Giving birth at home remains popular with many Oklahoma mothers

• Oklahoma does not restrict midwife practice and allows for the practice of certified nurse midwives — nurses who also complete a midwife study program — and certified professional midwives who attend classes and then apprentice under a midwife.

• Nurses are licensed by the state nursing board, but no such agency oversees certified professional midwives or certified midwives in the state. Certifications and standards of practice are determined by the American Midwifery Certification Board and the North American Registry of Midwives.

• The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reports the average cost for a hospital birth without complications is approximately $7,500. In Oklahoma, midwifery care for a normal home birth is often less than $3,000.

• Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma and Community Care, the state’s largest insurance providers, do not reimburse for deliveries done by midwives in a home setting, spokesmen for both companies said. However, they do cover births in hospitals with midwives who work alongside physicians.

• According to state Health Department data, in 2007 there were 263 births at resident addresses out of a total 54,946 births. Certified nurse midwives attended 1,799 births while 328 were done by other types of midwives. In 1980, there were 299 births at residences out of 52,065 total births. Midwives attended 256 births.