Yes! Denise, Gail, and Lisa have created a full-service midwifery and birth center in Sandpoint,…read moresomething that is undoubtedly the envy of many nearby towns. They offer well woman care as well as full prenatal, birth, and postnatal care in the comfort of a beautifully renovated craftsman bungalow in the heart of Sandpoint. The birth center, which is upstairs in the same building, is simply gorgeous and perfect for anyone who wants a homebirth setting with the convenience of having the hospital nearby. The birth of our second child at our home outside of Sandpoint was peaceful, joyous, and fearless. I credit this in no small part to Denise and Lisa's presence and the utter competence and love with which they performed their services. Had we needed to transfer to the hospital, which fortunately wasn't the case, I trusted that Denise's preexisting relationship with the doctors and nurses there would have ensured a smooth transition and respectful treatment. Pend Oreille Midwifery is a jewel and Sandpoint is very blessed to have it. I know that we'll be going there first with any and all future babies.

I was privileged to have Denise and Rachel deliver my last baby, and all I can say is that they are…read moreAMAZING. Every question was answered, and although I was nervous about having a natural birth, I wish I had been in the area to know these wonderful gals sooner. My previous pregnancies would have been so much easier!! We decided to use the birthing center, as we live outside of Sandpoint, and it was so beautiful, and calm. I would encourage anyone looking to have a midwife, to absolutely see Denise and Rachel at Pend Oreille Midwifery!!

I could not say anything better about these midwives. My wife's first birth was at a midwife…read morecenter in Boise and it was horrible. Spokane river midwives was a COMPLETELY different experience. They were extremely respectful of our decisions and gave us all the info we needed to make the right decisions. Our first baby ended up being a C-section, mostly we believe because of the midwife's mistakes. Our second baby, at Spokane River Midwives, was not an easy birth. There were other midwives who came into the center, who weren't even supposed to be working that day who ended up staying with us the whole day. My wife needed all the support she could get and they were the perfect people for it. Our main midwife Brianna stayed with us the whole 24 hours; and Kayla, who wasn't even supposed to be working, came in and stayed with us the last 12 hours. Midwives all sounds great when you meet with them, but it's when you get into a difficult labor that you find out what they're really made of. We desperately did not want to end up at the hospital getting a c-section again. Hours before the delivery I felt like there was no hope. And our previous midwife in Boise would have given up on us before that even. These women stuck it out, with unbelievable patience and stayed positive and helped my wife through the whole thing. I feel like we 100% owe the fact that we had a successful natural v-back delivery because of these women.

Our Experience with Spokane River Midwives My partner and I…read morewere so excited to welcome our first baby and chose Spokane River Midwives because of their many positive reviews. We hoped for a more personal midwifery experience and a strong connection with our care team. We are sure many families have had wonderful experiences here, but after seven months of care, we unfortunately never developed the connection we had hoped for. Appointments often felt routine and clinical, and on the occasions when we did have questions, we sometimes left feeling as though they were silly or unnecessary. Our biggest concern was the doula requirement. At our initial consultation, we understood that a doula was highly recommended for first-time mothers. To the best of our recollection, we were not told it was a requirement until around six months into my pregnancy, and we were never given anything in writing about it that we could find. It is possible we simply missed it, and I hope they normally make this clear during consultations because it is a significant consideration to be forced to pay for a 3rd party service and have a person at your birth that you were not planning for. We did not want a doula at our birth. We could have afforded one, but that wasn't the point--we wanted to take childbirth classes, support each other, and choose who would be present for our birth. When we asked why it was required, we were told doulas could help determine when it was time to come in during labor so we didn't come in to early, teach birthing positions, and advocate for our autonomy if a hospital transfer became necessary. We even asked if a friend or family member could fill that role because we would have been more comfortable with someone we knew and were told, "We don't like that." This was difficult for us because autonomy and freedom of choice are such a strong part of how the practice presents its philosophy. At my seven-month appointment, I discussed the financial concern with the second midwife, whom I was meeting for the first time. Doulas can cost $1,000-$2,500 or more, my insurance does not cover them, and the cost could have exceeded our entire expected out-of-pocket cost for the birth. I was told that I wasn't paying that much for my birth anyway and could make a baby-shower fund and perhaps have someone in my family pay for the entire doula expense. I found that dismissive, and very assuming, especially because our concern wasn't simply the cost--we didn't want the service in the first place. That same seven-month appointment was ultimately the turning point for us. I asked about routine newborn care, including vitamin K, erythromycin eye ointment, and hepatitis B vaccination. When I asked about hepatitis B vaccination practices of the office, I was met with a laugh and the response, "I've never had a patient with hepatitis B." Neither my partner nor I have hepatitis B, and that wasn't what I was asking. We both found the comment uncomfortable and insulting and felt it was dismissive of a reasonable question about our baby's care. My question wasn't answered, and I was told we could discuss newborn procedures at a later appointment. After several months of experiences like these, we decided to transfer our care to another practice. I'm sharing this because I don't want another first-time mother to find herself six or seven months into pregnancy feeling like she has to choose between paying for a 3rd party service we never wanted or potentially changing providers late in pregnancy, not to mention a few of these comments making us feel uncomfortable. That was an incredibly stressful position to be in with our first baby. I hope this encourages prospective patients to specifically ask about any additional 3rd party financial requirements, expectations about people expected to be at your birth, so that large decisions like these can be clearly communicated and considered before choosing your provider. I know many women have had positive experiences here; this is simply ours, and I hope it helps another family make an informed decision.

LaMonica is the best in the business, hands down!…read more I'm an overprotective and overly-critical perfectionist, and this was our first non-hospital birth experience. So finding the right midwife to trust with the birth of our child was going to be a challenge any way you look at it. After interviewing multiple midwives, it was not a difficult decision to choose LaMonica. She has a profound amount of knowledge and experience (vastly more than anyone else we spoke with) and has dealt with just about every kind of situation a delivering couple can experience. LaMonica is caring and pleasant and really makes the whole experience very comfortable and relaxed. We very quickly felt as though we were in the capable hands of a good friend who also happened to be a qualified professional! She did an amazing job with the prenatal care, delivery, and post-natal care, knowing when to give us space and when to step in and guide us. I could not have hoped for a better experience! We are so grateful and thrilled to have connected with such a wonderful person! If more children are in our future, we will not go to anyone else but LaMonica!

LaMonica has assisted me with the births of three of my babies: the first as a doula, the second a…read moresuccessful home water birth, and the third a transfer to the hospital after a planned homebirth. Before I met LaMonica, I had previously had a child via emergency c-section due to being breech and going into distress after a failed ECV. LaMonica was wonderful and incredibly supportive. She cared for me throughout my pregnancies, respected my level of comfort surrounding risk, and understood my fears and anxieties after my first traumatic birth. She helped me and my husband to have the confidence that God created birth as a natural process and he would see us through it. My first home birth was perfect in every way. My second, the transfer to the hospital, I'm convinced would have been born in our driveway had we not planned a homebirth. His birth was precipitous (very fast) and LaMonica recognized right away that he wasn't doing well during contractions and recommended a transfer to the local hospital. She called ahead so that they were expecting me, and had my OB there within minutes. She also stayed with us throughout the birth to support me and my husband. Though it wasn't as we had planned, it was still wonderful. Since I'm no longer having babies, LaMonica has continued to be there whenever I have a question about my cycle, perimenopause, or about my daughter's questions or problems as well. We love her so much!

I loved Nicki as my doula! She gave me quality attention from the beginning and I felt she was…read morereally on my team. I appreciated her being so available for any and all of my questions, her kind care during labor, as well as the postpartum support. I highly recommend!

My heart is filled with so much gratitude & I can't stop thinking about Nicki amazing work as a…read morebirth Doula. Just from her showing up for me in the middle of the wee hours of the night . holding my hand , to being right next in my bed the whole time I was pushing & contracting & her constant warm smiles that kept reminding me I was safe in the labor room hospital despite it being overwhelming with so many medical staff in one room . I remained calm . Nicki literally saved me from alot of birth trauma story & I have beautiful birth story to tell everyone forever. You are too awesome Nicki & for sure meant for this job. It's definitely your calling .

Sarah Dunn actually takes the time to communicate with you through every single appointment. Which…read moreis amazing compared to the 15 minutes you get when you go through the hospital midwives. She makes me feel empowered, loved, cared about & she is so great at her job! She is like a therapist through our sessions, I always come out of the appt feeling way better than when I went in. We focus a lot on my diet and supplements to make sure baby is getting everything he needs. I wish I could give her 10/5 stars because she is fantastic!! I recommend her to everyone of my pregnant friends. I am so excited to give birth at her birthing center!

We didn't have a great experience with Sarah. Unfortunately she has removed her google reviews and…read moremy review with it. Things were going good to begin with but she soon started to dismiss some concerns I had. When I felt uncomfortable to proceed any further with her we transferred to another Ob and thats when the problems really started. She had 0 medical records for me and to this day we have still never seen any medical records. She lost payments that I needed to provide records of myself and thankfully we were able to recoup some of our money but it took months. She consistently didn't respond to email or phone calls and had an excuses each time as to why she couldn't get back to us. She also failed to provide a supper receipt for us to bill insurance and I tried for over a year to get that. Unfortunately it was never provided so we were never able to submit to insurance or recoup that back. I think things would have been ok if I had developed medical conditions but unfortunately it did and we discovered the unprofessional side of the business. Just something to consider when looking into midwifery care.

When I first came to Spokane Midwives during my second pregnancy, I honestly wasn't sure if…read moreVictoria was the right midwife for me. But as I got to know her, I quickly realized that we were on the same page about so many things, and I decided to put my trust in her. That trust turned out to be one of the best decisions I've ever made. When it was time to have my baby, Victoria stepped up in a way I will never forget. She took charge, guided me, encouraged me, and helped me bring my baby into the world safely and confidently. She was truly an angel in disguise. I had been labeled "high risk" by Western medicine, and that label came with a lot of stress and fear. Victoria never made me feel like a diagnosis or a problem to manage. She saw me. She listened to me, cared for me, explained things to me, and gave me reassurance when I needed it most. With her support, I was able to have the beautiful water birth I had hoped for, and everything went smoothly. Then came pregnancy number three. After my previous experiences with being labeled high risk and feeling overwhelmed by the stress of traditional OB care, I knew exactly where I wanted to turn. I chose Victoria again. And once again, she showed up for me. She monitored me, cared for me, answered my questions, calmed my fears, and helped me feel confident throughout my pregnancy. When my water broke and my contractions needed a little encouragement, Victoria came through with her home made concoction and knowledge. Again successful waterbirth. I would definitely recommend!

Victoria and the staff at Spokane Midwives are an amazing home birth team!…read more This is the second time I am receiving care from them and they have treated me and my husband with the utmost care and respect. They are very professional at how they handle each situation that has arose in both pregnancies from blood clots to being unable to breastfeed. They will treat you well and are very thorough with their care and they know what they are doing regarding pregnancy, birth, and postpartum care. They are highly knowledgeable, professional, and caring! I am so grateful for them and highly recommend them to any momma to be out there!