Thinking of Choosing a Birthing Clinic and Midwife for your Delivery?

I am sure most of you are thinking “Gosh Kanya you guys must have paid an arm and a leg for this Genesis experience!” Well to tell you the truth our medical aid covered a majority of it and when we checked out our final bill was R35. When Avon told me this I felt like there must have been a mistake somewhere and quickly put Kayla in the car, our bags, buckled up and told Avon “DRIVE, DRIVE…quick before they click!” …..jokes.

Anyways I thought I would share with you the costing just in case some of you are considering the Genesis option for delivery or thinking of recommending it so someone. Firstly check if your Medical Aid has a birthing plan with Genesis Clinic or what they would cover if you chose this option. Here are our major expenses:

• Midwife visit: R150 per a visit.
• Genesis Gynaecologist Visit: R620, this was cheaper than my original gynaecologist who charged R760
• Midwife Natural Delivery: R3 800. You pay 50% before delivery and the other 50% after your delivery but you claim it all from medical aid. If you end up having a C-section you will be charged by the gyne and won’t pay the remainder 50%.
• Genesis Clinic Fee: R1000 deposit for booking (rest is covered by medical Aid)

 If you are considering the Genesis Option here is the procedure I would recommend:

1. Choose a midwife that operates at Genesis clinic. There is a list of them on the website. They would want to know your delivery date just to check if they have capacity. I would recommend choosing a midwife that is passionate about her job and not about the money. If the midwife is willing to come in at 3am to check up on you then you got a keeper.
2. 2. The midwife will recommend a Gynaecologist or you can chose one on the Genesis website. This Gyne will be on stand-by when you deliver, so if there are any complications during your delivery and the midwife cannot operate (i.e. C-Section), then this will be the gynaecologist that will perform the operation.
3. If you are on medical Aid check and see if they have a birthing plan with Genesis. If they do and you want to give birth at Genesis it really is just a matter of changing your authorisation to Genesis. When I did this on the phone the gentle man said it was good that I changed to Genesis for a natural delivery because my specific gyne had a trend of claims for C-sections when ladies had originally authorised natural delivery. This was based on facts and not just gossip.

I changed to genesis clinic at 36 weeks pregnant but had I known and been better informed earlier, a Genesis Midwife delivery would have been my first choice. The few visits I did get with the midwives really made me feel valued and comfortable with delivering naturally. They would feel my tummy, check the baby’s heart rate, my blood pressure, glucose levels ect and answer every question I had with out making me feel rushed like my original gynaecologist. They also allowed me to book my appointments on weekends rather than weekdays.

Although the benefit with some gynes is you get to see your child in a scan at every visit…but in my opinion it is a waste of money. I would recommend doing a scan twice through out your pregnancy probably 21 week scan and a 35 or 36 week scan. But that is just me. Another bonus for choosing a midwife route is that they come and visit you twice after you have delivered. Which is fantastic especially if you are a new mom and not sure about certain things. They check if the baby is latching well to your breast and they also check on your healing. …in the comfort of your own home.



Maralyn My Midwife on her first visit to our home

 Anyways those are just my thoughts and experiences. You will hear good and bad things about delivering in either a birthing home or a hospital. But as I said before it all boils down to what you are comfortable with. If you are healthy and the baby is healthy then don’t deny yourself the opportunity of delivering naturally it is really something worth experiencing.