I originally chose Puget Sound Midwives and Birth Center because I didn't have insurance at the…read morebeginning of my pregnancy and wanted something smaller, more personal, and supportive of a natural birth. I paid for all my early appointments in full, in cash, as soon as I was informed of any charges. I was looking for compassionate care, continuity, and a trusting relationship with the person who would eventually help deliver my child. Unfortunately, that is not what I received. I first saw Courtney in May 2025 and was told I needed to also see Amanda, the other midwife on staff at the time. I really connected with Amanda and felt hopeful that she would be present at my birth. Sadly, that plan fell apart when I was told (months later, around November) that Amanda would be leaving in December -- and I'd now be under the care of a new midwife I had barely met. From the beginning, appointments with Courtney often felt condescending and patronizing. There was a noticeable amount of fear-mongering around hospital births and C-sections -- (to the point that when I did get to Evergreen hospital the first words out of my mouth were, "I don't want a C-Section!!!") rather than being supportive of informed choice, the conversations often leaned into judgment and pressure. As I neared the end of my pregnancy, things got even worse. I went nearly 2.5 weeks overdue, and in those last five weeks, I was constantly offered cervical checks, a balloon pump, and other interventions to try to get labor started. The new midwife said she couldn't reach my cervix because her fingers were too short -- yet I was still billed for every single "exam." In total, I was charged $250 for completely unhelpful and ineffective procedures. When I asked how I would know if I was in labor, I was simply told, "You'll just know." When I called the on-call number to report that my water had broken, I was told I wasn't dilated enough and was advised not to come in. No one tested me to confirm whether my water had actually broken. As it turns out, it had -- three days before I gave birth. Thankfully, the rupture was at the top, or the consequences for my baby could have been devastating. I ended up giving birth at Evergreen Hospital, and I truly believe my child is alive today because I left the birth center and sought real medical care. On the billing side, it was a complete mess. I kept getting bills addressed to the wrong last name, even though I had input my correct name in their patient portal. The billing department never even properly checked my insurance until after I gave birth -- and only then because someone called me demanding the correct information. They had scanned my insurance card months earlier, but somehow still had it entered incorrectly in their supposedly HIPAA-compliant system. I ended up having to enter my insurance manually myself. To top it off, I'm now fighting a $600 emergency transfer fee with my insurance. I was only at the birth center for two hours before my husband had to drive me to the hospital himself -- after the midwife suggested I walk the apartment complex stairs at 3am to try to "get things going." And yet, I'm being charged as if they coordinated an emergency transfer. Save yourself the time, stress, and incompetence. What was supposed to be a supportive, natural, empowering birth experience turned into chaos, confusion, and unnecessary risk to my baby. I wouldn't recommend this place to anyone looking for truly safe and supportive midwifery care.

I started my pregnancy with an OB/GYN, but made the switch to this birth center at 26 weeks. It was…read morethe best decision ever! Both midwives; Heather and Blake are lovely! I looked forward to every appointment and never left feeling like I wasn't heard. Heather was at my birth and she made me feel calm, safe, and confident that I can do it natural (which was my goal). As a first time, mom I am very happy I made the switch. I would recommend this birth center to any and all the pregnant people I know!

Emily is such a supportive, knowledgeable, and KIND person. Her advice on breastfeeding and baby…read morecare in general made such a difference during my panicked early days of motherhood. She's an excellent listener, and I felt supported in making decisions that work best for me and my baby. Emily is responsive, considerate, and highly effective at using puppets to demonstrate proper latching techniques!

Our experience with Christina was amazing. The human touch, the honesty, the company, the…read moreknowledge, it was everything we needed! During our prenatal visits I felt like I had the power to have the birth that I wanted! She was such a great support to have by our side at the hospital! She made sure all my preferences were met and respected. She stood by our side when we needed her the most. I was able to have the unmedicated birth that I wanted thanks to all her help, knowledge and support. I really never thought I could have such an amazing birth experience! And it was so nice to meet with Christina after my baby was born. She helped us with breastfeeding. I love that she really cares and creates an honest connection.

Besides being on one of the most beautiful campuses I have ever been on (Bastyr University) the…read morequality of education support and follow provided by Simkin Center for Allied Birth Vocations is world class. I took the certification course to be an Infant Massage Educator there and was thoroughly impressed with every aspect.

I took a doula training workshop from the Simkin Center as a mid-career professional and really…read moreenjoyed the format and material. The instructors were very professional and opened my eyes to new information, concepts and different ways to think through birth scenarios. I enjoyed it immensely and feel prepared to continue on the path to be certified. Highly recommend!

Having Leah as our private childbirth teacher and postpartum doula is the best decision we've made…read morein preparing and caring for our first child! She has everything we looked for in getting us ready for the birth and helped us feeling confident in newborn caring. I'd hire Leah again and again! Leah is a well of knowledge when it comes to birth and caring for babies - she comes to our home to give the private childbirth class, in this private session format it allows us to ask direct questions; my husband and my mom were both in the class with me, Leah was able to cater the content to different roles in the household with the focus on the birthing mother. Leah is always extra prepared for the classes from various engaging activities to catered content. During the preparation for birth, we constantly reached out to Leah for suggestions and ideas. For the postpartum phase, Leah came to our home to educate us in various baby caring tasks/details per our requests; we did some lactation sessions, a lot of Q&As, and gave baby the first sponge bath! Leah's patient, steady, and very encouraging throughout the process, leaving us feel empowered to care for the baby after she leaves. She's super detailed, wearing masks to the postpartum sessions as the newborn is not vaccinated yet. She's super communicative - reply to my questions over email and text as things come up. Always super encouraging and send me the right direction. We wouldn't be able to be at such a fine place this early in the newborn stage if it's not Leah. I'd recommend Leah to anyone who's looking for childbirthing class and/or postpartum doula!

Leah is an absolute joy to work with!…read more She is kind, understanding, and extremely knowledgeable. We had her help following the birth of our twins (and my c-section) and it was such a relief not only having the extra set of hands but having the reassurance of her expertise, especially as a first time parent. It was so incredible having a few hours to nap - knowing the twins were in good hands - and waking up to a clean kitchen and folded laundry! I HIGHLY recommend Leah!

My experience with these ladies, was amazing! First they provided a free consultation phone call,…read morethen great informational video and a prenatal appointment in person to go over questions. After delivery I was having extreme pain and long feeds, and I was able to have an AT HOME visit, which was amazing itself. Emily was able to promptly provide feedback on my newborns feeding and issues, which we got a great recommendation listing for pediatric dentist for lip and tongue ties removals. Since the procedures, my newborn has been feeding great and gaining weight, and the several follow up appointments have been just as good, Emily provided techniques on different positions, how to adjust the latch, and queues for when baby is done eating. HIGHLY RECOMMEND Fern Lactation! They are just great people and glad they were apart of my postpartum experience! Furthermore, the scheduling process was great! They were able to text to help set up appointments and made it so streamlined and less stressful! THANK YOU!

Emily is incredible! I was referred to her by both my doula as well as a good friend who had used…read moreher; my baby had stopped latching on day 6 and I was desperate for support to be able to breastfeed her again. Her office is so clean and cozy, and from the first second, Emily was extremely warm and welcoming. She is so knowledgeable about lactation and put me at ease, she is great about consent before touching and so gentle with my baby. She always includes my partner in the appointment and our results were instant. I am now able to breastfeed the way that I wanted and also in a way that works best for our lifestyle and we have continued to evolve with each appointment. I highly recommend Emily, she is so kind and compassionate and she gets the desired results for your breast/chest feeding journey.

We had an incredible experience with Wellspring Midwifery. I had recently had a missed miscarriage…read morewhen I came into their care with my second pregnancy. The midwifery clinic I was previously with for the first pregnancy , told me I could no longer work with them and did not give a reason. Valley medical midwives said they would not work with me because I am overweight and of advanced maternal age. The other midwives clinics in the area said they were full for my due date. Swedish midwives did not take my insurance. When I went to the obgyn, she made me feel like I was wasting her time and I felt rushed during a very tender time. I felt discouraged and decided to widen how far I was willing to travel for care. I reached out to Wellspring Midwifery, and they promptly set up a zoom call where I asked tons of questions, we discussed our experience and they shared info about their practice. I felt so relieved to find them during such a hard time, filled with fear and anxiety. Our first appointment was over an hour and Lizz made me feel so comfortable and heard. It was amazing, they even did Saturday appointments so we didn't have to miss work and the traffic was much better. I met Elliot a few appointments later and she was equally awesome to Lizz! Throughout the process, I had monthly appointments and additionally was able to call for questions or write them in the online portal and they would promptly respond. Later in my pregnancy, we made the informed decision that we would prefer to transfer my care to a hospital so that I could access an epidural during labor and knowing which hospital we were going to. Lizz and Elliot were supportive of this decision and helped with the transition of paperwork. They allowed me to stay on for postpartum care. I even called them during my labor when I was trying to make a decision. It was awesome to have the support of their postpartum care because my obgyn only scheduled me for 1 appointment at 8 weeks postpartum. Lizz and La-Kiesha (their midwifery student who joined many of my appointments) came into my home 2 days after my baby was born and did a visit where we talked about the baby, my husband and myself and did some checks on the baby and me. They also gave me breastfeeding support. I had multiple follow ups in office during the first 6 weeks postpartum. It was so helpful to get regular support throughout that period of time. I am forever grateful for my experience with Wellspring Midwifery and I highly recommend them for your prenatal and postpartum care.

I'm one day shy of my son's first birthday and as I reflect on my pregnancy and birth and…read morepostpartum experience, the role that Lizz and Elliott played continues to be profoundly instrumental in my overwhelmingly positive perinatal journey. I'm a practicing birth doula who met Lizz and Elliott years ago in a professional setting, and knew after watching them first hand that they were the midwives I wanted when it was my turn. They held me through the great mystery of pregnancy and when we learned that my baby was breech and my plan for a homebirth was no longer in the cards, Lizz and Elliott offered me the support I deeply needed to feel confident and at peace moving forward with a sacred planned cesarean birth. I'll never forget our sweet third trimester visits looking at my son on ultrasound and marveling that he loved being head up. This tone of celebration and acceptance of how things were unfolding and my informed decision to belly birth absolutely led to me having an empowered birth experience, free of trauma and regret, full of the oxytocin that good midwifery care facilitates. I continued my follow-up support with them once I returned home from the hospital, something that was important to me when I decided to work with community midwives. I can confidently say that I achieved my goal for my birth which was that no matter how things might unfold I wanted to feel held and cared for medically, emotionally and spiritually by my team. Sharing some sweet film photos that my doula snapped during a prenatal visit with Lizz!