Planned home birth · Lakeland, Florida
Home Birth in Lakeland, Florida
Lakeland Birth & Gynecology offers planned home birth for families in Lakeland and across Polk County, attended by Ashley Payne, Certified Nurse-Midwife. The same midwife who sees you at your prenatal visits is the one who comes to your home in labor.
Home birth is not for everyone, and that is an honest part of the conversation here. Whether it is a reasonable choice for you depends on your health history, how your pregnancy unfolds and what matters to you.
Ashley Payne, APRN, CNM, C-EFM · Serving Lakeland, Winter Haven, Bartow, Plant City and the surrounding Polk County area.
What home birth care looks like
Care that starts long before labor
Most of home birth care happens in the months beforehand. Prenatal visits are long enough to cover clinical assessment and the rest of your life: sleep, work, nutrition, other children, the things that worry you at 3 a.m.
Prenatal visits
Routine maternal and fetal assessment, lab and imaging coordination, and evidence-based guidance informed by current ACOG and ACNM recommendations.
Birth planning
Practical preparation for labor at home: supplies, comfort measures, the role of your partner, and what happens hour by hour.
Labor and birth at home
Intermittent monitoring, freedom to move, water if you want it, and skilled clinical judgment throughout. Physiologic birth supported, not managed.
Postpartum and newborn
Early home visits, newborn assessment and weight checks, feeding and lactation support, bleeding and healing checks, mood and contraception conversations.
What to expect
From first call to the fourth trimester
- 1. A consultation, not a commitment. We talk through your history, your last birth if you have had one, and what home birth actually involves. Bring your questions and your skeptical partner.
- 2. Enrollment and prenatal care. Regular visits with the same midwife, labs and ultrasounds coordinated as recommended, and ongoing assessment of whether home birth remains appropriate.
- 3. Around 36 weeks. A home visit to see the space, walk through the plan and confirm what you will have on hand.
- 4. Labor and birth. You call when labor is underway; we come to you and stay through birth and the first hours afterward.
- 5. Postpartum. Home visits in the early days, then follow-up visits for you and your baby.
Safety and transfer. Hospital birth is sometimes the safer recommendation, and we will say so plainly. If a transfer is needed, it is arranged with you informed at every step. Call 911 for an emergency.
Cost
Straightforward maternity pricing
- Comprehensive Maternity + Home Birth Care - starting at $8,500, covering prenatal care, birth attendance, postpartum and newborn follow-up.
- Comprehensive Prenatal Care - $6,000, for families who want midwifery prenatal care without home birth attendance.
Flexible payment options are available and the maternity balance is due by 32 weeks. Outside services such as laboratory testing, ultrasounds, medications and specialist or hospital care may carry separate costs.
Lakeland Birth & Gynecology is currently out-of-network with Florida Blue / Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida, with in-network participation anticipated soon. A superbill can be provided so you may seek reimbursement, though reimbursement is never guaranteed.
Birth after cesarean
Planning birth after a cesarean?
If you've had a C-section before, we're glad to talk with you about your birth options. That includes vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) and, in some situations, birth after two cesareans (VBA2C).
Every history is reviewed one person at a time. We look at your past pregnancies and births, your prior C-section records, how this pregnancy is going, and any other health factors that matter. Then we go through the benefits and the risks together so you can make an informed choice.
Part of that conversation is planning ahead: when to consult with or refer to a physician, what an emergency plan looks like, and how a hospital transfer would work. Nobody can promise a vaginal birth, and no one is automatically a home birth candidate after a cesarean. What we can promise is an honest look at your situation.
Common questions
Questions patients ask us
Who is a good candidate for a planned home birth?
Planned home birth is generally appropriate for healthy people with low-risk, single-baby pregnancies who have skilled care in attendance and a clear plan for transfer if it is needed. Eligibility is decided through individualized assessment that continues through pregnancy and labor, not from a checklist on a website.
What happens if something changes during labor?
Risk assessment is ongoing. If a concern comes up before or during labor, we consult and, when appropriate, transfer to hospital care in the Lakeland area. Plans changing is not a failure; it is part of careful midwifery care.
What does home birth care cost in Lakeland?
Comprehensive Maternity + Home Birth Care starts at $8,500 and includes prenatal care, birth attendance, postpartum and newborn follow-up. Comprehensive Prenatal Care without birth attendance is $6,000. Flexible payment options are available, and the maternity balance is due by 32 weeks.
Do you support VBAC at home?
Birth after cesarean is discussed individually, including the current evidence, the risks and the setting that fits your situation. Eligibility is never assumed or guaranteed.
How far in advance should I reach out?
Earlier is better. Only a small number of births are accepted each month by due date so that every family gets unhurried attention, so availability can fill quickly.
What equipment comes to the birth?
Clinical assessment and monitoring equipment, newborn resuscitation equipment, medications used for postpartum bleeding, oxygen, IV supplies and sterile birth supplies, along with the skills to use them.
Keep reading
- Working with a midwife in Lakeland
What a Certified Nurse-Midwife does and how care here is different.
- Services & Pricing
Full maternity package details, payment options and every other service fee.
- Pregnancy & home birth care
Prenatal care, limited OB ultrasound and VBAC considerations.
- Proof of pregnancy visits
A $25 visit for pregnancy confirmation and documentation.
Let's talk before you decide anything
A home birth consultation is a conversation. Ask everything, then take your time.