We wanted to do a water birth, everything was going well and then our baby wasn't progressing about a centimeter above "crowning". They said they do episiotomys, instead they transferred us to a hospital in our own car where we had an episiotomy and our baby was out 15 minutes later. I feel like all they really care about is money and have no sense of customer service or an attitude willing to help you. It's them against you. Complaints: 1- they could have done the episiotomy and finished it instead of incurring us $4,000 in hospital bills 2- you need to pay everything up front and then they tell you they don't do any refunds whatsoever 2- they told us they had a transport, then we got in our own car to drive to the hospital 3- the midwives act like they know everything until you actually start labour 4- if you're doing hypnobirthing, just so you know they coach you to push and squat and do whatever you can to push the baby out read more

I recently had a baby at Better Birth. It was an amazing experience! The midwives were wonderful. I received excellent prenatal care. I loved the time they spent with me at each visit, talking about whatever pregnancy/birth issues I wanted. It was never rushed and I never had to wait more than five minutes for my appointment. Each midwife and student midwife was sensitive, caring, and knowledgeable. They were respectful and not intrusive. I was given a lot more privacy and dignity at Better Birth than at the OB I went to with my first child. The birth center felt like home (they also do home births). I loved the big bed and the tub where I had a water birth. I really appreciated the kitchen and being able to eat and drink as wanted. Everything was so clean and comfortable. I also appreciated their very reasonable prices (much much cheaper than a hospital birth!). My favorite thing about Better Birth: They focus on letting moms decide what they want for their birth--they don't force you into following "standard procedure" like doctors and hospitals do. You are in control of your own birth--they are there to support you. I loved being surrounded by people I knew and was comfortable with during my labor and birth. It was so nice to never have anyone think I was crazy for wanting a natural birth. My birth was perfect...exactly how I wanted it. They took amazing care of me and my baby. I wish every woman could have as good of an experience with their births as I had at Better Birth. I totally recommend them! read more

My hope is that my experience was out of the norm, but sadly, it was a negative one. My husband and I decided to have our son naturally, liked the idea of delivering outside of a hospital, and were also trying to be cost conscious about birthing expenses. This led us to Better Birth, and more specifically the Student Midwife Program. I worked with Better Birth from the time I was about 12 weeks until I delivered at 40 weeks. The prenatal care was fantastic and both the certified midwives and the students exuded confidence and knowledge. As my pregnancy progressed, I would have questions that I would need to call about and always got prompt responses to them. Everything was wonderful. I was excited to deliver there. Then the big day came. I went into labor. Once contractions reached 3-5 minutes apart, I went into Better Birth in hopes of delivering within a few hours and bringing home my baby boy. When I got to the birthing center, I was surprised to find that I only knew one of the 4 people attending my birth.... I understand I opted for the student program, but I never imagined delivering with 100% strangers. Worse yet, the one midwife I knew and really liked and trusted (Sarah) spent most of her time outside the room. I was left with a Certified Nurse Midwife that I had never met and 2 students I had never met. It left me completely afraid. Worse still is the HUGE lack of communication between myself and the midwives/students. Once I hit the point of transitioning, and even when I was checked, I was never told how far I was dilated or how effaced I was (Ok, once when they sent me home at 4cm, and once more when they asked me to switch positions to speed labor). This left me completely in the dark and staring at a clock watching hours and hours of contractions and intensifying pain go by without having any idea how close I was to delivering my baby. Well, in the end, I had been in hard/transition labor for so long (well, 6 hours was long to me) that I was exhausted and still had no idea how long I had to go....and then my son's heart rate dropped. After being hauled down the stairs naked and on a sheet (the did cover me with a second sheet) I delivered at St Mark's hospital probably less than 15 minutes after arriving with a doctor that was kind, but pissed at me for attempting to deliver in a midwife center and upset at the center for sending me in like that. Based on my prenatal care with Better Birth, I think they had potential to offer a wonderful birthing experience, however because of my delivery experience I will NEVER be returning to deliver there again. P.S. Be aware that if you go into labor with the midwives there, even if you don't deliver with them, they keep the total cost of the anticipated delivery. In my case that was $1,600. It's clearly marked in their paperwork and we didn't fight it, but just so others are aware... My experience with Better Birth occurred in February of 2012. It is now almost Feb 2013 and despite the letter I wrote to Better Birth explaining the terrible experience I had in their care and the fact that I've posted plenty of reviews stating that, I have received nothing in response from them. Not even a simple "I'm sorry, we should work on that". It makes me feel that they really don't care at all for their clients and only care about the money they can bring in. read more

My wife and I went to Better Birth's Salt Lake location. During the pre-labor care, our experiences varied from good to ok. Most of the midwives were kind and helpful. When my wife went into labor, all of that changed. My wife was mistreated multiple times by the staff. She was forced to labor alone for nearly 12 hours while I repeatedly attempted to get the midwives to meet us at the birth center and help her. While at the birth center, one midwife lied to us multiple times and was physically abusive. If anything goes poorly about your labor at Better Birth, they will lie about it. They will cover up their illegal and unethical practices. You will get no recompense. If you or your baby is injured, they do not care and will do everything they can to hide it. They do not care about you or your baby at all. read more

I had my third baby at the center in Orem and LOVED how this experience was more catered to me than my last 2 hospital births. Their suggestions for nausea were great (and I think on their website) and they were so kind about me bringing my other 2 kids to the appointments. I appreciated all of their suggestions and their balance between modern medicine and no medicine. My ONLY complaint is that I did the student program to save money and there were a million students in the room when I delivered. Next time I would pay a little more and do the midwife program, but it did save me a ton of money on this last birth read more

I have had a baby with an OBGYN at a hospital, a baby with a midwife at a hospital, 2 babies with Better Birth at their birth center, and a baby at home with Better Birth midwives, so I feel like I have run the gamut and can be a resource to other people researching the best options for their births. So, right off the bat, I would say anyone who wants to talk with me about my experience or ask me questions, is more than welcome to call me at 801-376-0774. Normally I wouldn't put my number out there like that, but I feel strongly about women having options and feeling the best possible about those decisions, especially on what could be some of the best days (and definitely most memorable days) of your life! My experiences with Better Birth have been incredible (hence three babies with them)! Some things I love about their services: 1. I NEVER wait on my appointments. I'm in and out usually in 15-20 minutes tops. I have a real pet peeve when doctors stack me into a schedule that makes me wait in a waiting room for an hour. I am a very busy person and I believe my time is just as valuable as a doctors and I want to be treated as such. 2. I love having options! Better Birth is all about letting the mom have as many options as possible (you can have a doula or not, you can birth however you want, i.e. water birth, home birth, from the bed, etc.). They even have a new program that let's the mom come in as much as she wants to be checked or cut back on unnecessary appointments as well. I hate that hospitals don't give us options, I didn't even know that I didn't have to put that goop in my babies eyes until Better Birth. They constantly keep me informed and then let me make the decisions that I feel are right for me and my baby. 3. HUGE savings! I actually originally chose Better Birth because I have a high deductible insurance and it was going to cost me $7-$10k to have a baby. I found Better Birth who was around $2800 total! They have several different options and plans as well for you to choose from. 4. Absolutely incredible care! My care with every midwife from prenatal care to handling my births to post pregnancy care has been top notch! Every midwife and student I have worked with has been kind, professional and above all assisted me in every way possible to have incredible births. When I hear about others horror birth stories I feel bad because my three births with Better Birth weren't just better births they were the best I feel I could have had. They were absolutely idyllic days that I will remember and cherish forever. Please feel free to call me if you have questions and feel I can be a resource to you. read more

I recently delivered my son at Better Birth's Salt Lake center, and it was a wonderful experience. The midwives were so knowledgable and supportive throughout my entire pregnancy. They always had mine and my baby's best interest in mind and championed my birth plan the whole way through. My birthing midwife, Harmony, remained calm and efficient, even when my son was stuck and his heart rate started dropping. I never felt panicked, even when I knew things were getting serious. I got an episiotomy and he was delivered safely. It was so nice to rest in such a calm, comforting environment, and then go home the same day. I will definitely be coming back to Better Birth when it's time to have another baby. I love those women and you can tell they are doing what they love. read more

My sister delivered at the Salt Lake location of Better Birth recently. We had a very bad experience. The midwife Trinette was the attending and she does not have appropriate people skills to be a midwife. She was uncommunicative, somewhat rude, secretive with the other staff, and took a very long time in making any decision. This led to a delay in care for the newborn. My sister went through about two hours of pushing/feeling the urge to push before the staff checked her and decided to help move the last bit of cervix out of the way (there was a small lip in the way that was easily moved). She then had to push for an hour after that. I attribute what happens next to their inability to act. The baby came out and had a hard time breathing. Of course I understand that not every baby needs to be suctioned, but he was having retractions and grunting and was unable to clear his airways. They did not communicate to the family that they were concerned about the baby. This went on for a couple of hours at least. Still no suctioning, no checking O2 levels. The attending midwife never even checked the baby until about 1-2hours later. She had the resident and the students checking the baby. Finally, they decided that he needed some support and called IMC. They ended up taking him to St. Mark's NICU. Trinette actually told my sister after they made the decision that they could wait another hour before taking him in. My sister was appalled and said that she wouldn't wait. My sister opted not to treat for GBS so long as her water did not break prior to the onset of labor. I got the feeling that this midwife was upset with her decision and was waiting to take the child in to be vindictive. Turns out, the baby had aspirated some blood and fluid and this was the source of the breathing difficulty. Probably due to my sister having to "push" for so long. The baby was stressed in transition for so long. I really love midwives and believe that they can provide wonderful care for most women with a low risk. I used one for my birth recently. This midwife was like no other that I have met before. She was rude, and uncommunicative, and a very poor provider. My poor sister had a very long and arduous labor that would have benefitted from some knowledge and compassion from her provider. read more

The midwifes at better birth were incompetent . . my baby was literally dropped on his head! My husband and I were excited to try a birthing center. we toured better birth and liked it. We chose to do the student program, knowing that a student would be present for the prenatal appointments and the birth, but always under the supervision of a certified midwife. The prenatal appointments were okay, although you always see a different midwife every time, and some of them seemed cool and insensitive. On April 21 st, 2013, I went into labor. The birthing center made me leave several times, as they have no where for you to labor. They did not even have an exercise ball for me to sit on. Finally, at about 7pm they admitted me. I was confused and upset to see that five staff members were in the birthing room . . two students and 3 midwifes. my husband, sister, and mother were with me so it was extremely crowded and impersonal. I got in the tub to help alleviate the pain. The staff members came in several times and I felt uncomfortable. My contractions became unbearable so I got out of the tub and put on a robe. i started to feel like pushing so the midwives started putting paper out on the bed and floor. They brought a birthing chair into the small room, and all five of the staff came into the room, making my mother and sister have to go and watch from the other side of the bed. A midwife took my robe off me, saying it would get blood on it, leaving me completely naked in front of the 8 people who were staring at me. This was the most embarrassed I have ever felt in my life. I sat on the birthing chair, but then decided that I wanted to squat. The midwives said that this position was fine to deliver the baby. I could not see where all the midwifes were, as they were all positioned somewhere behind me, except for the women that was sitting at her computer, in the left side of the room, typing everything that was happening. I squatted and pushed hard once, and then pushed very hard again and I could hear someone say "here comes his head". All of the sudden I saw the baby shoot forward, face down, smack his forehead on the wood floor, and then slide on his face. I heard a couple of the women gasp. Everyone was dead silent in the room and then the student who was trying to deliver the baby with no assistance from anyone else in the room, stepped around me and picked up the baby. The midwives sat me back onto the floor and someone handed me the baby. The floor was covered in blood, and I had blood all over me so I was having a hard time holding the baby. They then told me to get up and that they wanted me on the bed. As I was trying to stand up, while holding the baby, I slipped on the blood and almost fell over. I caught myself and made it to the bed. The midwives let me hold the baby for a baby's forehead and that the lower part of the baby's face appeared to be purple and bruised. There's was also a small scratch in the middle of the bump. The midwives immediately put a hat on the baby, which covered the bump. No one said anything about the incident and when we tried to address it later, they all denied it happened, even though we have pictures of the bump on the babies head and 4 witnesses! read more

My wife just delivered our 4th child today and I was so impressed with Better Birth. Trinette and Mimi were amazing and attentive to my wife and new daughter. They were well skilled and competent. I would highly recommend Better Birth. read more

I LOVED my experience with BetterBirth! This was my first baby, so I really had no idea what to expect, but the midwives were so patient with me and always took the time to answer my questions and make me feel comfortable. I chose the student program, and the students were always so respectful and knowledgeable, that I always felt like I was in such good hands (the midwives were always present and amazing as well). My needs were always met with the appointments, whether it be that I was in a rush, or that I had a full half hour worth of questions. Everything was always explained before it happened, and they really listened to what I wanted. When it finally came time to have my baby, the midwives and students gave the perfect amount of support. They knew I wanted my husband very involved, so they gave me space when I needed it, as well as additional care when labor got rough. The atmosphere was so calm and loving, I can't imagine my baby coming into the world anywhere else! I was so worried that something could go wrong since it was my first baby, but everything went perfectly and I just knew that my baby and I were always safe. It isn't always hard to find someone who is smart, but it is difficult to find a care provider who not only knows the ins and outs of pregnancy, birth, and postpartum, but is unbelievably respectful, caring, and supportive as well. These midwives had it all. I will definitely be back with baby #2! read more

Better Birth has recently added a page on their website that claims that people who have complained about their services online 'suffer from mental illness that prevented them from perceiving the events of labor correctly"! ??? So they know how to correctly experience things and women who actually experienced it do not? If future customers complain will they be dimissed as delusional, too? Its bad business to dis past customers. The fact that they needed to make a whole page devoted to addressing negative reviews online should have caused them to rethink their practices and policies instead of dismissing clients who shared their experiences with others. read more

this was one of the most amazing experiences i have ever had. My first daughter was born in the hospital while i was on military leave. my wife was not treated well at all and the doctor was extremely rude and refused to respect my wife's wishes. Wanting an all natural birth the first time and not getting it i promised her we would have our second child the way she wants. After doing a lot of research and looking into the best option we chose Betterbirth. The entire staff was absolutely amazing and extremely supportive when the time came and my wife was in labor. we chose the student plan which allowed a student to deliver our baby with the help of the midwife on call. Even with a student it was a amazing experience and the labor was faster and easier on my wife. The recovery was so much faster compared to our first daughter's birth. through the whole process we were taken care of and we ended up making some life long friends. You know the staff cares when they shed tears of joy when the baby comes. BetterBirth you guys are amazing and you changed our outlook on child birth. read more

I am a student midwife. The program offered by Better Birth is terrible. I witnessed this as I attended the program for 8 weeks. The program is unorganized and not worth the $$$ you will pay. This place is like a fast food baby birthing place. I do not recommend this place for women and family's. During my stay, I saw many unsafe and unexceptable situations between midwives, students, clients and babies. This place would be shut down very quickly in Los Angeles and other states. I attended a few hospital delieverys both in Orem and Salt Lake while I attended better birth (transports). I would certinly reccomend having a baby in the local hospital's rather than at Better Birth. The staff at the hospital's were lisenced, professonal, caring and qlalified to care for the mothers and babies. Better Birth is not an example of what the midwifery community would deem an exceptional, safe place for women and babies. Warning: Do not go to Better Birth as a student, you will learn what not to do as a midwife. Do not have your baby here! This place should be called "WORST BIRTH" read more

I have delivered my last four children with BetterBirth, and that should speak for itself. :) I love the midwives and have always felt like family. They always put mama and baby first and go beyond the extra mile to make sure to provide a safe and comfortable birth experience. I always get tense in hospitals and wanted a natural experience for myself and my baby, so chose to go with a midwife. I loved being able to choose more freely of what I wanted and to be able to not feel stressed when in labor. Being able to go home after birth is important to me and laboring in the tub is always something that has helped with the pain. I have, and will continue to, recommend Better Birth to "moms to be" because I believe that they are beyond qualified (and perhaps even more so than an OBGYN) in the birthing field. I trust my life with them. read more

I did enjoy my prenatal care at Better Birth and I had the student package. I really liked the homey environment. I did not grow for the last few weeks, however, so I was transferred to a hospital to give birth. They did a great job with the transfer and arranged for the hospital to provide a great room where I could hopefully birth naturally (I did, minus my water being broken). I wish they would have told me a bit sooner that they weren't seeing any growth and that they wanted to monitor that, because it came as a big surprise to me when they told me this. They gave me my refund for labor, delivery, and postpartum care when I asked for it. I was pleased with that. read more

My hope is that my experience was out of the norm, but sadly, it was a negative one. My husband and I decided to have our son naturally, liked the idea of delivering outside of a hospital, and were also trying to be cost conscious about birthing expenses. This led us to Better Birth, and more specifically the Student Midwife Program. I worked with Better Birth from the time I was about 12 weeks until I delivered at 40 weeks. The prenatal care was fantastic and both the certified midwives and the students exuded confidence and knowledge. As my pregnancy progressed, I would have questions that I would need to call about and always got prompt responses to them. Everything was wonderful. I was excited to deliver there. Then the big day came. I went into labor. Once contractions reached 3-5 minutes apart, I went into Better Birth in hopes of delivering within a few hours and bringing home my baby boy. When I got to the birthing center, I was surprised to find that I only knew one of the 4 people attending my birth.... I understand I opted for the student program, but I never imagined delivering with 100% strangers. Worse yet, the one midwife I knew and really liked and trusted (Sarah) spent most of her time outside the room. I was left with a Certified Nurse Midwife that I had never met and 2 students I had never met. It left me completely afraid. Worse still is the HUGE lack of communication between myself and the midwives/students. Once I hit the point of transitioning, and even when I was checked, I was never told how far I was dilated or how effaced I was (Ok, once when they sent me home at 4cm, and once more when they asked me to switch positions to speed labor). This left me completely in the dark and staring at a clock watching hours and hours of contractions and intensifying pain go by without having any idea how close I was to delivering my baby. Well, in the end, I had been in hard/transition labor for so long (well, 6 hours was long to me) that I was exhausted and still had no idea how long I had to go....and then my son's heart rate dropped. After being hauled down the stairs naked and on a sheet (they did cover me with a second sheet) I delivered at St Mark's hospital probably less than 15 minutes after arriving with a doctor that was kind, but pissed at me for attempting to deliver in a midwife center and upset at the center for sending me in like that. Based on my prenatal care with Better Birth, I think they had potential to offer a wonderful birthing experience, however because of my delivery experience I will NEVER be returning to deliver there again. After my birthing experience, I did send a letter to Better Birth explaining how negative the experience was and the trauma that it has caused me, and they've never answered. My son is now 17 months old and still there hasn't been anything from them. read more

Better Birth is wonderful. I'm a mother of 4. First two in a hospital, second two at better birth. I know what I'm talking about people! Too many first time moms are blaming others for how their birth went down. Labor is HARD and having a baby is uncomfortable in every way. The only beautiful part about it is you finally get your baby when your done. Better Birth has competent midwives and wants everything to go smoothly just like you do. Don't get hung up on how things didn't go your way. We're all women just trying to do our best to bring life into this world! We need to stop blaming each other for bad experiences and the women at Better Birth are only there to make it better!! read more

I had a home birth with the midwives at Better Birth in February and could not have been happier with my care. I met with Amy, Harmony, Trinette, and Suzanne throughout my pregnancy and felt like they all truly cared about me and my baby. I came from hospital births and have to admit I was very scared to deliver out of the hospital but I am SO happy I chose to birth out of hospital because my birth was absolutely AMAZING! I truly owe it all to the midwives at Better Birth. I would recommend Better Birth to anyone. read more

I birthed my baby in March 2015 with BetterBirth. I loved my experience. My care felt very personalized, and my midwives knew of the trauma I felt from my hospital birth with my first child. They made it a point to be sensitive to the trauma and do their best to assuage it. My first child came with me to every appointment, and they were never frustrated with his normal 2 year old behavior and curiosity. When my pregnancy began having complications at the end, they worked with me to help me achieve an unmedicated out of hospital birth. read more

If you have any complications, midwives are very limited as to what they can do! If complications arise, seconds can mean the difference between life and death for your baby! read more

I started My prenatal care with better birth. this is my second pregnancy, I had a great experience the 1st pregnancy with a different birth center so I wanted to experience the same with better birth. The 1st appointment was good but after the next 5 were awful. The midwifes didn't seam to care about how I felt and my diaconforts, since I had my 1st child with midwives who cared better birth just didn't feel right. I had really bad pain in my pubic bone and every time I told them they pretty much said it was part of pregnancy I just had to deal with it. Having to go to work every day with that pain was horrible and the midwife would not help to get some FMLA for my condition. I felt they were not going to help me and I wasn't taking the chance to deliver my baby with them if they didn't care about the pregnancy. I transfered to anothet birth center and they are 100% better the only thing is I paid better birth over 1200 they charged me over 850 for 5 prenatal visits I needed an itemized bill so my insurance can pay me back a portion of it but they refused to do the itemized bill. The stuff is completely rud about it and are not willing to help claiming that they will be committing a fellony if the itemized the bill since they bill on a packaged!???!. Save your time and money and also your peace of mind this birth center is bad and there are other really good ones who truelly care about you and your baby not just your money I should have done more research on this birth center because I have found a lot of people having problems with better birth. Even the birth center I went to have heard from other clients how bad they are read more