Here in Ontario, there are some pretty strict guidelines for midwives:

Midwifery is a four-year post-secondary course, and they have to renew their memberships annually.

At every home birth there MUST be two midwives in attendance during the final stages (one for mom and one for baby, as well as for general backup)

They have to notify the hospital of the home birth plan well in advance and alert them when the labour begins just in case of the need of a transfer.

They are governed by our health care system which also means (hooray!) that it's covered under our provincial care plan (something that's happened fairly recently).

There are other things as well, but these are the ones jumping out at me.

What's it like where you are?

__________________

So did you get the go-ahead for a homebirth?

I'm in Pennsylvania, U.S. Each state has different laws. In PA lay midwives are illegal. There are many practicing, but it's not legal. Locally, we have a very large Amish population and many of them use lay midwives.

I am not familiar with all my state's laws. I do know that if I go 14 days past my edd that my Certified Nurse MW must refer me to an OBGYN. I also know that it's very difficult for a private practice homebirthing mw to get hospital priviledges so if I ever need to transfer to a hospital for delivery she can do nothing more than hold my hand, so to speak.

Like I said, every state is different. There aren't a lot of homebirth midwives. Most midwives work in birth centers and hospitals and from what I understand are "under" a doctor. I hear of many women opting for an unassisted birth because they can't find a homebirth mw and they don't want to deliver in a hospital.

As far as insurance, I don't know. I had one insurance (10 years ago) that covered homebirths and another after that that did not. I don't think most insurance will cover it. We are with a health sharing ministry now.

__________________
Kelly, wife to my own personal superman for 16.5 years.

Mama to:
dd 9
dd 7
ds 5
ds 2
bun baking 'til late June (edd 21st)

Our midwife hasn't totally given me the okay just yet. She wasn't familiar with my heart condition, so wanted to look into it a little more before saying yes, but sounded optimistic!

Midwifery is ILLEGAL in PA?!?! That's ludicrous! What governing body could possibly want women to opt for an unassisted birth over care by a trained professional?! Good grief, Charlie Brown, your country is so backwards sometimes!

__________________

No, lay midwifery is illegal. Nurse-Midwives are legal. I'm not sure about direct-entry midwives. Lay midwives practice without any kind of licence. They may or may not have training from an accredited program. Every state is different. I don't know it's legal in any state to practice midwifery without a license.

I hope you get the go-ahead for the birth you want.

__________________
Kelly, wife to my own personal superman for 16.5 years.

Mama to:
dd 9
dd 7
ds 5
ds 2
bun baking 'til late June (edd 21st)