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6/24/2024
Barter List for Mifwifery Care Long ago people would often trade midwifery care for eggs, milk, or time worked in the Midwives garden, etc. In today's society, bartering is often looked it as a thing of the past. Personally, I love a good barter! If you are looking into midwifery care and have a service or product, that might be something that we can barter. I am always open to offering fair market price in exchange for the care that I provide to families.
Here is a list of products or services that I can accept for barter. Bartered services and goods can only be half of the fee. Bartered services are due at the same fee schedule as fees and must be completed or exchanged by client’s 36th week of care unless mutually agreed upon other terms.
6/9/2023
Home Birth Sliding Scale Fees Last week was International Home Birthing day! The dream of accessing midwifery care or having a home birth is unfortunately not an option for everyone.
Let’s go down memory lane for a bit. Shortly after I experienced a devastating life event (Hurricane Katrina), I found out I was pregnant with the last of my babies. We moved back to the Tupelo area from Moss Point, MS because we had lost our home. It was hard, to say the least. I knew all about midwives because I was a doula and the patience of midwifery care is what I sought in that moment. Medicaid was the only insurance I had since we had both lost our sources of income, but I was unable to secure the care of a midwife. I contacted every midwife I could find (which was not easy either). I asked for payment plan options. I offered to barter. I offered to do whatever I could do to get midwifery care because I felt like my baby and my actual life deserved and needed it. Well, in the end I had to have a doctor for my care and delivery in the hospital, so I became my own midwife. For a long time, I didn't understand why these women were unwilling to support me. Being down on my luck was not by any fault of my own. It definitely wasn't my baby’s fault. I continued to move on, of course, because that’s the only thing one can do. That’s enough about me! Let’s talk about the here and now. I’m now on the receiving end of the calls I once made in tears. Unfortunately, I now understand why all of those midwives told me no. If you ask a midwife for a discount, reduced fee, or even to pay over time, you are essentially asking her to not be paid. I'm not sure that flies with most folks that work. As much as most of us love our jobs, it is pretty impossible to do it without pay. There has to be money for staff that support your care, office fees, supplies, cell phones, car payments, car insurance, fuel… etc. Oh yeah, and most of us like to eat and feed our families too. Well, this midwife is willing to take a reduced fee several times per month for the greater good of the community, our apprentices, and most importantly your family. I get inquiry calls and emails from lots of folks who are interested in midwifery care. Many of these people are uninsured or on Medicaid. Some of these folks still pay for our services before the deadline. Some of these folks barter with us to cover their services. Many of these people do not have access to regular healthcare when they are not pregnant…. that’s another post for another day... but they move into a healthy pregnancy and just want midwifery care and a home birth. There are, of course, a number of stipulations around this sliding scale opportunity but there are options. Please complete the form below to see if you qualify. |
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Photos from verchmarco (CC BY 2.0), wuestenigel, Jason Lander
