Home Birth Midwives in Louisiana 17 source-checked listings, Costs, Licensing, and Insurance
As of November 9, 2026, this directory lists 17 home birth midwives in Louisiana, in 13 cities, with the largest groups in Lafayette and New Orleans (three listings each). A listing shows a credential and a phone number, so call and ask who has room for your due date and comes to your address.
Louisiana licenses Licensed Midwives through the State Board of Medical Examiners, with the strongest home birth communities in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, and Shreveport. Louisiana's distinct cultural and family traditions support an active home birth scene, particularly in Acadiana. This guide explains what state law requires, what home birth costs across Louisiana, and how to evaluate the midwife you are considering.
On this page
Sources cited (3)
- Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners
- Anderson and Gilkison, The Cost of Home Birth in the United States (2021)
- Social Security Act § 1905(a)(17) (CNM Medicaid mandate)
Browse by city
All 17 listings are grouped by city above.
Louisiana's LM credential
Louisiana licenses Licensed Midwives through the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners under La. R.S. 37:3240 et seq. LMs are direct-entry midwives credentialed through the NARM CPM exam plus Louisiana-specific licensure. Louisiana CNMs are licensed by the Louisiana State Board of Nursing as advanced practice registered nurses with prescriptive authority.
Verify any midwife at lsbme.la.gov. Confirm the license is active, in good standing, and free of disciplinary actions. Louisiana's midwifery rules set risk-screening and informed-consent requirements, require current adult and newborn CPR certification, and authorize licensed midwives to administer oxygen for fetal or maternal distress and newborn resuscitation along with specified emergency medications.
What home birth costs across Louisiana
A 2021 national survey of 129 U.S. practices found an average package fee of $4,650, a median of $4,400, and fees from $2,000 to $9,921 [2]. Practices led by certified professional midwives averaged $4,619 and those led by certified nurse-midwives averaged $5,202, though fewer CNM practices answered the survey. Ask each Louisiana practice for a written quote.
| Label | Detail | Value |
|---|---|---|
| CPM-led practices | Average global fee | $4,619 |
| CNM-led practices | Average global fee (smaller sample) | $5,202 |
Healthy Louisiana Medicaid and home birth
Medicaid must cover care from certified nurse-midwives in every state. The federal rule does not say where the birth happens, so whether Louisiana Medicaid pays for a birth at home depends on your plan [3]. Ask your plan, in writing, whether it pays for a planned home birth, which credentials it enrolls, and whether prior authorization is required. Then ask the midwife whether she is enrolled and accepting Medicaid clients. Our Louisiana Medicaid home birth page has the state-specific sources.
Midwife availability and transfer hospitals
New Orleans metro: deepest market in Louisiana. Ochsner Medical Center, Touro Infirmary, and East Jefferson General Hospital are major options. Plan to start your search by week 8 to 10.
Baton Rouge: Woman's Hospital, Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center, Baton Rouge General Medical Center.
Lafayette: Ochsner Lafayette General Medical Center, Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center, Women's & Children's Hospital.
Shreveport: Willis-Knighton Health System, Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport.
Rural Louisiana: distances to a hospital with full obstetric services may exceed 30 to 45 minutes. Drive your route once before your due date.
Red flags and what to ask
Reconsider any Louisiana midwife who cannot produce a current LSBME LM license (or Board of Nursing CNM license), cannot tell you her transfer rate, claims she has never needed to transfer without explanation, doesn't perform a clinical health history before accepting you, or is vague about emergency protocols.
Ask before hiring: How many births have you attended total, and how many in the last 12 months? What is your transfer rate for first-time mothers (honest numbers run 22 to 45 percent per documented research)? What emergency medications do you carry, and when did you last use each? Walk me through your postpartum hemorrhage protocol. Which hospital do you use for transfers, and have you transferred a client there in the last 12 months? Can I speak with three recent clients?
Call the references.
Where to go from here
Louisiana has a real home birth landscape with anchors in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, and Shreveport. The constraint outside metro areas is supply.
Start your search by week 8 to 10 in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Lafayette. Treat 10 weeks as a deadline elsewhere. Verify any midwife at lsbme.la.gov.
Use the matching form below: tell us your due date, ZIP code, insurance type, and birth history.
Neighboring states
Many home birth families consider midwives across state lines, especially near borders. See guides for nearby states:
Frequently asked questions
How does Louisiana license home birth midwives?
Louisiana licenses non-nurse midwives as Licensed Midwives through the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners under La. R.S. 37:3240 et seq. Louisiana LMs typically hold the NARM CPM credential alongside the state license. CNMs are licensed by the Louisiana State Board of Nursing. State rules set risk-screening and informed-consent requirements, require current adult and newborn CPR certification, and define which emergency medications a licensed midwife may administer, so confirm an active license with the board before hiring.
Does Louisiana Medicaid cover home birth?
Medicaid must cover care from certified nurse-midwives in every state. The federal rule does not say where the birth happens, so whether Louisiana Medicaid pays for a planned home birth, and whether it enrolls licensed midwives for that place of service, depends on your plan. R.S. 46:451 and State Plan Attachment 4.19-B, Item 17, set a fee methodology of 95 percent of the physician fee on file for midwifery services related to pregnancy and childbirth, with 100 percent for a designated group of procedures. That methodology is not a coverage guarantee. Ask your plan, in writing, whether it pays for a planned home birth, which credentials it enrolls, and whether prior authorization is required. See our Louisiana Medicaid home birth guide for the details and sources.
How many home birth midwives are listed in Louisiana?
As of November 9, 2026, this directory lists 17 midwives in 13 Louisiana cities. Browse by city on this page, or request a free match.
Bottom line: Louisiana licenses Licensed Midwives through the State Board of Medical Examiners under La. R.S. 37:3240. Medicaid must cover care from certified nurse-midwives in every state; whether Louisiana Medicaid pays for a birth at home depends on your plan, so ask your plan in writing and ask the midwife whether she is enrolled. Verify any midwife at lsbme.la.gov. Start your search by week 8 to 10 in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Lafayette.
Looking for a midwife? Find a home birth midwife near you by city or state, or request a free match.
- Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners. Louisiana licenses Licensed Midwives through the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners under La. R.S. 37:3240 et seq.. View source
- Anderson DA, Gilkison JM. The Cost of Home Birth in the United States. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2021. View source
- Social Security Act. Section 1905(a)(17). View source
▶ How we research this content Editorial standards
Researched from primary sources: state statutes and board rules, Medicaid provider manuals and state Medicaid rules, and peer-reviewed research. Each claim links to its source in the References list.
Written by the Home Birth Partners editorial team, not by clinicians, and not clinically reviewed unless a named reviewer appears in the byline.
The "Last updated" date in the byline is the last time this guide's content changed.
Midwives and midwifery associations can suggest a correction. Anyone who spots an error or has a primary source we should add can email [email protected].