finding a midwife

[shug1]

Does anyone have a recommendation for an excellent midwife in the DC area? I live in the District and don't want to travel too far for appointments. It seems as if there are no midwifes left in this town! Depressing.

[Anonymous]

They are out there if you look! This is a pretty comprehensive list:

http://www.susanmessina.com/Midwives.html

[Anonymous]

I use Whitney Pinger - she's at WHC and it's very convenient for me. She's been great so far. I also use a doula that is with her during my appointments so I've been able to get a lot more face time with my doula too!

[Anonymous]

MIDWIVES IN HOSPITAL

Whitney Pinger – Attends births at Washington Hospital Center. Prefers email [e-mail]

The Midwifery Care Associates in Silver Spring (office at White Flint) – The 3 midwives (Chris, Sharon and Karen) attend births at Shady Grove Adventist hospital. The labor rooms at Shady Grove all have jaccuzzis for laboring but they technically don’t allow birthing in the water. The hospital opened a new post-partum Mother-Baby section in 2008 which has all private rooms. www.midwiferycareassociates.com 301-530-3300 Free monthly orientation sessions

DC Birth Center – Attend births at Washington Hospital Center (as well as at birth center) 801 17th St NE Washington , DC [phone] http://www.yourfhbc.org/

MIDWIVES AT BIRTHCENTER

DC Birth Center - 801 17th St NE Washington , DC [phone] http://www.yourfhbc.org/ -- water births allowed in jacuzzi

Birthcare & Women’s Health Center 1501 King Street • Alexandria , VA 22314 • 703-549-5070 www.birthcare.org

Special Beginnings Birth and Women’s Center 1454 Baltimore-Annapolis Road, Arnold MD 21012 410-626-8982 http://www.specialbeginnings.com/ -- water births allowed in jacuzzi

MIDWIVES AT HOME

Birthcare & Women’s Health Center 1501 King Street • Alexandria , VA 22314 • 703-549-5070 www.birthcare.org

Metro Area Midwives & Allied Services (M.A.M.A.S.) Mairi Breen Rothman, CNM and Erin Fulham, CNM. –Attend homebirths in DC only. Mairi is a former midwife of the DC Birth Center and Erin is a former midwife of Birthcare. http://www.mamasmidwives.com

Joey Pascarella, CNM – Attends birth in DC, VA, MD. Former Maternity Center midwife, now running her own homebirth midwifery business attending births http://www.sacredjourneymidwifery.com/home

[Anonymous]

Whitney delivered my 2nd baby in may & I thought she was fabulous.

[Anonymous]

http://www.birthoptionsalliance.org/

Click on "Directory of Midwifery Services in the DC Area."

Have heard raves about Whitney Pinger, as well as the DC Birth Center. I have used Midwifery Care Associates and loved them but their birth center closed and they now do only hospital births, which is not my first choice. I'm now using BirthCare and liking it very much so far.

[Anonymous]

OP, if you want more information, there have been lots of posts in this forum about midwives in the area and people's experiences, so you might want to search a little bit (including on individual midwives you are thinking of). 18:10 provided you with the midwifery practices around the area.
FWIW, I delivered at the DC Birth Center about a month ago and thought the midwives were great. It was my first child, and after that experience, I could never imagine giving birth in a hospital. The midwives there are also admitted to practice at Washington Hospital Center, so if you wanted, you could choose the hospital with them over the birth center. What I liked about them is that I knew if I became high risk and had to have a hospital birth, I would still be their patient when I got there. Also, my understanding is that they are the back-up midwives for most of the home birth practices (I think).

Good luck. I have heard great things about all of the practices mentioned so I am sure you won't go wrong!

[Anonymous]

Thank you everyone for all the advice! It's very helpful.

[Anonymous]

Just a note to add...OP, if you know you want to deliver in a hospital, I would definitely go with one of the midwife-friendly hospitals like WHC or Shady Grove. Midwives are part of the staff, so the nurses and hospital staff are used to working with the midwives and will work really well with your personal preferences (such as don't ask me about drugs, keeping the baby in the room, breastfeeding right away, etc.)

If the midwives are part of the staff, the hospital will follow their orders and your delivery won't feel like you are fighting anyone.

I have heard great things about the DC Birth Center if you don't have a need to be in a hospital though.

[Anonymous]

DC Birth Center is a great option, and just wanted to clarify that they delivery either at their birth center or at the hospital (WHC) so you can choose whatever suits you best and still get continuous care with them. OP, did you make any decisions?