Seattle midwife recommendations?

[shantiani]

Hello Seattlites! I'm looking for a midwife right now and there so many options (which is wonderful!) but I don't know how to narrow it down without spending the next 6 months doing interviews.

This week I'm going to meet Beth Coyote, Geraldine Lee, and Erin Curtiss. Anyone know them?
Or is there someone else in the Seattle area that you have experience with?
I would love to hear it.

I'm mostly leaning towards home birth right now, but I am also open to birth centers or the midwives at Swedish Ballard- it's soooo close to our house, I really loved the MW that I met there, and they have this cool Centering program where your pre-natal visits are done as a group with other pregnant ladies due around the same time. I love that idea enough that I'm tempted by it, but I HATE the idea of birthing in a hospital. They just feel cold and uncomfortable to me. But if you do have experience with Swedish Ballard, I would still love to hear it, because my plans are still very much in the formative stage!

Thanks!

[jess5377]

Hi, there was a thread a few weeks ago with some good discussion about Seattle midwives (including the ones you mentioned). You can find it here:

http://www.mothering.com/discussions....php?t=1062982

I'm a client of Erin's and I really enjoy working with her. She's very straight forward, to the point, answers questions directly and I like her personality. She's reassuring. Admittedly, the main reason I first chose her was because her office was a stone's throw from my house, but after spending the last 7 months in her practice, I can say I would travel for her.

That said, are you going to want to travel to the central district/south end every time you have an appointment? (Keep in mind this hesitancy is coming from someone who needs a week's preparation and an away team just to cross one of the bridges) :-)

[kbond]

Are Beth and Geraldine not in the same practice anymore? Anyway, I used Beth and Geraldine and had a good experience. Traveling over to their office wasn't really a hassle, and it was a nice, comfortable place.

[SalmonBayDoula]

I also like Chenelle Roberts, and her office is right across from Swedish Ballard. She is a CPM, like the others. Beth and Geraldine are not practicing together anymore. Geraldine has gone out on her own! Suzanne Thompson is great too and located in Crown Hill! That gives you some more local ballard choices!

here is a directory of midwives in Seattle.

http://www.washingtonmidwives.org/directory/index.shtml

Good luck and congrats!

Sharon

[Carley]

Can someone clarify - I saw Expecting the Best Midwifery (Tracy Cooper/Michelle Sarju) on the MAWS midwife list - I thought they were taking sabbaticals? Anyone know? They were my midwives with DD and AMAZING amazing women...

Hey Shanti! A friend of mine birthed with Beth/Geraldine and had a great birthcenter birth!

I'm currently with Mel & Jen at http://www.midwifeseattle.com/ They're a stone's throw from me, on Greenwood Ave/103rd

Good luck!

[SalmonBayDoula]

Yes, I think Michelle and Tracy have still not returned to practice. Someone else may have more current info, but that is what I understand.

Sharon

[lisalulu]

Originally Posted by SalmonBayDoula

Yes, I think Michelle and Tracy have still not returned to practice. Someone else may have more current info, but that is what I understand.

Sharon

They were my midwives too I ran into Michelle not too long ago and they were still on hiatus.

[shantiani]

Wow, this is really tough... I've now met 4 mw's and was planning on meeting 2 more because they are local and got rave reviews... but I am already in love with 2 of the 4 that I met! All 4 were actually really great, but I especially hit it off with the 2 that are the longest drive from me. Totally worth it though. I better stop interviewing, because I'm already having trouble choosing! I guess choosing between several fabulous options isn't a bad dilemma to have.

Thanks for all of your suggestions!

[malikam]

Do you mind saying who you ended up choosing and if you would use them for another pregnancy, why and why not? Thanks!

[shantiani]

I ended up choosing Erin Curtiss.  I really liked her throughout my pregnancy and would definitely recommend her, but she didn't actually end up delivering my baby.  I was risked out of my home birth at 36 weeks because of pre-eclampsia.  That was not something I had anticipated AT ALL and so getting suddenly thrown into a hospital with a bunch of strangers was really, really hard.  It all turned out fine in the end but that transfer was majorly stressful (nothing to do with Erin, of course.  She was a supportive sweetheart the whole time, but there is nothing she could do about pre-e.)

So, as far as whether or not I would use her next time around, my answer is sort of mixed..... I would LOVE to use her next time and get that home birth.  But given that I now know I am at higher risk, I will investigate the few midwives who have hospital access so that should a transfer happen again, there might be more continuity of care.  If that doesn't work out, I would hire Erin again but make sure we really had a back up plan in place with her transferring as my doula (which we would have done last time except I already had a doula and it was just all so stressful and rushed that I was having trouble keeping my wits about me, honestly).  Anyway, my answer is obviously skewed  because of that experience, but aside from all of that, I would say definitely go and meet Erin!  She is sweet and low pressure (gives lots of neutral information but lets you steer the process) and she is a pleasure to hang out with at the prenatal visits.  If she doesn't have space for a new momma, I would go meet Beth Coyote too.  Those are the two MW's who I really felt a rapport with.  I chose Erin in the end because she worked by herself and so (ironically!) thought I would have complete continuity in the relationship throughout the pregnancy and delivery. 

Good luck!

[malikam]

Thanks so much!!! Every bit of info helps in the decision making process :)

[AmaraMonillas]

Michelle is not currently working as a midwife, I believe she is working with the nonprofit Open Arms.  Tracy has been attending births as 2nd midwife for several practices and covering a midwife's maternity leave.  I'm pretty sure she will be practicing as a primary again in the fall.
 

Originally Posted by Carley 

Can someone clarify - I saw Expecting the Best Midwifery (Tracy Cooper/Michelle Sarju) on the MAWS midwife list - I thought they were taking sabbaticals? Anyone know? They were my midwives with DD and AMAZING amazing women...

Hey Shanti! A friend of mine birthed with Beth/Geraldine and had a great birthcenter birth!

I'm currently with Mel & Jen at http://www.midwifeseattle.com/ They're a stone's throw from me, on Greenwood Ave/103rd

Good luck!

[miami mommy]

Tracy Cooper is now working with Geraldine Lee at Fremont Midwifery. They are both super nice, I'm using them for my current pregnancy. 

Originally Posted by AmaraMonillas 

Michelle is not currently working as a midwife, I believe she is working with the nonprofit Open Arms.  Tracy has been attending births as 2nd midwife for several practices and covering a midwife's maternity leave.  I'm pretty sure she will be practicing as a primary again in the fall.