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%)
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%)