Midwife Center of Pittsburgh or birth center birth experiences

[naynaygoesrawr]

I would love to hear all about your stories and experiences with midwives and birth center births, the good and the bad, what you wish was different and what you loved.

I go to the midwife center of pittsburgh for my prenatal care and I could not be more pleased with all of the midwives that I have seen during this time frame. They are all exceptionally sweet and caring and always get back to you when you call fairly quickly.

[Michelle_M]

With DS2 I had a midwife who delivered at a hospital. She was ok. I liked her well enough. When it came time to give birth it was her partner who delivered me and I really clicked wit her (even though I had not met her previously).

At one point she told me to lay on my side and not to push. After a couple contractions I asked her why we weren't pushing and she said it was because she thought baby and I could both use a rest. I said "I don't need to rest, I need to push. "And she said "Ok then, if you need to push, then push." So I really liked that I felt like *I* was in charge.

With DS3 I used a midwife who owns her own birth center. I had a fabulous experience with her. She's very personable, she never rushed me, even if she was running behind schedule, when I was in the exam room her time was always MY time. She always got back to me quickly if I called with a question. She also has a Facebook page that her assistant monitors so if it was something that wasn't urgent I could ask a question there and usually got a same day response, even on weekends.

She totally let me do whatever I wanted when I was in labor and was really supportive.

With my DD, I went back to her. I ended up going to the hospital though because my midwife thought DD was breech and she was also really really high up. We are both Christians, and I loved that when she was trying to decide what to do, she prayed out loud without reservation. It wasn't a long, complicated prayer, she just said "Dear Lord, please lead me and show me what to do." Also when i was in labor with my DS3, I said "I can't do this, I can't do this." She said "Yes you can, we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us."

And going to the hospital ended up being the right decision, because even though it turned out that my daughter was NOT breech, I did end up needing a little bit of help, and I think that if I had stayed at the birth center then it would have been a very difficult labor.

So... in short... I love midwives. I've had good ones.

God bless!