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Chicago- A Woman's Place or New Life? Any opinions?  

post #1 of 32
8/27/08 at 11:26pm
Thread Starter 
Hey!

We are living in Chicago and due around April. We're going to have a homebirth!

I have a consultation with A Woman's Place tomorrow and one with Sarah Simmons at New Life Midwifery the next day. I'm sure I'll form my own opinions, but I was just curious if anyone had any real life expertise to add. I'd love to hear anything!

Thanks!
jessica
post #2 of 32
8/28/08 at 12:04pm
:
Watching what people say, and also curious in your thoughts once you meet them, Jessica.
I'm also due in April, and while I have my first appointment tomorrow with my midwife from last time (who I adore) she only does hospital births and I'm planning to interview at these two practices since I'd really like a homebirth this time, assuming I feel as good about them as I do my old midwife.
post #3 of 32
8/28/08 at 12:17pm
I know people who have been with both these practices and have had fantastic births. I'd recommend meeting both and seeing who you feel best meshes with YOU. Both have very good reputations
post #4 of 32
10/3/08 at 1:52pm
Jessica, what did you end up deciding? I'm curious, since I'm in a similar position and recently met with both practices (I think I'll be going with Sarah). Also, I can't believe how busy April seems to be for home births!
post #5 of 32
10/3/08 at 2:01pm
Thread Starter 
Hey! I ended up going with Sarah, even though I'm thinking she's not in network for our insurance. I really liked her and felt that she was on the same page for me. A woman's place seemed a tiny bit more medical (but also very nice).
post #6 of 32
10/3/08 at 3:07pm
I know you've made your choice, but I do want to add that I had a homebirth with Jewel (now retired from midwife work) and Jennifer in '05. Jennifer's previous experience was in a hospital. I met Amy for the first time last night and she seems very nice. I don't know what her previous experience is. In any event, Jewel and Jennifer (especially Jennifer) were wonderful and helping me birth my posterior-never-turned ("We see eyebrows!"), 9lb first baby at home after a 5.5 hour pushing phase that resulted in a swollen cervix. They did everything they could to keep me at home and from transfering to the hospital . . . and thank goodness it worked. Jennifer had some knowledge of a technique she'd read about and never had to use (simply icing down my cervix) that kept me at home.
post #7 of 32
10/9/08 at 10:09am
I had a failed HBAC with Sarah in May. If you would like more details please PM me.

PS - I also felt that Jennifer was more medical when I interviewed her but I liked them both. I picked Sarah because she and I just totally clicked.
post #8 of 32
10/15/08 at 2:21pm
My sister just had a homebirth with both Jennifer and Amy on Saturday. They were wonderful! I'd recommend them and my sister and her husband were extremely satisfied with their homebirth experience with them.
post #9 of 32
10/27/08 at 6:25pm
I had hospital birth with a woman's place. It was fine, I was only in the hospital less than two hours before delievery. That was with Jewel, but she left. Now I am back seeing Jennifer and Amy for my second pregnancy. They are really nice and supportive of the desicions you make, but not totally hands off. I do think that if you didn't want something they would support you. I have a friend who recently had a homebirth with Sarah Simmons. She interveiwed a Woman's place and also thought they were too medical. She ended up not being satified with Sarah and it seemed like she was too hands off during her water birth. And she also mentioned she was kind of distracted and didn't help out much after the birth. So maybe it depends on what exactly you are looking for. There are also a slew of underground birth attendants in the area if you are interested in that.
post #10 of 32
10/27/08 at 10:33pm
I had a homebirth last month with Jennifer from a Woman's Place and I couldn't ask for a better experience. She was incredibly supportive while also being hands off and letting me make my own decisions. I would absolutely recommend Jennifer and Amy.
post #11 of 32
10/31/08 at 2:00pm
I chose Jennifer with A Woman's Place for the birth of my #2. I called late and the last part of the birth went very fast (homebirth) so she arrived after ds was born, but I have a very high opinion of her and will be hiring her again if I have a #3. I would agree that she is more medical than some midwives (though certainly much less so than a typical hospital-based midwife), but I have found her to be very interested, intelligent, and respectful of a mother's choices. The guildelines they do have are, in my opinion, truly in place to ensure good and healthy outcomes. The most important thing I can say is that I feel I've finally found a birth HCP that I can trust. I would also say that I do not have textbook births and she's been very supportive (validating rather than undercutting my experience of the birth or questioning my opinions/feelings/perceptions of the birth).

The only downside I can think of at the moment is that the appointments are a bit short for me, because I always have a lot of questions/things to talk about related to the pregnancy and birth. I'm not sure how long a typical appointment is there (maybe 15-30 min?), but I always needed more time. Plus it didn't help that I always had to fight traffic to get there and half the time was late myself. :

Overall, I would highly recommend her.

Good luck to anyone trying to choose . . . it's not easy!
post #12 of 32
11/1/08 at 11:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Romana9+2 View Post

The only downside I can think of at the moment is that the appointments are a bit short for me, because I always have a lot of questions/things to talk about related to the pregnancy and birth. I'm not sure how long a typical appointment is there (maybe 15-30 min?), but I always needed more time. Plus it didn't help that I always had to fight traffic to get there and half the time was late myself. :

Overall, I would highly recommend her.

Good luck to anyone trying to choose . . . it's not easy!
Whenever I go in there I usually stay between 30-60 mins. Never felt pushed out or rushed at all.... maybe I am just being oblivious and overstaying my time! Anyways, I was always impressed with amount of time they spend with you discussing just about anything.
post #13 of 32
11/2/08 at 11:55am
Hi-
I interviewed both and I went with a woman's place in the end. I was very very happy with the whole experience. I know that they have the reputation for being more "medical" but honestly I didn't get that from them at all. I basically refused every test from ultrasounds to the group B strep thing. I think I had a blood test at the beginning and the urine tests. I don't know if there was anything else. At the birth itself, Jewel was phenomenal and very hands off and afterwards she was great as well.

I liked sarah ALOT and I felt that we clicked better and she was closer to my house. However she canceled a few appointments and my first was born early so I liked that a woman's place had hospital privileges.

Alice
post #14 of 32
11/7/08 at 3:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mommy2naomi View Post
I had a failed HBAC with Sarah in May. If you would like more details please PM me.

PS - I also felt that Jennifer was more medical when I interviewed her but I liked them both. I picked Sarah because she and I just totally clicked.

I am planning an HBAC with Sarah for December.. I am pm'ing you
post #15 of 32
12/27/08 at 11:27pm
jessica, how are things going with sarah? i'm trying to decide who to go with for our next homebirth...
post #16 of 32
12/28/08 at 3:18pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by emilyw99 View Post
jessica, how are things going with sarah? i'm trying to decide who to go with for our next homebirth...
Hey! Things are going really well with Sarah I'm thinking she will be as hands off as I want her to be (which is sort of what I like). She had no problem at all with my not doing a lot of the normal "testing" stuff. I did the bare minimum. She is really sweet and I like her a lot. Let me know if you have any questions!
post #17 of 32
12/29/08 at 1:27pm
I'm due in May and am using Sarah and am really, really happy with her so far.
post #18 of 32
12/29/08 at 2:49pm
I'm also using Sarah and have been very happy with her so far...
post #19 of 32
1/29/09 at 1:39pm
Sarah caught my son, and it was a great experience, PM me if you want more info.

I interviewed Jen and my husband and I felt her approach to be more medical and we were really discouraged by her interactions with our then 2 yr old dd.
post #20 of 32
2/5/09 at 7:51pm
i am planning on meeting with sarah soon, (and yes she is VERY hard to get hold of) and also A Woman's place. i am wondering how A woman's place is more medical? this will be our first so i don't know much. do they require tests or what? also i am wondering at which hospital does A Woman's Place have privileges?
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