What is a midwife? costs and benefits
If you go to a clinic for the birth of your baby, a midwife on duty will look after you there. But you can also bring your own midwife: the so-called registered midwife. She is either employed in this clinic or has an occupancy contract with the clinic.
What is a midwife?
An affiliated midwife works independently and has affiliation contracts with one or more maternity hospitals, or she works in a hospital with an affidavit system. This means that she works in shifts in the delivery room, on the maternity ward or in the baby room of a clinic, similar to the employed midwives. The classic attending midwife is not only at your side with advice and action during the pregnancy, she is also present at the birth in the clinic and continues to take care of you and your child after the birth. However, the delivery must then take place in one of the clinics with which your attending midwife has concluded a contract. For this reason, you must attend to the midwife in good time. The demand in some cities and regions is often high and getting to know each other early on will help you to build a bond and trust. It is therefore advisable to take care of it before the 20th week of pregnancy.
How do you find a midwife?
Have you already chosen a clinic? Then it is best to ask the clinic of your choice for a list of possible midwives. If you already know other women who have given birth there, they can certainly give you a tip.
Haven’t you decided on a place of birth yet? Then search through midwife networks, group practices or birth centers. Contacts can be made there for you.
Advantage: the midwife is a person of trust
Through the long period of time that you spend together with your midwife, you can develop a close relationship with her. In this way, she becomes a person of trust for many women who is not only the contact person for health and technical questions. Above all, it is important to many pregnant women that their wishes and ideas about the course of the birth are also taken into account in the delivery room. The midwife is of course also responsible for this. Even if the partner and a gynecologist are present at the birth, expectant mothers often prefer to entrust themselves to an experienced midwife at this point. The better you know them, the fewer the insecurities or fears that can arise during or shortly before the birth. The midwifewill of course also look after you during your stay in the clinic .
Follow-up care by your attending midwife
When it comes to aftercare, for which the attending midwife is of course also responsible, it is important for many mothers to have a permanent caregiver. The attending midwife will also look after you and your child after the birth and make sure that you are both well looked after. She also gives you tips and support for dealing with your child. Find out more about aftercare with a midwife in our article “ How the midwife supports you in childbirth ”.
Who bears the costs of a midwife?
In principle, midwifery services are covered by health insurance. For the period of constant on-call duty, i.e. between the 37th and 42nd week of pregnancy, a so-called on-call duty fee is usually charged. The amount of this flat rate varies from region to region, but is usually around 200 euros.