Frequently asked questions.
What is a CPM?
“A Certified Professional Midiwife (CPM) is a knowledgeable, skilled, and professional independent midwifery practitioner who has met the standards for certification set by the North American Registry of Midwives (NARM) and is qualified to provide the Midwives Model of Care. The CPM is the only midwifery credential that requires knowledge about, and experience in, out-of-hospital settings.” - NARM
Do you offer basic lab work and ultrasounds?
Yes! You can view common labs and procedures offered during care and the timeline along which they are offered here.
Do you offer a la carte options?
No, the Midwifery Service Fee is a full service care package.
Is there a discount for coming late into care?
When accepting care mid-pregnancy or late transfers, there is a lot to catch up on. Much of midwifery care is based on preventative care through nutrition, education, and mental health to keep pregnancies healthy and low risk. When a family comes into care later, we have most of the same things to cover, but less time to do so. I am more than happy to do this with families who are a good fit, but there are no discounts for late transfers to care.
Do you accept insurance?
In the state of Missouri, community midwives are unable to contract directly with insurance companies. Some families are able to obtain reimbursement from their insurance after completion of care, but payment for the midwifery services fee is made directly to the midwife. We regularly work with healthshare programs and have good luck with reimbursement from these programs. Families in care additionally have the option of working with our biller to investigate the likelihood of insurance reimbursement and to help streamline the reimbursement process.
Are there any additional costs outside of the Midwifery Services Fee?
The midwifery services fee includes all prenatal, intrapartum, postpartum, newborn care, and newborn screenings. It includes access to a Mind Body Birth birthing tub if desired.
Costs outside of the Midwifery Services Fee include:
Lab Work - Labs are collected in clinic as a convenience to clients and processed with Quest Laboratories. All lab work is billed through Quest and through insurance.
Ultrasound - We write referrals for ultrasounds and these can also be billed through insurance when families are covered. Billing for ultrasounds is handled by the hospital or ultrasound company.
Birth Kit - These are the disposable supplies required for the birth and costs $80 - 100
Can I afford a home birth? (Payment plans, payment type accepted, etc)
While the Midwifery Services Fee is less than many deductibles for hospital births covered by insurance, accessibility is still a common topic of conversation. Most of my families opt for payment plans, which I am happy to individualize based on what works best for each family. The fee timeline is as follows, but how families break these down is up to them:
Retainer fee of $500 due at Initial Prenatal Visit - (if coming into care after 20 weeks of pregnancy, the retainer fee is $1000)
$1000 due by 20 weeks of pregnancy
$1000 due by 28 weeks of pregnancy
Due in full by 32 weeks of pregnancy
Payment accepted by cash, check, Venmo, or credit card (3% credit card processing fee applies)
What are the benefits of home birth?
Families opt for home births for a wide variety of reasons. Here are a few of the benefits associated with community birth.
What does the Mind body birth team bring to a home birth?
See this post for an in depth look into what our team carries to every birth.
Do you have any options for pain management?
We do not offer epidurals, IV narcotics, or nitrous oxide in the home birth setting. While all of these options have their place, we find that when care is catered to the comfort and individual needs of our clients, they are far less likely to feel that additional pain management is necessary. Clients who desire to use a birth tub for hydrotherapy during birth for increased comfort or for waterbirth have access to a Mind Body Birth tub for their birth (included in the cost of the Midwifery Services Fee). If a client decides at some point during their birth that they wish to have access to additional pain management options, we help them to navigate their change in plans and the midwife accompanies the client to the hospital setting as needed. While non-emergent transfer of care for therapeutic rest and augmentation is the most common reason for transfer from home to hospital birth, it is still a rare occurrence. See my transfer statistics, along with other stats for 2024 here.
What if my house is ____ (too small, too rural, too little privacy, too messy etc)?
These are common concerns when families are considering home birth.
Too small - I have attended home births in tiny houses and RVs. It is unlikely that your home is too small to comfortably have a home birth.
Too rural - This truly *is* a logistical factor and one that we are frequently faced with, given the range that we serve. We navigate this by cultivating a safe, communicative relationship with EMS teams local to our rural clients. We contact the teams in advance to let them know we have families planning home births in their area, review our training, review what our skills are and what we bring to home births, and review roles/what to expect in the event of emergent complications where their assistance might be needed. We have found that this level of communication not only results in ideal preparation for the unlikely event of emergent transfer, but also spreads the knowledge of how rare emergent complications are.
Too messy - While we do expect a basic level of cleanliness, we do not expect a spotless, pristine birthing space. Many of our families have multiple children and homes that look lived in (because they are!).
But I live in an apartment complex, what about privacy?
I have attended many a birth in apartment buildings without any issue. There are special considerations for apartment births that we discuss prenatally, but by and large these go just as smoothly as home birth in single family dwellings.
What are the requirements for the location of a home birth?
Electricity
Running water
Heat
I am happy to discuss any unique considerations when deciding if your home is where you desire to give birth. Please feel free to send an inquiry with any questions here.
What questions should I ask when interviewing a midwife?
Please see this post regarding what we suggest you ask when interviewing any midwife for your care.
Do you attend births in the hospital?
Mind Body Birth does not offer midwifery services in the hospital setting, but I am more than happy to recommend midwife colleagues who do practice in the hospital. We are lucky enough to have some really wonderful options for hospital-based midwifery care in the region.