How much does a midwife cost?
How much does a midwife cost?
$2,000 – $12,000 average total cost (without insurance)
$500 – $4,000 average total cost (with insurance)
Average midwife cost
Hiring a midwife is one of the most personal decisions you can make around childbirth. It affects your finances, your birth experience, and even your philosophy of care.
The cost of a midwife without insurance ranges from $2,000 to $12,000 per birth on average, depending on whether you're giving birth at home, at a hospital, or in a dedicated birthing center. Midwife costs vary based on the location, credentials, and services included.
| Insurance status | Average cost |
|---|---|
| Without insurance | $2,000 – $12,000 |
| With insurance | $500 – $4,000 |
Without insurance
When paying without insurance, the price of a midwife ranges from $2,000 to $12,000. This includes prenatal, birth, postpartum, and newborn care but excludes lab tests and supplies. Home births tend to fall at the lower end of this range. All costs must be paid up front or through financing.
With insurance
Insurance lowers your share of midwife care costs to $500 to $4,000 out of pocket, depending on your plan. Coverage is most robust for certified nurse-midwives (CNMs) in hospitals and birth centers. Home birth midwife services are less frequently covered, sometimes requiring upfront payments and later reimbursement.
Medicaid and Medicare may cover CNMs in many states but coverage varies significantly for other midwife types and home births.
What is a midwife?
A midwife is a healthcare professional trained to support pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum recovery for low-risk parents and newborns. Midwives manage prenatal care, labor, birth, and postpartum needs, and focus on physical, emotional, and educational support.
What does a midwife do?
A midwife has the following duties:
Conducts prenatal checkups
Answers health questions
Attends and leads the birth
Monitors for complications
Refers to an OB/GYN if needed
Provides postpartum care
Price of a midwife by setting
Costs for midwife-led birth care vary based on the location, your midwife's credentials, and the services included. The table below compares pricing for home births, birthing centers, and hospital settings:
| Birth setting | Average cost* | Includes | Insurance coverage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home birth | $2,500 – $8,500 | Prenatal, birth, postpartum, and newborn care | Sometimes |
| Birthing center | $3,000 – $12,000 | Prenatal, birth, postpartum, and some newborn care | Often |
| Hospital | $2,000 – $9,000 | Prenatal, birth, postpartum, newborn care, and medications | Frequent |
*Without insurance
Home birth
Home birth midwife packages range from $2,500 to $8,500. This price often includes all prenatal appointments, labor and delivery support, postpartum visits, and basic newborn care. Insurance coverage is the most variable for home births and depends on the midwife's credentials, the insurance company, and your state.
Some home birth services include an inflatable birthing tub, while others charge extra for it or expect you to buy your own. Make sure to confirm details well before your estimated due date so you don't have to rush to buy one at the last minute.
Birthing center
Midwife care at a birthing center costs $3,000 to $12,000. This option offers a homelike setting with midwives but access to more medical resources if needed. Most packages cover prenatal, birth, and postpartum care, with insurance reimbursing for birth center deliveries more reliably than home births.
Hospital
Hospital-based midwife births cost $2,000 to $9,000 or more, depending on the location and any interventions. Midwife costs in a hospital cover the full spectrum of pregnancy, labor, and newborn care. While they may qualify for more insurance coverage, hospitals may have higher copays and more unpredictable bills due to itemized hospital charges.
Common midwife services
Before you finalize your plan, review what each package actually covers. Midwives may offer some or all of these services:
Prenatal visits: Every package includes regular prenatal appointments: monthly, then bi-weekly, and finally weekly as your due date approaches. These visits involve checkups, education, and time to discuss preferences.
Labor support: Your chosen midwife will support you throughout active labor. Home and birthing center models keep the same team at your side, while hospitals sometimes swap in other staff if your midwife is unavailable.
Birth support: Midwives oversee the delivery itself. This service is always part of the main package and covers management of a routine, low-risk delivery. Complications outside a midwife's scope result in transfer of care to a doctor.
Postpartum visits: Follow-up visits help with physical recovery, newborn feeding, and health screenings. Home birth and birthing center packages specify a set number of postpartum checks.
Basic newborn care: Immediate assessments and routine newborn checks fall under every model. Vaccinations, complicated care, or special screenings may be extra, especially for home birth.
Lab work and ultrasounds: Insurance may cover tests and scans. Most midwives bill these separately, meaning the advertised global fee rarely includes labs and ultrasounds.
Medications or interventions: Home and birthing center midwives supply basic medical aids, but prescriptions, epidurals, or advanced interventions are often unavailable. Hospitals cover all interventions but at higher total cost.
Insurance billing and copays: Insurance billing ability varies widely. Birthing centers and hospital-based midwives have established billing departments, while home-birth professionals might only offer receipts for self-submission. Copays in hospital models can exceed a straightforward home birth fee.
Since doulas and midwives both help during birth, some people get them mixed up. A midwife has more medical training, while doulas are mostly there for support and comfort.
Midwife cost factors
Many factors influence the price of hiring a midwife. The most important factors are:
Provider's credentials: Certified nurse-midwives often charge more but have fuller insurance coverage.
Birth location: Home births tend to cost less up front, while hospital births add charges for each service.
Geographic region: Midwife costs are higher in metro or coastal areas and lower in rural locations.
Included vs. excluded services: Some practices bundle all services, while others separate labs, ultrasounds, and supplies.
Insurance participation: In-network midwives and centers reduce the bill, while out-of-network or home-based birth can leave more costs to you.
Special circumstances: Complications, transfers, or the need for interventions will increase expenses.
Midwife FAQs
What is a nurse midwife?
A nurse midwife holds a nursing license plus graduate-level midwife training. Certified nurse-midwives (CNMs) provide comprehensive pregnancy care, attend births in most settings, and prescribe certain medications. CNMs work in hospitals, clinics, birth centers, and sometimes at home.
What is a certified midwife?
A certified midwife (CM) is trained at the graduate level with certification and licensure to practice. CMs provide many of the same services as CNMs but are not nurses. Credentials vary by state, which impacts the services and locations allowed.
Is a midwife a doctor?
A midwife is not a medical doctor. Midwives specialize in low-risk, natural birth and routine gynecological care. They refer to OB/GYNs for complications, surgical procedures, or specialist needs.
Does insurance cover a midwife?
Most private and public insurance plans cover certified nurse-midwives, especially in hospitals or birthing centers. Coverage for home birth midwives and other credentials varies. Some states require Medicaid to cover midwifery services in all settings. Verify your coverage with your plan and potential provider.
What is the difference between a doula and a midwife?
A midwife provides medical care, monitors health, and delivers the baby. A doula offers physical and emotional support, pain coping strategies, and advocacy before, during, and after birth but does not deliver babies or provide medical care.
Questions to ask your midwife or doctor
When interviewing a midwife or doctor, bring a list of questions to clarify costs, care philosophies, and logistics:
What is your experience with births similar to mine?
Which credentials do you hold?
What state licenses do you have?
What services do you include in your fee?
Are there extra costs outside the package?
How do you handle emergencies or the need to transfer to a hospital?
Does my insurance plan cover your services?
What are your payment policies and deposit requirements?
How do you coordinate prenatal care, labor support, and postpartum visits?
What pain management options do you provide?
How do you manage newborn care?
Which newborn services do you include?
Using our proprietary cost database, in-depth research, and collaboration with industry experts, we deliver accurate, up-to-date pricing and insights you can trust, every time.