“The midwife considers the miracle of childbirth as normal, and leaves it alone unless there's trouble. The obstetrician normally sees childbirth as trouble; if he leaves it alone, it's a miracle.” ― Sheila Stubbs
I. AM. EXCITED.
Like, wake up in the morning smiling, walk around with a stupid grin on my face excited. I have actually never attended a birth before, but I am so excited for mine. I realize that this is not the normal feeling most new mom's have when they think about "labor" (I try to stay away from that word, preferring to use "delivery" or "birth" instead because just saying "labor" put's a negative picture in my mind. Sweaty, screaming mother in agony, you know, Hollywood stuff) in fact, over 70 % of first time mom's feel afraid when they think about delivery day. I guess what changes things for me is the fact that the only other person who has talked to me about what delivery day is going to look like for me is my midwife, and she is awesome. She is excited. Therefore I am excited. She sees birth as a natural thing that she is absolutely confident that my body can do and is eagerly awaiting her chance to participate in this awesome day. And, another thing I keep telling myself is, at the end of delivery day, I will have something I've never had before. A baby! It's like Christmas I'm telling you.
Getting prepped for delivery this way, with this kind of support, is why having a midwife to accompany me on this journey is so important to me. And it's not something that comes without expense, but I believe that sometimes things are so valuable in a way that can be measured beyond money, that they far outweigh their cost in dollars. In a nutshell, it is so worth it to me. I wanted to share with all of my family and friends the real cost of a midwife, in case they also think that this is important enough to want to contribute and share the cost of the labor with me :)
Insurance companies do NOT pay for home birth's or any midwifery services.
My midwife's name is Paula Matthews and she is a member of the Midwives Alliance of North America and the Arizona Association of Midwives. She has been a childbirth educator for many years and a La Leche League Leader and has also served on the advisory committee to the Midwife Licensing Department and served two terms on her local School Board.
You can check out her website here: http://www.homebirthaz.com/index
Her service charge is $2,400.00 and at her office I receive all of my check-ups, nutritional coaching, exercise training, hypnobirthing classes, breastfeeding and baby care support, breath and pain-management coaching, positive visualizations and more. She will be attending to me and assisting my birth along with her two assistants, and tending to the babies first few check-ups afterwards. She offers 24/7 emotional and spiritual support for me as well. So that's a lot haha. In addition to her midwife costs, I will have a few more expenses on birth day:
My birth kit- $49.63 from www.inhishands.com which includes:
| 9 |
| 9 |
| 1 |
| 12 |
| 1 |
| 1 |
| 1 |
| 2 |
| 1 |
| 1 |
| 2 |
| 1 |
| 1 |
| 4 |
| 14 |
| 2 |
| 1 |
Waterbirth supplies-$150.00 www.yourwaterbirth.com
- La Bassine pool for home and hospital-$120.00
- La Bassine pool liner-$30.00
- A tarp or large plastic drop cloth
- A brand new garden type hose
- 2 Clean buckets
- 2 large stew pans
- Duct tape
- Bleach or disinfectant
- Several pounds of sea salt
- A fish net or kitchen strainer
- A mat or crib mattress
- A large plastic sheet ( 1 or 2 drop cloths or a plastic shower curtain)
- Placenta bowl (can be a cake pan, mixing bowl, or disposable pan)
- Crock pot or large stew pot
- (2) 4 oz bottles of castor oil (for babies bottom)
- 4 oz antibacterial soap
- Recharge, Gatorade, Apple Juice, 7 up or ginger ale-3 or 4 quarts
- Small bags of frozen peas
- Newborn size disposable diapers for the first 2 weeks
- 2 large garbage bags
- A nice bright flashlight with fresh batteries
- 1 roll of toilet paper or a box of tissues
- 1 roll of good paper towels
- Kotex overnights or poise pads or pull ups
- Tylenol
- An unopened tube of superglue gel
- Linens-
- 3 sheets (2 fitted, 1 flat)
- A dozen or more wash cloths
- 6-8 receiving blankets
- 6 or more large bath towels
- An outfit for baby
No comments:
Post a Comment