It is very rare that regular insurance will cover a homebirth but I am willing to give you a bill if you want to try to get reimbursement for yourself. Christian cost-sharing ministries such as Samaritans Ministries and Christian Healthcare Ministries will often cover our services. Health savings accounts may cover Midwifery services as well. Medicaid will not cover homebirth.

The global fee covers routine prenatal care, labor and birth fees, and postpartum services provided by the midwife or assistant. Care from other providers is not included. Our care will include the assessments during pregnancy, labor and postpartum. If a transfer of care as needed, there will be an additional bill from whoever provides your services at the hospital

A retainer fee is required to begin services. We do not offer discounts but will offer payment plans and will sometimes barter for services or goods that are useful to us. Feel free to talk to us about your options.

We usually stay at least 2 to 3 hours after the birth ~ once the baby has had a chance to nurse, we have done the newborn exam, and mother has used the restroom and has stable vitals.

Both midwife and student or assistant are trained in CPR and neonatal resuscitation. All necessary equipment to manage resuscitation and care for a postpartum hemorrhage or other complications are carried with us. We will have already discussed your closest hospital and what would be needed if a transfer is necessary

About 5% of mothers in our care are transferred to the hospital. About 3% of those that transfer have a cesarean at the hospital. Most of the time transfers are for exhaustion or pain relief. In this case we normally travel by private car. Once you are at the hospital, your care is provided by hospital personnel but whenever possible the midwife, assistant or doula will try to stay with you.

We usually try to be back in your home between 24 and 72 hours postpartum. During this first visit we will be checking mother’s bleeding and vitals and verify that she is doing well. We will assess the baby for weight gain or loss and jaundice, as well as basic breastfeeding support.. We will also perform the newborn screening and congenital critical congenital heart defect screening at that time unless you have declined these tests.

Between us in many years of practice and over 1000 babies, there has been one necessary episiotomy.

It is not necessary to see an OB at the same time you are seeing a midwife. Your midwife will give you all the normal prenatal care. Some people, because of complications in addition to a normal pregnancy, will choose to continue seeing an OB so that those other medical situations can be handled while continuing with a normal healthy pregnancy.

Kentucky service can include the circled area on the map below, depending on the client load for that month.

Georgia service is within an hour radius of Dahlonega.

Yes, we do offer water birth and we have several pools available for loan or rental on a first come first served basis. It may be hard to know if you will want to use the pool until you’re actually in labor. Some people who love baths and being in water find they don’t want to be in water during labor, while others who don’t usually enjoy it may find that it is a huge relief when labor gets active.

Our cars and bags contain a variety of items including, but not limited to: sterile instruments both for umbilical cord cutting and suturing, resuscitation items and oxygen for mother and baby, doppler, stethoscope and blood pressure items used for mother and baby during labor, medication or herbs that can help with excessive bleeding, and all necessities to run an IV if needed.

There will be a list of items included with your client packet, most of which are items that are commonly found in the house and simply need to be gathered into one place to be available to be used during your birth.

Some of the things that would risk you out from a homebirth include: being sensitized for Rh positive antigens, high blood pressure that is not well-controlled, pre-existing type one diabetes, kidney heart or lung disease, alcohol or drug use, pre-eclampsia, labor before 36 weeks of pregnancy, placenta previa, anemia that cannot be brought under control, umbilical cord prolapse, undeliverable position (i.e. transverse, some types of breech), maternal fever during labor, or a baby that is showing distress in labor. There are other things that could also make it better to have a baby in the hospital and can be discussed on a case by case basis.

Usually not. We have you purchase certain items to protect your bed and other surfaces and there are items included in your birth kit that will also help keep everything in good order. We set everything up when we arrive and generally do most of the cleanup before we leave. Most of the time the only reason people know that you had a baby at home is that you are already in your own bed snuggled up with your baby. Laundry will be left in a bag with instructions or sometimes if there’s time we may start a load for you.

We will help you fill out the necessary paperwork, and then after your baby is born and you have chosen a name, we will submit your information to the Kentucky or Georgia department of vital statistics for your baby to receive his/her Social Security number and have the birth registered. You will then need to send in a request for a copy of the birth certificate with your payment.

Once you’re an established client, you will have our personal cell phone numbers and contacts for back ups. You can contact your midwife immediately for urgent concerns or labor. For routine concerns we ask you to contact us during business hours or send an email

Most people notify us as soon as they know they are pregnant in order to secure a place on the calendar. We usually begin visits in the office or at home according to our schedule between 8-12 weeks. We are sometimes able to take late transfers of care depending on location and situation. We cannot guarantee that our schedule will not be full.

A doula and a childbirth education class is strongly recommended for a first time mother or a mother having her first natural birth after a cesarean. They can still be very useful in subsequent pregnancies, especially if you’ve never had a natural delivery outside of the hospital. 

First and 2nd degree tears can usually be numbed and sutured at home.