Hello Fran;
I was also born in Louisiana,and didn,t have a birth certificate.
I was advised to call Social Security in my city,and was sent an application. My son lost his Birth certificate,and I followed the same procedure and we also recieved his also. Only fees was for the certificate was all I paid. I had to send the application to New Orleans, this was long BEFORE KAtrina. Give this a try . Good luck. Carrie