I'm currently 18 weeks pregnant with my first, and very happy with MCA so far. My regular OB/GYN is a nurse practitioner, so I would have been referred to one of the physicians in the practice (Reiter Hill), which was not my preference. I wanted midwifery care with delivery in a hospital setting, in case something went wrong, and so MCA is a good fit for me.

I've met two of the midwives in person, Karen and Dusti, and spoken with Angel several times on the phone. I've found all of them to be professional, responsive, and competent. They've taken the time to answer thoroughly any questions I have, and I haven't had any difficulties establishing rapport with them. The one problem that did come up, a voicemail I left that went unreturned, was promptly addressed and has not recurred. I've had severe nausea/vomiting during my pregnancy, and feel that they take these symptoms very seriously and manage my care well.

The practice is busy; the longest I've waited for an appointment was about half an hour, no more than I've waited for other healthcare providers. To me, that's not a huge problem, but I know it is for some. I've never felt rushed during the appointments. Obviously I've not yet delivered with them, so I can't speak to that experience, but so far, I'm very pleased. Good luck!

I just had my first appointment at MCA. I had to drive to Damascus because the first appt is an hour and they could see me there 3 weeks before they could at the Bethesda location. I saw Karen and a very new midwife whose name I don't recall. Karen was obviously training the new midwife and let her lead the appointment, and the new midwife being new, it was a little bumpy and not as free flowing as I had hoped, but it was fine overall. I was not expecting them to offer me an internal u/s to see the baby and listen to the heartbeat, but I was very happy they did as it put my mind at ease.

I had previously been a patient at Birthcare for my well woman care while TTC. I had a mixed experience with them and it felt very assembly line and like they had too many patients. At the first sign of trouble with my cycles they told me I needed to seek an OB on my own and offered no further assistance, which was disappointing.

I really want a hospital birth since it's my first, but I also want a midwife and overall a good experience. I know Karen is leaving in October and she is the last of the "old guard" which will mean the entire practice will consist of new midwives.

I'd be interested in experiences others have had with the new midwives, since that is who is running the show there now.

I delivered with MCA in the fall and I was happy with their care during the pregnancy. I had a needle-free delivery (no heplock) and the midwives were pros. I wasn't crazy about the way they handled the delivery of the placenta, but really it wasn't that big a deal. Next time I will go elsewhere, but I don't think it's fair to call them amateurs or bottom-feeders. Of course, you need to go with your gut and feel completely comfortable with the provider(s) you choose.

malcolm de souza is reputed to be natural birth friendly

16:57 here. I live in Bethesda, and I'm a patient of Whitney's. I don't have a lot of experience with her. I first saw her for a prenatal visit this fall, and she discovered my missed miscarriage. I'm pregnant again, and I'll be seeing her for my first prenatal visit for this pregnancy in a couple of weeks (knock wood, if all goes okay).

When I was pregnant in the fall the MCA midwives were my first choice, as they are more convenient to me and historically they'd had great reviews. The less positive posts that started popping up re MCA around that time and the raves for Whitney's group made me change my mind and go for Whitney's practice instead. I do think that the GWU group is the right choice for me, and I'm okay with the distance, although I may be closer to them than you, OP. I think that Whitney is conservative as far as distance to GW, and she may try to discourage you if you ask her about this (she mentioned her concerns about distance at a Meet the Midwives event I attended).

On the other hand, I asked a Birthcare midwife how she felt about my being so far from the birth center ( as I'd prefer to deliver there if I'd gone with them), and she said she had moms coming down from Rockville with no problem. I liked Birthcare btw, I just preferred the hospital setting in the end. I think you'll have to go with your own comfort level on this. Best of luck, OP.

OP again... I am interested in Whitney Pinger and I know ppl on here rave about her, however, I worry about the commute to GWU from our house.

We live in Northern Montgomery County, Shady Grove would be where I deliver. I'm concerned about going anywhere too far, esp since the labor with my first son was only 6 hours. I've considered homebirth, but don't know if it's for us. If anyone has a rec for an OB who would be supportive of an unmedicated birth, I'd really appreciate it.

OP where do you want to deliver? there are some natural birth friendly OBs and I woud contact GWU's midwife practice. Check out birthcare in alexandria too. If you can afford it, a good doula and an OB might be a better option at this point.

It's worth checking in with the GWU midwives. I think they may be still accepting patients due in the fall, but check to be sure.

I don't have recent experience w/ MCA - but are you tied to a hospital birth? If you are open to homebirth, Joey Pascarella, who used to be a midwife with MCA when they attended birth center births, now runs a homebirth practice. She is a CNM - same qualifications as the MCA midwives (though I would say better qualified). She attended my homebirth in 2008 and I absolutely loved her. If homebirth isn't for you - there is a midwife group at GWU and also the Health & Birth Center midwives deliver at their birth center and at WHC.

Good luck!

OP - why not check out some of the other midwife practices in the area? Here is the list from Birth Options Alliance: http://www.birthoptionsalliance.org/MidwifeList.pdf. I see the midwives at GW and love them, but we checked in with a couple of other practices (including BirthCare and some midwives practicing individually) and generally liked them all. Good luck! Sorry to hear about MCA.

Thank you for replying so honestly. I really do not know what I am going to do. Part of the reason I switched to the midwives with my first son was b/c of bad experiences with the OBs I came into contact with. Like I said, I loved my birthing experience that time. Now I am having similar negative experiences with the midwives. There is one in particular I will not feel comfortable with at all if she is there for my delivery. Are the new ones they hired new to midwifery? That is the vibe I get.

wow. pp could have been me. i delivered my first child with a midwife in a different city/state. when i moved here i was already pregnant and thought that MCA was going to be the perfect fit. I HATED THEM. I just didn't feel like they treated me like a person (the first midwife i met didn't make eye contact with me but instead just read my transfered records out loud to me for 25 min) nor did I feel like they bred any kind of confidence. It literally felt like the amateur team. Then, and I am not making this up, I had a perinatologist (the one they sent me to for sonogram) actually refer to them as 'bottom feeders' and that put me over the top and i switched to an OB. I was worried about it but found that I got the midwifery-like care from the labor and delivery nurse I had (I delivered 2 weeks ago at shady grove) and am relieved that I made the switch. sorry to keep piling on...

Yes - I was with them throughout and I had my baby three weeks ago. I am going to respond properly to your post after I've fed my crying baby Mainly cos when I asked similar Q's on here no one had recent advice for me. I was not impressed AT ALL with MCA and am really sad to be saying that. I am totally PRO midwives and was so happy to have found what I thought was a perfect choice for me. But I was utterly disappointed with them. In the end I had to have a c section for a breech baby so they didn't actually deliver him. It's testament to how worried I was about them and their abilities that I was almost relieved. And this from a woman who had her first baby at home, naturally with a midwife and who abhorred the idea of a c section!!

I delivered my first son with them in Dec 2009. However, Chris was my midwife. She was absolutely awesome, but has since left the practice. I'm now 22 weeks pregnant with #2 and a little bit nervous about delivering with MCA. Mostly b/c the recent reviews I've read are so mixed. I'm comfortable with 2 of the midwives, but they have hired about 3 or 4 more since I delivered my first son. Anyone have a recent experience delivering with them?