TBH I don't think that midwives are expensive. Try and find another professional who has had the years of training and education that most independant midwives have who will only charge you around 4k for ongoing support (including unlimited phone calls), home visits before (usually an hour each visit), education (including the loan of texts and DVDs) and after labour (up to 6 weeks) and be on call for a midnight call-out if nessescary then stay for a shift that could be in excess of 12 hours.

If you pay for an ob and a private hospital stay you're looking at at least twice that and often more.

ETA - Yes they should be free but I don't think it's fair to complain about how expensive they are when most of them charge the bare minimum and less than they deserve. Feel free to complain about the government not supporting midwifry - I'll support you but it really bugs me when people assume that midwives shouldn't have the right to charge adequately for thier services. We expect every other proffession to recieve recompense for thier skills so why is it that midwives are supposed to do it for love.