Our Home Birth

As a home birth midwife I am always moved by the heart-driven persistence families will go to realize their dream of a peaceful and safe home birth.  Over the last six years, I have provided comprehensive midwifery care, at a reduced fee, for many families who lack equal access to home birth midwifery care and/or the financial resources necessary to pay for their birth of choice. But sometimes with these families, the community is often called upon for material and financial support.

Below is a letter my clients are sharing with their community. Please help me help them make their dream come true.          

Claudia Booker, CPM, LM, LDEM

“Dear Friends and Family,

We’re Lilly & Sijara and we’re proud to be having a beautiful baby, who’s due this April!  We are a lesbian couple in our early thirties and very excited about being brand new parents.

However, the excitement of parenthood does come with its worries and stresses.  Lilly, who is carrying our baby, has managed to have our prenatal expenses covered by Medicaid.  I, Sijara, am working full time, but the insurance offered at my job is just too costly.  Medicaid, for all it’s perks, is very limited when it comes to pregnancy and child birth options and Maryland has not yet reached a point where it covers home birth (even though it’s more cost effective).

We have done our research, visited hospitals and the one birthing center, and after much consideration, we have decided that we would really love the experience of a natural birth at home. The benefits of a natural home birth, for us will far outweigh those of a birthing center or, especially, a hospital.

For our baby’s water birth at home, we will need:

-to rent an Aquadoula birthing tub plus purchase related supplies
-a birth kit and home birth supplies          
-an experienced home birth doula          
-1-2 comprehensive breastfeeding consultations          
-a licensed home birth midwife and skilled birth assistant
-newborn layette and supplies

We have attended all of our prenatal visits, taken a comprehensive childbirth preparation class, read the best evidence-based materials, and have prepared and are committed to a peaceful, joyous birth at home in April. We are now asking our family, friends and community to assist us in making our homebirth a reality.        

We believe all families should birth in a way that makes them and their baby most comfortable and happy.  What we want most is to birth at home with our chosen Certified Professional Midwife (CPM).  We have launched a Go Fund Me account with the help of our midwife, Claudia Booker, in hopes that we can raise enough money to have the birth we desire and to bring our baby into the world safely with peace and harmony.

We appreciate any donation you can make, thank you!

Lilly & Sijara
Excited new moms