I should have written this review years ago but I was just so happy to be done with her and wanted to just move on with our lives. Now, pregnant again, I can't believe I didn't warn others... When I met Jeri during my first pregnancy in 2014, she seemed to have all the qualities I was looking for in a midwife but that soon changed. I began to show symptoms of preeclampsia which I ended up diagnosing myself because Jeri never seemed concerned enough with any of my symptoms to take me seriously. That's when I began looking for other care at 31 weeks pregnant...with possible preeclampsia. Days away from securing a new provider I woke up with an intense migraine and sky rocketing blood pressure (I began monitoring it myself at home). I called Jeri to let her know how high it was and her very calm and nonchalant response was that I should probably head in to labor and delivery because they will probably want to check on me and that I should "plan to be there a little while". I almost didn't go, I almost choose to go back to bed to sleep off the migraine because I couldn't see but thankfully my dad insisted I go in. When I arrived at L&D all hell broke loose. Everyone panicked and it became very clear, very quickly that my daughter's and my life were in great danger. The doctors spent the next two days trying to get my blood pressure under control and prevent a 31 week preterm delivery before rushing me in for an emergency cesarian. I was in the hospital for the next two weeks to get my blood pressure under control and for two weeks after that I was back and forth to the hospital to be with my baby who thankfully (other than being 9 weeks premature) was 100% healthy! Not ONCE did Jeri show her face or even call to check on me. In fact, never saw or was contacted by her again... read more

Jeri delivered my first baby in 2005. It was the best birth experience. I have i 2 children since my birth experience with Jeri and I most say she was the best. She shared information with me about my rights during birth. She was very caring during Prental visits. When the day came for me to give birth she made sure I had a jacuzzi tub to labor in the nurses spoke highly of her and When I started to push she poured mineral oil so that I did not rip. My baby came right out nice and easy. She was amazing. Thanks so much for that experience Jeri I will never forget you. Many blessings and peace to you Jeri. read more

I'm now expecting my 5th so I'm on Yelp looking at homebirth midwives and came across this page. Reading Lisa Z.'s review, I felt compelled to chime in and add mine. I don't think Yelp was around back then, in 2002, when my first was born at Alta Bates with Jeri as my midwife. We were on medi-cal and were not allowed to homebirth. The main things worth mentioning about our experience are: 1) She gave me a weight complex I still struggle with. Every check in, she would tell me how impossible it was going to be for me to lose the weight afterwards. I was 20 years old and had begun pregnancy at an emaciated 125 lbs, (5'9"!) so gaining like I was was normal. But she made me feel gross and as if it were my fault. 2) In the delivery room (I had been warned about this) she freaked out that the baby was stuck and pulled him out by his head. He wasn't stuck (and none of my babies have been) but he did cry for 3 hours straight after his birth, interrupting our bonding hugely in an already compromised hospital setting. Of course because he wouldn't stop crying the nurses wanted to take him, he fell asleep without nursing, I was traumatized. For a long time he was very sensitive about his neck and wouldn't let me touch near it. There were positive things, like that my labor was short and I spent most of it at home so Jeri only showed up for about an hour of my labor. She left right away after the birth, too. Having had 3 more births, all at home, I cannot recommend Jeri to anyone. After our experience many other mothers I've met along the way have shared similar experiences. It doesn't have to be that way. read more

This review is coming a few months late, but something that needs to be posted & shared. First off - if your thinking AT ALL about having a home birth, keep looking... Jeri is NOT the midwife for you. No matter what she tells you, do yourselves a favor and find someone else. In addition to home births, I've got to say that I know of two other couple's who had her for a hospital births, and the stories we heard were very discouraging to say the least. That said, I'm writing this review based on our experience, not anyone else's... Bottom line is, giving birth is A HUGE experience. In addition, the people you share it with, and choose for your support - they are big decisions. I noticed many people on here have had positive experiences with Jeri, and that's great. That being said, I feel it's very important to share our story so people can get a balanced view. Truth is, I'm seeing a lot of 5 stars, and ours was anything but that. When my wife and I were beginning to look for a midwife in the early summer of 2014, the MOST important criteria for us was to work with someone who honored the fact that we may want to birth at home. My wife had always envisioned giving birth at home, so naturally it was something that I cared about as well. My wife and I called and spoke with several people before finally connecting with Jeri. When we did have a chance to speak with her, she was friendly and told us that she had a lot of experience with home births (a big plus). She also said she would support us in that way, if that was our decision. At first, we were ecstatic... we may have found our midwife, we thought. Of course we wanted to meet her in person to make sure that it felt like a good fit. Chemistry is such an important part of it (as it is for everyone trying to decide who to trust in this role). During our first visit, we again explained to her the importance of having options (hospital vs. at home), and while we hadn't yet decided on our plan yet, it was something that was very important to us in our selection process. That first visit (and several afterwards) Jeri again assured us that she was comfortable with either option we chose, and she would support us in our decision 100%. We were relieved, so we selected her as our midwife. We felt solid in our selection process, and the fact that neither of us have family nearby (mine in Vermont, and my wife's in Sydney, Australia) - it honestly just felt good to have someone who we felt was in our corner. After meeting with her for roughly 4 months and thinking through our decision extensively, we made our decision to birth at home. My wife and I were so excited and empowered by this, and we were happy to share the news with Jeri so we could begin discussing the details of our birth plan. When we told her what our decision was, she was anything but warm or supportive. In fact, quite the opposite. She immediately became extremely closed, cold and actually quite negative in both her tone, and her body language. She simply refused to assist us in our home birth, and told us that it didn't work for her schedule... We were shocked.. It didn't work with her schedule? I mean, it's not as if we were asking her to pull a double at Outback Steakhouse... After all, this was our birth. What do you mean it doesn't work for your schedule ?!?! We were confused, hurt and quite honestly pretty pissed by her deception. She then began to ask questions like, 'well, what do you need me for then'? She became EXTREMELY unprofessional, and began to install lots of unnecessary fear into my wife, and our decision. We told her that we needed time to consider our options, which was basically - shit, we need to find another mid wife AND FAST!!! We went home, and my wife preceded to cry a lot, as we talked about our options. We both felt betrayed and lied to - which we were. How could she turn her back on us this late, with no remorse or understanding when we were clear with her from the beginning ? It was a huge red flag to us, and a strong indication that she was not the right person to support us. My wife and I talked about it, and while the decision to change midwifes at 7 months wasn't an easy one, it was the right one for us. WHAT A GOOD DECISION! When we described our situation to our new midwife, Serena Russell (www.sacredcyclesmidwifery.com) we were embraced with support, understanding to our situation, and very professional care. It was night and day, and what we were looking for in the selection. Over the next 2 months we spent a lot of time with Serena and her partner who assisted us. In fact, we probably spend more time together in those 2 months, than the entire 4.5 months with Jeri... which paints some additional perspective. In the end, it was all perfect. Our home birth was extremely smooth and successful & without complications. As I said earlier. There are a lot of 5 star reviews with Jeri, which is great - but our experience was anything but that. read more

It's hard to write a review like this since I don't like hurting people's feelings, but birth is such an important event that can't be fixed or redone later and I don't want others to have the same kind of regrets and sadness I have. Jeri was my midwife for the birth of my first child in December of 2014. I decided I wanted an intervention free birth and hoped for a birth in which I felt safe and supported. These things did not come to pass. My first impression of Jeri was that she was a nice and caring person, but after some time, I began to feel that this was not very genuine and became nervous about having her at my birth. I wish I had listened to my instincts, but what kept me from switching providers was the out of pocket expense I had already incurred and I knew I wouldn't be able to afford to pay someone else too. The following were some of the red flags along the way. She was very scattered at appointments, often not looking at my chart and forgetting basic information about me or the baby. She contradicted what she said from one appointment to the next. She even forgot about some appointments all together and was late to most. I felt like there was no structure to the appointments; we just sat in a room and she waited for me to ask questions. I felt like I had to be my own doctor and make sure she didn't forget things like the glucose screen and tdap shot. If it had been up to her, I wouldn't have gotten either on time. Overall, her lack of organization made her hard to trust and I wasn't sure I was receiving quality medical care. As my due date approached, she told me she would be at a conference for a day and would not be available to deliver my baby if he came that day, but the on call hospital staff was great. I couldn't believe that after paying her several thousand dollars out of pocket, she would possibly not even attend my birth. In the end, she did show up at the birth but was extremely emotionally unavailable. She left the room multiple times, even while I was pushing the baby out and even made a phone call in the room during my labor. I felt abandoned by her and unsafe- not knowing who would catch the baby if he came out while she wasn't there. I learned later that doctors and midwives often leave during the birth, but all it would have taken is a little more communication about what was going on, and some reassurance that she would actually be there at the critical moment, and that didn't happen. I also specifically requested no cervical checks by anyone but her, and she asked me in the middle of transition if her assistant could do one for training purposes. I ended up consenting because I was too exhausted, out of it and in pain to even deal with the question -- and regretted it later, as that unnecessary "exam" was not skillfully done and was quite painful. I felt like it was taking advantage of my vulnerable state, when we had explicitly talked about it multiple times and it was written in my birth plan too. After the birth, she did not call me back when I had a critical medical concern that was time sensitive. I ended up feeling like I would have been better off taking my chances with a random hospital assigned midwife or doctor and at least it would have been cheaper. I had high hopes for a beautiful birth, and although I did manage to have my son without an epidural or drugs, it was very painful and scary and she did not provide the care I had expected. read more

I cannot say enough positive things about Jeri and her care as my midwife. Overall she is kind, intuitive, non-judgmental and had a positive, open spirit. Being that I was on medi-cal, I didn't think a midwife could be an option for me, but I am so happy that I not only was able to have one, but that I found Jeri along the way. She always made me feel very comfortable, was flexible in terms of appointments and never forced any views or opinions upon me. Jeri was always easy to contact, and when it was time for labor, she was always in contact with the hospital and doctor (we had been under observation for quite some time before labor started). Although my labor took a different path than I originally anticipated, Jeri helped make it everything I could have hoped for given the circumstances. She helped bring my son into the world as calmly and epically as we had wanted. I could not have done it without her guidance and reassurance. Her new office is on the same block as Alta Bates (super convenient), and if I had another pregnancy, I would surely go to Jeri (and Alta Bates) again. THANKS JERI! read more

Jeri Zukoski - Quentin B Espinoza-Piña. Born 2/7/14. - Midwives Near Me - Berkeley, California

This review is long overdue. I met Jeri when I was around 3 months pregnant with my third baby. As a Berkeley newbie, and newly pregnant I was eagerly seeking to find the right midwife for me. I learnt about Jeri from another midwife who had known Jeri for over 20 plus years and had worked very closely with her throughout her training years. After our first appointment (interview) we were sure we were going to stick with Jeri. She was soft spoken, and had a comforting energy, that felt very reassuring. My care with Jeri, was personal and seemed to be individually catered to my needs, meaning Jeri was involved throughout all aspects of our care. She's the best, I was very pleased with her office, and her quick responses to any concerns or inquiries we had. She is very thorough with her clients care and well being. What I loved the most about her style of care was the the informed consent. Jeri explained and clarified all aspects of my care and was open in her communications. If I didn't understand or seemed unsure about treatment plans she would pick up on it and provide me with various natural based alternatives which made me feel in control of my health and the health of my baby. She doesn't tell you what you should or shouldn't do. She informs you of what's going on, she gives you possible solutions and then you can decide what works best for you. During my labor, Jeri was incredible, her confidence and presence was amazing. She was all of what I expected and more, I chose to have a natural labor and she was very encouraging and expressed full confidence in my ability to do so! I was never scared or afraid (even when I realized my baby was stuck with a bit of shoulder dystocia). under this imminent threat she was very clear and direct and I birthed with the help of Jeri, my husband and the wonderful nursing care staff at Alta Bates s a healthy, 9 lb. 13.7 oz. baby boy. My son was alert and oriented and we felt very blessed to have Jeri oversee it all from a medical and holistic standing point. I tend to be a strong willed person in general about my life and very much so in terms of my health, I tend to ask a lot of questions and expect various options, and a health care provider to respect my need to be involved throughout the whole process. Jeri did that and so much more, she was patient, attentive, loving, soft-spoken, knowledgeable, encouraging, and above all human in every respect and aspect of her practice, I couldn't have asked for a better Midwife, or better prenatal, birthing, and post-partum care. Furthermore, my experience with Jeri topped all my previous pregnancies and I am very happy to have chosen Jeri as my Midwife and totally comfortable with the decision to have pursued her services. My son is now 6 months old, and while I don't anticipate having another bundle of joy in the near future, if I did, I would travel across the globe to have Jeri as my Midwife once more. Hand down Jeri is the best of the best, rest assure you, your partner and baby to be are in the best hands with Jeri Zukoski! read more

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In 2009, I was pregnant with my first child and had a HORRIBLE obgyn. I was looking around for different options and came across Jeri from repeated recommendations. I had never had a midwife, and never heard of one either, so going to see her, I didn't know what to expect. After our first initial visit, I was about 6 months pregnant and I fell in love with her and I knew, THIS IS THE WOMAN TO DELIVER MY BABY! Long story short, The day of my due date, my water broke and went into labor. I was completely terrified and nervous and she was there 100%. Her and I communicated multiple time throughout the first day of my labor ( my contractions were weird so I decided I wasn't ready to go to the hospital, and she respected that.). The next day, my contractions were still weird but getting stronger so I finally decided to go to the hospital. Upon my arrival, I had my two doulas, my boyfriend and my aunt with me. When Jeri arrived, the lights were off, and it was extremely quiet. She knew what kind of birth I wanted and she was there to rub my back and tell me you're doing a great job ( sometimes that's all you need to speed up labor). She told me I was 3 Cms dilated and told me she was going home and she would come back later. Within the hour, I was 10 Cms dilated and was ready to push. As my little angel was coming down the canal, she noticed something was wrong and she took immediate action. What nobody knew was the cord was wrapped around her neck twice and her heart rate was slipping. Jeri knew what to do, she oiled up her hands and told me she had to stick her hands inside ( at that time, I wasn't afraid. I just wanted her out. As the nurses were running around ordering an emergency c-section, Jeri grabbed the cord from around my baby's neck and BAM out slipped Nicole. When my daughter was born, she had no heartbeat, was white as a ghost, and was virtually dead. At this point, my doulas grabbed my head and forced my eyes closed so I couldn't see anything. From what I was told, Jeri started emergency CPR on my daughter. Afterwards, there was a silence and then a small whimper and a full cry. Wrapped in a blanket was my beautiful, pink, 8lbs 13oz baby girl. Jeri saved my child's life and I stand by that 100%. Now that I am pregnant with my second baby, there was no one I could think of other than Jeri to help me deliver my baby. She is an amazing woman and our superwoman. I would suggest Jeri to anybody, any day. I hope this was helpful for you and you pick Jeri to help you deliver your baby. :) Love, Alli and 3-year old Nicole read more

Jeri Zukoski - This is Jeri delivering my baby. - Midwives Near Me - Berkeley, California

I came to Jeri in search of the perfect birth. After having a medicated, traumatic birth with my first daughter. I knew a natural delivery was the way to go, for the safety of my second baby. I did a lot of research, watched a lot of documentaries and read a lot about child birth & breastfeeding. (I am a lactation educator and postpartum doula) Jeri was very knowledgeable, caring and professional throughout my pregnancy. I could not have experienced a better birth. When a concern arose, she handled it, with my safety in mind. The birth of my daughter, Ireland Rose on 2-17-13 was a truly electrifying experience. Jeri respected my birth plan and empowered me beyond words. Everyone at Alta Bates was awesome too! My only wish is that Jeri was more in network with health insurance providers. It was quite an ordeal to get midwifery coverage and the birth covered. You can read my birth story here: http://thechroniclesofmotherhood.com/2013/04/06/the-birth-of-ireland-rose/ read more

Jeri Zukoski - This is Jeri with my daughters. She delivered my newborn on 2-17-13 & gave me a fantastic birth! - Midwives Near Me - Berkeley, California

I had a great experience with Jeri, and was lucky to have the birth experience that I hoped for. Everyone around me thought I was crazy for wanting a natural, unmedicated birth, but Jeri was my biggest cheerleader. Even though Jeri wasn't on call when I went into labor (her son was in town visiting from overseas), she rushed to the hospital just in time to deliver my son (I labored mostly at home and things progressed quicker than we expected). On several occasions throughout my pregnancy I had contractions/scares and Jeri was always quick to respond over email and/or phone. I am also grateful for her gentile coaching during birth which helped me to have only minor tearing, whereas I might have torn much worse or had an episiotomy with an OB. Thank you Jeri, for helping to make my delivery and pregnancy an absolutely awesome experience! read more

My wife and I watched the documentary, 'Business of Being Born' and decided a midwife was how we wanted our child(ren) delivered. During a birth as a father, there is not much to do except chew your fingernails and try to make Mom comfortable. All the work was prior to that. We wanted to handle the preparations and then let the magic happen. Jeri was the leader of our A Team and my wife and I couldn't be more happy. Jeri has an amazing midwife-patient demeanor. She literally walks the line of a busy/experienced/competant professional and your favorite Aunt/Sister you never had. She has plenty of experience with at-risk pregnancies and really empowers the mom-to-be. My wife has a little white coat syndrome and Jeri put her at ease right away. Our baby's birth was at Alta Bates and it was evident that she is a respected fixture there. To top it all off, she helped me easily navigate the insurance approval and paperwork. After everything went through on the insurance, she sent us a refund check of a large portion of our copay. Thank you Jeri! I recommend her and will employ her services again, as needed. read more

Jeri was my midwife and I was highly disappointed she wasn't present during my child's birth. No thanks to her, I was able to deliver a healthy baby! And all credits go to my doula, the attending nurse and my family. During the course of the pregnancy, Jeri usually was late for my appointment, often forgot to bring my chart, and forgot details about me. As it got closer to delivery day, she never once checked my cervix. When my water broke, I called and told her, she didn't believe me. And when real labor started, I called again to tell her I needed to go to the hospital. She was hesitant to send me to the hospital and said "I don't think you are in labor but if you really want to go, I can call the hospital to let them know". Never once did she asked about my contraction to determine whether I'm in real labor or not. She showed up late to the hospital, and when I was 8cm dilated, she left for two hours. We couldn't contact her and the hospital couldn't contact her either. We had no idea where she disappeared to. I told the nurse we can go ahead and start without her and she then she showed up. It was obvious her mind wasn't there. Thanks goodness my doula was amazing. She helped managed my back to ease my pain, gave me positive energy and words of encouragement, she helped me so much while Jeri was absolutely useless. During the prenatal visits, I told her many times I wanted to delay cord cutting. Yet, during delivery she rushed to cut the cord. A few days after I had come home from the hospital she emailed me asking when was my baby born? I mean seriously??? U were there weren't u??? I would not recommend her to anyone at all!!! My doula is training to be a midwife and she will be great!! For Jeri to have practiced for so long, it's so unprofessional and unethical for her to leave a woman who is in labor and already 8cm dilated for two hours. I could not believe she did that to me, especially it's the prime time for her to really do her job and provide me with the support that I needed. read more

I'm writing this review on my son's birthday with the hope that if even one person is spared a traumatic birth experience with this midwife, it will be a job well done. She was incredibly supportive during the pregnancy and completely changed as my due date approached. She wanted to call off our homebirth because SHE "felt more comfortable in a hospital" BEFORE I ever went into labor. Hardly a reason to transfer to a hospital. She spent my time in labor yelling at my husband. She looked truly fear stricken when she walked in the door. She was cruel during the few phone calls I had with her after the birth. She was non-existent after the birth other than a couple of awful phone calls. I felt completely abandoned and traumatized. I had my homebirth against her wishes and have an absolutely brilliant boy. Every year that passes I am reminded of my own strength and courage as well as Jeri's complete lack of compassion and professionalism. My Bradley method coach tried to warn me about her. She is well known in the midwifery community for this type of behavior. The one good support person was Debbie, her assistant. She was SO supportive and nurturing. She no longer works with Jeri... read more

She was my mid wife 8 years ago and I'll make this as quick as possible. I totally relate to all the other bad experiences on here. I just think it's important to be informed before hand especially at such a vulnerable time and one that is supposed to be so beautiful and special. If it wasn't for the nurses at Alta bates I wouldn't have had the beautiful experience I had. My mid wife was barely there. She was upset about being woken up for my labor, she didn't show up until way later. She was very discouraging over the phone WHILE I was in labor. She would tell me that she didn't think I was gonna make it and that I should just be induced. It was SO scary having her as my my mid wife. I am so thankful for the nurses who were there to encourage me and support me. I would not recommend this mid wife to anyone. She was nice during the prenatal appointment and was always calm and soft spoken. But I also had a bad feeling and I didn't follow my instinct. I wish I'd chosen someone else. She made me feel helpless. read more

This was the birth experience I was looking for! I decided to look for a midwife when I was expecting my third child because I didn't want to be at the mercy of another round of doctors who didn't care about me or my child and who would inevitably hijack my labor with pictocin and epidurals. Jeri was amazing from start to finish. She took time to get to know me and my family and treated me and my unborn daughter with the utmost respect. She educated me and advised me and most of all listened to what I wanted. I was able to deliver my daughter at Alta Bates with no medication or complications in just four hours of labor. One of the things that most impressed me about the birth was the way that Jeri (and the wonderful nurses of Alta Bates) respected my newborn daughter from the instant she was born. Whereas most physicians require that the newborn be cleaned up and weighed and given a vitimin K shot before the mother can hold her, Jeri handed me my daughter the instant she was born and allowed me to hold her and calm her down for about an hour. It was a beautiful moment that I believe has shaped the way my daughter sees the world. Throughout her infancy (and even now, two years later) she displayed a deep calm and trust with me that I think must originate the respect she was granted in those first moments of life. Jeri's kindness and professionalism meant the world to me and I want her to know how deeply I appreciate her work. read more

Jeri helped us deliver both of our children. We have a boy and a girl 20 months apart. We could not even think about working with anyone else. She supports you and really explains all your options for prenatal care and delivery. I delivered both my children in the hospital with little to no interventions because of Jeri! She is your biggest advocate and sets you up for success in every way possible. She makes you feel comfortable and empowered about delivering a baby. Jeri has a kind, caring, relaxed spirit but also has the amazing experience, knowledge and power as a midwife. She is truly the best! I could not have asked for a better midwife! Thank you Jeri, for helping us create the most wonderful moments of our lives. read more

Jeri helped my wife through the birth and delivery of our second child, and she was fantastic. A pleasure to work with, casual, approachable, and always friendly. Then, as pain increased and labor began, Jeri handled it beautifully. My wife delivered without any pain meds, but there were no complications whatsoever, and Jeri helped us through the process without any problems! Thank you! read more

We had a great experience with Jeri. Our beautiful daughter is now 6 weeks old and I could not be happier with how our birth happened. We hired Jeri Zukoski as our midwife at week 27 of the pregnancy. By that time I was tired of doctors and their 5-10 minute, rushed, impersonal check ups. I was healthy, my baby was healthy - I did not want to see doctors and go to the hospital every two weeks. Jeri was highly recommended and we liked her right away. Our appointments were 1 hour long, she was friendly, easy to talk to but also very knowledgeable. She was a great resource all along our pregnancy. On the Sunday when our daughter arrived Jeri promptly answered our phone calls and coached me through my labor. Things went very fast for us. My water broke at 1 pm and we went to the hospital at 4:50 pm. Our baby girl was born at 5:52 pm. Even though it was a Sunday and things progressed very fast Jeri was there at the hospital in no time to deliver our baby. She was super nice and friendly but also very professional. Her directions on how and when to push were great. We had our baby girl out in no time. She was healthy and prefect. We saw Jeri the next day when she came to check on me and twice after that at our 1 week and 6 week checkup. She was wonderful all along. We parted with a big hug. We will work together again for sure when baby nr 2 will come! read more

I would give Jeri Zukoski negative stars if I could. I am now 18 years old, and my mother had an incredible experience with midwives while birthing my brother before me (in Italy). After coming to the United States, my parents knew they wanted to have another home birth because of the success of the first one. I am hearing the nightmare of an experience my parents had with Jeri, and I feel appalled that a PAID midewife decided to not care about my life, and my birth. As other reviews have stated (and this dates back to 1998), Jeri seemed kind during the first few meetings before showing her true colors. Basically, she is superficial and clearly does not actually care. My mom's water broke early, but she did not go into labor right away. Jeri said that there was risk of infection, so she'd have to go to the hospital. Once my parents arrived at the hospital, Jeri LEFT MY MOTHER with her intern assistant, and went home. "Nothing is happening here, I need to take care of my kids." My mother was furious. Luckily, my mother had trained her body well before both pregnancies, and breathed. Even though she was furious with Jeri as she was going into labor, she kept a positive attitude and was trying to "keep Jeri out of my head because I was getting too angry at her lack of care." I entered this world falling into a bathtub at Alta Bates with neither Jeri nor her intern by my side. My father dove to catch me, and is the "official deliverer" on my birth certificate. After I was born, Jeri eventually showed up, but only because her intern had called her and told her to get down to the hospital because I was being born. The intern, who was much more genuine than Jeri and was advocating for us, was then YELLED AT BY JERI. I'm sorry, why would anyone ever hire this woman? After the birth, my mother complained about having horrible cramps. As it turns out, Jeri slipped her some medication to help coagulate her blood after the birth.The cramps were caused by the medication. My mother was furious that she did not consult her, and did not ask her consent first. Both of my parents, mother and father, have read through and approved this post, adding in some of the details. I clearly don't remember much! Hearing about this experience 18 years later infuriates me. After blatantly not caring about my mom and my birth, forcing us to go to the hospital, and then not showing up for the birth, Jeri got a fat paycheck. read more

Having natural child birth with the assistance of Jeri was the best decision I could have made for the birth of my Son. Jeri is a very calm and kind person. She empowers her patients with information. I had a doctor assisted birth with my first child and by comparison I was robbed of what should have been an amazing experience. Jeri gave me many resources for information prior to my sons birth, and I was completely prepared for the experience of natural childbirth. This was an awesome accomplishment considering I only met Jeri 8 weeks before my due date. I had all my prenatal care with a doctor up to the 32nd week of pregnancy when the doctor suddenly began dismissing my concerns and treating me like a sure paycheck. But that is another review. I confided my fears in a friend who then recommended the Bradley Method. So I quickly began looking for someone who taught the Bradley Method. I found no one in my area but I did through my research Find Jeri. Once I found Jeri, I began to hit a brick wall with my health insurance who would not cover midwifery services. I spoke to Jeri about hiring her privately. Jeri was very knowledgable when it came to health insurance and gave me lots of insight. With all of that, I was actually able to get my insurance to cover her services out of network. Jeri also bills insurance which is great because many other midwives I interviewed would not bill insurance. With my previous experience of a doctor assisted birth, I was very apprehensive to have a hospital birth. I asked Jeri about a home birth, but with her calm, kind, and professional demeanor she explained to me that her and I hadn't had enough time to fully build the trust required to guarantee a comfortable home birth. She gently encouraged me towards a hospital birth with her delivering. After that discussion I felt comforted and confident that I could have a happy hospital experience. Alta bates Hospital in Oakland was a very nice establishment, where the staff truly respects Women and their choices. Every nurse and staff member I came across had great respect for Jeri and the other midwives. Overall, Jeri is very knowledgable, a good listener, kind, gentle, and very well respected by other professionals at alta bates hospital. I highly recommend Jeri as a midwife. This experience made me want to have more babies. read more

I was very happy to have Jeri as my delivering midwife. She persevered during my long( 5!) hours of pushing and helped me get my baby into a good position so that I could achieve the VBAC I so desired. The hospital OB was pressuring her to step aside and let them do another C/S, but Jeri was calm and confident and held them at bay. Now I have a healthy 3.5 year old girl who is thriving! Thanks Jeri! read more

I highly recommend Jeri as a midwife who will advocate for an intervention-free birth as possible in a hospital setting. She was calm, patient and professional throughout the birthing process, including answering the many questions I had and responding to my concerns. Thanks to Jeri and the wonderful nurses at Alta Bates, I had a wonderful birth experience without pain meds or any tearing. read more

Jeri was my midwife for the birth of my second child and I had the best prenatal care and birthing experience with her. I loved the prenatal visits since my toddler son was welcome to come along and listen to the baby's heartbeat -- I think that really made the transition to being a big brother easier for him. She also had an open ear for all our concerns and provided great recommendations during the prenatal visits. The birth itself was the most wonderful experience I could have hoped for. Jeri was so calm which helped me get through the labor pains with no medications. Because of her excellent support during the birth I had more confidence in my own ability to deliver our baby. If we decide to have another baby, we will definitely go with Jeri again. read more

Jeri is such a wonderful, caring, sweet, and professional midwife. This was my first baby and she made me feel very comfortable and confident throughout my prenatal visits. My labor was very long (4days of predomal labor and 22 hrs once admitted), and Jeri was very supportive during all my phone calls to her wondering when we should go to the hospital. She did meet us there when I was about 6 centimeters and she stayed with me til the end! I had a hard delivery but Jeri stayed calm and supportive! Thanks to her advocating for me and my birth plan I avoided a c-section. read more

We partnered with Jeri on the birth of both of our children. It was such a difference from the traditional doctors that we met with- she listened to our concerns and our ideal birth plan and guided us the entire way. With our first, we had some complications at the end- but Jeri kept us calm and focused. We have two healthy boys, both delivered naturally and i can't imagine having anyone else with us than Jeri. She also let my husband be a huge part of the birth process- which i feel is critical to their bonding with the child. Most hospitals/doctors ignore the father. I cannot recommend her enough read more

I had a fantastic experience with Jeri, she is incredibly sweet, knowledgeable and supportive provider. Jeri has a beautiful holistic approach, therefore I was not seen as just another pregnant patient but treated as an individual. Appointments were never rushed and both my husbands and my questions were always answered, this also means that other appointments sometimes went over and we had a short wait for our appointment. Jeri gives great advise and supportive on however I wanted my delivery to be. During labor Jeri was easily accessible by phone, after a short labor at the hospital Jeri showed up in the middle of the night with a very calming spirit and delivered my baby girl. Jeri's post partum care is also fantastic, she even offered a home visit. Jeri is very committed to be with her patients during labor/delivery, so regular check ups had to be rescheduled on a few occasions, but she is also incredibly flexible with her appointments going well past regular office hours. Overall she is a great midwife and if I hadn't moved out of state I would've chosen her again for my next pregnancy. read more

I can wholeheartedly recommend Jeri! I met her when I was about 4 months pregnant, and a little confused by the health system here, coming to the US from Europe. She helped me figure out what I needed to do and in general is a great midwife to work with. She is open to suggestions, knowledgeable in her field but not afraid to admit when a question exceeds her knowledge. Her backup doctors East Bay Perinatal are a high risk pregnancy practice so you get the full spectrum of care if needed. I also got to work with Lindy Johnson postpartum as Jeri was out of town (baby showed up early) and she's great, too. It's a small practice (3 midwives) and they make sure to take only as many patients as they can be sure to be able to care for, so no call groups of 6-10 doctors, which I loved. They know the Alta Bates staff well and you can tell that by the way they work together. read more

I am a labor nurse with three children. After working with Jeri Zukoski CNM for the birth of my babies I went into nursing because I was so inspired by her skills and devotion. She worked very hard for me to avoid interventions and to have my babies my way! She empowered me to stand tall and ask for what I wanted and needed. I am happy to be in the medical field and to be a mom of three! read more

Jeri delivered my son, now 15, and my daughter, now 12, and I had nothing but positive experiences with her. She delivered my son at home in 1998, after a thorough prenatal period and preparation for home birth. She was the only midwife I could find that did home births, and was able to accept Medi-cal. I was 21 years old at the time with dreams of becoming a midwife myself one day. She was always professional and able to answer all of my questions, providing patient centered education without bias, allowing me to make my own educated decisions about the care I deemed appropriate and fitting for MY ideals. Her team was amazing, as well. She had an assistant and an apprentice at the time, so I always had someone by my side during my very long first labor (bless their hearts). My labor was difficult, and towards the end, she was considering a transfer, but I was determined to deliver my baby at home and very stubborn about going, and I ended up having a very healthy, 8 lb. 4 oz baby boy with a huge head, and there was not a single tear. Jeri and her team were able to provide me and my family the care we all needed in the comfort of our home, so we could welcome him home the way we wanted. The whole package deal (pre, peri and postnatal) was a fantastic introduction to my first birth experience, both as a new mom and prospective midwife. I decided to deliver my daughter in the hospital at Alta Bates, when my financial situation was not conducive to the out of pocket I needed to come up with for another home birth. It was a bitter sweet choice, but the experience was nowhere near what I feared it would be like in the hospital. With Jeri as my midwife, I was able to labor to my hearts content at home, with frequent check ins over the phone and guidance for when to head to the hospital. She knew that I didn't want to be at the hospital long, and was able to determine how far along I was, just by asking a few questions over the phone. She timed my arrival at the hospital perfectly, so that my baby girl was delivered an hour and a half after we checked in. The RNs were absolute rock stars, as was Jeri. I was astounded by how unexpected my positive experience with hospital birth turned out to be. I am still of the camp that believes birth has become over medicalized, and does not belong in the hospital, unless there is a risk of complication. However, our system is what it is, and most people end up delivering in the hospital. I am currently finishing up my final year of nursing school, and pursuing OB nursing, where I feel I can advocate for those who don't know that they have choices in their labor experience. My experience with Jeri Zukoski was well rounded, comprehensive, inspiring and professional. I thank her for her service. read more

Jeri is someone I will never forget. Although the details of my daughters birth may get fuzzy I'll always remember Jeri was the one who supported me above and beyond and enabled me to have the birth I wanted. my recovery was so easy and I believe it was due to my own birth. I am thankful from the bottom of my heart for Jeri believing in me and the birth process its self. read more

Jeri helped me deliver an 11 lb 4 oz baby with no drugs and no tearing. That alone is testament to her expertise and magic hands and her confidence in a woman's body! She made me feel beautiful and empowered at every prenatal visit and offered knowledge on natural ways to deal with some of the uncomfortable aspects of pregnancy. My older daughter (who was under 2 at the time) was always warmly welcomed at my appointments which I really appreciated. She has a beautiful way of really connecting with you, so when you go into labor you feel like you are going through it with a soul sister and not just a medical caregiver. Birth is such a sacred and intimate event and she is a good balance between seeing it as that and communicating with the hospital staff. Also, while she is confident in her abilities, her ego does not get in the way of calling for backup if she feels it is necessary. I would recommend her to everyone who doesn't want the typical white-coat birth experience, yet wants the professional knowledge and expertise that comes from years of experience. read more