>>I’m looking forward to finding out whether or not you will choose to home or hospital birth here, considering that hospital births are free and homebirths are around 5000 shekel. <<
I’m planning another homebirth! There are many areas in life to save money on, but in my opinion, having a homebirth is a transformative experience, with the safety rate being higher in so many areas than in the hospital, that this isn’t an area that I’m choosing to save money on. I cut costs in lots of areas to make it possible for me to be able to this important decision without money being the deciding factor.
In the US I also had to pay out of pocket for my homebirths ($1800), and the hospital experience would have been fully covered by my insurance. What’s different here is that if you have a baby in the hospital, the government gives you a sum of money, that has to be added to what a homebirth will cost you since that’s money you’ll no longer get (unless you show up at the hospital within twelve hours after giving birth). Right now that’s only 500 shekels, though I was told for twins it jumps to 8000 shekels!
>>Have you found a home birth midwife to use yet?<<
Yes, I have! We spoke last week so I’m glad to have that piece in place. I pretty much decided I’d use this midwife before I ever spoke with her, if she agreed to come to this area for the birth.
I started researching homebirth midwives here way before I was pregnant, to help someone else in my area find out about homebirth midwives. I didn’t come up with much to start with, but then I got a call from someone who took childbirth classes with me over 13 years ago, whose birth I also attended. She heard I was back in Israel and called to find out my opinion of homebirth! She lives in the north and had a much longer list of midwives than I had, and gave me contact info for each of them, as well as the details of her conversations with each. (I wasn’t asking about this because I was expecting – I don’t think I was at the time – but she wanted my opinion of who she should use so she needed to go through each option in detail.) Then a blog reader called to give me information regarding something I wrote about here, who had also checked out the homebirth options in the north.
What I found initially left me discouraged. The midwives were risking out the friend I was researching for, since here in Karmiel we are 35 minutes from a hospital, rather than 30. Another factor that made her ‘high risk’ was that her baby was estimated to be over 4 kg (about 8.5 lb, even though all her others had been similarly sized). Then the second person called me back and said none of the certified midwives were willing to attend her birth, either, even though she’s 5 minutes from a hospital and has a perfect birthing history – because it’s her ninth birth.
I was very bothered by this medicalized and fearful approach to childbirth, because I don’t expect that from homebirth midwives. As far as the closest hospital choices, it’s either Tzfat and Nahariya, and I haven’t heard anything encouraging about either of them. When friend #1 asked what I would do in her situation, I told her I really didn’t know, since there didn’t seem to be any good choices. I just couldn’t understand the midwifery attitude here.
Then in December I read about the new rules they want to pass to further restrict homebirth in Israel – http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/israel-ministry-drafts-new-rules-to-restrict-home-births-1.401485?mid=55429. When I read this, I understood that the licensed midwives were refusing to attend births that didn’t meet the Health Ministry’s requirements, because they could lose their license. This made it clear that licensed midwives sometimes have their hands tied, not necessarily based on medical evidence of what is in the best interests of the health of a woman, but by the government. (And since the health care system here is run by the government, you can’t be too suprised that the official position is strongly in favor of hospital birth.) What I see as the biggest advantage of using a licensed midwife is that they can sign the necessary paperwork to get an Israeli identification number for the newborn, which can be a big hassle otherwise.
Working with someone who isn’t certified doesn’t scare me at all- unlicensed doesn’t mean untrained and unskilled. The midwife who will be attending my birth (assuming she makes it in time :)) isn’t a licensed midwife in Israel, but is US licensed as a midwife, has worked in an Israeli hospital as a midwife, and is a licensed nurse in Israel. Licensing is so often a game of paperwork. I think it’s ironic that someone would be fine going to a hospital and being attended by any midwife on duty – generally most of us wouldn’t even think to inquire about the credentials of the hospital professional assisting us there! – and yet would tell someone she was irresponsible to have someone with the same credentials at a homebirth.
In general, I’m not a person who is impressed by letters after a name. There are plenty of parenting ‘professionals’ who I’d never want to take advice from, and many great parents I’d be happy to emulate who earned their knowledge and skill in the trenches of parenthood. Similarly, when it comes to finding a homebirth midwife, I look for experience, knowledge, and positive outcomes, and when I find someone who has all of that, that’s what makes me comfortable.
Avivah
Wow…would you consider giving birth at home and showing up at the hospital before 12 hours is over for your 2 day “hotel” stay and lump of money the gov’t would give you? (I probably wouldn’t, though it’s tempting, because I really enjoy not giving my baby anything, not eye drops or Vit K shots or formula or Hepititis shots! And 500 shekels is not sooo much, I guess)
No, I wouldn’t – the money isn’t worth it (and I’d have to spend most of the money on taxis to get to the hospital and back!), and the last place I want to be after birth is in the hospital! I’d have to constantly be advocating for myself and my baby. I heard of someone who had her twins at home, then went to the hospital within the twelve hour limit (a lot more money involved for twins), and she said the 8000 shekels wasn’t worth what she had to go through in the hospital, and she wouldn’t do it again.
Homebirth sounds great but I would not look forward to shlepping to all the gov’t offices so soon after birth.
I don’t look forward to it, either! I’m hoping to find a local ob who will sign off on my paperwork before and after I have the baby attesting to me being pregnant and then to having had a baby. That’s the main thing that has to be done within 48 hours, and if – a big if – I can find someone at my kuppa to sign it, it’s just a two minute taxi ride in each direction. Other than that, nothing has to be done so quickly. Hopefully, my husband can go to register the baby at the Ministry of the Interior without me being there, but I might be the first person in the city having a homebirth so it remains to be seen how the local officials react to the paperwork. Worst case scenario, I’ll have to go to Jerusalem to have a doctor confirm the birth and to register the baby, which really is an unpleasant thought but we’ll do what we have to do.
Birth experiences are imprinted on your forever, and the after stuff may be unpleasant but at least you’re not in that very delicate laboring state when you’re trying to deal with the beauracracy.
From my experience, you need to get a doc to sign in your ninth month, and within 48 hours post birth, and then with that, you and your husband and the baby all have to go to misrad hapnim to get a birth certificate at some point- we only went to misrad hapnim 3 weeks later. If you can’t get someone through your kupa, you occasionally can pay an ob privately to sign the paper. Fortunately my ob is homebirth friendly and signed the paperwork no problem, and then after birth I went to dr pinelis in jerusalem to sign my post birth paperwork, as my regular doc wasn’t working locally within 48 hours of my birth.
So, who are you using?
I’d rather not say publicly. 🙂
Hey, I’m in my third trimester of my first pregnancy. And I am very interested in having a homebirth I’m really struggling to find a midwife – please can you help me. if you are able to email me at elysiahod@Gmail.com it would be much appreciated.
Are you using the same midwife I used?
My baby is 3 months old, and while she got an SSN, she never got a birth certificate filed…the health care agency who sent a home visitor since my mw was not legal here (so my birth was unassisted) said they sent it to the “state” and I have no way of figuring out what happened. As such, she’s not insured completely since we can’t prove she exists. For some reason, the SSN was not enough?
I ended up having my pediatrician notarize something to say she was born at home on that date, and I’m hoping the red tape will clear for that.
But I still need to know she has a birth certificate!!!!
SUCH a hassle, but at least I didn’t have to shlep out postpartum; the pediatrician saw my baby with my husband, and the state sent a health visitor to me. (Who was pro-homebirth it seems :))
LN, I thought your midwife was legally licensed?? I used someone who wasn’t so had to go through this the last three times, but it wasn’t such a big deal; definitely much easier than what they’re asking for here!
Did you call the state and ask for an appointment for their rep to come down and verify you had a baby sometime within a month or so of giving birth? I’m assuming that’s who came when you said the health care agency; I can’t remember the name of the woman
(in her early 50s) who handled this but she was great. She was brand new when I had ds4, and still remembered me and even hugged me when she came for ds2!
This is what we did, then we filed for the ssn, and once you do that, I think you’re good for the birth certificate. You legally have a birthdate for your baby with that. You just have to go to the local office and order a copy of the birth certificate; they won’t send it to you automatically – the office is in the mall there by Giant on Reisterstown Rd, and a copy is something like $12 (or maybe $17? – sorry, details are murky now after 2.5 years!). I hope you get this last piece tied up soon!
I just wanted to wish you b’shaa tovah!! This is so exciting!
b’sha’ah tovah!!! it’s so great when someone who does such a wonderful job parenting will be IY”H bringing another neshamah into the world- i wish you a safe, easy, healthy, gratifying, wonderful pregnancy and birth! -j
Take my advice go back home to England,then you will be free to have your baby at home and do what you want. in England where I live Homebirth is encouraged and you cannot be forced into hospital. Here if you want to have your baby at home you are free to do so. i don’t understand why Israel won’t let women have home births.
In England where I am anyone can have a homebirth. I don’t know why it’s different in Israel.
Hi, Babs!
Anyone can have a homebirth in Israel; the challenge is that for your baby to get his legal paperwork (birth certificate, national identification number) there needs to be some kind of recognized proof of his birth. Unlicensed midwives can’t provide this, and those who are licensed are much more limited in who they can accept as a client.