Austin: Faith Beltz a good midwife?

[texasmamatoto]

Friends:

I live in Austin and I'm looking for a good midwife. I've heard several good reviews about Faith Beltz, but also some pretty bad press.

Has anyone had any experience with her in the last year? What was it like? How does she practice?

Thanks so much!

[*MamaJen*]

There are a ton of really great midwives in the Austin area. Faith was actually my back-up midwife. She was filling in for my midwife's regular partner who happened to be out of town when I went into labor, and honestly, I was so far off into labor land that I barely even noticed when she walked in the door, so I can't tell you much about how she practices. (Funnily enough, for like two years I thought my back-up midwife was Michelle Fitzgerald.)
There are a ton of really amazing midwives in the Austin area. I delivered with Natalie Lake, and I can recommend her whole-heartedly. She does homebirths and also works out of a birthing center with April Bullock, who has a great reputation.
Also, I really like Illysa Foster.

[almadianna]

Just a reminder about our rules.

Positive healthcare provider reviews are welcome. Please use careful language when responding to or soliciting a review. We do not wish to host negative remarks or comments about practitioners, practices, hospitals or healthcare centers that might cast them in a negative light and which would present liability concerns for you and for Mothering. Negative comments that are verifiable facts of public record or court ruling are acceptable. Please avoid speculation and/or gossip. Please contact the provider or care center directly with any concerns or questions.

Statements such as: Hospital A has a 30% cesarean rate or Dr. B is not licensed to perform surgery both contain publicly accessible and verifiable information. A statement such as: I would never go to Dr. C because she is unkind and hostile to VBACs is personal opinion and possibly defamatory.

As an alternative to posting a negative review, members are welcome to use the Private Message (PM) system to convey information that might not be appropriate for the public boards. Posts or threads that cast healthcare providers, practices or centers in a negative light are not appropriate and will be removed.

Please be cautious in posting information of a personal nature or anything that might create legal concerns for you or others. If at any time you have questions or concerns about the appropriateness of a post, please PM a Moderator or an Administrator. Thank you

[liz-hippymom]

please read the minutes from the midwifery coplaint board to which i complained about my daughter Aquila's birth/death

available here

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=5&ved=0CDQQFjAE&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dshs.texas.gov%2Fmidwife%2Fmw_min23.doc&rct=j&q=liz%20paparella%20midwife&ei=eXP1TKakE4P7lwfGurn7BQ&usg=AFQjCNEoSNT4mQyM4XGatyrQMBXbYSmVLQ&sig2=7P-U2KDJbWl6LKZNdg4CAA&cad=rja

[georgia]

Posts have been removed that were in violation of the User Agreement. Please see the moderator's post above with our specific guidelines regarding healthcare provider topics. Thanks!

Quote:

Do not post in a disrespectful, defamatory, adversarial, baiting, harassing, offensive, insultingly sarcastic or otherwise improper manner, toward a member or other individual, including casting of suspicion upon a person, invasion of privacy, humiliation, demeaning criticism, name-calling, personal attack or in any way which violates the law.

[liz-hippymom]

please see Faith Beltz and other midwives in Texas's records here

[ErinSea]

My baby is due in a month, so I haven't been through the birth experience with her yet, but everything about the care I've received over the past 6 months has been excellent. I chose Faith because her energy matched mine better. I'm pretty laid back and was somewhat put off by a couple of other midwives I met with before meeting Faith who were rather intense and cynical (one of them) and hyperactive bubbly (a different one.) Faith was calm and collected but still very warm. She has seen me through a couple of scares and has given excellent advice that has made pregnancy so much easier so far. I feel very comfortable in her birthing center, CentreVida, for our appointments and am looking forward to having her in our home for the birth. Her partner June has been really sweet too, but I haven't spent much time with her. I have confidence that they are the right birth team for me. Good luck in your search.

[TheIgirlsMom]

We had our second child at home with Faith.  She did wonderfully!  She treated my husband with such awesome love and respect during our visits.  He was quite nervous about having a home birth and she made him feel just great.  We had a very awesome, VERY QUICK, home birth. Faith was able to stay clear headed and keep us calm even though Ilsa (the hard headed baby) didn't want to come out.  Finally, after realizing Ilsa was a quite tangled in the cord, Faith was able to deliver us a beautiful healthy 6lb07oz baby girl!  We would highly recommend her and we would use her again if we lived in Tx and became preggers again!

[lawmama1984]

I don't have personal experience with Faith, but if you are looking for more MW recs, my HB MW Kari Sanders and Brielle Epstein are amazing. I adore them and will be using them for our HBA2C attempt when the time comes. They are personable, caring and I can personally attest that they keep a cool head when the situation requires it (I had a non-emergent transport and was panicking...they kept me as calm as possible and reassured me lovingly and gently)

[liz-hippymom]

well things did not turn out so well with my birth, seeing as my daughter died in Faith's hands....