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> Residents of California may have trouble finding this; the obstetricians got their competition mostly outlawed. I live in Berkeley. In our recent birthing cl

> Residents of California may have trouble finding this; the obstetricians got their competition mostly outlawed. I live in Berkeley. In our recent birthing class, of 9 couples, 3 had home births. YMMV in more far flung places of California but I've not heard of any problems here having talked in detail about birth stories with these families. (We were not one of them, we opted for Hospital birth and it cost around $12k)

burfog 9y ago
Indeed, "mostly". There are ways to make it work, most obviously by the "midwife" actually being an obstetrician. There are a large number of midwifes practicing illegally in California, and I would bet that Berkeley is a hotbed of this. There are a few other ways too, but generally is it sort of banned.
- encoderer 9y ago
  Oh, fascinating, having chatted with these couples I was left with no impression it was a grey area. First rule of fight club?
  - burfog 9y ago
    A popular strategy is for the midwife to claim to be just a birth coach. They will not admit to actually helping to ease the baby out, whether they do or not. They claim to show up, maybe give suggestions, and then perhaps do some limited care afterward. Often these midwives require the family to take care of filing for the birth certificate. It's like how the slightly older profession often claims to be just an escort service.
    - pacaro 9y ago
      We had a homebirth in San Francisco, it was all on the up and up. The Midwife was notionally under the supervision of an Obstetrician, but the reality was that my wife’s obstetrician simply recommended a midwifery practice when we asked about home birth. It probably helped that the Obstetrician in question had her own children at home. A lot of the scare tactics about homebirth are ill founded. The whole “what if something goes wrong?” question is predicated on the idea that a situation will develop extremely quickly, more quickly than a hospital transfer can happen. The reality is that (for the most part) childbirth is a relatively slow process, midwives are typically highly risk averse and recommend a transfer at the slightest sign of a complication (e.g. any evidence of meconium in the water). The advantages for us included: knowing everyone in the room (only 3 in total, 2 midwives and a student); after the delivery the midwives cleaned up and were gone within 2 hours; a rich level of support before and after the birth (in reality a life long relationship with the midwives); during early transition my wife was hungry so I made chimichangas; nearly 48 hours between water breaking and delivery but no pressure to induce; family dog could provide nose to nose licking support during pushing phase Cost was $4000, of which insurance paid (eventually 70%)

burfog 9y ago

Indeed, "mostly". There are ways to make it work, most obviously by the "midwife" actually being an obstetrician. There are a large number of midwifes practicing illegally in California, and I would bet that Berkeley is a hotbed of this. There are a few other ways too, but generally is it sort of banned.

encoderer 9y ago
Oh, fascinating, having chatted with these couples I was left with no impression it was a grey area. First rule of fight club?
- burfog 9y ago
  A popular strategy is for the midwife to claim to be just a birth coach. They will not admit to actually helping to ease the baby out, whether they do or not. They claim to show up, maybe give suggestions, and then perhaps do some limited care afterward. Often these midwives require the family to take care of filing for the birth certificate. It's like how the slightly older profession often claims to be just an escort service.
  - pacaro 9y ago
    We had a homebirth in San Francisco, it was all on the up and up. The Midwife was notionally under the supervision of an Obstetrician, but the reality was that my wife’s obstetrician simply recommended a midwifery practice when we asked about home birth. It probably helped that the Obstetrician in question had her own children at home. A lot of the scare tactics about homebirth are ill founded. The whole “what if something goes wrong?” question is predicated on the idea that a situation will develop extremely quickly, more quickly than a hospital transfer can happen. The reality is that (for the most part) childbirth is a relatively slow process, midwives are typically highly risk averse and recommend a transfer at the slightest sign of a complication (e.g. any evidence of meconium in the water). The advantages for us included: knowing everyone in the room (only 3 in total, 2 midwives and a student); after the delivery the midwives cleaned up and were gone within 2 hours; a rich level of support before and after the birth (in reality a life long relationship with the midwives); during early transition my wife was hungry so I made chimichangas; nearly 48 hours between water breaking and delivery but no pressure to induce; family dog could provide nose to nose licking support during pushing phase Cost was $4000, of which insurance paid (eventually 70%)