The Fox Guarding the Hen House
How Government Makes the Rules
Back in 2007 my husband and I found ourselves without health insurance and pregnant with our fourth child. The third child had cost $35k and he was a natural birth. That $35k was start to finish including $900 for the 30 minutes he spent in the nursery while I went to get a coffee. (that’s a funny story for another time) I think the nursery charge was there whether or not we used it. We opted for a midwife and a home birth for the fourth child. If we paid by 36 weeks, there was a discount. That birth cost us $3600 and was amazing. You can have a glass of wine after having a baby when you are at home. We lived in WA state, the Seattle area. Our midwife could prescribe antibiotics, give oxygen, give the RH negative shot (Rhogam), and had privileges at the hospital in case of transport. She was there for our 5th child being born as well.
In 2009 we found ourselves in TN after the housing market collapsed in Seattle. And pregnant again. Of course no health insurance because no work. We found another midwife. This time she was in Franklin TN. We were living in Ridgetop. It was a trek to see her, but she was all I could find. At some point she told me that I was going to have to see her doctor. I know she said that, but when you are hauling five little kids, four of whom are boys, to an appointment, you forget a lot of things. Somewhere around 30-34 weeks, she told me I had to set up an appointment with her doctor. So I called that office, and they told me it was going to be $300 to see him. Why do I have to see a doctor that is miles from home, I will never see if I end up in the hospital, and I will never meet again? Here is why.