Your Homebirth and Unassisted Birth Paperwork

When you have a homebirth and a midwife you will have to fill out certain paperwork. The forms for your child's social security number and birth certificate will apply no matter if you have an unassisted birth or choose to have a midwife. Every midwife is going to be different and the state that you live in will affect the amount of paperwork that is required of her to have parents fill out.

Paperwork for a Midwife

Legal Disclaimer
It is likely that you will have to fill out a legal disclaimer, a document that states that you understand what is involved in a homebirth and you will not sue the midwife for malpractice if a natural issue occurs during your labor or birth.

Consent Form
You will have to sign a form that gives your midwife permission to act as your midwife.

Additional Consent Form and Legal Disclaimer for a Vaginal Births After C-Section
If your homebirth is taking place after you have already had a c-section it will be likely that your midwife will have you sign a consent form as well as a legal disclaimer that states you know all of the risk that come with a home VBAC.

Birth Plan
You will likely either discuss and have an oral agreement of how you want things done at your birth or you will want to have it in writing and will fill out a birth plan.

Emergency Transfer Plan
When a midwife feels that there is a chance that your homebirth may lead to you needing to be transferred to a hospital you may have to fill out a birth plan for an emergency transfer before you go into labor.

You can ask you midwife about all of the paperwork that she requires personally and get it all out of the way long before you go into labor.

If you are planning to have an unassisted childbirth there will be certain forms of paperwork that you will have to fill out. Once again depending on the state that you have your baby in will greatly affect how much more you may have but generally what you can expect is the following.

Paperwork for an Unassisted Childbirth

Proof of Prenatal Care From a State Licensed Health Professional - You will likely need some sort of written proof that you were pregnant. Prenatal records that you may have or a letter that you request from a licensed health professional, such as a chiropractor or ob/gyn, should work.

Notarized A - You and someone who was present at the birth and witnessed the birth of your child, most likely your partner, will have to sign a Notarized A to state that the birth of your newborn baby was witnessed and did in fact happen.

Proof of Your Baby Being Born From a State Licensed Health Professional - If you take you baby in for a checkup at a hospital you can use the records of the check up as proof or once again you can request a letter from a state licensed health professional that saw you before labor and after birth and saw your baby to prove that you did actually give birth.

Most of the paperwork that you need to fill out for an unassisted birth will not need to be filled out until your baby is born. Be sure to look up and see if your state laws require you to have proof from a state licensed health professional that you were pregnant before you have your baby.