DH and I are planning on getting pregnant in March after we PHP: go skiing, because I missed out on it last year due to having a nursing infant. The problem is we still have problems with the Birth Center that delivered Jimmy. They never sent us a very large bill until 6 months after he was born and the insurance company now will not pay it because it was so late. So we are still trying to resolve that. Not only that but a month before Jimmy was due, they called me and told me they wouldn't be able to deliver me, that they had over-booked and they were sorry. Of course, I freaked out. Now I was going to have to find a regular Dr. and hospital to deliver and I was so set on having a home birth. Well, Steve called to fuss at them and it turns out that they thought i was a new patient (we had just gotten married so my name was changed on the file) and it was all a mistake. I think that took a lot of my trust away though and I wonder if it's not why i had some trouble and had to be tranferred to a hospital for the birth. So. I just don't kow what I'm going to do with my next baby. My dream is to birth at the Farm but, I live in Northern VA I just don't know if that's realistic. Does anyone have any ideas?
Look for other Birthing Centers. That one sounds like they aren't too organized and may not offer the best care they can. If that's not an option, shop around for hospitals that make you comfortable. It'd be a good idea to have one you trust that's close by so just in case you need them, they're always there. Good luck with straightening out the insurance. I was on medicare, and I was sent a bill because the hospital I went to, like yours, just now sent it to me about a week ago and my insurance is up, but, they're going to pay for it after I talked with them.
Good news is now that Virginia has legalized non-nurse midwifery, you will have more options for a home birth! Start shopping!
I was in a similar dilema back in 1978, when I experimented with a free clinic in Oregon for my prenatal care. I didn't have the money for a midwife, so I went to the University of Oregon clinic, but just didn't like being seen by a different male doctor every time I went, and thinking I would end up giving birth in a hospital setting. It was a very uncomfortable and confusing time for me, and I had been to The Farm, and lived there for 4 months the previous year as a single woman, so I hitchhiked from Oregon to Tennessee while I was 71/2 months pregnant, and had my firstborn on The Farm there. It was so much the first experience I needed for childbirth. I had a breech birth at The Farm (so glad I was there), and then went on to have 4 normal presentations with my next four birthings. Wish you luck in finding and setting up the perfect place for your special time.
Well, my Tutu (Grandma) and I are going to visit the Farm together sometime in April, hopefully. Getting the plans together. DH has quite alot of vacation time saved up from work so we've been talking about doing the Farm thing after all. I would probably head down two or three weeks ahead of time with my Stepmom and Tutu and son. Then Hubby would join me closer to the due date. We'd have our baby and chill for a week or two and then go home. I have to find out if they would allow me to do something like that first though. Mamaboogie, you're in TN, right? Maybe we could meet up!
I'm four hours from The Farm, but yeah, if you come through here I'd be glad to meet up with you! You need to call ahead of time before you go visit The Farm, and you really have to talk with the midwives before making any plans to birth there. It's not the 70's anymore, and since they have chosen to work with the system to change it from the inside, they have major rules and regulations to follow. I would have had a homebirth, except for DH's reluctance and the fact that the only two local homebirth midwives have a very poor reputation with the doctors and nurses who work in the hospitals here. Since I was going for a vbac, I needed midwives who command respect from doctors in case of a hospital transfer.
