Boston ladies - Midwives at Mount Auburn

Sunflower0908 · July 2011

Hi Ladies - I'm planning on posting this on my local board too, but thought this might be a good place to start...

I'm currently due to deliver at Brigham Womens, but seriously considering changing to the midwives at Mount Auburn.

Just wanted to hear from anyone who had a natural birth at Mt Auburn and what their experiences were etc.
I'm wondering if my plans for a natural birth are more likely at Mt Auburn vs Brigham.

Thanks in advance.

pinksweetpea2 · July 2011

I can't comment on Mt. Auburn, but with my last I was planning a delivery at Brigham's up until I switched to a homebirth at 25 weeks.

Some of the many reasons I switched:

Even though they have a MW practice of around 16 MW, they still have an epidural rate of 95 PERCENT. That is just staggering to me.

My experience meeting with the MWs over that time was less than stellar. My apts. were ALWAYS late by at least 30 minutes. I was consistently rushed. I never saw the same MW twice. When I asked one of them what they thought about doulas, the response was, "Yeah, you should get one because we have a lot of patients when we are on the floor and won't have time to help you deal with labor." Sometimes they didn't even seem to read my chart ahead of time. I might as well have been with a busy OB practice at that point.

They have no birth tubs, labor tubs, etc. I really wanted to give birth in the water (which I did) and pretty much the only one hospital in the Boston area has a tub- MGH and the nurses are rumored to give it away to epidural patients so they don't have to deal with it. I think the birthing center at Mt. Auburn has one through.

The tour was AWFUL. Those little rooms did NOT feel homey at ALL and as the nurse went through the procedures I realized that pretty much everything I wanted for my birth was going to be a battle. The whole experience was going to be an uphill battle.

When I switched to a homebirth, my MW said in case of transfer Brigham would be our "close" hospital, but Newton-Wellesley would be our better option if we were not in a hurry. She said the folks at Brigham were not always welcoming of homebirth transfers and I was not at all surprised to hear it.

I very much considered Mt. Auburn's birthing center, but in the end I could not get past the fact that they were still attached to a hospital and bound by their rules and regulations. Also, coming from JP (where I used to live) would have been a struggle in the car and I was terrified of giving birth in the car (it was my big fear).

I know BostonGayGal is planning a birth at Mt. Auburn Birthing Center- you should page her. She has done a lot of research.

BostonGayGal · July 2011

I did my IUI's through MAMA and will be delivering with them in January. I like the fact that they are connected to a hospital.

Their 2010 statistics:

Births: 810 ::: Primary Cesarean Sections: 114 (14.07%)
Attempted VBACs: 42 Successful: 35 (83%) ::: Episiotomy Rate: 1.85%Epidural Rate: 45.93% ::: Induction Rate: 15% ::: Augmentation Rate: 29%

This is their site: https://mamah.org/aboutus.html

There is a meet the midwives night on July 25th. I went to one and found it very helpful. You should know though that it is a large practice, so unless you meet with different midwives for your appointments, you may not know the midwife who assists in your delivery. But their goal is to play a background role of support unless more is needed, so knowing that person well isn't a real concern of mine.

JuneBug0611 · July 2011

The women in my Bradley class had a much better experience at Mt. Auburn than Brigham. I had a natural birth at MGH with the midwives there and have only good things to say about them. (And they gave me a room with a tub!)

pinksweetpea2 · July 2011

JuneBug0611:
The women in my Bradley class had a much better experience at Mt. Auburn than Brigham. I had a natural birth at MGH with the midwives there and have only good things to say about them. (And they gave me a room with a tub!)

Glad it worked out for you!

I just wanted to clarify that my natural birth teacher at Isis- who had been a nurse at MGH- told me this about the tub and it was not just a random rumor. I am sure not all the nurses are like that, but according to her there were at least a few unfortunately. :b

pinksweetpea2 · July 2011

JuneBug0611:
The women in my Bradley class had a much better experience at Mt. Auburn than Brigham. I had a natural birth at MGH with the midwives there and have only good things to say about them. (And they gave me a room with a tub!)

Glad it worked out for you!

I just wanted to clarify that my natural birth teacher at Isis- who had been a nurse at MGH- told me this about the tub and it was not just a random rumor. I am sure not all the nurses are like that, but according to her there were at least a few unfortunately. :b

Sunflower0908 · July 2011

Thank you so much everyone for your responses, they were really helpful.
I think this has helped to make up my mind and I'm going to move to Mt Auburn.

Thank you for your input!

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