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How much does a home birth cost? With Michele Liot, CNM
82 Plays2 months ago
How much does home birth cost? And how big does my house need to be? Am I allowed to give birth at home if I'm renting? What about if my in-laws live there too? And the big question partners have: is it messy?? We cover it all in this conversation with Michele Liot.
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Transcript
Introduction to Be Her Village
00:00:00
Speaker
Welcome back to the Be Her Village podcast. I'm your host, Caitlin Magreious. I'm a doula and the founder of Be Her Village. Be Her Village is an incredible new baby registry platform that helps you get the care you need when you're having your baby. You can add doulas, home birth midwives, ah postpartum care meals, pelvic floor support, and all the other types of services and care that you need as you're welcoming your baby.
Home Birth Costs and Logistics with Midwife Michelle Leo
00:00:26
Speaker
Today, I'm sharing with you part two of my conversation with certified nurse midwife and home birth midwife, Michelle Leo. In our first part, we talked all about the biggest question on people's minds about home birth. Is it safe? And Michelle, that conversation was so in-depth and so incredible. If you have not listened to it, go back and make sure you listen to part one. and In part two, we talk about the cost of home birth. This is a burning question for a lot of people.
00:00:56
Speaker
um And we get into it in the raw and real way that Michelle does talking about actual dollars, what our options are, why home birth costs, what it costs, and how we can get that care covered. And let me tell you, This is an episode if you are thinking about home birth that you absolutely must listen to. We also talk about the logistics of giving birth at home. What kind of space do you need? How messy does it get? Which is a question of partners and husbands and dads often ask, ah like, what are we going to do in this house at this home birth? What is there going to be blood everywhere? um So we talk about that. And if you're somebody who's considering home birth, this is an amazing episode to listen to, ah to get the tips you need and to share this sort of information about what's going to happen with your partner and your family.
00:01:48
Speaker
So without further ado, please listen to this wonderful part two of my conversation with Michelle Leo. Is it expensive to give birth at home? Is it covered by insurance? And you don't have to speak to every situation, but in your practice, what are you seeing? um And what should people be planning for as far as home birth costs, not necessarily just your fee as a midwife, but like your assistant, who's paying your assistant, who's paying for those supplies, those many supplies you have, who's paying for prenatal visits, who, what do I need to buy as a home birthing person? Like what, can you run down what the the fees look like for somebody who's like, Oh, actually all this sounds great. And I just convinced my husband and mother and all the people like, Oh, I'm all in for home birth. How do I actually financially execute my home birth?
00:02:42
Speaker
This is a huge question for everybody. It's it's on my list of questions to clients. I have my own little questionnaire for when people call me. OK, so let's just talk brass tacks. Some people's models are slightly different, so I'm not going to speak to every midwife in their practice. But I know that the sort of predominant um My method is is very similar, even if my pricing may be slightly different, because I don't know everybody's price point, um but I know that the model is is shared um among the home birth midwives on Long Island. and And similarly to the majority in the state, I'm connecting more and more with other um out of hospital midwives in the state, and it's it's kind of general across the board. So there's a retainer fee, okay?
00:03:29
Speaker
and that's different for everyone. um My retainer is $2,000. People are like, oh my God, $2,000. And I'm like, I just got paid two days ago for a birth in January. It's October. So I have held space. It is October. So nine months later, 10 months later. Nine months after I've been taking care of someone for nine months.
00:03:53
Speaker
Oh, geez. And they delivered them, well, they delivered themselves, but I was present for their birth, right? And their postpartum care and the ongoing follow-up, any paperwork need to be cleaned cleared, any FMLA here and there, all the home visits that I'm providing, all of the birth supplies, my assistant fee, paying my biller. Wow.
00:04:21
Speaker
So that's almost two years from the start of care when you think about it. Right. And I mean, the fact that inflation in there. So people are like, why can't you apply my retainer to my insurance? And I'm like, I have to feed my family.
Navigating Insurance for Home Births
00:04:33
Speaker
So just I have to pay my rent. but So break this down for me. No, this is really interesting. So people are.
00:04:42
Speaker
paying a retainer and that's literally to retain your care, to get on your schedule too. And that's, that's another factor, right? It's like, I will go on call for you, right? I remain at your service. I am accessible to you. You get comprehensive prenatal care, right? If you have a negative blood type, you're getting your ROGAM. I don't charge for that. I cover it. That is. So the $2,000 covers like becoming your client and actually reserving one of your limited spots. Cause how you can only have A handful, 10 clients. I i don't know. Just by the nature of being present for the birth, being on a call provider. It's hard. Yeah. um So the retainer fee is covering my biller. It's covering my birth assistant fee right there. That is almost the majority of the retainer. Wow. Okay. Supplies for the birth.
00:05:36
Speaker
And then all that goes into the nuance of, you know, paying rent for an office supplies and equipment, rate you know, purchasing the medications, which are expensive. We still haven't gotten to like an hourly salary free. You know, ah you know What's that? I always joke. I'm like, I'm a home birth midwife. I'm actually super rich and I do volunteer work. So um it's really, it's wealth providing. um But no, I actually, I love what I do and and it pans out. But so some people say, oh, that's really expensive. So my fee, my global fee, because I charge a global fee, I don't do like all a la carte. Right.
00:06:15
Speaker
Why? So my global is nine grand. I'm sort of going to whisper that because um a lot of midwives will not put their pricing out because insurance companies will go to those websites and then they have to be the benchmark for how they will reimburse.
00:06:31
Speaker
Wow. and then the poet So it's a gate it's a little bit little bit of a game. this is And fill me in because this is my understanding of it is like the medical billing system, the insurance medical, it's like, I'm going to bill you $300 for like the the sick visit, the pediatrician does. And the insurance is like, we'll pay 120. And so you just like you have to guess. Okay, insurance is really only paying 100 you're paying the 20. Right. But as a practitioner, you have to guess and just try you have to your incentivize to continue inflating so that your insurance who keeps deflating and there's just this tongue in. So it's not even necessarily reflective of
00:07:14
Speaker
act actual costs. It's a, I don't know. So let's bring it back to the official fee. So I get a routine. And my goal is always for the client to have the remainder of the cost of their birth, the $7,000 covered by their insurance. How do I, I get that done? Many midwives across this country. Your problem. This is my fee. You pay out of pocket. I get my nine grand. You deal with your insurance.
00:07:44
Speaker
I don't do that because I want to help, but I am incurring fees for using my biller who recoups that on your behalf. So my goal is always to have the remainder covered by health insurance. There's what's called GAAP exceptions, in and out of network exceptions. These are contracts made with your insurance companies because home birth midwives are most typically out of network with all providers. But little glitch in the New York state law, which is meaningful and supportive of home birth is that they are obligated to honor the choice of someone to birth out of hospital. And if there are no
00:08:20
Speaker
in network providers they are required to provide i benefits at the same rate if there's no one within 50 miles right because a hospital yeah This is the thing I like want to make sure that people who might have just like zoned out because it sounded like a little computery. Like this is the part, rewind, do the 15 second flip back, do 30 seconds flip back. Like listen to that because that is how you get your home birth covered by insurance, even if your insurance doesn't cover your home birth.
00:08:53
Speaker
Yeah, because people are like, wait, but then I'm going to have to use my outer network. Oh, my deductible. Oh, this technically, if there's no in network provider within 50 miles accessible to you, right? So just because there's someone in Connecticut that does home birth, obviously that doesn't count. Right? So in New York state, there is this provision that you are required for an in or out of network exception. So you were getting in network coverage, even though your provider is not in network.
00:09:21
Speaker
because of the distance by which you can't access that care. This is so huge. So this is the premise by which people are obtaining reimbursement for home birth services. My home birth, my biller is an exceptional home birth biller. She does New York State home birth reimbursement. um She has a little worksheet that the client gets started and then she works from there to develop the contract. And then she's the one that bills out for services after the client has given birth.
00:09:52
Speaker
And then we hopefully recoup that in some meaningful amount of time. This also goes for Medicaid, right? Because we talk about barriers to care. Medicaid in New York State does actually reimburse. They reimburse like at the like literally down to this like $6,999.97, right? Which I don't chase anybody for the
Alternative Funding Options for Home Births
00:10:12
Speaker
three cents because that's rude.
00:10:14
Speaker
It's like the house on principle that they won't give you the three cents. Not all. um But so so, you know, yes, the the client um is obligated for the retainer, but my hope and my wish and my goals are always that beyond the retainer, you're out of pocket costs are very low. Yes, I have a home birth supply list. The most expensive item on that list is the Chuck's pads, the wee wee pads.
00:10:39
Speaker
um This goes into that mess conversation we were potentially going to hit. um These are the things that maintain the fluids and we use them with abandon. Throw another Chuck's down, throw another Chuck's down.
00:10:55
Speaker
never have enough chuck great that cost because I don't have storage to store all the checks. So you have to get a box of checks. And but otherwise on the home birth supply list is like postpartum um items that you would need anyways. And if you want to have a birthtub that's on you in my practice. There are other practices that rent birthtubs for another fee. But so that would add to your out-of-pocket cost as well, depending on if you desire water birth or not. um But so that's essentially the cost. I don't charge you for my biller. That comes out of my global fee. I don't charge you for my assist. Some people do. i do That comes out of my global fee.
00:11:34
Speaker
I do not charge you for medications. um All labs get processed through insurance and sonograms as well, so you're not paying out of pocket for those, right? You're still eligible for all that coverage by your insurance company.
00:11:48
Speaker
um And that's, I think that's pretty straightforward. Does that feel like it answers the billing question? That answers it so beautifully. And i it's almost like such a relief that there is, there is a way to get insurance to cover. And I want to, this is what I always told my dual clients and you just, you affirmed why, and I don't know that I always knew the full why behind it. um But I would always tell people, and I'm going to tell everyone listening right now,
00:12:14
Speaker
Do not call your insurance company to find out if home birth is covered. Call the home birth midwife that you want to use and ask her about how insurance coverage works within her practice. Because the insurance company is not incentivized to make home birth available to you. They're not going to tell you the tricks of the trade. They're not going to tell you, unless you get some really generous person on the customer service line, they're not going to tell you how you can get out of network exceptions and how they can pay for more of your care. They're going to tell you it's not covered. That's for too, right? Communicating with your potential homework provider. Even if you're interviewing and communicating with others, there is like a pretty standardized, it's not necessarily like easy to find on Google, but your your potential provider can typically, but I always will hand it off to a client.
00:13:02
Speaker
um It's, it's a very explicit sheet with like Q and&A for what to ask the person what billing code for coverage, and then they kind of have to give you this information about what is officially covered versus what isn't. You're trying to cold call your insurance. You're not going to get meaningful information, but if you're calling them with a prepared list of the appropriate questions to ask where they're obligated to provide that answer, you are going to get a good information. Another one is sort of the things that's nuanced to my practice. Other midwives again may do this, but I'm speaking to myself. I will say like, Hey, I don't presume upon financial resources. If you need to.
00:13:42
Speaker
communicate with my biller. My biller can take a look at your insurance card and based upon her experience and familiarity with your plan can give you a rough idea of what you may expect for coverage. Is that a guarantee? No. Is she starting a contract with their insurance company? No, you have not retained me.
00:14:00
Speaker
So I am not, because every time my biller makes a phone call, I'm paying money for that. So I'm not investing yet if you haven't come into my care, but I am willing to try and help you get a sense of so that you can then decide if moving forward feels possible, right? So I will always do that little intro because again, I can't presume upon resources. And unfortunately, home birth is still somewhat of a privileged undertaking.
00:14:28
Speaker
It is. It is. And I just want to do a quick plug for Be Her Village here. I'm going to plug it, I think. You've got to do it. Can I plug it? Please plug it. I'm going to plug it. Go ahead. Because how can we gather money, right? So people do go fund these. People do this thing, the other thing. People are getting money from people all the time to help with something. And people are like, oh, I can't ask for help with my birth. I'm like, well, you can. You can ask for help with whatever you want, right? And so that's where Be Her Village comes into play because it makes it comfortable. It's a registry. You're putting down something you desire around a really important part of your life. People are familiar with registries already as a component of support for your wedding, for your baby arrival, right? And so if we can then
00:15:15
Speaker
put money towards your midwife's retainer, your doula services. Maybe you have the retainer for the midwife, but to have a doula, which you know would be super beneficial now feels out of reach because you've retained the midwife and you know you need that for your home birth, but you also want to have a doula. So how can you get that? Be her village right there. I mean, I just recommended it on someone, the Long Island home birth support website. I refuse to ever comment as a provider in there because I just,
00:15:44
Speaker
i just I don't, that's a safe space for mothers seeking home birth support. I'm part of it because I'm a home birthing mom. um I home birthed twice and I was actually born at home in the 80s. But the registry is part of how you can get financial support.
00:16:03
Speaker
And it's also weird like talk to your parents, talk to your family, talk to your, if there's someone who's saying like, Hey, what's the thing you want the most leading up to, right? Who are the people who are buying the $600 thing on your registry? Talk to them. Those are the ones that you can be like, you know what? The thing I really want the most is I want to have my home birth and I need help with the retainer.
00:16:22
Speaker
I love it. And I just want to say from somebody, you know, who sees the gifts that come through and the people who are registering. So many people are using be her village to get home birth fees covered, to get birth center fees covered for people will email us and say, can you release the funds right now? It's I i have to see my midwife tomorrow. It's like, yes, yes, yes. All the money goes right to parents and helps them actually.
Comparing Home Births to Hospital Births
00:16:48
Speaker
access the care that they need that makes all the difference. Okay. Thank you for the plug. Oh, formalize very quickly too. I want like, because people hear the word $2,000 and they can get really overwhelmed, but when you break it down to what you're receiving over 10 plus months of care, it's $200 a month.
00:17:08
Speaker
ye And I'm not saying that $200 a month is a small amount, but if you divide that up by weeks, right now we're talking $50 a week, right? And so you have to understand that it's also okay to save for your home birth. I did, my husband and I did, right? We were we were young little things. we had I was a nurse, he was a landscaper. like we're not We're not sitting in privilege and and we had to find the resources because we knew this was the deep desire of our hearts.
00:17:37
Speaker
And it's worth it. And you're worth it. And your experience is worth it. And I think that's a big part of it too. I think that we get really caught up in like, we'll buy anything. If your baby needed something for $2,000, you buy it and so you'd figure it out. You throw it on a credit card, you know, like a care care card or whatever, you know, there's no interest. $2 a week is too co-pays to go see your OB. Right.
00:18:01
Speaker
Right. So like we need to break this down and understand that every time, because the obstetrical model too, depending on what you're deductible and all those things, you may also be paying $2,000 for your birth. You may be get billed by your hospital for $2,000 or more. I know people who have had to spend $10,000 for their births. Absolutely. Yep.
00:18:20
Speaker
I don't know. I don't know why I needed to pay, but I paid like $2,000 out of pocket, two or $3,000 out of pocket for my first birth. I don't know why. And then I didn't need to for my second birth. They were both in the hospital. I don't know. I might have normalized that like you, well, that's what it costs. And I'm like, okay, but so then why are we uncomfortable with the idea of a retainer? The fun thing for me though, was that that came three months after my baby. So I got slammed with an unexpected bill. So not for nothing, but there's something like beautiful, but there's a contract. There's, there's just like transparency around those costs. And it's, that means a lot. Yeah. And people working in the background to ensure coverage, you know, taking that off of your plate.
Addressing Home Birth Concerns
00:19:10
Speaker
You're not battling insurance company.
00:19:12
Speaker
Yeah, that's a big deal. Having a biller on staff is amazing. Okay, I want to get to our last two things, which I think we can like lump into one larger conversation. I want to talk about number one,
00:19:26
Speaker
people feeling nervous about their space. So like, do you need a home to have a home birth? I guess, do you need a house? Do you need to own your house? Do you need a certain size house? Like I've i've worked with doula clients who are like, I don't think I can have a home birth. And I'm like, dude, if you have seen the little cottages out in the Hamptons that I but i have, that like the one room, I remember my, not my first, but one of the earlier home births, like the midwife caught the baby in front of the fridge, but like we were kind of in the living room too. It's just a tiny space. So can we speak to that? Just like what, how much space do you actually need for laboring, but for recovery also. Can you do it if you're a renter? Can you do it if you live with your in-laws and they're not on board? I don't know, like just what is the requirement for having a home birth? What are the home requirements? And a sort of secondary question to that
00:20:20
Speaker
is Is it messy? And I kind of laugh at this question, but it also is the first question when I was like freshly postpartum in my bed for my home birth. And we we hadn't told most of my family because I like just didn't want to invite them into my home birthing space. I didn't want an eye roll. I didn't want judgment. And so we like FaceTimed with my brother and his wife who were very supportive and and it was fine, but it was their first time finding out we did it at home.
00:20:49
Speaker
And the very first question was not, is it safe? How much did it cost? How is your midwife trained? It was my brother saying to my husband, dude, was it messy? Just like for the partners slash dads out there who are like, cool blood and guts and what a birth juices like all over my house. I don't want it. My partner's in bed with the baby and I am now stuck with a murder scene. Exactly. Like literally. It's such a common question.
00:21:18
Speaker
Whoa, like what am I going to ask you? Because I might be all so tired. And I'm like, you probably will be tired if you've been supporting your laboring partner. um But so yes.
00:21:30
Speaker
um it I love the question so much. So the mess, no, it's really not that messy. Um, this is where the Chuck's pads come into play, but Caitlin, you're going to have to bring me back because my perimenopausal brain, the first part of the question. The first part of the question is like, what are the crime requirements space and like owning wise? Do you need a home? Back online. Sorry. I threw a two parter at you. That wasn't fair, but I just like, I feel like they're a little related, like home space. How much do you need? And is it going to get bloody?
00:22:01
Speaker
Okay, so home space is funny. I can tell you personally that I have delivered in about 18 inches of space. I have been present in studio um apartments. I have seen people labor in yurts in the backyard. I have seen been in very large homes. I have in all the settings, right? Like it it you 18 inches. Because follow around with my journey. Oh, that was hilarious. So I was, the client had ah a relatively small bedroom related to the size of their bed. um And that's fine. So there wasn't a lot of space between at the end of the bed or on either side, there was um ah on each side, probably about 18 inches or so depending on like where the dressers were where the
00:22:49
Speaker
etc. And so where this client dropped to their knees was in between the bed, but the bed didn't have opening underneath that it had those shelves like those drawers. So I'm literally like, it's probably the width of my shoulders, my assistant is that my assistant. So I'm on my hands and knees will down low, right? And the client is on her hands.
00:23:12
Speaker
So I'm behind her and and she's doing that great like you know where they put the the the knees in now this is like that new thing and I'm totally here I think it's great so she had a little more space um and then my my um assistant Noelle is recording in the background because the client want the birth recorded and and Noelle is often really kind and will step in and do that just babies coming. Oh my goodness. Like, what do you really need? You need hands.
00:23:43
Speaker
that And she was helping catch because she wanted to. And that was great. And we had we had the baby and it was so funny though, because so so we're slip we slide the baby through her legs, right. And then like, my foot slips on the chucks pad because there was like,
00:24:00
Speaker
you know, fluids and juices and all things. And so I'm laughing like I think we need to get out of this like slightly enclosed little space now so we can like get you settled and recovered. Right. I'm like, don't slip on that. Like don't let me wipe your foot before you move. um But like I said, right, that any of the spaces are fine. And as far as like legal logistics, no, you don't need to own your home. um Yes, you can be a rental.
00:24:25
Speaker
um You can, I've seen it on the blogs. There are people who birthed in air streams, right? Like it really doesn't matter. It's just a place to catch your kid. I've seen births outside on the deck. I've seen, you know, there's, there's, you can do whatever you want. I always joke. I'm like, you can burst standing on your hat. Like I don't, you can do whatever you want, right? Like I'll just follow you around. I don't need, I need this.
00:24:46
Speaker
You know, I think I need more space. I may invite you to to go into a ah slightly more expanded space in the setting that you're in, but I don't need it to be a huge space. It doesn't have to be in a bedroom. It doesn't have to be in a bed. It can be anywhere you want your baby to get born in the space that you're in.
Advice for Prospective Home Birth Clients
00:25:07
Speaker
But in the exact moment, what do I need? i Not much. Yeah. I really don't need much. And I'm just going to speak really quickly to my experience in as far as parents or in-laws or family living with you. um At the very beginning of my third baby's pregnancy, which was my home birth baby, my father unexpectedly moved in with me because of a health issue. And I think he was probably going to be asked to leave either way because I was planning on being naked in my living room, you know, just laboring or whatever.
00:25:38
Speaker
But I just told him, Hey, I'm having a home birth. So when I go into labor, you're just going to have to find a place to go. He was planning on driving to Jersey, sleeping over at my brother's house. I had the baby in like four hours and he was like, Oh, I just went to get coffee. And I was like, cool. You can come back.
00:25:53
Speaker
and i had But it was just, it went trick or treating. And then they came back and they had a sibling. Um, it was such a non-issue and it's, I think it's one of these things that like feels like a really big ball. I can't do this because the home isn't perfect. And I'm like, ah you don't need much.
00:26:09
Speaker
Yeah, no, I completely agree. You really don't need much. And then that goes um transitions well into the mess. It's really not that messy. And I always say we will leave your home as we found it or cleaner, right? If you have issues in the sink, I'll probably do the dishes, right? um Or ask Noel to do them for Noel. So But no, the mess is really well contained. We have little tricks and methods for how to ensure that the bed is maintained, that your mattress doesn't get affected potentially, that the floor doesn't get affected. um You know, if you have like a really white house, like you might wanna get two bottles of hydrogen peroxide so that we can remove blood in a location. But like the largest spots of blood I've ever had to remove from anything are like little itty bitty quarter sized things because we we're really mindful
00:26:57
Speaker
and And it's not this massively bloody experience. All right, there's bloody show, and then there's some bleeding when baby gets born. Yes, there's fluid. I've sometimes been very messy after a birth when I get baptized um in a very biblical way by a baby with their ampouleur. And I'm like, oh, but thank you. This look right in my hair. um and But no, it's really, it's just not messy. And I've also had two home births myself, so I really know from a visceral experience.
00:27:27
Speaker
I love it. I love it. And there's a two bag, just for anybody who doesn't know, there's a two bag system that the midwives use. herbert sag And one and laundry bag. If you get the really little bags, it might be too. Right. But it's, it's so, it's so easy and it like feels like it shouldn't be that easy. But the other thing is like, there's lots of hands at home birds in a really wonderful, the village shows up kind of a way. Like you have the midwife, the assistant, usually a doula, a partner, sometimes your mom pops in if you want her to.
00:27:56
Speaker
and And at the end of the day, you throw out the bag with all the chucks and all the you know disposable things. And then the other bag is towels and blankets and other things that have touched any fluids or any baby and whatever. And you just throw that in the wash before you go.
00:28:12
Speaker
and you had a home You had a water birth, right? I did. I want to speak very quickly to that. we bring I bring the sump pump. You don't have to empty the tub. Don't worry, dad. You're not in charge. Nobody's got to siphon out the water and find a place. You don't have to have a garden for us to empty it into. It li literally can go straight down the toilet. No problem. um And then we throw the liner away.
00:28:35
Speaker
And then we yeah and your're tu we clean your tub and we break it down. No, you don't rent for me, but I'm still, my me and my assistant are going to clean that up. That's part of our care.
00:28:46
Speaker
That's part of the global fee. That's part of the global fee. My, remember my, so my brother, it wasn't messy. And, and my husband was like, no, you know, the midwife just left and it looks like nothing happened. That was his answer. It looks like nothing happened. And I just remember thinking that's such a man thing to be worried about. It's messy, but like, but it's something you need to worry about in your immediate postpartum. If we're trying to protect that sacred space, having an additional mass is not actually like appropriate to leave you with.
00:29:16
Speaker
Oh, of course. No, I know. I just, I think it's interesting that like, I'm like, in here's your niece. Here's your niece. And I, by the way, I just did that in my living room and it's like, was it messy? But it is, I think a concern for people because it's so foreign. I think home birth, we're so disconnected from it as a community that we used to see it. We used to be in, in the presence of laboring people, you know, and now it's really, we're just used to everything being behind closed doors and And I think people think it's really like a horror show and it's actually, it's actually not. And I also just really want to quickly add to that because transfer is a real part of home birth. If a transfer occurs, I go with my client to the transferring institution, even if I'm taking my private vehicle, um, like if they're in theirs or whatever, my assistant will stay behind and she cleans up.
00:30:03
Speaker
Right. So if we had already filled the tab, we've been in the tab, she's going to be emptying the tab and putting that away and, you know, making the bad and like, right. So that if the client then bursts at the hospital and is coming home, they are also coming home to a clean home. I love that.
00:30:17
Speaker
Michelle, this has been like the greatest conversation. I love you so much. You know, I love you so much, but this was so helpful for anybody who's thinking about home birth. Cause I think we touched on so many things that are obstacles real or imagined, right? Um, if there's one thing that you could say to somebody who is pregnant right now and thinking about doing the next one at home, what would you say to them?
00:30:48
Speaker
Ask the important questions to the person's people that you're interviewing. I strongly recommending interviewing more than one, if that's possible in your area, right? Get the vibe, get the energy, ask the important questions that are going to help alleviate any concerns you might have, and then listen to podcasts like this and get a real sense of what home birth looks like so you can decide and if it's something for you or not. And then I'll tell you, it's really fun.
00:31:17
Speaker
I love it. Thank you so much, Michelle. If you're on Long Island, go call Michelle, follow her on Instagram, go to her website, get booked in with her because there's nothing like really good midwifery care for any stage of your health. East end midwifery. How can people people find you? Can you share it with us?
00:31:36
Speaker
ah Yeah, I'm like the social media worst human. um So my office is in Southampton, East End Midwifery Services is my technical name. My website is East End Midwife. um And that's the same ah hashtag or app app at the act for Instagram and Facebook.
00:31:55
Speaker
And there's some content on there. I mean, you definitely can like see who I am. um And yeah, that's that would be how you find me
Conclusion and Resources for Home Birth Education
00:32:03
Speaker
or word of mouth. You can find me on the home birth blogs because I exist there. I love it. And we'll include everything in the show notes so you can reach out to Michelle. Awesome. Thank you so, so much. This was amazing.
00:32:18
Speaker
That was just amazing. I'm so grateful for Michelle for coming onto our show and sharing her time and her wisdom. um I hope that this information has empowered you to have your mind open about home birth, right? um This conversation, both parts one and part two, and again, please go listen to part one, all about home birth safety, the training of midwives, what a home to hospital transfer in the middle of labor looks like, and what it looks like in the pregnancy time.
00:32:48
Speaker
um These are really important things that we need to talk about in order to release the stigma of home birth, in order to educate and inform ourselves. to make the best choice that we can, and also to help us get the people that we love that we need their buy-in on board. And you know what I'm talking about. I'm talking about that partner who's like, yeah, I hear that that's what you want, but I'm just really unsure about it. That home birth safety conversation will help really bring a lot of context and color into the nuances of safety when thinking about giving birth at home.
00:33:26
Speaker
so When we left off with Michelle, she said that her one piece of advice for people who are thinking about giving birth is actually doing the work of interviewing your home birth midwife. And so what I want you to do is go into our show notes and look for a free download that I put together for you with all the questions that you need in order to really thoroughly interview your home birth midwife. And like Michelle said, please interview more than one, gather your information. And as you'll see in this free guide, my advice is research, research, research, and then follow your gut. And with that, I leave you. Until next time, please subscribe if you like what you're hearing so that every week when the episode is released, it will pop up in your favorite podcast app. Thanks again for listening.