Frequently Asked Questions

According to ACNM, the benefits of midwifery care include:

• Decreased risk of needing a cesarean

• Reduced rates of labor induction and augmentation

• Reduced use of regional anesthesia

• Decreased risk of preterm birth

• Decreased third and fourth-degree perineal tears

• Lower costs for both clients and insurers

• Increased chances of having a positive start to breastfeeding

• Increased satisfaction with the quality of care

As of 2025-2026, Illinois-based private insurance and Medicaid will be required to cover services with CPMs. Our decision to accept insurance based on current reimbursement rates is unknown at this time, but we will update this site as we know more. Missouri-based private insurance and Medicaid do not consider CPMs to be "in-network." Therefore, our services are cash-pay in both states.

However, we can work with a biller that submits a claim to your insurance company at the completion of your care. Your insurance company may provide partial reimbursement to you. Our biller is available to help you navigate this process and handle the details.

If you have Medicaid or are experiencing a financial hardship, we may be able to offer a discount for our services.

Prairie Child Midwifery charges a Global Fee of $5,500. This includes all costs of your care with us -- aside from labs, ultrasounds, any needed referrals to other providers (which would be billed to your insurance separately by those facilities). Our global fee DOES include a birth pool rental, custom birth kit, paying your midwife's birth assistant, and the cost of any standard newborn screenings or medications offered by your midwife. 

In order to keep costs of lab work low for those without insurance coverage, we have a list of reduced price labs with Quest.

If you have Medicaid or are experiencing a financial hardship, we may be able to offer a discount or extended payment plan for our services.

In both the state of Illinois and Missouri, CPMs can carry medications that may be needed throughout your care. This includes, but is not limited to:

• Anti-hemorrhagics (to control abnormal immediate postpartum bleeding)

• Vitamin K and erythromycin eye ointment for newborns

• RhoGAM for Rh-negative clients

• Lidocaine for suturing (stitching) if a repair is needed

• Oxygen for resuscitation

• IV fluids

• Antibiotics for GBS positive prophylaxis 

• Epinephrine

• Herbal remedies

Your midwife can NOT carry (and the need for any would indicate collaboration with another provider or a transfer to a hospital):

• Pain medications (narcotics, epidurals)

• Pharmacologic agents with the intent to induce labor

• Blood for transfusions

• Antibiotics for the treatment of UTI or other infections

• Vaccinations for you or your baby

• CPMs cannot prescribe medications in the state of Illinois or Missouri

In addition to some medications, your midwife has a variety of equipment that may be used either for routine monitoring and support, occasional needs, or things that can help us manage emergencies. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• Doppler and fetoscope for intermittent fetal heart rate monitoring

• Blood pressure cuff, stethoscope, and thermometer

• Measuring tape for fundal height assessments 

• Sterile instruments and gloves

• Equipment for newborn resuscitation, including a bag mask, DeLee suctioning catheter, and pulse oximeter

• Equipment for suturing 1st and 2nd degree lacerations

• Straight urinary catheters

• IV supplies

• Amnihooks for artificial rupture of membranes

• Supplies for the newborn exam, such as a scale

Your midwife can NOT carry (and the need for any would indicate a transfer to a hospital):

• Surgical equipment needed for a cesarean or instrumental birth (forceps, vaccuum) 

• Intubation supplies for advanced newborn resuscitation

• Continuous fetal monitoring equipment for labor

• Equipment needed for suturing 3rd or 4th degree lacerations

Routine labs are able to be ordered by and collected by your midwife during your care.  A referral for routine or other indicated, non-routine ultrasounds can be provided by your midwife to be performed by an ultrasound technologist, OBGYN, or CNM.

In order to keep home birth safe, community midwives support low risk pregnancies and births. Certain risk factors or conditions are contraindicated for community birth with us, including, but not limited to:

• Diabetes requiring insulin

• Preterm labor and birth

• Chronic, significant heart, liver, kidney, or lung diseases

• Hypertension (high blood pressure)

• HIV positive status

• The development of preeclampsia or HELLP syndrome

• Active genital herpes infection at the onset of labor

• Placenta previa (placenta covering the cervix)

Some conditions may come up that indicate a consultation with a physician or CNM, but are not absolute contraindications to care, such as persistent anemia, suspected fetal growth restriction, polyhydramnios (excess amniotic fluid), and low-lying placentas. 

Your midwife can answer questions you have about your pre-existing health during a consultation. During care, you and your baby's well-being are monitored closely to identify any risk factors that may arise, but we also focus on prevention and health-promoting practices.

In Missouri, we welcome VBACs! There are certain safety criteria that we establish to come into care. I am happy to answer questions to determine if this is a good fit for your needs before moving foward with a full consultation.

In Illinois, CPMs are prohibited from providing care to anyone with a prior cesarean. Therefore, I cannot provide midwifery care for VBACs (vaginal births after cesarean) in Illinois. However, I am happy to provide referrals to CNMs or physicians, or chat about doula services.

In the state of Illinois, a consultation with a physician or CNM is required for anyone with a baby that is still breech after 37 weeks gestation. Your baby's position in the womb will be a regular conversation at prenatal visits, and we like to try things to get babies to flip head-down before that point! Sometimes an ECV, or an external cephalic version, can be offered by other providers to move baby head-down after 37 weeks. In the case of an unexpected breech presentation with an imminent birth, I trained in physiologic vaginal breech birth and supportive maneuvers with Breech Without Borders. Planned vaginal breech birth is not routinely offered, but may be possible on a case-by-case basis, if there is additional support from other experienced providers.

If for any reason you need to go to the hospital, your midwife can support you throughout the transfer of care process. I am passionate about finding ways to make this transition smoother, utilizing concepts I learned from my own experiences and training, as well as the Washington-based program Smooth Transitions.

During a transfer to the hospital, I would send over your records to your receiving provider(s). When a transfer is emergent, EMS is activated and your midwife can provide stabilizing care within our scope until they arrive. Your midwife can accompany you to the hospital, give report to the staff, and transition into supporting you in other non-medical ways once you are in their care. You can return to our care for routine postpartum follow-up once you are discharged.

I believe everything should be the client's choice and that tests, procedures, or interventions should not be mandatory. Since we are in a less technological setting, to ensure we are best equipped to support someone, there are certain things we need to know about you and your baby's health to best support you. We do prefer that our clients receive at minimum the initial prenatal panel labs, a fetal anatomy scan around 20 weeks, and that they are planning to consent to routine parental and fetal/newborn vital checks (blood pressure, pulse, fetal heart rate, etc) during their care.

And of course, we also must provide care within our legal and ethical scope. Some conditions require us to collaborate with or transfer care to someone who can better care for you in those unique cases.