Pay for RN assisting homebirth CNM

[doulalove]

Hello there,

I'll be graduating with my RN in August, and have been asked by a homebirth CNM to be her birth assistant!! I'm extremely excited and grateful for the opportunity. It feels a little early to start talking with her about pay, but I'm curious as to what pay percentage a birth assistant would typically receive? She charges $4200 per birth. I have absolutely no idea what to expect, so it'd be nice to have some sort of reference point before we discuss it. Thanks!

[klone, MSN, RN]

WOW! I wish I could make that much. I am an RN/homebirth assistant in Lancaster, PA. I get $150 per birth pay directly from the clients. But our home birth CNMs here on average get $1600 for prenatal, L&D, and postpartum care.

$1600, wow! Here the going rate is around $4000. I'm guessing a lot of your clientele are Amish? Probably not a lot of money to be had there.

[organicbirth]

hey! im in the same position, and totally in the dark. how much are you getting paid? what are your responsibilities? do you duel as the doula and assist? if so, is that a separate charge?

[sarahcherie]

I am currently a home birth assistant in the suburbs of Chicago. My midwives pay their assistance $375/birth, $75/postpartum visit. But that wage goes up or down depending on which practice you are assisting for( each midwife is different). Responsibilities include doing labor checks for the midwives in the patients homes, staying with the patients through labor if they are at 4 or more cm, intermittent fetal heart tone monitoring, checking vitals, and we do all paper charting/documentation. But another midwife in the area recently went to all electronic charting. We have our own birth kits with essential birth stuff and emergency equipment. The midwives bring the oxygen and some other things. During the birth, I just assist the midwife with whatever she needs me to do. Usually though, the approach is very hands off compared to a L&D hospital room, obviously. Its awesome. Its beautiful. Its so cool to be able to be apart of the family in those moments and share in such a incredible experience. You're on call all the time though!

Organicbirth, as for your question, I am also a doula but I don't really mix those roles. I did once, but that's because I was hired as a doula for a client and then was offered a homebirth position with the same midwife practice the client was using. Obviously as the midwife assistant present during labor, you do play a role as a supporter, just as a l&D nurse would/should. But most of the time the patient already has another doula, and you're not able to give complete attention or focus to the mom as a doula when you are working for the midwife. The doula clients I take now are either in other midwife practices or doing hospital births.