When I became pregnant with my daughter, I set out to find a midwife that I meshed well with; one…read morewho I could feel confident would help me on my journey to becoming a good mother to this new life. I was absolutely thrilled to find Susie and her team at Aurora Birth Center. They're very experienced and have a well balanced approach to pregnancy and birth. They have access to all of the screenings and technology, as well as a safe and comfortable, home-like environment. I felt like I had a solid and knowledgeable group of friends I could call on 24 hours a day, if need be. As I got close to delivery, I started getting really excited. We had planned to have a water birth at the beautifully designed birth center; my husband and son were to be present. Plans changed, however, when Paisley arrived 12 minutes after we got there; not even enough time to think about running the water. It was still a lovely birth by candlelight, with mellow ladies helping me along, and my family present. My son got to cut his sister's umbilical cord; what better way to make him feel like a great big brother. Afterwards, I was served a delicious homemade meal (and amazingly sweet strawberries out of Susie's garden). The experience very much fit my definition of perfection. Susie is still my primary care provider, as well as the pediatrician for both of my kids. She takes care of all of our medical needs, from physicals to birth control. Thank you for being you, Susie, and thanks to your wonderful team of ladies, as well.

I don't even know where to begin because there is so much good to be said about this wonderful…read morehealth center. Susie has helped me through 3 miscarriages and 2 successful pregnancies. July 2012 I found out I was pregnant for the first time. Right after I had my first appointment with Susie I experienced a miscarriage around 11wks. She was there to talk to me on the phone and let me know what to expect. I was going to go to the ER and she told me my body would probably be able to do it on its own and if I went to the ER I might be given a D&C. Turns out I could do it on my own and she saved me from what I imagine would of been a very traumatic experience in the ER. A few months later in I found out I was pregnant again. I had a great experience with Susie so I went back. When I was pregnant with my daughter the plan was to have our baby in our home. Through out my pregnancy my blood pressure kept rising and I was very swollen. Sadly near the end I was diagnosed with preclampsia and Susie decided a hospital birth was going to be best for me. I was induced at 37weeks in May 2013. My daughter rushed out into the world in less than 4 hours later. The birth was quick but very intense. Susie was there by my side offering her support the whole time. I very much think Susie made the right choice and if we had our baby somewhere else I feel that mine or my daughters life would of been in danger. When my daughter was about 2 we decided we were going to try to have a 2nd child. I had two miscarriages in 2015 March and July. Both times I went to my first appointments and didn't hear the heart beat. Both miscarriages happened around 11wks. Susie and her staff were there for me once again answering my phone calls even one in the middle of the night. They gave me great advice and guided me through what could of been a really traumatic experience without the help. After these miscarriages Susie did lots of tests and blood work to see if we could find any answers. Everything came back normal so we still don't know for certain what it could of been. Susie helped me make some diet and lifestyle changes in hopes it would help. 2015 was not all bad because near the end of the year I found out I was pregnant again. I figured I would just have another miscarriage so I didn't even make an appointment until I was 12wks. I went in and we herd the heart beat! It was so special and Susie was genuinely happy and excited for us. Our goal for the birth of our son was to have it at the birthing center. Almost no swelling and my blood pressure slowly crept up through out my pregnancy. My blood pressure was ok enough to have him at the birthing center. August 2016 my water broke at 39wks at 6am while I was sleeping. In fear that my son was going to rush out of me like my daughter did I went to the birthing center at 9am. Throughout the laboring process Susie and her staff mostly let us be but offered advice and checked our vitals often. When he was ready to really make his appearance Susie and her staff were very encouraging and helped me get into a better position to ease him out of me. Around 1pm our son was born and everything in the world was perfect. Every experience I have had with Susie and everyone who has worked her has been a positive one. All my appointments have been very professional and the staff is very knowledgeable. I have never felt like a burden or tossed aside. In the 4 years I have been going here I have only had to wait a little longer twice for my appointment, because someone else was having a baby. The birthing center is beautiful and we felt like guests not patients. If you are interested in having a home birth or birthing center experience I would highly recommend.

I am so grateful to have worked with these special women for the birth of my son. They are adept,…read moreprofessional, loving, and supportive. I felt so at ease in their care and and had a blessed and meaningful birth as a result. I recommend them to anyone interested in having a home birth. The experience is one I will never forget and it is in large part due to the support system I had from the wonderful midwives of Birth, Babies and Beyond.

I can't imagine having another baby WITHOUT these ladies! They are the best of the best. My third…read morepregnancy, my first delivery out-of-hospital, my biggest and latest baby, skeptical family and friends when it comes to home birth, and yet everything went so beautifully and perfectly. These midwives can run all the tests you need, they can provide any intervention you would need outside of C-section. They intuitively knew what my husband needed to hear and what I needed to hear (very different) throughout pregnancy and during post-partum visits. You forget how important post-partum care is when prepping to have a baby, but it's huge! Their follow up and visits after delivery were priceless! Speaking of price, their fees are more than reasonable for the services and amount of time they provide AND they bill insurance. I cannot imagine a better situation or better providers for our first experience with midwives and home birth. Truly a blessing and highly recommend!

My husband and I recently had a baby born at the Bridge Birth Center via a surrogate and we have to…read moresay the team of midwives at the Bridge were terrific. They are highly skilled and knowledgeable, caring and compassionate. Shout out to Lynette and her team of midwives. It was a pleasure working with everyone. The facility itself is very sanitary and tidy, calming and peaceful - just what you would want during labor and when you're cuddling with your newborn after delivery. We would highly recommend the Bridge Birth Center!

Lanette is an amazing birth coach and midwife. She is thorough, educated, and respectful. I…read moreappreciated being educated and then given space to make my own informed decision. I'm so thankful for her and others on my birth team. I can't imagine what this process would have been like with out her!

I'm so incredibly grateful for Alma and the amazing team that helped us every step of the way. The…read moremoment I found out I was pregnant with our first child my number one stress was "where am I going to have this baby?!" I've had bad experiences with hospitals and almost always feel like I'm not being heard as a patient. This is such a HUGE life chapter to go through I really didn't want to be surrounded by strangers making me feel like my voice didn't matter and that birth was some sort of major medical procedure rather than a natural life event. In steps... Alma! Someone had mentioned them to me so my husband and I went and met with Laura who walked us through what a pregnancy and birth with Alma would entail. Wow! It was so refreshing to feel so comfortable and at home in a clinical setting. From day one they made me feel welcome and heard. Another huge blessing about Alma was that from our first appointment they were upfront about what the total cost of having our baby at the birth center would be (permitting there were no complications). I cannot tell you how incredibly refreshing it was to know an amount ahead of time so that we could budget and be prepared. Our baby was born healthy with no issues and I can tell you the price we paid is exactly what they quoted us nine months earlier. What I also loved and appreciated, was for all our check up appointments before our baby arrived we saw one of two midwives and an assistant midwife. And so we knew when our baby came it would be one of those two who would be helping us deliver. It meant so much to me to have grown a relationship of trust and kindness with these women before hand. It made going into labor so much more peaceful and not stressful knowing that I knew and liked the team that was helping me. The birthing suites are just the perfect balance of a medical and home setting. So many people had no idea what I meant when I said we were having our baby had a birth center. So I just told them it's not as cold as a hospital, but it's more medical than a home. It was so inviting and will always hold a special place in my heart. There's so much more I could say, but these are the biggest things of why I am so grateful for Alma and why I can say with confidence...this is where will have all our future children.

If Big Midwifery were a thing, it'd be Alma. One of our midwife-assistants left the company a…read morecouple months into my pregnancy, and when I asked her why, she said, "I just want a more personal experience with mothers," and at the time I didn't get it, but then I had my traumatic birth experience, forced into a hospital even though my pregnancy was advancing ideally, and I kind of got it. And I've sat on this for a couple years but am now compelled to share because my friend has now been also forced into a hospital birth even though her labor was advancing ideally, and now I'm just mad. They seem to have the same "easy button" policy as most hospitals do, and in general that's not why we go seeking out midwives. Alma is corporate midwifery, shoving people through the very gauntlet we have left mainstream medical childbirth to avoid. At the end of it, the individual midwives are lovely--I'm still friends with my midwife to this day--but the company itself treats birthing mothers as the exact same commodity that traditional western hospitals do. If I had it to do again, I would have followed that midwife-assistant to a more personal experience.

PLACENTA ENCAPSULATION? There is a huge controversery around this topic. Some based on religious…read morebeliefs, practicality and western beliefs vs ancient traditions. I can only share my personal experience. I had my first 4 children in the hospital with western doctors that induced each with pitossin. The babies were born in a very sterile environment that required me to be tied to monitoring machines and IV's. Then there's the always invasive and uncomfortable cervix checks every hour as well. After each birth the baby's cord was cut quickly and their entrance into the world for the first few minutes of life were filled with poking, prodding, bright lights etc when really all each of them and I just wanted to be in each other's space (the same space we shared for 9 months). My 2 of these 4 were 9 lbs and suffererd from yellow jaundice which I now realize could have been easily avoided by allowing the placenta to stay attached a few minutes longer after birth so baby receives much needed nutrients that are still pulsating through the umbilical cord after delivery. My recoveries were painful because I still had pitossin pumping through my body several weeks after and I was absolutely dealing with post partum depression and anemia after the loss off blood and hormones that went with delivery. All normal western stuff so far, yes? With the last 2 pregnancies I chose to go with more ancient and empowering ways of bringing my babies to the planet. Part of this centered around the placenta, the temple that houses our incredible little miracle until they choose to take our breaths away with their first breath. The concept was odd to me at first because I'd be eating something that came from my body and our child grew in but I rationalized it by saying "I'm not frying it up like a steak" and "we take supplements all the time that come from all kinds of strange things". I mean, most of the planet eats hot dogs and the flesh of other creatures, right? It made it easier to try for me because it was in a pill form and I am so grateful that I did it! My recovery was much faster (bleeding stopped in half the time ), my 9 1/2 lb baby didn't have colic or jaundice, my breast milk was richer, engorgement was minimal and I didn't suffer from post partum depression or anemia. When our next child came, there was no question that I would do it again. We are now pregnant again and I will absolutely be doing it again! You cannot get the same hormones to balance you in a synthetic from or a piece of fish as you can from your own body. I believe that this is beneficial for baby too because they continue to receive a boost of the same hormones while breast feeding as they did in utero. Thank you Tia for suggesting it and also preparing these for us! Amazing!!!

My husband and I went to Tia for our birthing classes. We received four one-on-one classes that…read morewere between 2-4 hours long each. Although she was a little difficult to get a hold of at first (probably because she works as a midwife also and they have crazy schedules) we were very pleased with the classes. I had been around a lot of babies and pregnancies so I didn't feel the need to take a class, but I am so glad my husband insisted! We both learned so much. Since we were the only ones in each session, she was able to answer our exact questions and talk more about areas that we wanted to, as opposed to needing to stick to a certain curriculum. She was great at making good use of the time and making sure she covered all the important areas. My husband loved that she showed us some funny video clip each time pertaining to what we were going to talk about that evening. I can definitely say that I used some of her tips in labor and it absolutely helped! I would highly recommend her.

Joanna is simply amazing. Her kindness, compassion, and ability to truly listen make her an…read moreoutstanding midwife. She provided the support and guidance I needed to process past medical trauma and advocate for a different approach for my second birth. Not only is she a great midwife, but she is also a good human being. I highly recommend Joanna!

Joanna was our midwife/involved in all three of our home births. She was instrumental in gently…read moreguiding us while making the choice of how/where we wanted to birth. She provided medical care as well as held space for us and connected us to community resources. She has been foundational in not only our birthing process but helped lead me to specialize in Perinatal mental health in my own professional life. She is absolutely amazing and a beautiful compassionate soul.

Sarah and Charli were the absolute best caregivers for me and my family. I've used H&H for 3 of my…read more4 babies (two were successful homebirths, one a non-emergency c-section), and I cannot recommend them high enough if pregnant in the Columbia River Gorge area. Their level of professionalism, personalized care, and passion for their jobs really stands out. I've entered birth and postpartum feeling well informed, supported, and 'held' (?) in way that allowed me to trust myself and lean on them when desired. Even for those not considering a home birth, I'd still recommend H&H for pregnancy care, advocacy during birth, and postpartum care. You won't regret it!

Sarah was an absolute asset to my birth experience. This pregnancy was as a surrogate, which…read morerequired me to give birth in a hospital, so I knew I needed a coach and an advocate. My first and only other birth of my daughter, was attended by 2 midwives at home and was the best day of my life. So, I hired Sarah and Charli for their doula services and was comfortable with either attending, just happy I knew them and they understood me and my birth plan. Sarah showed up at our house right when the contractions kicked in. She guided me through them and made the call when it was time to walk to Providence Hospital. Along with my husband riding our cargo bucket bike and 9-year old daughter walking with me, we walked the 1/2 mile to the hospital, stopping every minute or two for me to lean against her and have a contraction. She provided me with shelter and guidance. When we got to the hospital, I was taken up to the birth center and learned I was 5 cm dilated and felt a sense of accomplishment. The final 5 occurred over 3 hours between the tub and the yoga ball in the bathroom. Sarah was my crutch during the hardest ones. My family doctor, who knew my birth plan well, showed up and they, along with the nurses, worked together to let me know it was time to get on the bed and push. I squatted in reverse on the bed, holding tight to the railings. With every push, I could feel baby Penelope make her way through the birth canal, with intense pressure. I asked Sarah to guide me through the ring of fire so I wouldn't tear. We took it slow, allowing the head to crown, stop, head halfway out and back in, stop, head out, stop, shoulder out, stop, arm out, stop and then her body fell gracefully to the bed between my legs. I scooped her up, the nurses helped me untangle from the cord so I could turn around and sit with her. They toweled Penelope off, I scooted over and her new mama came over crying and sat next to me and I got to hand over the most beautiful thing in the world to the person who had wanted her most. I looked up at the room and everyone was smiling and taking in the moment, including Sarah. This was the most magical day of my life. I can't recommend her and Charli enough. Having a doula or midwife is a serious luxury in giving birth and I also attribute my fast recovery (casually walking and biking within a week) to them. I needed no epidural, emergency treatments or stitches.

I cannot recommend Vivante enough. As a first time mom, I was overwhelmed with all the choices of…read morepregnancy. However, Sharon was ready at every appointment to answer all my questions and ease all my fears. Sharon spent an hour plus at each appointment with us and truly empowered us to have the birth experience we wanted. Sharon also referred me to several wonderful providers during and after birth for breastfeeding/pelvic floor work. All the providers have been amazing to work with, and I wouldn't have known about them without Sharon. My husband and I plan on seeing Vivante for all our pregnancies! 1000/10

I interviewed many midwives, but knew immediately when I met Sharon at Vivante Midwifery that she…read morewas the right fit for our family. During our first meeting, Sharon told me about the birth work that she did in the Philippines and said something like, "I wish I could just be the village midwife and get paid in bread and fish." This was so telling of the kind of person Sharon is: she is really in this because she is passionate about birth work - not just as a job or a way to pay the bills. Throughout our time together, I felt genuinely loved and expertly cared for. Our monthly meetings were slow paced, filled with patient answers to my many questions as a first time mom. Sharon possesses a wealth of knowledge on all things pregnancy and birth, and was mentoring a wonderful student - Max - throughout the process, who we loved having on our birth team. Both my husband and I are mixed race, so it meant a lot to us to have a midwife of color - mixed race herself - who could bring that perspective. So much about pregnancy is calibrated for an average white person. Sharon always had the understanding that there is a lot of variation among human beings, especially across ethnicities, and always made us feel seen and cared for. After our 20 week ultrasound, we had a scare about the baby and my health. Sharon was there by our side every step of the way, even offering to come with me to the gynecological oncologist appointments. At this point, Sharon feels like a member of our family and it's hard to imagine that we soon won't be seeing her regularly. I highly recommend her for anyone seeking a warm, caring, knowledgeable midwife. I couldn't be more grateful to have walked the path to motherhood with Vivante midwifery as my guide.

Doctor Alexandra Demetro is the finest and most competent and common sense doctor I've ever been…read moreto.... And let me tell you I've seen my fat share! She is patient, kind and caring... and on top of that she is so incredibly smart and has such a wide scope of practice. I can go to her with any ailment... I can take my kids to her with any ailment, and she has the answers. I always feel confident when I step out of her office that we are in the road to wellness! Seriously can't recommend her more!

From the owner: We offer home birth and naturopathic services in SW Washington and the Portland area. BBB offers…read moreindividualized support on your journey from birth, baby, and beyond.