I just got off the phone with the local Certified Nurse Midwife Association, confirming what I already knew: there are no CNMs in the area who attend homebirths. That information pretty much sealed our path toward a homebirth attended by Direct Entry midwives. We have an appointment with two of them tonight, to which I am very much looking forward.

We (mostly I) have been looking into birth issues for some time now. I think it all started when I came across a page which raved about unassisted childbirth. I thought the woman was out of her blooming mind, but it sparked a thought. I began researching other out-of-hospital birth arrangements, but found that my options were limited. The nearest birth center is about two hours from us, and, as I said, no CNM's or doctors attend homebirths. We finally tracked down a wonderful CNM whose birth philosophies mirrored our own highly noninterventionist beliefs. All was looking good for a hospital birth with her in attendance; yes, it would be in a hospital, but no IV's, monitoring, blood draws, or any of the usual hospital crap. Unfortunately, the hospital subsequently announced that it was unionizing, and Eric now refuses to set one foot in that hospital (anti-union feelings lingering from his plant's strike last year).

Mary Ann, the CNM, was completely cool; she gave our names to the Direct Entry midwives who attended her homebirth. Those are the women with whom we're meeting tonight. I trusted her so much that I know that the women she picked have to be spectacular. Tonight is just a consultation, but I'm hoping it'll lead to our hiring them.

Only problem is, our insurance thus far does not cover DEM's. In order to be covered, they need to have some kind of certification. I'm hoping that Ohio has some sort of certifying board for DEM's that these two have passed; other states have them, but I don't know about this one. Or maybe they've had clients who successfully argued their insurance companies into covering the birth. That would be a good sign. Here's to hoping!