All 3 of my children were born here and Sharon is amazing. I couldn't imagine having a baby anywhere else.

I wouldn't recommend this place to anyone. I do believe they have too many patients and that is why they can't keep up and hopefully they will stop taking new patients so they can actually be there for women that need them. I will also note that I do like some ladies there and I think they knew they were overworked. My birth story actually happened 9 months ago and I am finally able to speak on it. At 37 weeks after my entire pregnancy being head down my son decided to move into a transverse position. I was told if I went into labor I'd have to call 911 and stay in a downward facing dog position until I was taken to the hospital. I was told I would be sent information on how to naturally turn him which I never received but I did my own research and tried different techniques and went a chiropractor. After a week by son was in a more breech position but still transverse. I was told at 39 weeks they would schedule a evc procedure but if they didn't call me by Thursday I needed to call them. I had to call and no one seemed to know what was going on and then I got a call saying to go to uf downtown they gave some different time options I picked a time and went when I was "scheduled". The hospital had no idea I was coming they didn't know why they had no papers nothing, nobody called them. Finally sharron calls she didn't know I was going to the hospital that day but I had talked to Serena literally the day before about what time I needed to be there so a confused shit show for all parties. Finally I was put in a room at the hospital they said they needed to monitor the baby so they can to the evc procedure the next day and that it would be taken in the operating room with an epidural..... I was told from my midwives they would give me a muscle relaxer for the procedure not an epidural not in the operating room. Next day rolls around evc super scary super painful even with epidural it failed and I had to have an emergency c section. Not any of the midwives called to check I got a text just asking how everything went the next day. They told me they will handle my after care check ups. My first appointment after birth I sat in my car still in pain and recovering also my newborn was in the car to be called in (COVID rules) I waited over an hour until I called the office to reschedule as I was outside. I was told they were double booked. A term I heard quite frequently my entire pregnancy with them. I went to one more appointment and realized I was just a number to them. I never went to my last appointment and they never called. If you do decide to use fruitful vine midwives please ask every single one of them that you meet and you meet them all ask what they do in case of emergencies. I didn't and I completely 100% regret paying them over 5,000 dollars for the worst pregnancy, birth and after care treatment I have ever experienced and seen. read more

I wish I could have given a better review. Unfortunately , I agree with the points stated in the other negative review as well. Front office was not friendly, little to no assistance throughout process. I never saw the same midwife twice. And as soon as I had slight complications when I went into labor - constant throwing up with every contraction, extremely painful contractions - they shipped me off to Shand's to deliver and I never heard from them again. I was looking forward to a VBAC with my second child but ended up having another CS at Shand's with random doctors. I was told the CNA would be there to assist me throughout because she had rights at Shand's but I never saw her. Definitely not the experience I signed up for or hoped for. I should have stuck it out with my original OB I chose when I moved to town. read more

After having two natural hospital births I knew I wanted a different birth with my next baby. I decided out of hospital birth was exactly what was right for myself and my baby. I found Fruitful Vine and interviewed the midwives, after the interview I knew these women cared and would respect me and my choices as a mother. I loved being listened too and having my concerns and thoughts validated. The midwives and birth assistants didn't disapoint at all. They were supportive, patient and extremely knowledgeable. I was able to birth my baby the way I wanted to. I love Fruitful Vine and have many friends who have since birthed there any absolutely love the care they receive. read more

Amazingly wonderful experience! This was my third birth and my first homebirth, if I had it all to do over again, they would all be FV homebirths. Sharon really knows her stuff... when I explained the strange complications I had with my first birthing experience (that completely confused my OB-GYN and almost required a C-Section), she immediately knew what it was and how to overcome it. She was also very helpful with prenatal advice and recommended reading to make sure the experience was easy and complication-free. read more

I just had my most recent baby through Fruitful Vine. I have nothing but wonderful things to say. This was my second home birth and it went like a dream. However , even before that ,my pre-natal care was excellent. My midwife, Sam Crickmore, is a skilled professional as well as a lovely person. I looked forward to every visit that i had with her. She always made me feel supported and I knew that I was going to have a wonderful birth with her. I was right. She knew from the get go that I was going to be labor very fast, and she made it a priority to get to me in time. She went above and beyond for me and my family. Came to me (even though she was not on call at all that night) on Christmas morning at 3am with no shoes and hauled all her heavy gear up three flights of stairs with a smile on her face in a sweet Christmas sweater. As soon as I saw her, I knew I was ready. Had a baby 5 minutes later. So if you want to be treated like family and have beautiful memories for the rest of your life, I highly recommend these ladies. read more

I wanted to give birth, at a birth center so very badly. I've heard all about the amazing experiences and the camaraderie, but this place... This place offered none of those things. Before I came to this place I was told it was going to be a certain price (because of my insurance), which later I found out that they might not even take my insurance and that part was all up to fate. The place lay out is alright, it's great that they have an area for your older children to play. My first visit was just my daughter & I, the receptionist was the most unwelcoming person ever. The girl who took my blood pressure was very nice. I had to test my own urine (wha? I'm paying you how much to test my own pee?). I met with Sharon, she was somewhat friendly, but mainly judge-y . I'm sorry but when you are pregnant, have a toddler, moving back to fl from another state, living out of your suitcase at your parents house while you are waiting on your house to close in Jacksonville which is 2hr from our hometown, and staying at a hotel AND being a military wife (so you're basically doing everything by yourself) you're a little tired and may not be 100% with it. She treated me like I was stupid because I was exhausted. All I wanted to do was have a baby, no I didn't have tons of questions, I knew what I wanted and how I was going to achieve it, all I wanted was a place to do it. She asked me if I breastfed my daughter (which is none of her business to ask anyone), I answered yes and that I was still breastfeeding her (14mo at the time), but I was doing a parent/child lead weaning, cutting one feeding out a week and seeing how she was with that. She told me that I was weaning her too quickly... My midwife before we moved was an lc and told me that was great way of weaning and my midwife after this place also said the same thing and all of my lc friends I consulted said the same thing. Maybe she said that because I was weaning her before 2yo, but she had colic and if anyone is reading this who had a baby with colic, it's a traumatizing experience. I was scared my son would have it too. I didn't want to be exhausted and make my daughter feel like her brother was the reason if I wasn't in the mood to nurse. I just wanted her to welcome him and not ever feel like he was taking anything away from her (now I know that isn't the case and she loves him more than anything & she started nursing again, so we're tandem, so HA! In your face Sharon). Neither one of my kids has ever had a bottle or a pacifier, so I don't know what more she could of possibly want from me. I guess she was surprised that I bf & wanted to find a reason to get on me about something. The receptionist has the worst personality and their pimp, yes I know this is a business, yes I know they need to get paid, but they could ease down and make it not seem like they weren't going to get paid. My husband said she pushes the bill on you like hospitals push epidurals. Both we even had our consultation so wanted money from me, I was like... "I don't even know if I even like the place yet". From the beginning they told me that they would take my insurance and because of my insurance the price would be a certain price. The receptionist tried to tell me that they are raising the price and we had to pay the higher price, I was told her I don't think so and that I even have emails telling me what the price was suppose to be for us & that is how much we are going to pay. For some reason I decided to go with this place & made the first large chunk payment. My husband went with us to the next appt, we had it with a younger brunette woman with no personality, I think you throw a shoe at her head and her bitchy facial expression wouldn't even be phased. He hated the place. At that appt after grumpy face receptionist took our payment she decided to tell me that she was unsure if my insurance was going to cover them and it was a 50-50 chance of it happening. My husband and I got to talking after and decided that we didn't like the 50-50 odds especially since we did not like any of them. The next day I called them and grumpy face told me that I had to email this one lady Rebecca, really? Email? Why the hell doesn't this woman have a phone number I can get into contact with her. Rebecca didn't return my emails for weeks then she finally did and avoided giving us a refund. She told me to call and talk to Sharon. Why are these people running us around in circles? Sharon didn't return any of our phone calls. My husband had to physically go in there and demand a refund. We got most of our money back since we had to pay for our appt which was totally fine! They did us a "service" so they should get paid. Come to find out our insurance covered 80%! They sent us a check for the appt we paid for, but I do not regret not going with them! I ended up having my second at Flagler hospital in the low intervention room & labored in the tub the entire time, it was a beautiful experience, like it should be. read more

Ever read reviews on yelp and wonder about the mad ravings of some people? I'm sure they had an unpleasant experience, but an endless rant tends to lose credibility. PRO: Fruitful Vine was great! Clean, hospitable, and NOTHING like the three hospital experiences my wife and I previously experienced. I was at work for my wife's appointments during the pregnancy, but she would call me in glee about the day's events - heart beats, kicks, science, and personalities - who worked, who might not. My wife is a bit crunchy and nerdy, so the science of prenatal development and its effects on her body were not only fascinating, but also critical given our previous experiences. My wife was thrilled to test her own pee. At Fruitful Vine YOU are the expected MOTHER of your child - OWN IT!!! NO IS GOING TO HAVE YOUR BABY FOR YOU!!! Pee on the stick and find out yourself what is happening and find out why. If you feel this is an imposition, I'm sure there's a barcode you can have implanted on your way to manufactured obstetrics. While Fruitful Vine (and midwifery on the whole) can tend toward the crunchy, hippie/dippy, I appreciated that it was simply presented as a choice. It is a sound Christian establishment that provides the environment you choose. When it came time for my son's birth, I was not prepared for how smooth the process was going to be. We called the midwife after my wife had been in labor for several hours and checked in about 10:30 pm. They had the tub ready with warm water and soft lighting and music. The tub and lighting were good, but kill the rainstick tribal beats! Done! Off goes the music. They offered a fan - NO. They offered a cool moist towel - YES! The environment was presented and accepted how ever my wife wanted it - perfect so she could focus on the business of labor. Also, my wife liked the rotation of the midwives, because they are on shifts and you don't who you might have on the day of delivery. As it turned out, we got the one my wife was not sure about. We have never been so happy to be wrong. She was so polite, caring, and always professional. Everything was so easy just having her skilled presence. All of our previous reservations were swept away. I have a certain bemused contempt for anything describing itself as holistic. Can the body do wondrous things? Yes! But anybody that says labor can be pain free is selling you a massive pile of SH*#! YES, labor was uber painful, but it was also the best experience we could possibly have imagined. When my son was born we moved to the bed - he nursed for a bit and went to sleep. My wife got up and went to the restroom very nervously and emerged ecstatic - no epidural, no catheter, no pain - just simple routine. SHE JUST A BABY!! I was dumfounded. The labor pain was gone after the birth, and she got enjoy being a mother - no monitors, no shift-changes, no pushy employees. CON: Their billing folks could be a bit more efficient- I am still waiting for the insurance claim to be processed, but they are a small operation and things get crazy around Christmas time. I can be a patient patient (or husband of one). After three previous experiences, my wife finally got the birth she and my new son deserved. We were home and in bed by 3 AM. Thank you, Fruitful Vine. read more

Absolutely love this birthing center! The staff are friendly, considerate & accommodating. The facility is clean, beautiful & welcoming. They spend time with you answering any & all of your questions & they don't pressure you into anything. Definitely so much better than a conventional obgyn. I feel like a person instead of just a patient. I recommend this place to all mothers looking for a better experience. read more

This is the best place to give birth! I've had all 3 of my babies here, Nov 2013, Feb 2015 and May 2017. I've enjoyed my experience more every time and was so blessed to have Sam deliver for me again. I recommend everyone expecting to come here! read more

The care i received was sooo personable. Everyone at fruitful vine is so caring and professional. I called in this morning for an appointment for an urgent matter and less than an hour later I had a scheduled appointment. I would recommend Sam and fruitful vine to anyone and everyone. They truly do care about each and every patient. They make me feel so comfortable. 2 years ago they delivered my daughter and ive stayed in touch since. They are truly amazing! I Love fruitful and am so grateful for them and the impacts they make on sooo many families. Thank you Fruitful vine for your outstanding care ! read more

Just wonderful in every way. Have been a patient in one form or another since 2011 and have always had outstanding care. Most knowledgeable and caring midwives around. read more

I choose Fruitful Vine because I did not want an invasive hospital birth. I had a very easy pregnancy and had chosen Fruitful Vines early on.I had to pay for services in advance and had opted to pay a $15 research fee Fruitful Vines offered, to have the billing contractor THEY HIRE research my insurance and provide the estimate coverage.They informed me that I would only have to pay 35% and my insurance would pay 65%.This was consistent with my own research.My portion was paid in full~6 weeks out from my est. due date.I ended up going over 40weeks.All mom's to be should know who are considering Fruitful Vines,once a woman goes over 40 weeks and doesn't deliver,by law Fruitful Vines has to transfer your care to an MD, their back up MD.Any hope to have a home birth or birth center birth is no longer a possibility.My care was transferred to the medical office called A Place For Women.[I would highly recommend A Place For Women to any mom to be or mom looking for a progressive MD/nurse midwife practice.]Fruitful Vines completely botched up my transfer of care by not communicating appropriately to me what was happening.And further they mis-represented my birth plan to A Place for Woman.Without my consent or permission they informed A Place for Woman I would do,"whatever" it took to have a vaginal birth"and in reality they never asked me and did not know what my choice would be in a hospital setting.The ripple effect of Fruitful Vines actions caused a lot of trauma for me my last week of pregnancy and it was extremely difficult trying to unravel the communications Fruitful Vines had with A Place for Women but not with me.The midwife in question who was the catalyst of the mal-communication is named Katie. She's unprofessional and inexperienced.She was friendly; all the midwives are friendly but not professional.In the end,A Place For Women delivered my son at St. Lukes.My insurance covered 100% for the hospital delivery.In turn,since I had already paid my money to Fruitful Vines for them to delivery my baby and they did not,I expected a partial refund of services they did not perform.That did not happen.So I began what became hours of phone calls between me and my insurance and me trying to resolve this with Fruitful Vines.Fruitful Vines filed a claim with my insurance and they covered 0%.0%?What happened to the 65% they were supposed to cover? My insurance informed me that they did not cover non-registered nurse midwives.The billing company that Fruitful Vine hired made a big mistake...and I early on did not know enough to ask if my insurance would cover non-nurse midwives.But I would have thought Fruitful Vines contractor would have known enough to ask the right question regarding the type of midwifery services that were covered.Whether or not it was negligent or accidental on Fruitful Vine's Billing contractor I don't know.After dozens and dozens of calls over six month; Fruitful Vines, attempted to call me back once, leaving me a message because I was working and missed the call; but never returned any other calls post their one attempt.I finally went in in person.Sharon the owner of the practice was completely unprofessional and took no responsibility or accountability for the billing error and would not work me to find an amicable solution.Rather she was extremely combative and blamed me.In my mind she still owes me a partial refund for their error; which I know now I will never receive back.However, it is not about the loss of money that I writing this review. My compliant is how she treated me, her belligerent manner, her lack of compromise and understanding. She is not a business woman and has no understanding that she is providing a service and costomer service is important.I would not recommend this midwifery service in Jacksonville Fl.And if you are truly looking for homebirth experience,Fruitful Vines is not the place.Find a private midwife if that is what you really want. Good luck with your birth plans ladies. read more

I believe in alternative birthing options and there are very few in Jacksonville, so I hate to give them a poor review. However, I feel like I should share my experience and I would recommend against paying in advance for your birth because in the event that you move or end up being transported to a hospital for your delivery you will probably not get a refund or will have to go to great lengths to get one. It's also important to know that the wait times for appointments are very long. They do have a great waiting area with lots of toys so that any other kids you might have can have lots of things to keep them occupied. I'd also like to say that all of the midwives I met with were excellent. The issue I had was not at all with their care but rather with their billing and business practices. I was planning to use FVMS for the birth of my child and had 5 office visits. As they requested I began to pay for the birth in advance and paid a total of $530. I then unexpectedly moved out of state and therefore discontinued my services with them. It took them three times to reprocess the claims for my office visits because they initially requested that I send paperwork to my insurance so that they would pay in-network, which my insurance did. However, this required FVMS to take a larger write-off so they then asked to be considered out of network to increase the amount they would get from the insurance company. They were originally paid $172.43 by my insurance and then an additional $360 after my insurance eventually allowed the full amount they requested. The patient responsibility after all of this was $133, therefore I should've received a refund of $397 about 6 month ago. This business refuses to discuss any payment or insurance matters over the phone. The receptionist, Debra, is actually quite rude about it and will only give you an email address for Rebecca. She was helpful initially but after the insurance paid more she has yet to reply to any of my emails. I have not received any response from her for 5 months. I called this week and actually got a receptionist who would talk to me and she said that Rebecca would be in that day and would call me back but she didn't. I called again today, but was never able to talk to a human. They do not have voicemail, the number will only go to an emergency line who will not take messages. I actually had pre-labor contractions when I was about 5 months pregnant and called for 2 hours on a Wednesday and no one ever called me back. I eventually drove in and was then seen and was told that everyone had been in meetings all day so that was why no one was answering phones. This seems like poor practice to me for a midwife service. read more

lazy, careless and unprofessional. took them over a month to get my insurance in order when they state "only two weeks" I have to call them address it, repeating information they already had on record. when you go in for your appointment you check your own ph result and weight then tell Lori Lee at the front desk, when I ask her why she doesn't check the ph and weight to confirm she said, it's to make me educated but my own health. So when i ask her to educate me on the ph strip for what each color meant, she told me not to worry and my result were normal. Doesn't really answer my question but whatever I think the truth is she doesn't want to get up from the desk. I can deal with those things they're minor, sadly it got worst. at my 28 week appointment when I was told I would get my glucose test and the appointment should take around an hour. I got a call an hour before my appointment asking to come in early since a mother was in labor. I arrived at 9:30 ( appointment was at 10) the midwife was completely oblivious to my glucose test needed to be done, but was able to set things up and make it happened drank my grape juice and was told to be back but 10:55am to have my blood drawn. I came back at 10:50 and told the Lori Lee and anther women at the front desk I was back and needed my blood drawn in 5 mins. I was informed they'd tell the midwife i was back and to wait in the lobby area. apparently the two never got up from the chairs and just kept chatting (lazy) to where the midwife comes out looking for me thinking i'm late! Doesn't draw my blood till 11:25 which was a complete waste on my time because now the result aren't even accurate. now the icing on the cake for those mothers that are Rh- listen up! again i'm 28wks and also Rh- my husband and my 17mo old twins are Rh+ meaning i'll need the RhoGAM shot to protect the baby I am carry. They DID NOT have the shot there and ready for me, in fact they only call in the script and YOU drive and go pick it up to only have to schedule another appointment with them just to they can stick you. Yet the NEVER called in! ( again lazy and i was also informed that other birthing center will have the rhoGAM shot ready for you by 28wks, smart.) Since I was upset the midwife told me i could chose the pharmacy I will like to pick it up at, so i wouldn't be wasted my time and gas driving downtown to memorial where it's normal filled. After being told it was called into a Walgreens and would be ready for pick the next day ( a Friday) , I call the walgreens to confirm yet only to hear they have no record of it! So they called it in again on Friday. I called the walgreens to confirmed it was done correctly this time and what went wrong. they said Lori Lee spelled the name out "Jessica Robinson" which is NOT my last name! and the script will not be ready for pick up until Monday now. So now i'm having to pick up the script today at memorial and giving myself the shot since the office and closed and I don't trust these careless women. Get more or better staff and learn how to communicate!! read more

I first chose fruitful vine well before I was even pregnant. My best friend since childhood had her two children there, the last was born in 2009. She had a great experience and I loved that it was midwives and would satisfy my husband's need for replacing nurses and doctors. I knew since I was a little girl that was how I was going to do it, natural with a midwife, because my mother did it with me. My friend got to meet all the midwives because every appointment it was rotated around. I thought they must do that on purpose, she supposed it was so she would know them all once labor came around and only one midwife would be on staff. She had her children there and it was great for her. For me, six years later, I met with the same midwife about seven times(who I liked a lot), then it was someone new (the owner), then it was with three other women that I had met only once or not at all. That is counting my six week postnatal appointment. That wasn't too big a problem with me but I hoped to meet them all and feel confident in them all before labor. My last month and a half of appointments up to my own labor, women would be in labor at the birthing center. There was usually two midwives there when it was a day like that. One in the birthing room, one taking the patients. I usually took FMLA time to get off work for the day and my husband would take off when he could from his construction job, no sick time. So rescheduling wasn't really an option and I thought "it'll happen to someone else when I'm in labor, it's inconveniencing for my appointment to be an hour late but no big deal really", we had the day off anyway. When the time came that I went into labor I was a little surprised at my contractions being 2 minutes apart from the moment they started, but I was ready. I called the fruitful vines answering service; the answering service took my message and called a midwife on her personal phone. I got a call back from a midwife that I had met once. I told her about my baby was not moving during these contractions, I was a little concerned but my son usually didn't wake up and move till later in the morning. I should have just listened to my gut but I asked about it. She told me I could go to the Shands hospital (who they have a good midwife/doctor relationship with) to have him monitored, all they could do at fruitful vine was listen to his heartbeat. 4 hours after my contractions started I was at Shands and 9cm, they only hooked me up to the heart monitor anyway because I was so far along. I could not ride in the car from there to fruitful vine without him being close OR coming in the car. The contractions were back-to-back and lasted longer than the machine at the hospital recorded them (I hated that consistent beeping). We decided to stay there and I assumed the midwife would be there since I was told that they would come if at any time my labor takes me to the hospital. My husband called the midwives; they were open now so he got one in office (the owner). She said most first births take 15 hours, she said she would be there when she could, that she had some things to do at fruitful vine. I assume that these things were appointments or maybe even a birth there. Shands was actually better than I assumed they would be. They knew I was supposed to be at a birthing centre and I didn't want any drugs or intervention. They DID send in the anesthesiologist just a little before I was about to push (they have to get their 5 minute consultation in so they can charge a hundred bucks), the guy even said it was "too late for drugs but they don't like to say its too late" so I could have them if I wanted. They also tried to scare me into taking an iv, the doctor said "if you bleed out, YOU WILL DIE". Dramatic, and it worked, I took the iv in my hand. It came time to push around 1:30pm and I was so intent on doing this right and staying focused I didn't even think about the midwife. Because of that iv in my hand (that the nurse couldn't even get into my vein) I couldn't feel my left arm at all so others had to hold my left leg. I asked if I could stand up to push him, the doctor said no "the baby might fall out". I THINK that is why I was there in the first place. She then had me sign a piece of paper stating I would not try to stand up or get out of the bed. So, while I was stuck on my back pushing my baby (the exact way I did not want to birth my son and a big reason to me for having him at a birthing center) the midwife never showed up. She DID called about 15 minutes after I pushed my son out; she was surprised it went so fast. Of course because of financial agreement form I signed the very first appointment we ended up with the hospital bill and the already paid off fruitful vine charge which is somewhere around $4,300. I was ok with that when signing it thinking the midwife would be there with me, coaching and stepping in whenever the doctors or nurses wanted to intervene in a way I didn't want or need them to. read more

Had my first prenatal visit here with my first son and it was the worst experience. Waited in the waiting room that was over crowded and nowhere to sit with screaming crying kids for OVER AN HOUR past my SCHEDULED appointment. The front seat lady was very short with me and very rude. Didn't smile once. When 45 minutes went by and needed to know how much longer we were going to wait, she said there was a birth the night before till that morning so all the times were being pushed back. Okay so WHY didn't they just call all the appointments that day and have them rescheduled???!!!!! Then after over an hour of waiting we waiting yet another 45 minutes in the actual office to be seen by a lady who looked touched out, impatient and spoke to us about my forms I filled out for about 5 minutes then asked if I had any questions. We didn't get a tour, we didn't get a smile or a genuine conversation. She kept looking at her watch and after trying to find my babies heart beat and no being able to get it with the Doppler, she was called out by another lady. She apologized for cutting it short and left. We didn't know if we were suppose to stay in there or if the whole appointment was over or what. We were lost. We walked out. We didn't eve stop at the front desk, we just walked straight to our car. My husbands cousin was also supposed to have her baby there we found out and she labored there but then was transferred to the hospital. If we personally know someone who was transferred, I'm sure their transfer rate is extremely high. Do yourself a favor and go to Growing Families Midwifery in St. Augustine. They are what a birthing center and midwifery experience should be. read more