Frequently Asked Questions

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Sandusky Oh and up to 1 hour surrounding radius

There are certain chronic and acute conditions that would preclude you from having a home birth. Conditions like hypertension, HIV, gross fetal abnormalities, uncontrolled gestational diabetes, seizure disorders, Intrauterine growth restriction, uncontrolled asthma, known placental insufficiency, and cardiovascular disorders are some of the main reasons why people are risked out of a home birth.

Yes we will take on late transfers (28 weeks or greater) if you have your records, have the ability to pay my full fee, and are transferring from an OB or Birth Center. We do not give discounts for late entry to care. 

We do not take late transfers from other home birth practices unless they have initiated the transfer of care due to you moving or another unexpected life event. Expect longer appointment times for your care and perhaps weekly appointments from week 32 on in order to establish trust and enable us to fully educate you on the risks and benefits of out of hospital birth.

This depends on the emergency, but midwives are specialists in out of hospital birth. We carry medications, oxygen, and other equipment with us to births. Basically anything that you have at a birth center, we have access to at a home birth. We have handled shoulder dystocia, hemorrhage, resuscitations, and lacerations safely at home. Our job is to keep you as safe as we can, and if the situation warrants it, we transfer to the hospital.

Since this virus is ever changing, so is our response to it. Laboring clients NEVER have to mask.  We do not routinely test clients for covid. Anyone in your household is welcome to attend your birth and we welcome having doulas and/or birth photographers at your birth. Vaccines are not required. 

Absolutely, culturally competent care is a hallmark of our practice. If you have a certain spiritual or other belief that you would like honored at your birth, please inform us so that we can integrate that into your care. 

I will attend your birth at home from 37 weeks to 42 weeks. If you go into labor outside of this window, we will transfer your care to a hospital or physician. For clients approaching 42 weeks, we do offer various forms of labor promotion, but we do not conduct a medication induction in the home setting. If you need a medically managed induction we will need to transfer your care. 

Transfer rate is approx 10%, some years it is closer to 5%, others it is closer to 12%. 

95% of clients have a vaginal birth. The majority of transfers are non emergencies. In non emergencies the midwife will facilitate your transfer to the hospital of your choice and prepare you for what to expect upon arrival. It is highly recommended that you have a doula in case of transfer as the midwife will not accompany you in a non emergency. She may be available to join you once birth is imminent if you call for her support. In emergencies the midwife will always accompany you.

Yes absolutely! I love vbacs! I will go over your operative records and previous experience to determine if you are a good candidate for HBAC.  I will not take on clients with T or J shaped scars. I require one year between c-section and a subsequent delivery.

Yes I have experience with twin delivery and breech births. These pregnancies and deliveries often require additional monitoring and increased client education. Consultations with the appropriate providers are required for informed consent and informed choice. Additional midwives and/or birth assistants may be necessary to provide appropriate care for you and your baby.

While we have a billing service who will run your insurance for a verification of benefits and billing for an additional fee, we are out of network and insurances at this time are not required to pay for home birth services. 

Many insurances will reimburse you for some or all of your midwifery fees. Some insurances who have reimbursed clients for some or all of their midwifery service fees in the past are BCBS, Cigna, UHC, and Aetna.

Tricare will NOT pay for non nurse midwives at this time unfortunately.

Reimbursement is distributed in 2 phases, after the birth, and at the end of postpartum care. Reimbursement can take weeks, or months and is dependent on your insurance.

Yes! We gladly accept payment from HSA or Christian Share plans.

5500 is my standard early pay fee. This includes all of your prenatal care, home birth attendance, immediate postpartum care after the birth, immediate newborn care after your birth, postpartum care for 6 weeks, and newborn care for six weeks. While you may find cheaper care elsewhere, my price reflects my years of experience and limited availability. I only take on 1-2 clients per month, most months it is 2 clients. 

I believe that birthing families are navigating a most vulnerable and sacred time. I am honored to serve families in ways that are specific to their lives, philosophies, needs, wants, spiritual beliefs, and cultural customs. Watching the strength and power of birth and listening to our client's intuition about their babies and their own bodies is something I never tire of. I endeavor to protect your birthing space and support your body, baby, and psyche to the best of our abilities. I practice within a holistic framework of the midwifery model, not the medical model, but am not afraid to integrate appropriate technology or medicines when necessary.

For information about apprenticeship, click here. 

I attend births at home. I do not attend births in hospital. I do offer midwifery care for the prenatal period and postpartum period and can facilitate transfer to hospital if that is what you would prefer but I will not be your provider at the hospital. If you want doula care at the hospital in case of transfer you will need to hire a doula.

It is unlikely that the midwife will be unavailable for your birth. However life happens (personal illness/death of family member, etc.) and as we midwives are human, we do require time off call and off of work, just like everyone else. 

I will secure a backup midwife or backup birth assistant or postpone/reschedule vacations when applicable. You will be informed if the midwife or midwives have an upcoming vacation or scheduled life event (wedding/graduation, etc.) and reminded of this as needed. Names and numbers of the back up midwife will be provided prior to the midwife going off call. This is sent out in an email to all clients just prior to the midwife's departure.