As some of you may know, in my "other" life, I am a birth activist, doula, herbalist and proud Mama of 2 homebirthed children. In my twenty years of birth work I have watched the problems with our maternity care system spiral out-of-control.
Recently, however, the tide has changed and my family and I were able to participate in an awesome event. After years of tireless effort from VPIRG, Midwives, social justice activists and families, Vermont's homebirthed children were able to look on while Governor Shumlin signed "The Midwives Bill" into law.
The Midwives Bill requires that all Insurance companies in Vermont must cover the services of midwifery and homebirth, just as our state's Medicaid and Vermont Health Access Plan do. Although I had insurance during my pregancies with both of my children, my family and I had to pay-out-of-pocket for the services of our homebirth midwives. (It was worth every penny!)
For many Mothers, their inability to pay for a homebirth forces them to "choose" a hospital birth, where often they are subject to unecessary interventions. The cost of maternity care in America has skyrocketed, while simultaneously our safety rates have plummeted. The U.S. now ranks 40th in the world for maternal deaths and 46th for infant mortality.
According to VPIRG, "Achieving a home birth rate of 15%, would save $13 million a year in health care costs." Currently only 1% of children are born at home in America. Vermont, a rural state with a long tradition of midwives, has one of the highest homebirth rates at 3%. Bringing birth back into the home could save Vermonters millions, as the average cost of a homebirth is 1/3 the cost of a hospital birth.
Homebirth is not just great for the pocketbook, it also provides the best possible beginning for healthy pregnancies to grow and give birth to healthy, happy families. I know that choosing to give birth to my babies at home with midwives was, by far, the best decision I have made in my life.
Babies love to be born at home.