Baby Warren's Natural Birth Fund

When I found out I was pregnant - I could not have been more excited! Even realizing shortly thereafter that I would be doing this as a Single Mama - I had confidence that my training as a student midwife & experience with births had prepared me to walk this journey successfully. 

I have incredible insurance that will pay for some of my natural birth & midwifery fee, as well as take very good care of the baby and I after the birth. I also found an incredible midwife who is supportive of both my life situation and my desire for a natural birth. However, the insurance will not cover my birth fees unless unless I submit a claim to insurance after the baby is born (or get all of my care from a hospital instead).  There are two problems with this:

1. According to the latest statistics from Evidence Based Birth - 42% of first time mothers are subjected to artificial induction of labor - which doubles their chances for being subjected to a cesarean section.Induction occurs in more than 23% of all births  in the United States every year. That is, one in five women will have their labor induced. One study found that elective induction was associated with a 67% increase in cesarean risk as well as a 64% increased risk of babies requiring neonatal ICU treatment.  Cesarean sections and/or neonatal ICU would mean a longer recovery time, cutting into an already limited maternity leave - would would cost money I won't be making at that time.

2. The midwife I would like to hire, however, not only has a less than 2% cesarean rate but also has an almost nonexistant intervention rate. While my midwife has been very generous in both offering to work with me in the form of a payment plan over the course of my pregnancy - and offered for me to continue payments after the baby comes if the full amount is not yet met. However, a quality professional deserves full payment - and I feel it would devalue her services if I accepted her offer for a discount. As much as I feel that - the truth is that the amount of $4,400 is frankly more than I can afford by myself over the next six months, and so I need help to be able to pay her full fee prior to payment from insurance.

In a perfect world, I would not have to ask for help - but as a single parent I am already learning that sometimes you have to be extra resourceful to do what is best for you and your child. I am asking for your help, big or small, to be able to afford this midwife because I not only believe that I am capable of having a successful natural childbirth but that natural childbirth is better for both baby and mama. It is also true that I get only a very limited amount of maternity leave, at approximately 50% of my normal pay - so anything I can do to prevent unnecessary harm during my childbirth is crucial to getting to make the most of the time after birth before I return to work.

Since I live in a different state than any of my family and friends, a normal baby shower is out of the question. I would ask that if you feel compelled whatsoever to participate in a "baby shower" like gesture - please consider contributing toward my natural childbirth.

If by any chance donations exceed the $4,400 cost of the midwifery fees - any additional donations will go toward making up the difference in my income during my maternity leave.

Thank you SO much for considering contributing to this - Baby Warren & I thank you in advance for supporting a happy natural childbirth, recovery and adjustment period.