great ideas! You’ve really encouraged me!
Hi! I wanted to weigh in a bit on this….I have a three week old baby boy that i recently had at home with a midwife present. I can’t say enough how wonderful this experience was compared to my two year old son’s birth at the hospital with doctor, epidural, pitocin, three night stay in the hospital. I live in Arkansas and my first son’s delivery cost us around 10,000 dollars when it was all said and done. Insurance of course paid a lot of that cost, but all the same, we were still out a lot of money. This time, the midwife cost us 1500 dollars and my husband company is owned by Mennonites so they covered midwives. The cost was so much more at the hospital and my experience at home was WAY more enjoyable. I wish everyone with low risk pregnancies could give birth at home because it was such an awesome experience that I will do it for every subsequent pregnancy that i can.
beware that some doctors/hospitals do not allow you the option of skipping the eye ointment. My doctor explained it as such:
STDs introduced to a baby’s eyes can cause them to go blind. The ointment reduces the risks of this.
This is where the hypothetical, and hospital CYA (cover your own.. bottom) comes into play.
Mommy says ‘i dont have an STD’ when, in fact she does. Maybe she knows. Maybe she doesnt. Baby is born, doesnt receive ointment, and has problems with their eyes due to Mommy’s STD.
Mommy says ‘ i didnt know that ointment would have prevented that’ (even if she had been told, and signed paperwork stating she had been given the risks)
Mommy can still sue the Doctor (his wages) and the hospital (their profit) because she lied or didnt know about having an STD.
Same with the vit K injection. it may fall under the hospital/doctor CYA policy.
just FYI. it will depend on your doctor/the hospital yadda yadda .
sucks. but that’s the American-sue-over-hot-coffee world we live in.
Bring your own pain meds. I was charged $20.00 dollars for 1 600mg ibprofen when my son was born. I was also charged for the DR. opening, but not useing a episiotomy kit. The diapers the hospital gets for free were about $20.00 for a 20 pack on my bill as well. Really go over your bill with an eagle eye. Refuse to pay for unnessary charges. It may take months of fighting with the hospital, but it is worth it if you can drop $500-1000 off your bill.
you might also want to see what payment plans are available (some practitioners let you do it like layaway), try to avoid the lactation nurses (useless in my experiance, as ours just told me I couldn’t do it and pushed formula–my son nursed till just shy of his 1st birthday when *HE* decided to stop).
And I’m all for a midwife. I hated most of the doctors at our OB practice.
But if this is your first, you might want to at least have one on speed dial–just in case of emergency. Sometimes you do need intervention, even if you try all the right things to avoid it.
Those are great tips! As difficult as it is to “opt out” of so many hospital procedures, I second the homebirth method. It is substantially less expensive as well as being a much more loving and gentle greeting for your little one.
different sarah here…
i cant quite believe how expensive the whole birth system is over there in the states.. how much of that is actually covered by insurance?????
and ultrasounds are expensive too? are we talking expensive $200 like they are over here in australia or somewhere closer to the thousands mark?
im now even more glad my husband decided to move over here when we had our son.. theres something to be said for government funded health care after all.
Like one of the other commentors mentioned, put in the money upfront for Bradley class. It will be around $250-300 for a 12-week class, but will likely save you hundreds to thousands of dollars in procedures / interventions that you’d be able to avoid. If your husband is not able/willing to fully embrace the coaching role (and I think it’s an incredible bonding experience for husband and wife!), it’s worth it to hire a doula. Continual labor support makes a huge difference in positive birth outcome.
The birth of my son cost around 2,000 probably. The best advice I have is WATCH THE BILLS and statements. A couple of times someone tried to double bill my insurance, which of course they didn’t pay, and tried to get it out of me. I also second staying home for most of it. Much more enjoyable.
oh, and are there any birthing centers around you. My cousin went to one and was home the same day.
As a PP said, a lot of doctors and hospitals are willing to work with a payment plan. Check and see if that is a feasible option.
Gook luck!
You don’t mention looking for a birth center. For us, it was a good balance between a home birth and a hospital birth. We saved stress (from trust), time (home the same day), and money, and avoided a C-section (35 hours in labor and no progress for several hours = automatic C-section in the hospital). Our insurance covered this, and my midwife gave me excellent health advice to naturally alleviate my pregnancy discomforts.
My mother also had the “watch the bill” advice for her hospital births: she was charged for an anesthesiologist even though she never had one even in the room.
-I definitely agree that Bradley classes are worth every penny. They have been amazing for our marriage too, and really take away a lot of the fear (especially for daddies) associated with birth.
-We also have a terrific library loan program, and I have read every semi-natural birthing book I can get my hands on. I have read hundreds of studies that give me confidence to say–no, don’t cut the cord right away or no, please only monitor the baby intermitently (electronic fetal monitors DO NOT statisitically save babies, have a high false positve rate, and are associated with higher rates of pain medication, pitocin, and C section).
-I too will be quitting work, but I’m taking the maximum amount of maternity leave offered (It’s all unpaid, of course) before I sign papers and quit. I have struggled with the ethics of this, but the ability to have insurance when my baby is born and shortly after is important. I do NOT want to have to say, “Hmm, be in debt for the next 20 years or save my baby.” Also the people I work for know my plans.
-I am also planning a home birth. My husband had a difficult time with this at first, but met with our midwife and asked her lots of questions (she came to our house in the evening just for him!). He now whole heartedly agrees with having a home birth and is a huge advocate and support for me. So far insurance is paying my midwife as if she was my doctor and she has waived co-payments (since she just charges a flat fee) and says that we will balance everything out after we see what insurance pays after the birth.
~~~
Oh, one more note, if you do decide to do the vitamin K or the “goop in the eyes”, you don’t HAVE to do it in the first few moments after birth. Studies have shown better results for all if baby goes immediately skin-to-skin with mom and the family bonds, the cord pulses all the blood into the baby, the baby nurses, and Mom’s hormones work to expell the placenta. The goop can impair vision for a couple of hours (preventing baby from getting to clearly see mom for the first time) and might be better added before the baby is ready to sleep.
Whew. Sorry I’m so long winded.
I had some further thoughts on why/how doing Bradley can save money on the birth process.
1. Dr. Bradley had a 94% unmedicated, intervention-free birth rate at his practice. 3% of his patients had c-sections and 3% needed other interventions, such as episiotomy. He considered those irreducible numbers. I think that c-section rate is particularly telling – many hospitals in the US have c-section rates of 30%, 10 times what Dr. Bradley saw. Clearly some of those are medical necessity, and it’s SUCH a blessing to have a procedure that can save moms and babies! Clearly many of those c-sections are either elective or become necessary because of the choices families/doctors make during the pregnancy and labor. An article in the Bradley workbook points out that to a large extent, you choose your chances of having a c-section when you choose your care provider and hospital. If the OB and/or hospital have a 25-30% c-section rate, then you have a 25-30% chance of ending up with one. You can statistically reduce your chances of a c-section simply by choosing a midwife rather than an OBGYN.
2. Of all Bradley students nationwide, the unmedicated birth rate is 86%. That’s fantastic, and it’s why we chose the Bradley method for our birth preparation. (I think the difference between that rate and Dr. Bradley’s in-practice rate is that he would not accept patients unless they committed to following the diet and exercise plan. Students could take the Bradley class but not do all the preparation work, and I think that accounts for the slight “success” rate difference.)
3. The pregnancy diet Bradley recommends (very healthy, high in protein) makes a big difference in health for the baby and mother and helps with a good birth outcome. Good prenatal choices like this can really help keep costs down at birth time.
4. Birth is an athletic event, so having your husband train as your “coach” and doing the Bradley exercises prepare your mind and body for the birth marathon. The exercises prepare all the parts of your body involved in birthing to help everything work as well as possible, greatly reducing the need for interventions/augmentation.
5. The knowledge you gain helps you make informed decisions about which and when interventions are medically necessary, reducing the costs related to unnecessary procedures.
6. Check with hospitals you’re considering about early release policies. Sometimes with an unmedicated birth, you can leave as early as 6-12 hours after the baby is born, greatly reducing your hospital fees.
I think the $300 we put into our Bradley class before our daughter was born 2 years ago was the best investment we’ve made in keeping pregnancy costs down. We did a refresher course recently (our son is due any day now). We’re so sold on the effectiveness of the Bradley method for good birth outcomes that we plan for me to take training next year to become a Bradley instructor. I’m really excited about helping families achieve better births.
Find out about any programs at your husband’s work that you may qualify for. My husband’s boss mentioned to me in passing that they have a medical reimbursement plan that covers up to $900 a year for their employees and employees family, even if they are not on the employers insurance (clear as mud? lol). We are planning a homebirth in April and paid 1k now and will pay 1k in March. We submitted our receipt and were refunded $900, and will submit our second receipt to be refunded in March as well…and our homebirth will cost us a whopping $200.
As for husband’s and homebirth, when we talked it out, my husband’s biggest concern was “the mess.” Talking things out with my midwife calmed his fears and he is now fully onboard after being staunchly opposed for our first 3 kids.
I also have to second the “bring your own stuff” and “keep an eagle eye on your bill” if you decide to birth in the hospital. Bring things like your own lanolin for nipples if breastfeeding, bring your own diapers, bring your own tylenol, bring your own everything you can. It may seem like a pain to drag it all with you, but it will be worth it when you don’t have to pay $5 for a little lanolin “sample.”
Good stuff! I had a homebirth (and we were 20 minutes from a hospital- gasp!) and without insurance it would have been $3K out of pocket for everything. With insurance I paid about $900 I guess. For AMAZING prenatal care, a beautiful delivery/labor and great PostPartum support. Use a midwife!!!
Becky Miller said it all right on. No – we obviously can’t control whether we have a c-section but we CAN do much more to avoid them than OB’s would like us to think. Bradley Method class is a wonderful and empowering class whether you have your baby at home, a birth center, or a hospital so it’s probably the best step to saving money in the whole process.
As far as the eye ointment and the vit K shot: this is still a free country and regardless of whether or not you are in a hospital, YOU have the right to refuse any treatment you deem uneeded for your child. Your job as a parent is to become educated first so that you aren’t making desicions on the fly when you are in labor. This will save you money in the long run as well.
Great topic! Thanks!
Oh! And I LOVED the movie ‘The Business of Being Born’! It is well worth seeing if you are thinking about where and how to deliver…
great info.Very informative. thanks
Hi! This has nothing at all to do with babies… I just wanted to tell you that I tried out your pizza recipe last night, and it was delicious! My husband, who is notoriously choosy about pizza, couldn’t get enough of it! (The idea about seasonings on the bread crust is ingenious) Thank you very much for bringing some culinary happiness into the world. Your blog is very informational and has been a lot of help for a newlywed like me! Keep up the good work!
Some hospitals are better than others–not every hospital is out to charge you for every last unnecessary thing.
Mine never did.
But if you’re paying out of pocket for everything, often by paying up front you can get between 10% and 30% discount if you pay in cash for the OB/GYN or CNM and the hospital itself.
Thanks again for all your tips on this. In the past week, my husband and I have agreed on a birth center (near a hospital; they use a midwife, and it is much cheaper), and I’ve been able to research some different insurance options. I’ve also started a list of things to bring to the center (diapers and food!), and you’ve convinced us that circumcision isn’t medically necessary or required for Christians under the new covenant. So, you have helped us a TON!! I truly thank you!!! I’m looking forward to part 2!
Wishing you a happy, blessed Thanksgiving,
Sarah
My husband is a student as well. We have no insurance through his school or his job and are therefore covered by the state. I just had my baby nine weeks ago and felt I should speak up. I read all the new information out there about natural birth and knew I was a good candidate. However, I found a wonderful solution. I went to a OBGYN clinic and hospital that offered midwifery care. In fact it was their policy that the midwives took care of the patients unless it was medically necessary for a doctor to step in. I gave birth to my little boy completely meds free and “natural.” Then I began to hemorrhage. The midwife saved my life that day. It would not have been possible if I were at home. Please, consider carefully before you decide to birth at home. I had zero complications with my first or this second birth. There was no indication of a problem. They have no answer for why I bled. I am still recovering. Do keep in mind that you can look around and see what your options are. It could be there is a hospital similar to the one I went to near you. And know that every hospital has some kind of payment plan for you to pay your bills in installments.
Rachel, I’m glad you were in a place where you were able to have help when you were hemorrhaging. My midwife does carry pitocin for the quick release of the placenta along with other herbs and homeopathic remedies. If I did need something as drastic as a blood transfussion, though, we would have to transfer.
Unfortunately, the hospitals in our state are very intervention-happy. I would love to find a place theat models care the way your birth place did, but that isn’t an option for me. I’m thankful, though, that your experience was so positive. Thank you for sharing it.
I just saw your last comment lol.. yall went w/ what I was about to suggest. We have a great birthing center here that I can’t wait to use!
Just wanted to second what Andrea in Alaska said — about homebirth midwives being able to handle emergency situations. I had my first son in a free-standing birth center and had to transfer to the hospital for a postpartum hemorrhage. I had my second son at home with a CNM in March and everything went beautifully! They knew of my history of PPH, and planned accordingly. But, even with no prior history, they come prepared to handle the (rare) emergencies that can occur, and are capable of stabilizing mom or baby until they can be transferred to a hospital. 🙂
Great post – totally agree with your reasoning on epidural = immobilization = c-section. I know SO MANY MOMS who have had that exact birth. Unfortunately, no one is willing to even consider that it could have gone differently.
Regarding fears of an emergency happening while birthing at home, I think it’s important to realize that *most* emergencies do not happen in a split second with no advanced warning. When you are birthing at home, your midwife and her team are completely focused on YOU and no one else, and thus are much more able to spot potential problems as they start to occur and transfer to the hospital in plenty of time IF necessary. Of course there are split-second emergencies, but most come with advanced warning and almost all midwives are well-trained to handle problems.
Three-time home birthing mom here! 🙂
Unlike Carrie, I have to completely disagree with the whole epidural = immobilaztion = c-section….I have had four children and am pregnant with my fourth. With my first and fourth I had a c-section, both of which were determined necessary before I got an epidural.
For my second and third children I had VBACS, both with epidurals very early on. In neither instance did my labor slow, in fact, with #2 I was 4 centimeters dilated when I got the epidural and delivered 3 hours later. With #3 I was almost 3 centimeters when I got the epidural and delivered 4 hours later. In both situations, labor when just as quickly after the epidural as it did before.
While I agree it’s best to try to avoid a c-section, there are some times that it is necessary. I think the best piece of advice one could give in regards to having a baby is making sure you choose a provider (whether it be midwife or OB) that you trust. It wasn’t until my third child that I found a doctor that I felt truly had my best interests (as well as my baby’s) in mind instead of their own. Also, make sure you’re informed, especially if it is your first child. That way you know if a doctor’s giving you advice because it makes their life easier or if they are really looking out for you.
Great tips! I’ve had my last 3 babies at home with a midwife, and I can tell you that where I live in Florida it would’ve cost over $9,000-11,000 for the OB visits and a hospital birth (not including an epidural, another $1200-1500 or it were C-section that would’ve been thousands more). I have insurance but it is high deductible and does not cover routine pregnancy or delivery, only covers complications. My home birth bill including all prenatal care, 1 ultrasound, lab tests (glucose, etc) and delivery/postpartum care was $4200.
A note about OB’s and malpractice insurance, I have had appointments w/several OB’s in the last few years and they all make patients sign a waiver informing that they do not carry malpractice insurance because of the cost. So even though they still charge way more money than my midwife charges, they’re still not insured for malpractice anyway.
Here are a few other tips:
Some homebirth midwives will take barter. My midwife takes my insurance, but when we were interviewing midwives, one midwife that we were thinking of choosing would have let my husband do work on her car in exchange for part of the fee.
If you need/want an ultrasound, consider finding a local school that trains ultrasound techs. My baby was breech and the midwife wanted me to get a check to see if it had turned (we were pretty sure it had). There was a local business school that trains prenatal ultrasound techs. We went as “patient volunteers” and not only got a free ultrasound to find out what we needed, we got some great pictures, everyone was enthusiastic and nice, and we learned a little bit about the process. Also, they let us leave when I was feeling uncomfortable (rather than a medical ultrasound place which makes you sit there until THEY are ready).
I don’t have kids yet. I did want to give you my perspective on the insurance side. I work in Human Resources and I am constantly explaining insurance info to my employees.
1. If you work for an employer that has over 50 employees, then you should be eligible for Family Medical Leave (FMLA) (that is if you have worked there at least a year and have worked a minimum of 1020 hours). If you qualify for FMLA, then you get 480 hours of “job protected” leave. This leave is either paid or unpaid depending if you have any available/accrued sick and vacation pay. FMLA also requires employers to provide health insurance during the time the employee is on leave. Talk with your HR department about this leave. Our employees on FMLA keep their insurance and continue to pay the “employee” share, which is a whole lot cheaper than most other insurances. This should give you 3 additional months of insurance coverage. After your FMLA is up, just let your employer know that you will not be returning to work. (FYI, even if you tell your employer in the middle of FMLA, they CAN NOT fire you–it is job protected leave)
2. Also, check on Medicaid. My employees can get Medicaid even if they are still employed, but on FMLA leave with out pay. In our state (Louisiana), we have a Medicaid program that will actually pay for the employee’s cost of health insurance. I had an employee on unpaid FMLA, and Medicaid reimbursed us for her insurance premiums, and even paid the additional premium when she had her son. Also, Medicaid usually covers the mom for 4 months after the birth and the child for 1 year after the birth.
3. COBRA – One you leave employment, your company has to (by Law), send you information on COBRA. This allows the employee to continue their health insurance through the company for up to 18 months (or longer). The only downside is that the cost of the premium is MUCH higher than the employee premium. Companies can charge up to 102% of the cost of the premium. It is possible, that the premium is much cheaper than regular health insurance (or a school’s student insurance). Just check it out and see if it is worth considering. The great thing about COBRA is that it requires other insurance companies to offer someone that has a pre-existing condition insurance coverage after COBRA ends.
4. Check on the cost of private insurance. If you are young, you can sometimes get a pretty good rate on an individual policy. Also, if you are considering getting on your husband’s school insurance policy, really read over what the policy will cover and at what percentage. I’ve seen some policies that are really good and some that are not worth paying for because they do not cover anything.
5. If you are going to have to pay a lot out on your hospital visit, starting getting estimates now on what you could owe from the hospital. This will help you to start saving for that cost now. Also, many hospitals will offer generous discounts if you offer to pay the full amount owed after the birth. (Do this ONLY after you have scrutinized your Bill for incorrect charges). So if you have already saved enough to pay the whole cost, you have the money to negotiate. I had a friend that got 40% knocked off his ER visit by paying it in full. I know 40% seems like a huge cut, but the hospital really saves a ton of money this way. They don’t have to keep up with the account and the monthly payments and also does not have to worry if someone will not pay.
6. States also have government funded health care for kids. Ours if called LaChip. My understanding is that (if you qualify) it is free insurance for you kid and it covers after your child is not longer eligible for Medicaid. Most also cover dental and vision too. I’m sure you can find more out by going online or stopping by you local Office of Family Support.
I know this is really lengthy, but I wanted to be thorough. Hope this helps you some.
Just had baby #2 on Dec 23rd (all natural in a hospital with a midwife). While we’d opted out of the eye drops with my son (born Jan 2007), we were told this time around that they were required by state law and there was no way to get out of it (and we were told this by the self-proclaimed “most natural birth friendly L&D nurse at the hospital”). Since I haven’t heard any uproar about this in the intervening years, I don’t _think_ that State law has changed, so maybe it was really hospital policy or something. I dunno. But anyway, you might want to check into that, especially if you’re in MD.
I think this post rocks
You are a very thought provoking author. This is a marvelous post.
Love your thoughts on this! Do you have any information / thoughts on using pitocin to expel the placenta? Thanks!
I’m 33.5 weeks along with my first, and plan on staying home as long as possible before going to the hospital. The hospital is about a 17 minute walk for me these days, so we could either drive, take a taxi (we live in a city), or possibly walk (and assume it will probably take 30-45 minutes). My question is: how long did you wait with your first baby to go to the hospital (or think makes the most sense, if you feel you went in earlier than necessary)? Thank you.
Well, with my first, I was induced. Because I didn’t know better. 🙂 With my other two, I waiting until I didn’t think it could get any worse. Lol. It’s different for every woman. You’re supposed to go in with your contractions are 5 minutes apart and lasting a minute each. But mine never got that close together. I finally went in with Benjamin when they were 6-7 minutes apart and I was 9.5 cm dilated! With Levi, I could somewhat judge based on my experience with Benjamin, so I waited til they were about 5 minutes (read: 6 or 7) apart and the pain got to the intensity where I didn’t think I could take much more!
But, (IMPORTANT!) every woman is different! Sometimes people will tell you your first labor will take forever, but tell that to my friend who’s baby was born at home in her bathroom! Make sure you’re communicating with your doctor about what’s going on in your labor, and remember that you can always leave the hospital if you’re not far enough along (I would think if you’re not at least 5 cm (and you’re still able to walk around and talk through your contractions) that you could leave and come back.
Consider going to the Farm. http://www.thefarmmidwives.org/
I know this is an old post, but I am hoping you can give me so information. My husband and I are currently trying to have a baby (we are have infertility issues) so I am collecting information.
What would you suggest to do about a state that it is illegal to have a homebirth? I think it is horrible that the state can deciede where you need to have your baby–I live in Kentucky and I don’t understand this especailly since some towns are so rural. There are no birthing centers near me and the closest hospital (that I would want to be seen at) is about 40 minutes away. My only thought would be to find a doula with a house close to the hosptial and labor at her house for as long as possible. Do you have a suggestion? I would love to give birth at home with a midwife but that is not possible.
Also, when would you get an ultrasound if you were to have one? I don’t want to know the sex of the baby- so what would be the point? Don’t they do a ‘body scan’ or something now also?
Thanks so much for your time!
–R
Thank you SO MUCH for posting this. My husband, usually laid back and pretty go with the flow, put his foot down and said *absolutely, resoundingly- no* to a home birth when I mentioned it…so I was looking for ways to save money at the hospital.
I do have one question…do you actually save money by having the baby with you, as opposed to having them in the nursery? I intend to breast feed because IMHO I think it’s way healthier and better for baby, not to mention the budget…but I am still thinking that catching some zzz’s would be nice while I have someone else to tend to my little one overnight! Any thoughts are welcome and appreciated!
I’m a little nervous about homebirth, but there is a Natural Birthing Center about 20 minutes from my house. I’m really tempted to go there because they would be more willing to do things “naturally.” What do you think?
This design is incredible! You certainly know how to keep a reader amused.
Between your wit and your videos, I was almost moved to start my
own blog (well, almost…HaHa!) Wonderful job. I really enjoyed what you had to say,
and more than that, how you presented it. Too cool!
Today, I went to the beachfront with my children.
I found a sea shell and gave it to my 4 year old daughter
and said “You can hear the ocean if you put this to your ear.” She placed the shell to her ear and screamed.
There was a hermit crab inside and it pinched her
ear. She never wants to go back! LoL I know this is totally off
topic but I had to tell someone!