Chicago- A Woman's Place or New Life? Any opinions? - Page 2

[acp]

My sense when I interviewed A women's place (though I haven't worked with them, so i might be wrong) is that they cared more about making sure you did the standard tests, glucose, Strep, etc and were a little more similar to a lot of CNMs working in hospitals than Sarah is (though she's a CNM too). Sarah, for instance, was fine with me skipping the glucose test (also would have been fine with me doing it), and agreed with my reasons for why I was extremely low risk for it. I think her philosophy in general is to let the mother make more of the decisions - as long as she sees them as safe, of course, and she'll certainly give her input.
The main reason I didn't go with them is that I didn't totally gel with Amy when I met her, but she's no longer with the practice, and I never met Jennifer.
I know they lost the hospital they were working with shut down, but I think now they have privileges at Swedish Covenant?

I've been very happy with Sarah overall, though the hard-to-get-ahold of thing has been frustrating to me lately - I plan to bring it up at our next appointment.

[octobermoon]

Originally Posted by acp

My sense when I interviewed A women's place (though I haven't worked with them, so i might be wrong) is that they cared more about making sure you did the standard tests, glucose, Strep, etc and were a little more similar to a lot of CNMs working in hospitals than Sarah is (though she's a CNM too). Sarah, for instance, was fine with me skipping the glucose test (also would have been fine with me doing it), and agreed with my reasons for why I was extremely low risk for it. I think her philosophy in general is to let the mother make more of the decisions - as long as she sees them as safe, of course, and she'll certainly give her input.
The main reason I didn't go with them is that I didn't totally gel with Amy when I met her, but she's no longer with the practice, and I never met Jennifer.
I know they lost the hospital they were working with shut down, but I think now they have privileges at Swedish Covenant?

I've been very happy with Sarah overall, though the hard-to-get-ahold of thing has been frustrating to me lately - I plan to bring it up at our next appointment.

thanks. i too have been frustrated and a little worried since she has been so hard for me to get a hold of. it makes me nervous, i'm thinking is she gonna be there for me when i need her? kwim? i haven't met her yet though so this is all i have to go by so far.

[babywolverine]

I just had a homebirth with Sarah two weeks ago and it was great. As previous posters have pointed out, she is pretty hands-off, so if you want a birth with lots of hugs/backrubs/cheering etc., she may not click with you. I really appreciated how she stayed in the background and offered suggestions, rather than ordering me around. If I wanted that, I could have delivered in the hospital with my ob/gyn As for being hard to reach/canceling appts., I think she is working on bringing another midwife into the practice in order to lighten her workload a bit.

[octobermoon]

Originally Posted by babywolverine

I just had a homebirth with Sarah two weeks ago and it was great. As previous posters have pointed out, she is pretty hands-off, so if you want a birth with lots of hugs/backrubs/cheering etc., she may not click with you. I really appreciated how she stayed in the background and offered suggestions, rather than ordering me around. If I wanted that, I could have delivered in the hospital with my ob/gyn As for being hard to reach/canceling appts., I think she is working on bringing another midwife into the practice in order to lighten her workload a bit.

congratulations!!! :

[deymm]

I have hired Jennifer and her new midwife Laura from A Woman's Place for my homebirth in September. After our initial consult and my first prenatal appointment, I don't find them to be overly medical at all. In the end, any testing is my choice.

I previously had a HB with mw's in CA and when interviewing Jen, I met the sister of one of my CA midwives in the waiting room. That spoke volumes for me.

I also find appoitments easy to come by and Jocelyn in the office is always great to talk to. (unlike the witches at my previous Ob/Gyn's office)
Octobermoon, we are in the same DDC!

If you have more questions, feel free to PM me.

[CEG]

I find the perception that Jennifer is more medical really surprising.

It's important to remember that informed consent works both ways- some providers will tell you what they want you to know and pressure you to accept the testing/procedure. Some will tell you what they want you to know or not discuss it at all because they want you to choose not to have something. I think Jennifer strikes a great balance by telling everything there is to know and letting the patient make the decision. Maybe the fact that she discusses things in detail instead of just dismissing them or giving her opinion makes her seem more medical.

Either way I never felt pressured one way or another for testing or procedures and had a lovely birth.

[babywolverine]

Originally Posted by octobermoon

congratulations!!! :

thanks

[haleyelianasmom]

Does anyone know... is it hard to get in at either of those places? I'm more interested in A Woman's Place just based on what I've read, but we're not 100% sure we'll be living in the Chicago area by the birth and if I have to start care here and then transfer mid pregnancy, I'm worried that I won't "get in". How many patients do they usually accept? Do they have to turn people away ever?

[deymm]

Originally Posted by haleyelianasmom

Does anyone know... is it hard to get in at either of those places? I'm more interested in A Woman's Place just based on what I've read, but we're not 100% sure we'll be living in the Chicago area by the birth and if I have to start care here and then transfer mid pregnancy, I'm worried that I won't "get in". How many patients do they usually accept? Do they have to turn people away ever?

I have found scheduling with AWP very easy.

[haleyelianasmom]

That's good to hear. I really want to stick with the same provider all through my pregnancy. My husband is looking for a job in the Chicago area so if it's looking positive, I'd like to go to AWP from the start. We're hoping!

[acp]

Originally Posted by haleyelianasmom

Does anyone know... is it hard to get in at either of those places? I'm more interested in A Woman's Place just based on what I've read, but we're not 100% sure we'll be living in the Chicago area by the birth and if I have to start care here and then transfer mid pregnancy, I'm worried that I won't "get in". How many patients do they usually accept? Do they have to turn people away ever?

You mean you're currently living elsewhere and then transfer to one of them if you do move here, even if it's partway through the pregnancy?
Honestly, I do think both practices are currently getting swamped really really quickly. When I looked into them back when I was about 8 weeks into my pregnancy, Sarah Simmons was already booked for my due-date month, and the only reason she took me on was that she decided to take on a lay midwife as a collaborator and accept more patients. She said she's been getting swamped really quickly lately. AWP was still accepting patients at that time, but after my initial interview with them, when I was still waiting to meet Sarah to decide between the two, they called me to tell me that I had to decide very soon if I wanted to go with them since they were also getting booked much quicker than usual.

Of course, I suppose it's also always possible that someone moves away during their pregnancy or gets cold feet about a home birth and they have a spot open up. Maybe the best thing would be to call them and tell them your situation, and see if the think they're likely to be able to take you on partway through the pregnancy.

But maybe I'm reading your question wrong...

[haleyelianasmom]

Nope, you read it right. I would like to start seeing one of them even if we don't live in the area YET because I don't want to switch providers mid-pregnancy as I'm guessing they'd be booked for my month. Though it's annoying as we are not 100% positive of if/when we'll be moving as my husband has had 6 interviews and he has 3 more next week, but doesn't actually have a job there yet. Argh.