Northern VA CNM birth options

[austenfan]

Hello ladies!

  I'm new to the boards here.  We have a 2yo son and are thinking of ttc.  I totally lucked out in our previous location and had a small dr/mw practice and gave birth at a small family-centered hospital.  That was also just around the corner!  I didn't have to write up a birth plan, but my favorite mw was on-call when I went in, had a natural birth with labor in the tub, etc.  It was great!  Now, here we are in nova, and I'm wondering what kind of care I'll run into.  We're military and not thrilled about going to the clinic and then ft. belvoir(i think?) for delivery.  Looking into changing to tricare standard and finding a midwife.  

I'm very interested in Loudon Community Midwives.  It just seems really great for what I'm looking for- natural birth but with more medical options close at hand.  It will be a bit of a drive, though...  Does anyone know if they'd be ok with me bringing my son along to appointments?

Looked at info for Joey Pascarella of Sacred Midwifery.  I don't know if I'm completely comfortable with a homebirth- hadn't even considered it before.  

Any thoughts or input?  Thanks in advance!!

[bignerpie]

The Loudoun Community Midwives have a little playroom in the waiting room, full of toys and books. When I was a client, I saw plenty of other moms bring their kids along

There is also a birth center opening in Chantilly this summer: http://www.birthbydesign.org/BirthCenter.aspx

Good luck and congratulations!

[Awaken]

Don't know how close it is to you, but Birthcare in Alexandria is a CNM practice that offers homebirth and birth center births, and gets very good reviews.  there are several wonderful CPM's in the area, so there are even more options if you decide you're open to homebirth down the line.

[mariacm]

I second the Birthcare recommendation - I used them for DS's birthcenter birth-turned homebirth and will use them again for the next one.  Not sure where you are but they travel pretty far.  www.birthcare.org for details.  They book up really fast for prenatal care, so either become a patient before preg by going for gyn care, or call as soon as you get your bfp to get in for prenatal care - if you decide to go with them.

Good luck!

[austenfan]

Thanks for the responses! Looks like I have a lot to look into!

Bignerpie- looks like you're planning a home birth for your next baby. Is the Loudon midwife group one that you'd recommend?

Also, thanks for the birth care recommendation. We're out in the sticks a bit, so not sure if I'm up for a trafficky drive in. Will still look ini to it!

[bignerpie]

The Loudoun Midwives only do hospital births at Loudoun Hospital. I used them for the birth of my son, and if you decide to have a hospital birth, I would definitely recommend them.

Birth Care does home births as well as birth center, as does Birth by Design. I'm in WV, though, so I'm using a different midwife.

[austenfan]

Ok, thanks!

[Cynthia Mosher]

I have removed a post from this thread due to the defamatory remarks that were made. Please leave practitioner reviews in our reviews section. We do not host them in the forums (Link in nav bar above). Thanks!

[isismamakat]

Sorry, I didn't realize.

[Jenga]

It's only defamatory if it's untrue... 

[isismamakat]

FYI: You may check out the status of Joey Pascarella's CNM license at www.mbon.org

[KatyLinda]

The status changed today. 

[Jenga]

Edited by Jenga - 10/22/11 at 8:19pm