PSMBC vs. Eastside Birth Center?

fyziksgirl

Hi, all! I posted this on the Natural Birth board, and was pointed over here. I hadn't realized there was a local board!

I'm looking for a midwife at a birth center for my first birth, and am so excited! I am considering Puget Sound Midwives and Birth Center or Eastside Birth Center at the moment (but am open to others). Has anyone had experience with either? Good, bad, neutral? And most importantly, WHY was it good/bad/neutral? What met your expectations, and what didn't?

I am interviewing both groups (already met with Andrea at Eastside, meeting with Nicole at PSMBC tomorrow) and will take that heavily into account, but getting lived experience is good, too. (Actions speak louder than words and one person's "flexible" might be another person's "inflexible").

Thanks!!

blueLu25

Welll..... As pretty much everyone here knows by now, I had both my kids at PSBC and it was amazing! Better than I could have ever wanted. They are wonderful midwives and women, you feel like part of a family with them and I was always very comfortable and looked forward to the prenatal appts. My second birth was a water birth, which I really really wanted (with Nicole, cant say enough great things about her, she is just a wonderful person). I also went into preterm labor with my second, and she went to Evergreen with me, luckily they were able to stop the labor and I got to have my baby girl at the Birth Center two weeks later. 

The prenatal care is awesome- they give you lots of time at each appt, time to chat and get to know them. With my first baby, I did Bradley classes so my husband could be my support person, and also had my SIL as my doula. I was surprised at how "hands off" midwives are during labor- they dont want to do a bunch of internal checks, etc, they just let you do your thing and make sure you are okay through it all which makes it easier to let your body do the work. They know just the right thing to say to help you when you need it. 

Anyway, I could ramble on forever. I just really love them Let me know if you have any other questions! And congrats!

Kathzoo

I had DD at PSBC with a midwife from my side of the H2O. I loved how responsive they were to my calls and they give a great tour. I would say that the person who cares for you is most important, so go with the MWs you are most comfortable with. And make sure your insurance will cover it.

greenmtbride

I had my son at PSBC and agree with PPs.  It was a wonderful experience and I'm excited to go back there with my next baby.  The whole atmosphere made me feel confident and relaxed.  You can also see other reviews for them on yelp.com

I don't know if you are already on the eastside, but a new birth center has opened in Seattle.  It's called Center for Birth and is on eastlake.  Looks like they aren't associated with a specific group of midwives, but can provide you with referrals to midwives who deliver there. 

JessieJH

I had heard good things about both, but in the end have decided to go with PSBC. I've been going to them and love the experience so far. They are amazing, supportive and spend lots of time with me to help me plan for the birth. I found they were also pretty well run and responsive. When I was trying to set up tours with them and with Eastside I found that Eastside struggled to get back to my emails in a timely way and was always asking me to call them (which just doesn't work with my meeting schedule). So- I just found PSBC easier to deal with.

fyziksgirl

Thanks to everyone who commented! I met with Nicole today and it was great :-) Now to the hard decision of deciding between two good things!