24 May, 2012

Pregnancy Resources



I know I talk a lot about being pregnant these days. I really never thought I'd turn into someone who could talk about nothing else, but pregnancy is all-consuming right now. I'm still not feeling very well; therefore, I'm still not doing a whole lot, which is really frustrating (and kinda boring). I have high hopes of retaining my individuality as a woman when I become a mother, and I think pregnancy is a good place to start. But for now, while my life is fairly dull, I'll blog about pregnancy.

Annnnyway, I knew once I revealed this news that I really wanted to do a blog post about health insurance and a great morning sickness resource I discovered during my first trimester. Exciting stuff, yes?! The content may be a little dull, but I hope it can help someone who finds herself in a similar situation to me.

Levi and I are both independently contracted and essentially run our own businesses (Levi definitely runs his own business and does all his own taxes; I get 1099ed when I work). We both really love this, but it comes with a price - no health insurance for us... well, no company help with health insurance anyway. We could get private insurance, but we can't afford it, and every plan I've looked into says, "maternity not covered." Mind blowing! 

So when we decided to start trying for a baby, I began researching options for us. I knew we wouldn't qualify for MediCal or Medicare. The income limits are very very low. Back in our really tough financial times, we might have been able to qualify for it, but that's not the case now. This is awesome! We're moving up in the world. We're making good decisions. We're growing up (finally). But this also left us without any health care options, or so I thought! I ended up learning about a California program called Access for Infants and Mothers (AIM). It's for middle-income pregnant women without health insurance or with private policies with high deductibles.

I did all my research before getting pregnant to make sure we qualified, and we did! Once we obtained proof of pregnancy from a local clinic, we were able to apply for the program. We were so freaking excited when we got our approval letter!! The program is awesome. It isn't free, but the monthly rates are very reasonable and are based on your income. And I honestly really like that we pay for it. It makes me value it more. With that said, we don't have to pay any copayments or deductibles, and our plan covers everything. It is such a huge relief to have this taken care of, and once our baby is born, she'll be put into an insurance program as well. I know this a California program, so if you're living in another state without health coverage, this information probably doesn't help you much. But I do encourage you to find out if your state has any similar programs. Finding AIM took a little bit of digging, but I'm obviously so happy I found it.

The other resource I'd like to share is Motherisk, which is a "clinical research and teaching program at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Ontario, Canada that provides information and guidance to pregnant and lactating women and to health care professionals" (taken from Wikipedia). They have a number of helplines you can call where you can talk to counselors about things like morning sickness, alcohol and substance use, and HIV in pregnancy. All for free. Basically, they are Canadian angels.

I called the morning sickness helpline while I was in bed during my first trimester, sick, miserable, and desperate. The counselor I spoke with took down all my information and asked me a ton of questions, including, "How would you rate your quality of life right now on a scale of 1-10?" After she had a clear picture of what was going on with me, she came up with a plan to help me feel better and to have a higher quality of life. She advised me on when to eat, what to eat, and how much to eat, foods to avoid, vitamins I could try, medications that were safe to take, and what I could drink. She figured out really quickly that I had really bad acid reflux (I had no idea since I had never experienced it before), and she helped me come up with a plan of attack. She also said she would call to check on me again on Monday... and then guess what? She did! She called to check on me! On Monday! With all my information in front of her! At this point, I was still waiting for my insurance approval, so it was really nice to feel cared for and to have someone helping me through this trying time. They continued to check up on me and tweak my plan according to how my symptoms were changing. Everyone I spoke with at Motherisk was caring, kind, and competent. They reassured me about the safety of the over-the-coutner drugs they suggested, and they also directed me to pages on their website with studies done on the effects of individual medications in pregnancy. I can't say enough great things about Motherisk. They helped me so much. I really would have wasted away without the help they provided since I was unable to eat or keep anything down. They're very reliable and trustworthy, and their counselors do wonderful work. Levi and I intend to make a donation after our daughter is born.

So, there you have it! Not the most exciting post, but I really hope this information can be helpful to someone! I'm not exaggerating when I say that both programs have been lifesavers for me.


6 comments:

  1. Girl, I know I say this in every post, but It's crazy how much we're on the same wave length. Pregnancy is ALL consuming and I really never understood when other friends were going through this all.

    As for the insurance bit, I'm wishing we lived in CA right now. I'm seriously stressing about the HUGE deductible and never ending bills we're already seeing. Uggh.. Oh well, at least I have something right?

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  2. Even though it won't really help me (French girl here), I found this very helpful to know that there are organisations that really care and help people. I'll look here to see if we have some. thank you =)

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  3. It's good that you found a good insurance plan for you and the baby, and the 24 hour helplines are sometimes more helpful than an actual doctor. A donation once baby girl is born would be a great thing to do. Try and feel better.

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  4. This is SUCH a helpful post and a really important side of pregnancy to talk about. (I say this as a former Medicaid mama who has now moved up ever so slightly in the world and now freelances/can't afford private insurance.)

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  5. There is an awesome healthcare resource I can recommend for Nevadans. My husband and I are in the same boat as you and we have something called Access to Healthcare. It sounds a lot like the program that you are using although we just pay a yearly membership but what you pay is based on your income. Then Access has set rates that are roughly 10% of your medical costs if you were paying out of pocket. It's a pretty great program. My understanding is that there are programs popping up like this in every state. Sometimes they take a bit of digging to find, but it is so worth it! I broke my wrist last year and needed surgery. What would have been a $30,000 reconstructive surgery ended up costing us about $3,000. So worth it. :)

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  6. THANK YOU SO MUCH for posting this (I found you on Instagram!). Since my husband and I are still under 26, we both currently have health insurance under our parents (we're both freelance, so no help there). But it makes me nervous to wonder what we'll do if we are having children after 26 (which we most likely will be doing). Thank you for this awesome information!

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