Center for Women Mount Auburn Hospital reviews?

[cleo47]

I noticed there were a few threads mentioning the midwives at Mount Auburn, and feelings seem to be mixed about maternity services there. I tried to get an appointment with Dr. Beth Hardiman because I would really like to work with one OB and/or one midwife (who wouldnt? :D), but unfortunately she has a 5-person waiting list for February 2009. A friend of mine is delivering at the Cambridge Birthing Center at the end of this month, but I would prefer to deliver in a hospital that is natural-birth friendly.

Dr. Hardiman's office recommended two OBs: Dr. Maureen Cook (Lexington) and Dr. Amy McGaraghan (Center for Women, Mount Auburn). Dr. Cook practices alone but delivers with the other OBs at Mount Auburn. So, either way, there's a good chance I won't be all too familiar with my OB at the time of delivery. I decided to schedule an appointment with Dr. McGaraghan since I live in Cambridge, but I was wondering if anyone could share their experiences with the OBs, nurses, and midwives at the Center for Women.

Since I know that both Dr. Cook and Dr. McGaraghan might assist in the delivery, I feel somewhat reassured. However, I don't know if the other OBs can be trusted to facilitate a less invasive birth. I'm probably running out of options at this point (not so interested in a homebirth or birthing center), but it doesn't hurt to know what I might be getting myself into. I will definitely have a doula, which I know will help reduce my chances of having a c-section.

I was originally linked into the Brigham and Women's system because of my health insurance, but after reading so many negative reviews, I decided to transfer. Newton-Wellesley sounds nice, but it's much too far away for a wintry due date!

[UrbanEarthMom]

I had a great experience with the Midwives at Mt. Auburn - I never saw a doctor and that was fine with me. If you check out their web-site www.mamah.org, I think you'll be impressed by their stats.

Good luck.

[miasmommy]

I love Maureen Cook- she didn't deliver me as I was living closer to the city& was affiliated with MGH but now she is my OB/GYN & I think she is fantastic!:thumb


Good Luck!

[cleo47]

Thanks for the feedback. I will look into the Midwives at Mount Auburn. I'm glad to hear that you like Dr. Cook!

[*Isra*]

I'm currently seeing the midwives at Mt. Auburn. I would definitely recommend attending the next Meet the Midwives night and attending the Meet the Physicians night..the vibe is SO different and will make it clear to you what you want.

I'm loving the midwives at Mt. Auburn, very kind, supportive and gentle. I'm planning to have a water birth there and feel very confident that they will do everything to be as non-invasive and natural as possible, their stats do speak for themself! GL!

[spu]

hi there!
I'm a huge fan of mt. auburn - feel free to email me if I can answer more q's... it's a bit late at the moment, and I'm hoping to get some z's...

I had 2 deliveries with the mw's - a vbac which ended in a c (my decision - I can explain more), and a vba2c - they actually let me do a vba2c! I abolutely loved my experiences from the moment I met the mw's. I also spent time with Dr. Amy McGaraghan as I'm somewhat of a high-risk since I've had 3 cerclages and incompetent cervix with all 3 of my pregnancies. (My first pg, I saw a peri at beth israel... switched to the mw's when I was 18w pg with my second pregnancy.)

My favorite mws are: sharon mullen, robyn churchill, and Megan MacInnes who delivered my vba2c. These ladies are very earthy, natural, supportive, and real. And they know what to look for and who to call in if anything unusual arises. While in their care, I saw McGaraghan inbetween visits, and also a peri due to my cervix issues. I met Megan only at my delivery - and she was beyond amazing. I delivered my vba2c baby in 35 minutes and it was as close to a home birth as you can imagine. PP care is amazing too.

I actually had a kidney stone attack while pg with DS#2 and I had just switched over to the mw's so I hadn't even had my first appointment yet - and they took me in their caring arms at 2:30 am and kept me in l+d until I was stable enough to spend a few days in post-partum and be seen by the kidney doctor. The mw's were my angels - giving me lemon-scented cloths to breath, rubbing my back and other points to alleviate the pain...

throughout my experiences, there's probably only about 2 or 3 mw's I haven't met. I have my favorites, and you can request your prenatal appointments with whoever you want or you can rotate.

all good stuff. check out the meet-the-midwives night, or call and ask for an impromptu tour and meet with a midwife one on one and ask lots of q's. They're very supportive of natural births as both my vbac attempt and vba2c were bradley-style labors and births. And no clock ticking in the background, that's for sure.

[cleo47]

Thanks for the detailed reviews! My husband and I will check out the next Meet the Midwives Night on Sept. 15. I am so excited to switch from Brigham and Women's, which was efficient but not very pleasant.

[thistime]

Thanks everyone for all the great info. Just wanted to let anyone know who's considering Dr. Hardiman to call the instant you know you're pregnant - she already has a waiting list for April 2009 :(