We will happily provide you with a paid receipt that you can submit for reimbursement, as we are out-of-network with most insurance companies. For our homebirth clients, some find success in getting GAP exceptions so they may be reimbursed at an In-Network rate. Otherwise, our homebirth services and other women’s health services may be reimbursable at your plan’s out-of-network rate. 

For our homebirth families, we work with a third-party billing company that can help you get the most reimbursement!

Yes! As a Certified Nurse Midwife, we *can* write prescriptions. Our typical recommendation, when applicable, is to offer nonpharmaceutical options (such as diet, exercise, or more natural options) prior to writing prescriptions, but understand that’s not always the best or patient preferred choice. 

Yes! We support VBACs throughout their pregnancy and, for those that meet safety criteria, will support them through homebirth if desired.

We will support twins as co-managed care. We do NOT attend twins for homebirth. 

All certified midwives are trained in breech birth, however, if we know your baby is breech in the final weeks of pregnancy, we will work hard at enticing your baby to flip prior to labor. If your baby remains breech, under the perfect circumstances, we will collaborate with some of our midwife peers to ensure the most qualified, experienced team is present at your delivery if you decide to deliver at home. If you choose hospital birth for your breech arrival, we have some wonderful colleagues that we would trust your delivery with!

Co-managed prenatal care means that we will be your midwife for the majority of your care during pregnancy, but will also be closely working with other providers to ensure the safety of your pregnancy and/or delivery. Specifics on what this means varies greatly depending on the reason for need of co-management. 

Few things are *required*, as we feel very strongly about our patients having choices in their care. To qualify for care within our practice, we do require initial prenatal labs (including blood count, infectious screenings, and blood typing), 20 week anatomy ultrasound (and follow-up *if* indicated, which rarely happens), and some form of gestational diabetes screening (although this comes with a few options). There are other things that are recommended, but those are the three things that are considered “deal breakers.” 

At Empowered Health, we believe firmly that the approach to one’s health needs to be well-balanced. Although we know that most of the common ailments that we can experience in, or outside of, pregnancy can be effectively treated with natural remedies, we also know that sometimes we need something more. Our midwife, Nicki, is well-versed in natural and pharmaceutical options for many of life’s ailments and prides herself in meeting patients where they are to create individual treatment plans. 

We do not deliver in hospitals, although that may change in the future. We do, however, have some amazing colleagues that we would trust our patients with that do deliver in hospitals. The providers we currently refer to deliver at Missouri Baptist St. Louis, Mercy St. Louis, and St. Luke’s Hospital.