The Victoria Project supports women’s access to home births, midwifery care

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Medical groups agree women have the right to choose where to have their pregnancy, but the cost of that choice can put families in a financial hardship. The Victoria Project is working with pregnant women to help financially support them and their right to choose.

Janeth Mendoza gave birth to her daughter Hosanna in the comfort of her own home with the assistance of a midwife. 

"She was my first daughter that seemed so pink!"

Mendoza said she could immediately see a difference in her daughter compared to her other four children who were born in a hospitals.

"My midwife let her stay connected to the umbilical cord, to the placenta for about 30 minutes or so ... just for all the blood to go back to her."

Mendoza explained that she was also more comfortable giving birth at home versus in a hospital because she could move around.

"It just felt like my body didn't connect with that position, and I couldn't do it differently because they wouldn't allow me."

Jen Santos is expecting her third child and would prefer to have the freedom to have her birth at home.

"You get to have say if who is in the room with you and who is not," said Santos.

Santos explained that with her first pregnancy, she was under the care of midwives but needed an intervention and was transferred to a hospital for an emergency cesarean section.

"I had such a hard experience recovering after a C-section, I was quite adamant that I did not want that to happen again."

For her second pregnancy, Santos found a doctor in Santa Paula that allowed her to have a "VBAC" also known as a vaginal birth after a cesarean.

"I think that when you're invested in yourself, your mental health and your emotional health, I think that it really helps establish a sense of, yeah my body was built for this."

Santos is a Victoria Project grant recipient and plans to have her third pregnancy at home.

In the past 30 years, home births in the United States have been on the rise. There were more than 50,000 home births in 2021, an increase of 13% from 2020, which followed a 19% increase in the number of home births from 2019 according to the Centers of Disease Control. 

"The average cost of midwifery care in a birth center is 7 to 8 thousand dollars and that can be a big barrier for many families," said Janelle Green, President & Co-founder of the Victoria Project.

For families with medical insurance, having a pregnancy at a hospital can seem more affordable than an at-home birth. 

"Not everyone can afford it because their insurance doesn't cover it," said Laurel Phillips, Founder of the Santa Barbara Birthing Center & Owner of Santa Barbara Midwifery. 

The average cost of childbirth in the United States is about $19,000 and the average out-of-pocket cost for people with health insurance is nearly $3,000, according to the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker. 

The Victoria Project is helping women cover the cost to make the choice they want like Santos and Mendoza.

"Insurance coverage is not set up to pay for the care that women really want and need so they don't end up having a choice," said Phillips. 

While maternal mortality rates in the United States have fallen in the last 3 years, maternal mortality rates for Black women were significantly higher than rates for White, Hispanic, and Asian women according to a study

Another study found that stress caused by racial discrimination plays a significant role in maternal mortality.

"Up to 80% of the maternal mortality deaths are preventable," according to Phillips. "It has a lot to do with listening to women, with believing them when they say that they're in pain."

Green hopes the grants from The Victoria Project can help address this maternal health crisis.

"Mothers will often send us pictures of that moment when they felt good, they felt successful, and they felt like superwoman," said Green. 

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists believe that hospitals and accredited birth centers are the safest setting for births, but adds each woman has the right to make a medically informed decision about delivery. 

Santa Barbara County Public Health does not recommend one birthing location over another.

"Each pregnancy and birth are unique, and conversations about birthing locations and risks should be part of their prenatal care discussions," said Susan Liles, Interim Community Health Deputy Director at Santa Barbara County Public Health.

"A midwife may be part of the medical team during a birth at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital if they are certified and have applied for and received privileges to practice at SBCH," said Cristina Cortez, Public Relations Manager, Cottage Health. 

The Victoria Project is raising funds for expecting women this Mother's Day.