Would you get a loan for a homebirth?

angelacez · November 2012

Hi all I'm new to the bump but not natural birth. I really want one as this is probably our last child and I've had all of them(3) natural in the hospital. Would you get a loan or a charge your homebirth on a card to be able to have one? I don't want to have to fight with the hospital and don't think i should have to to birth the way I want and I always have had to. Our insurance doesn't support homebirth or midwives in our area. I do have a midwife that would love to support us and I've talked to her a few time and like her and she feels the same way about everything I do. I just can't pay out of pocket at this time. Thoughts? [Poll]

*LrCg* · November 2012

Does your midwife take payment plans (most do)? You would be surprised if you asked. We never thought our medical insurance would cover a homebirth so we saved up prior to getting pregnant to cover an estimated homebirth cost and then was surprised to find out that our insurance covered it. So to answer your question I would say yes because we were willing to pay out of pocket which would have been more than what we would have had to pay had we had a covered hospital birth. But for us, being more safe at home vs. a hospital and just the comforts of a homebirth vs.a hospital was/would be worth it.

angelacez · November 2012

Thanks for replying too! I wanted to save up but we'll be paying things off so we will have more money going in. Maybe I'll talk to her about that option. But I think it has to be paid in full by 36 weeks. I'll check. I know our insurance doesn't cover it, I've asked a few times.

To the people that said no. Why? Are you all okay with the hospital or do you not want to take a loan out? I'm just curious. Thanks.

annabelle.27 · November 2012

For me, that would depend on a lot of factors. How much money? How long to pay it off? At what interest rate?

AmyRI · November 2012

I voted no.

I think having a natural birth is something worth paying for if you must, but you said you had 3 successful natural births in the hospital. While I understand that you'd be more comfortable at home, it is possible to have a NB in your hospital with your provider and I just can't see financing thousands of dollars over the course of months or years to marginally improve your comfort level during 1 day of labor. Having 4 kids will be expensive enough, you don't need to tack on debt and interest when you have a much cheaper option.

Is there a particular reason the hospital is that bad? Did you have a particularly bad experience with #3, or do you just want #4 to be at home so that you have had a home birth experience?

runrinserepeat · November 2012

AmyRI:

I voted no.

I think having a natural birth is something worth paying for if you must, but you said you had 3 successful natural births in the hospital. While I understand that you'd be more comfortable at home, it is possible to have a NB in your hospital with your provider and I just can't see financing thousands of dollars over the course of months or years to marginally improve your comfort level during 1 day of labor. Having 4 kids will be expensive enough, you don't need to tack on debt and interest when you have a much cheaper option.

Is there a particular reason the hospital is that bad? Did you have a particularly bad experience with #3, or do you just want #4 to be at home so that you have had a home birth experience?

All of this, especially the bold.

bandwife · November 2012

annabelle.27:
For me, that would depend on a lot of factors. How much money? How long to pay it off? At what interest rate?

I'd consider this too before going ahead with taking on debt for a home birth.

Side note: I'm now very non-mortgage debt averse. We worked our butts off to get out of over $80k in student loan, small business and consumer debt a few years ago. I wouldn't go back into debt for a home birth.

Here's the thing, you could pony up the credit card or get a loan and then have some complication and have to go to the hospital. How would you feel if that happened and you still had to pay off the MW fees for a home birth?

I guess it comes down to how important this is to you. Sounds like you have managed hospital births fine but if it is your dream to have a home birth, and you think you could pay the loan or credit card off quickly, I would say go for it.

FYI - voted maybe.

Noethola · November 2012

I would talk to your insurance again, but not mention it as a homebirth. Mention it as an out of network care provider (if the midwife is licenced as CNM or CMP). Our insurance will pay 50% for out of network care. They will not however, if the midwife is direct entry.

I would probably not take out a loan for a home birth, but just go with what I had to. Yes, it is a hassle to fight the medical staff for each decision, but it will financially put your family in a better place.

I agree to asking about a payment plan.

Hopefully something works itself out and you have a wonderful birth experience!

angelacez · November 2012

We would have everything paid off (In January)except the house and then the home birth. No other cards or loans or cars to pay for. It would depend if DH and I were okay with it but it has been a dream of mine to have a home birth since #1. Yes I can do it natural in the hospital. BUT that said, I can't have a water birth there, which I also want, they won't delay cord clamping, and make you push laying down. I have tried to get them to work with me on delayed cord clamping and the pushing in a different possition but they won't allow it or just don't want to work with me. It's not like they do anything for me cut catch the baby and they sew me up(because I'm on my BACK pushing!). They don't do anything else. If they covered a center I'd go for that too, but I really do want a home birth. The thought is to have it paid off in less than a year, and it would be our only debt. It would be worth it to have the experience I think and not have to fight with the dr and nurses in the hospital again. I have to every time.

LindseyJW · November 2012

until your birth dreams have been satisfied, you can't really put a price on it.

i wouldn't bat an eye at taking out a loan in order to have the birth that you want. this is a life changing event. an empowerment like no other. it deserves sacrifice if that is what it takes.

we saved for our homebirth, as we knew we'd be paying OOP. we got some reimbursed by insurance. if we have another baby, we'll be paying entirely OOP b/c our new insurance doesn't cover homebirth.

principessa81 · November 2012

angelacez:
We would have everything paid off (In January)except the house and then the home birth. No other cards or loans or cars to pay for. It would depend if DH and I were okay with it but it has been a dream of mine to have a home birth since #1. Yes I can do it natural in the hospital. BUT that said, I can't have a water birth there, which I also want, they won't delay cord clamping, and make you push laying down. I have tried to get them to work with me on delayed cord clamping and the pushing in a different possition but they won't allow it or just don't want to work with me. It's not like they do anything for me cut catch the baby and they sew me up(because I'm on my BACK pushing!). They don't do anything else. If they covered a center I'd go for that too, but I really do want a home birth. The thought is to have it paid off in less than a year, and it would be our only debt. It would be worth it to have the experience I think and not have to fight with the dr and nurses in the hospital again. I have to every time.

If this is the case, then I would go for it. I'm paying OOP for a birth with a midwife at a birth center, but we will have everything paid in full by January as well. (We didn't take out a loan-our midwife agreed to let us do a payment plan). I'm very paranoid about debt, but it sounds like you and your H are very responsible financially and you can swing this. It would be worth it to me not to have to fight the doctors and nurses on every little thing (honestly it's the reason I made the switch too).

ridesbuttons · November 2012

AmyRI:

I just can't see financing thousands of dollars over the course of months or years to marginally improve your comfort level during 1 day of labor. Having 4 kids will be expensive enough, you don't need to tack on debt and interest when you have a much cheaper option.

I agree.

julyjennifer · November 2012

angelacez:
We would have everything paid off (In January)except the house and then the home birth. No other cards or loans or cars to pay for. It would depend if DH and I were okay with it but it has been a dream of mine to have a home birth since #1. Yes I can do it natural in the hospital. BUT that said, I can't have a water birth there, which I also want, they won't delay cord clamping, and make you push laying down. I have tried to get them to work with me on delayed cord clamping and the pushing in a different position but they won't allow it or just don't want to work with me. It's not like they do anything for me cut catch the baby and they sew me up(because I'm on my BACK pushing!). They don't do anything else. If they covered a center I'd go for that too, but I really do want a home birth. The thought is to have it paid off in less than a year, and it would be our only debt. It would be worth it to have the experience I think and not have to fight with the dr and nurses in the hospital again. I have to every time.

Given this, I would also say go for it. We paid out of pocket for our homebirth ($4000 for mw fees, $800 for doula, $375 for birth tub), but since we've got a high deductible insurance plan it was about the same as a hospital birth would have cost us, maybe slightly more.

There may be the specter of the homebirth-hospital transport situation in which your costs might double (depending on your insurance), but I just ignored that since it was not very likely to happen, although it would certainly suck.

FionaTheFlower · November 2012

If a home birth is that important to you, I would go for it. Since you can pay off the loan quickly, I don't think it's that bad (and I'm against most debt). I definitely think you should talk to the mw about a payment plan before going the loan/cc route. Also, most of my friends with hospital births ended up paying quite a bit in copays and deductibles for their births. Some of them even paid as much as we paid for our midwife and birth center fees. So I would take all of your additional insurance costs for a hospital birth into consideration as well.

AmyRI · November 2012

angelacez:
We would have everything paid off (In January)except the house and then the home birth. No other cards or loans or cars to pay for. It would depend if DH and I were okay with it but it has been a dream of mine to have a home birth since #1. Yes I can do it natural in the hospital. BUT that said, I can't have a water birth there, which I also want, they won't delay cord clamping, and make you push laying down. I have tried to get them to work with me on delayed cord clamping and the pushing in a different possition but they won't allow it or just don't want to work with me. It's not like they do anything for me cut catch the baby and they sew me up(because I'm on my BACK pushing!). They don't do anything else. If they covered a center I'd go for that too, but I really do want a home birth. The thought is to have it paid off in less than a year, and it would be our only debt. It would be worth it to have the experience I think and not have to fight with the dr and nurses in the hospital again. I have to every time.

While it's great that it wouldn't strain you financially, my decision would still be "no." Not having cash on hand and 4 small kids would stress me out a lot. I would not go into debt for a year for the chance at having a home birth. I get that the hospital isn't baby-friendly, but at least you are fighting them on things like pushing positions and not more serious interventions.

If you do decide to try the home birth, consider a home equity loan over putting it on a credit card. The 10%+ interest rate difference will help you pay it off faster.

*LrCg* · November 2012

I also wanted to add that I'd be surprised if your midwife requested paid in full by 36 weeks- what if you had to transfer out- placenta abruption, etc. Perhaps another option would be to be seen by an in-network midwife but not inform her of your homebirth intention and then just use your midwife for the birth (she may ask to see you once a month or maybe just the 3rd trimester) but that should lower your costs. Another thing I did want to add about the benefits of a homebirth (besides all that you mentioned- water birth, delayed cord cutting)- you don't have the stress/worry invovled in seperating your family, you can all be at home vs. Mom & baby at the hospital and your other kids at home. Plus what a great bond for them to be a part of their sibling's birth- that to me is just priceless. Another thought too: your midwife may offer a sliding scale knowing your paying out of pocket so you may find its equal to or cheaper than what you would pay for a hospital birth when its all said and done.

sbevmc09 · November 2012

I can't tell you what's important to you so you should do what's best for your situation.

Honestly, I wouldn't take out a loan or charge a homebirth BUT at the same time, if it's something that was important to me I would work at saving up for it. If we were working towards paying off debt (and we've been there, so I get it) I would probably cut back on those efforts to save towards the homebirth I wanted, but I wouldn't add more debt to the pile, that's just not how I operate.

Also, for us, a homebirth is about the same OOP as it is for a hospital birth because we have a deductible to meet. The financial benefit of having a hospital birth is that once we pay that money our deductible is met for the year so we aren't going to have any additional OOP expenses for healthcare. We wouldn't have the same situation if we paid OOP for a homebirth, but at the same time, in a normal year we don't have a lot of medical expenses anyway.

Also FWIW, we're not having a homebirth this time. I'm going to be in the hospital as a VBAC, but I'm lucky in that I live in an area where I have choices. My birth will be attended by a midwife and I do have the option for waterbirth in the hospital I will be at. No, it's not the same as a homebirth, but for us this is the best route right now.

I think if I were you I would figure out a payment plan for the midwife. Also, are you expecting a tax return? Maybe you can use that towards paying for the homebirth.

angelacez · November 2012

Oh yeah, the tax return would pay for at least half of the homebirth! That's my plan anyways. I'm going to ask her about a sliding scale since I won't see her until January at least. Maybe I could even just see if she'll come for the birth it's self and a few visits. It really shouldn't be very much oop anyways, I've even thought about asking DH's parents if they'd pay and we could pay them back. I'm hoping DH's new job will get different insurance than we have now(they're supposed to in Jan), so they'd take care of most of that bill as well. The loan is by back up/way to pay upfront until the insurance goes through.

OSibyl · November 2012

I desperately wanted a home birth. However, we don't live in a space that will allow for it comfortably. I have neighbors below us and don't know if I would be comfortable knowing I could bother them. Our insurance doesn't cover ANYTHING out of network. We have decided to pay out of pocket to use a birthing center. If we are able to find a place and move before May (when baby comes) we will change to a home birth.

You should look into other midwives. I would be surprised if you couldn't find one that would work with your budget and payment plans. The birthing center we are using gives a discount (15%) if you can pay in full by week 35. If you can't do that then they allow up to a year after the birth to arrange payment. There is no interest during that time... although, you are paying 15% more than you would if you paid in full by week 35.

choppinbroccoli22 · November 2012

I am anti starting out a new chapter in your life with increased debt and increased hardship to pay it off.

If you are determined, you can make sure that your experience is as close as possible to what you want, accept the things that aren't perfect, and in the end, the outcome will still be wonderful.

L0L0 · November 2012

I would not take a loan to do home birth. Maybe there is a different hospital you can go to, or a different OB or hospital midwife? I was fortunate to have a natural water birth with a midwife at the hospital. You already know you can do natural birth at a hospital, so I think you should put in perspective what you would really gain for your new debt. It could be like 2 hours in a tub, and I certainly wouldn't want to be paying that off months after the fact, with all the other expenses of a growing family.

nosoup4u · November 2012

I would find a doula who's cheaper, and plan a medfree hospital birth with the hippiest provider I could find. I don't think going into debt for a HB is worth it, in general.

ETA: You can show up pushing at the hospital, and not ask to push in an upright position, but just refuse to lie down.

wren444 · November 2012

I would definitely consider taking out a loan to attempt the homebirth experience of my dreams, if I hadn't already had it.

Everyone's relationship with debt is different, and generally I am not a fan...BUT if you're comfortable taking out a loan to buy a house, then taking out a loan to have a baby in the safety and comfort of your home seems totally justifiable to me.

If this debt is something that will emotionally burden you/stress you out, then I wouldn't do it...but if you can keep it in the perspective of a manageable and strategic use of resources to attain a once in a lifetime experience, then I would do it without hesitation.

dreadiemama · November 2012

How much is your midwife? I know it depends a lot by regions but usually home births are WAAAYY cheaper than hospital ones so I'm a bit curious as to why you would need to get a loan out for a home birth but not a hospital... or were you going to need to get one out either way?

GoldenPeaches · November 2012

LindseyJW:
until your birth dreams have been satisfied, you can't really put a price on it.

i wouldn't bat an eye at taking out a loan in order to have the birth that you want. this is a life changing event. an empowerment like no other. it deserves sacrifice if that is what it takes.
we saved for our homebirth, as we knew we'd be paying OOP. we got some reimbursed by insurance. if we have another baby, we'll be paying entirely OOP b/c our new insurance doesn't cover homebirth.

I agree with all of this. You can't put a price on the birth you've dreamed of.

I'd ask the midwife about self-pay discounts and a payment plan. It shouldn't be too hard to put a couple hundred bucks towards it starting now and then you would only have to finance the rest. Does your family usually give you Christmas money? You could put that towards it if so. What about a tax refund?

noraraeuc · November 2012

I don't care to pay for maternity related care as a whole. We have unassisted pregnancies and births.

caymarks · November 2012

I really don't think we could afford a loan for a birth so that's why I said no. If you've have successful natural births in the past then my suggestion is to labor at home for as long as possible and then move to the hospital.

They can't tell you when you actually come to the hospital and if you're more comfortable at home you can just stay there until you are no longer comfortable and then head to the hospital.

Veritas66 · November 2012

Absolutely not. Save your money for your actual kid.

Mrs E in Oregon · November 2012

I said no because I do not support going into debt. I fully support going with a midwife and home birth. Most midwives charge $4k or less and give a discount if you pay by like week 30 or are paying out of pocket. Check out any payment plan option they have.

It looks like you're able to deliver naturally in your local hospital well. If they've been supportive for 3 natural births, you'll probably be able to go that same route with #4. This setting is covered by your insurance. If I couldn't afford the HB, and aren't able to cut anything else out of the budget, then this new debt could cause more damage than a 5% interest rate. If some emergency happens in the next year, would it break the bank? I'd save that money, or that credit, for an emergency and plan a hospital birth.

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