Please reach us at Midwife@austinbetterbirth.com if you cannot find an answer to your question.
Austin, Leander, Round Rock, Pflugerville, Hutto, Georgetown, Cedar Park, Belton, Killeen, Jarrell, Taylor, Elgin, Manor, Cedar Park, Marble Falls, Burnet. Basically we serve everyone in an hour radius of Round, Rock.
There are certain chronic and acute conditions that would preclude you from having a home birth. Conditions like hypertension, HIV, gross fetal abnormalities, uncontrolled gestational diabetes, seizure disorders, Intrauterine growth restriction, uncontrolled asthma, and cardiovascular disorders are some of the main reasons why people are risked out of a home birth.
Yes we will take on late transfers (28 weeks or greater) if you have your records, have the ability to pay our full fee, and are transferring from an OB or Birth Center. We do not give discounts for late entry to care.
We do not take late transfers from other home birth practices unless they have initiated the transfer of care due to you moving or another unexpected life event. Expect longer appointment times for your care and perhaps weekly appointments from week 32 on in order to establish trust and enable us to fully educate you on the risks and benefits of out of hospital birth.
This depends on the emergency, but licensed midwives are specialists in out of hospital birth. We carry medications, oxygen, and other equipment with us to births. Basically anything that you have at a birth center, we have access to at a home birth. We have handled shoulder dystocia, hemorrhage, resuscitations, and lacerations safely at home. Our job is to keep you as safe as we can, and if the situation warrants it, we transfer to the hospital.
Since this virus is ever changing, so is our response to it. Laboring clients NEVER have to mask. We do not routinely test clients for covid. Anyone in your household is welcome to attend your birth and we welcome having doulas and/or birth photographers at your birth. Vaccines are not required.
Absolutely, culturally competent care is a hallmark of our practice. If you have a certain spiritual or other belief that you would like honored at your birth, please inform us so that we can integrate that into your care. As a example, certain faiths require a blessing to be said over the baby just after birth by a certain family member, for others they may wish to have a time of prayer during their labor or to make a call to their Pastor, others may be in non traditional families and want extra support people with them during labor or appointments.
We can attend your birth at home from 37 weeks to 42 weeks. If you go into labor outside of this window, our state regulations mandate that we transfer your care to a hospital or physician. For clients approaching 42 weeks, we do offer various forms of labor promotion, but we cannot conduct an induction in the home setting. If you need an induction we will have to transfer your care.
We cannot advance or stop your labor once it has started in the home setting with medications or devices either unless it is a life saving emergency.
Transfer rate is approx 10%, some years it is closer to 5%, others it is closer to 12%.
95% of clients have a vaginal birth. The majority of transfers are non emergencies. In non emergencies the midwife will facilitate your transfer to the hospital of your choice and prepare you for what to expect upon arrival. It is highly recommended that you have a doula in case of transfer as the midwife may not always accompany you for the duration of your hospital stay in a non emergency. She will be available to join you once you are in active labor and ask for her support. In emergencies the midwife will always accompany you.
Yes absolutely! We love vbacs! We will go over your operative records and previous experience to determine if you are a good candidate for HBAC. We cannot take on clients with T or J shaped scars. We require one year between c-section and a subsequent delivery. State regulations require at least one consultation with an OB or other maternal health provider.
Yes I have experience with twin delivery and breech births. These pregnancies and deliveries often require additional monitoring and increased client education. Consultations with the appropriate providers are required for informed consent and informed choice. Additional midwives and/or birth assistants may be necessary to provide appropriate care for you and your baby.
While we have a billing service who will run your insurance for a verification of benefits and billing, we are out of network and insurances at this time are not required to pay for home birth services.
Many insurances will reimburse you for some or all of your midwifery fees. Some insurances who have reimbursed clients for some or all of their midwifery service fees in the past are BCBS, Cigna, UHC, and Aetna.
Tricare will not pay for non nurse midwives at this time unfortunately.
For BCBS, clients will be paid directly by their insurance if reimbursement is offered, our biller can put together a superbill for you to submit for an additional fee (50$ as of 2023).
Reimbursement is distributed in 2 phases, after the birth, and at the end of postpartum care. Reimbursement can take weeks, or months.
Yes! We gladly accept payment from HSA or Christian Share plans.
5500 is our standard early pay fee. This includes all of your prenatal care, home birth attendance, immediate postpartum care after the birth, immediate newborn care after your birth, postpartum care, and newborn care. While you may find cheaper care elsewhere, our price reflects our years of experience and the fact that you will have two midwives involved in your care, not just one. A sliding fee scale is available for those in financial hardship. Payment plans available. 4500 is our fee for birth center birth, there is an additional fee to the birth center for the use of their facility which is paid directly to them.
We believe that birthing families are navigating a most vulnerable and sacred time. We are honored to serve families in ways that are specific to their lives, philosophies, needs, wants, spiritual beliefs, and cultural customs. Watching the strength and power of birth and listening to our client's intuition about their babies and their own bodies is something we never tire of. We endeavor to protect your birthing space and support your body, baby, and psyche to the best of our abilities. We practice within a holistic framework of the midwifery model, not the medical model, but are not afraid to integrate appropriate technology or medicines when necessary.
For information about apprenticeship, click here. Currently we are accepting new students.
We attend births at home primarily and also attend birth center births at the Lotus Community Birthing Center in North Austin. We do not attend births in hospital. We do offer midwifery care for the prenatal period and postpartum period and can facilitate transfer to hospital if that is what you would prefer but we will not be your provider at the hospital.
It is unlikely that the midwife will be unavailable for your birth. However life happens (personal illness/death of family member, etc.) and as we are human, we do require time off call and off of work, just like everyone else.
We will secure a backup midwife or backup birth assistant or postpone/reschedule vacations when applicable. You will be informed if the midwife or midwives have an upcoming vacation or scheduled life event (wedding/graduation, etc.) and reminded of this as needed. Names and numbers of the back up midwife will be provided prior to the midwife going off call. This is sent out in an email to all clients just prior to the midwife's departure.