Puget Sound Midwives & Birth Center

I had my son at puget sound birth center and had the BEST experience I could've ever asked for! Heike and Tracy were the midwives on duty when the time came and they gave me all the support I needed to have my baby the way I wanted to. I was also lucky enough to be the first mother to try their nitrous oxide tank to help me get through the last couple of hours of my nearly 22 hour labor. It was a great experience and I believe it gave me the last bit of energy I needed in the end to get my son into my arms. My husband was given the opportunity to catch him as he came out as well. The midwives at PSBC took the time to get to know me, and keep me as close to my birth plan as my baby would let us. I highly recommended puget sound birth center to everyone who's looking for a great experience with people who truley care!! more

Here's a tip: if they transfer you to hospital, they get extra 1000 USD (out of your pocket, the insurance doesn't cover this). For very little actual work.\r \r If they don't transfer you to hospital, they don't get anything extra. What do you think they want to happen ?\r \r Well, in our case, they made sure we will get to the hospital. They started by suggesting a hot bath early. Later we found out that having a hot bath leads to slow labor. That's exactly what happened. So slow, we had to finish it at hospital 26 hours later. more

I found the transferring process to be terrible. And rather than ending up at Evergreen (mere minutes away) I had to go across town at UW. I was assured during my pregnancy that if a transfer was needed we'd go to Evergreen. It was one of the selling points. After 4 hours of exhausting pushing, I realized that (1) the baby wasn't coming out despite their claims that I was making so much progress and (2) they were not going to suggest a transfer on their own. I demanded a transfer we were told Evergreen was full. My husband had to drive us across 520 in rush hour traffic. While the baby's heart readings were fine in the office that is an hour drive and it's scary to think of what can happen to a stuck baby in that amount of time. I've heard that I'm not alone in having to transfer to UW from this birth center, so please think about this possibility. I'd highly recommend looking into the hospitals around the Seattle area. Many have lovely facilities and some have midwives on staff. more

I had a great experience at Puget Sound Birth Center. I had Heika and Traci as my midwives. Andrea was a practicing student. They were wonderful. I originally went to see an OB. I started reading about natural birth and decided I wanted to go more natural, and requested a midwife at the hospital. Each time I went in for an appt, I'd see a different midwife, and it was frustrating not seeing the same person. I calculated, that by the time I'd be almost due, I'd see each of their midwives 2-3 times... Whenever I had questions about certain procedures, I was treated like I was a problem patient... I then realized they didn't want me to ask questions. Just go along with whatever they say. That's what a good patient does. After asking a question or two, they would remark that we spent all our time talking and no longer had time for the standard check up they do for that appt... as if I used up my 15 minutes... and it really way 15 minutes... and they hurried out... They seemed very cold and uncaring... We switched to the birth center. Heika and Traci were wonderful. My appointments lasted up to an hour. I never felt hurried out. They answered my questions, and were so kind and helpful. Andrea was a student midwife, and she was wonderful also. Traci and Andrea were there when I gave birth to my little girl in 2003. Traci then came to visit me at home a few days later. They helped me to get my baby to latch on. It was an amazing experience. And my husband was the first to hold her. He was a bit squemish, and nervous at first, but when the moment came... he was there and caught her. My birth experience was so amazing, so wonderful!! I recommend the birth center to anyone & everyone, especially if you're nervous about having a home birth, but still want to go natural. Oh, and The bedrooms are lovely... with large bath tubs for water births. It was my first pregnancy, and first child. (I also recommend you read the book, Natural birth the Bradley Way. I did the exercises in the book... and I believe that also helped me.) Pros: Great Midwives, safe &natural birth, not rushed out of appt. more