Would you have a home birth if you had to pay?

[sam#3]

We are really lucky to have a Home Birth Team here that are just amazing, i find it so astonishing that from one postcode to another things can vary so greatly.... its another postcode lottery like the schooling fiasco!

 

[Kess]

If i had to pay then me personally i would do it unassisted but if i didnt feel confident enough to do that then i would pay for a doula....... i could never bring myself to pay the amount ind mw's charge, i think they cash in on something that *should* be available to every woman on the NHS

I wouldn't say they cash in. I worked out how much my MW could earn in a year, roughly, considering she can't take on more than one woman due in a certain period (as she's on call 24/7 of course), and it was about the same as she'd earn on the NHS, tbh (probably less, as she has 25 years experience which would put her high up the NHS salary bands). Yes, she works shorter hours, but she's also never completely not working - I can call her any time, day or night, if I'm worried or have a question, she drives almost an hour each way to come to me for each of my appointments (her petrol costs alone mustn't be cheap), and spends several hours here, and has to keep a stock of equipment and supplies (consumables like testing kits, other stuff like birth pool, books, DVDs, etc).

I agree that it is something that should be available to us all on the NHS though.

 

[ambreen359]

Sam i think cashing in is completly the wrong thing to associate with an IM
If the nhs allowed every women that wanted a hb that choice there would be no need for IM (although that is not my reason for choosing an IM) i think the way some people are looking at the cost is ridiculous over the course of 44 weeks we r paying 62.50 a week
i dont think thats alot considering how much people pay for smoking and drinking
going to the point someone made about the cost of a wedding 5000 is probably a low estimate for most people we dont think twice about paying that kind of money 4 one day
However we spent a few hundred and would rather spend our hard earned money on something as important as bringing a life into this world
the way things r going we all will be paying 4 alot more in the future the nhs wont carry on the way its going
we pay 4 dental treatment because we work , were paying to have our mercury fillings removed
I am gratefull that there r Independant midwives in scotland although there is only a few so that women like me can choose to have our babies at home without being pressured into something we dont want

 

[sam#3]

Im not knocking them for it.... i dont blame them in a way... when my training is finished im going to work for the home birth team here so thats a compromise between the two i guess...

 

[Rmar]

Going by what I could make as an IM vs what I could make as a hospital midwife, in this country, I don't think many midwives really cash in on it. Working for the hospital, I could be making on average $61 000 but as an IM, it would be about half that due to costs. Where I live, that is not enough to be comfortable to pay off a mortgage or have any time with my husband out of work because he only earns $30 000 in the job he is in. It seems like a lot but when you take out how much it costs to actually be able to have the resources, it isn't.

IM work separate from organisations to be able to work with the freedom of their own "policies" rather than having to make decisions based on the fact they are working under someone else.

That said, I do know of one midwive who will charge $10 000 AUD to keep the whole month free for you. So she is charging you waaaay more to work less. Sounds like cashing in to me.