My first home birth with Michelle went super well. 7 years later I'm having my second homebirth with her. I think she's super knowledgeable, and is a master at her craft. I trust her, & feel that I'm in wonderful hands with her. Excited to meet baby #2 with her help :) read more

I'm the father, so I'm going to write from my perspective and it's been a little over a year since Michelle helped us. I think during the initial consultation, my wife was a little hesitant because she is very direct. However those hesitations were quickly put to rest. Michelle took very good care of my wife during our visits and was very flexible. Her apprentices were kind and respectful as well. She listened to my wife's concerns and either put them to rest or explained why xyz was necessary. This was our second child, but our first home birth. She explained the process and ran out to our home even when it was a just having Braxton Hicks. During the actual birth she was calm and collected and allowed us to kinda do our thing, although there was a few times that she was direct. During the birth itself, she allowed me to actually pull my little one out, which was such an awesome and unique experience that I will be able to cherish for the rest of my life. Thank you to Michelle and her team for being awesome and having such a welcoming vibe, and allowing us to have such a beautiful birth. read more

Michele has been everything we'd hope for plus MORE. We found Michele back in 2015 when I was pregnant with my first. I googled a couple midwifes (didn't know where else to start) and found Michele. My 1st conversation with her before I was even her "patient", she gave me so much wonderful information, what vitamins I should be taking, what to do next, etc. Office/home: Beautiful. Artsy. Comfortable. She makes you feel right at home. Staff/apprentices: Michele trains midwives to be midwives so she usually has 2 apprentices, they're wonderful! Availability: No questions or time is off limits. I've called her for a variety of different things from, how I'm feeling, son is sick, friend needs advice, etc... We had a wonderful home birth with my son, December 2015. Michele was with me every step of the way. We are now days away from our 2nd home birth with Michele and her wonderful team. EXTRA: I feel the need to respond to the 1 star review wrote by Kim.... ...out of 8 reviews you've written, 5 of them are 1star, 1 you gave 2stars, & a nail salon you reviewed twice 4,5 stars. You seem like a hard lady to please. I've used Michele for my sons birth December 2015, and with my current pregnancy (due any day). She's nothing like you explained. Nothing. Based on your review, it sounds like Michele was very flexible and accommodating 1. . '...she doesn't take credit cards as a form of payment BUT for you, figured out a way to make that work.' Sounds pretty nice to me. 2. She knows what she's doing. Whether she was at home waiting for you to progress or at a concert, she knew she had time. She has assistance for a reason. & it sounds like you liked one of them so what's the big deal if they got there before her? && Michele still made it with plenty of time to spare. 3. Insurance is unpredictable. You never know until it's all said and done. 4. I would bet a million dollars she checked on your and your baby after the birth. She comes 2-3 days after birth and you come to her for your 2 week checkup... after that, she's a phone call away. We called her for a year after my son was born for various different things (son was sick, husband was sick, recommendations, etc) she ALWAYS answered any questions we had, free of charge. ... the list goes on. I find the need to write this review because, I think your review was very rude and out of line. Again, you seem like a hard person to please and nothing she would've done would've made you happy. read more

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I used Michele for my 4th home birth, 5th child, in 2011. I haven't written the review until now because I didn't even realize she had a place for reviews. We moved to Texas when I was 21 weeks pregnant. I met with Michele 2 weeks later, and after a brief interview, she forced the contract on me and encouraged me to sign right away. Without interviewing any other midwives, I hired her. That was my first mistake. My husband had been out of work for a few months before we moved to Texas. She knew our budget was tight, but that never stopped her from pressuring me to pay her every visit. At one point she even had me pay her property taxes on my credit card because she didn't take credit card payments. During my prenatal visits, we spoke at length about my quick labors. Knowing this was my 4th vaginal birth, and I had never gone longer than 4 hours in active labor, she wanted to be sure to get to me in time. My labor started at 7pm when my water broke. I immediately started contracting every 3 minutes and they were lasting for a full minute. When I called her she informed me she was headed to the Moody theater for a live taping. She would send her apprentice to see if I was really in labor. She also talked to me about the need for her to take a cab and how frustrating that was as I live north. I don't know what time she finally arrived, I was deep in labor land. I only know she was there because of the pictures that were taken. My guess is she arrived around 9:30 or 10. My baby was born at 11:50pm. I remember several times her snapping at the apprentice midwife (who was lovely and actually caught my baby). Following the birth, she didn't check in with me much. This was surprising as my previous midwives always did. A few months after my baby was born, she called me asking for money. My insurance ended up reimbursing us about $600 of the fees we paid her. She was claiming that the insurance company made a mistake in reimbursing us and they were now charging her more money. It was all very shady and I did not give her one cent. My next birth I used a different midwife and now tell anyone I know who is looking for a midwife to stay far away from Michele. read more

Michele delivered our baby last March. The whole experience was wonderful. Midwives in the US have a large cultural barrier to overcome and Michele did so without going on the offense or defense. She sold us on her overall competence, experience and common sense. All through the process she was an advocate for overall health. She used all of her medical resources and connections to provide us with the best monitoring, both traditional western as well as alternative. At one point when my wife was having severe back pain, Michele diagnosed the issue and recommended a chiropractor. I poo-poo'd the decision and had my wife see my doctor, who recommended acupuncture. 2 weeks and about 1000 punctures later, I finally swallowed my pride and sent my wife to the chiropractor who fixed the issue in about 30 seconds. I am exactly the kind of BS Midwives have to put up with: The Scientist-Husband. I think the reason Michele has assisted in so many successful births is that she is very thorough in her screening. She assesses risk the whole way through and is ready to make the "this is a hospital case not a home birth case" call if she needs to. Herbs, herbs, homeopathic, homeocrapic. I still don't know what to make of all of that. But a midwife will be somewhat alternative. Just ask yourself: why is any of that crap any worse than the crap you'd get from a doctor???? It's just part of the package. She's also got really good hands as Robert noted. No ones going to tell you what to do for the most important experience of your life. That's your burden. But, while I feel for Alyssa's loss, I, too, am duty bound to share my story and 5 stars. The proof is in all of the wonderful adventures I've had with my beautiful 6 month old girl, many of which are documented right here on Yelp! read more

Michele is an amazing person and as a midwife I consider her almost otherwordly and I'm no New-Agey-Hippie-dippy person. She truly is amazing, as are her current apprentices. I am actually really looking forward to this birth. How many people can say that? People that have birthed with Michele can I'm honestly shocked by the bad review. I also went through a miscarriage with Michele and received supreme support and guidance through it and beyond. I find Michele to be on the more conservative side than other midwives I've known. She encouraged me to take the path I felt I needed to take in regard to how to medically handle my loss. I've had one home birth and am about to have another with her. So I feel like an authority on the level of care you receive from her. You can't blame the midwife for a miscarriage. I noticed Alyssa went on to review Kristen Elliot, an apprentice of Michele who was at my first home birth, and gave her 5 stars. I preferred Michele's bedside manner to Kristen's which leads me to think there was a personality conflict. It happens and this is why you really need to interview more than one person when looking for your birth caregiver. Home birth is not for every person but should you choose this path you should consider interviewing Michele. read more

Still five stars! We got to hear the baby's heartbeat today!!! It's funny, her assistants tried for like 15 minutes to find it...Michelle walks in and grabs the little wand and BAM 30 seconds later we hear that little heart beating away at 160 beats per minute. She's got the gift I tell ya read more

Michele is kind, knowledgeable, warm, and a wonderful midwife. She champions the women she cares for and gives them the support they need to actualize the births they seek. I'm grateful for her assistance in creating the birth experience I wanted and honoring me as a pregnant and birthing woman. I would recommend her to anyone seeking great and gentle prenatal care. read more

Michele Fitzgerald, CPM - Just moments after our baby was born. - Midwives Near Me - Austin, Texas

Michele was fantastic as my midwife for my first baby boy, born August 2014. She constantly empowered and educated, but never pressured me one way or another. My birth did NOT go the way that I wanted it to go, but without Michele I know that it would have been a much more terrifying experience. She drove all the way from Lockhart as soon as my contractions were coming quickly, which was pretty immediately after my water broke. I labored overnight with the help of her, her apprentice, my mom and my husband. At about 7am, a sign of fetal distress appeared - meconium in the waters. At this point my labor had slowed a LOT and I had been around 7cm dilated for hours. Michele informed us that she thought transfer to a hospital at that point was what was best, so we went to St.David's central. She and her apprentice accompanied us. Michele became my doula upon stepping into the hospital. She helped us to understand our options. She rubbed my ridiculously swollen feet while I labored in the unfamiliar hospital room. She encouraged and helped us a tremendous amount. At one point, my baby's heart rate started dipping with each contraction. There was a dramatic moment during which my baby's heart rate stopped. It felt like time stopped. The nurses stared blankly at the monitors, frozen up, unsure of what to do. Michele boxed them out of the way in order to get to me, and pressed baby's head upward (towards my head) to relieve the contraction-induced pressure on his head, and his heart rate resumed and we all breathed a sigh of relief, and I was shortly after wheeled away into the OR for my near-emergency C-section. Michele also campaigned for us so that my mom AND my husband could be in the OR for my C-section. When I tell people that, they're like....what???? that's allowed?? Michele is a badass. We felt so fortunate to have her in our corner from start to finish. She stayed until baby was safely born, and she even came back once or twice while we were in the hospital to check on us, and did the home post-partum visits and gave me an honorary homebirth birth certificate for my healthy baby boy. I recommend her to anyone considering home birth. She is knowledgeable, caring, and understanding. Thank you for everything, Michele! read more

I am not writing about a delivery, but about a beautiful person, that helped me through a terrible time , my husband was dying ,with lung cancer ,it was she and another good person in my life and hers that helped me through Thia's was wonderful, talks , melds, time compassion and Love's was greatly husband has been gone this month on the 30th abut she helped him live to the fullest, no pain, no weight loss (even gained) it was lovely owe her a ( BIG )thank you Michelle read more

Michelle delivered both of our children at home, one in June 2015 and most recently October 2018. She is the best to work with. We were referred to her by a friend of a friend and when we looked her up, her experience alone blew us away. Once we met with her, it was clear she had the knowledge and energy we were looking for. To say she knows what she's doing is an understatement. She has a motherly sweetness to her that really shines through during the entire process. I was at ease with her that I was able to let my body do what it needed to do. She was so responsive whenever I had questions. I referred her to a friend who had a home birth previously and was having her second. She was so happy with her. Her mother had all of her four children at home, with different midwives, and she said she was so impressed with Michelle. I always get sad when the last Postpardum check up happens. read more

Michele is a sweet, knowledgeable woman who truly cares about her patients. She is professional, has a sense of humor, but is straight to the point as well. I felt very comfortable and it was the perfect fit. I highly recommend her! read more

Unfortunately, we had a negative experience with Michele and I would like to put this story out for anyone considering using her just to be able to make an informed decision. I came to Michele when I was already 20 weeks pregnant because I found out that I was having twins. We had planned to use the birthing center, but they are unable to do twin births. Michele had experience doing twin homebirths, so we went with her. I only saw her for 3 visits, all were uneventful. She was a fine midwife, knowledgable, compitent and friendly. She incentivised me to pay her full birth fee in advance, offerning me a small discount if I did. Being the budget-concious Mama that I am, I agreed and paid the full fee when I was about 25 weeks along. At 31 weeks I went into premature labor. I delivered my twins at the hospital, Michele did not attend the birth. She happened to be on vacation the day I went into labor. As a side note. even if she had been in town I wouldn't have felt it was necessary for her to attend my birth, for a variety of reasons. This was my 3d birth, so I felt comfortable with my ability to have a baby (or 2!), I had only been in her care a short while so we didn't have a close bond and lastly, I didn't want to pay her fee and hospital fees. I was now in the hospital and I was happy that my boys had a level 4 NICU to receive the highest care when they arrived. My bright white lights OR birth was not at all the birth that I had hoped for, but it was natural/vaginal and it was incredible in its own way. My boys are beatufil! It was just a very difficult reality to face, hard weeks of traveling to and from the NICU and then finally welcoming them home when they were about 37 weeks old. Whew! I only give those details to provide a backdrop to what my life was like while I was trying to recover the money I had paid Michele in advance for the birth she had no part in. I was in personal turmoil, hands down the most difficult and emotionally draining season of my life and Michele was telling me that she was unable to refund me in a timely manner because of personal issues. About 35 days after the birth I received a check from Michele which was in an amount far less than what I felt would be a fair price for the few visists I had with her. I repeatedly asked her to provide me with an itemized bill for the charges I incurred, but she would either ignore my request or flat out tell me that she couldn't create a bill. I asked for a statement about 15 times, through email, text, voicemail, to no avail. Feeling like she was cheating me out of about $550, I decided not to cash her check and I went to Visa to see if they could dispute the charge. They attempted to recover the money, but did not have success because Michele had closed her bank account and claimed that she had already refunded me. To be clear, she had refunded me, but her number seemed arbitrary and inflated. Since I had no bill to understand how I racked up alsmot $1000 worth of charges, I was not comfortable accepting her "refund". I will spare you the details and rush to the happy ending! Michele did refund me, just this week I received the remaining portion of what she owed me. Again, this was the amount that she decided I owed. I still feel like it is not an accurate number, but my boys are now 6 months old and I can't continue on arguing with her over $550. It's just not worth it. She also finally provided me with a "bill". It was hand written...in the computer age?!? The most ridiculous charge on there was one for $65 for coming to the hospital to see me after my boys were born. Really? I would rather she not have stopped by. I thought she was just being nice. And for the amount of persoal information she divulged about her struggling relationship that day, I think she should have paid me $65!! So, I hope that you can hear the details of my story and make a more informed decision about your health care than I was able to. I think that if you decide to use Michele my biggest encouragment would be not to pay well in advance! Unless you are comfortable with giving her an interest free loan on your money for 6 months. read more

We worked with Michele for the third time this summer with our third pregnancy and baby, who was born at home in June 2013. Another wonderful experience with this incredible midwife. We have been through so much with her, including the unexpected transport to St. David's and death there of our first child -- an awful, life-changing experience that Michele has helped us through for all the years since -- and then our second child, who was born successfully at home, unexpectedly having Down syndrome (and THANK GOODNESS she was born at home!). I have been incredibly impressed over and over with Michele's intuition. Our first child died of a very rare birth defect that we hadn't known about until his birth; Michele is the one who figured out what was going on, though she had never encountered anything like it before, and told the doctors at St. David's, so they wouldn't do a C section. That's the biggest example, but her intuition came through for us countless other times and in other ways throughout my three pregnancies and births. I love her so much and am so grateful we found her back in the beginning. Can't believe this is our last child and last time to work with her. She is SO capable, smart, strong and cool. read more

Michele is a gem. Amazingly supportive, experienced and always learning, improving, teaching, caring. She was the assistant midwife to the midwife we chose back in 1992, but guess who stayed with me 20+ hours through intense back labor (baby turned around back of head to my spine, very painful) and helped me find better positions for comfort and to try to turn the baby? Michele! Not the lead midwife (who showed up half an hour before birth and "delivered" the baby!) We knew who to stick with, and when we found out Michele had left the previous midwife's company, and opened her own practice, we were thrilled to stick with her for child #2 (1996)and #3 (1999). She gives excellent advice, is seriously professional and knowledgeable, and also just happens to be one of the coolest ladies I know. I hate reading the bad review, and am so sorry that that woman had a bad experience. I am sure Michele is too. I can't imagine that person she describes though- it is nothing like the Michele I know and trust. I meet lots of women who have birthed their children with Michele, and it always feels like a bond between us. I agree with Jen that she is almost otherworldy. I recently met a woman who didn't birth with Michele, but she said she had wanted to, after having her life saved by Michele & her oxygen tank. The lady was biking across Lamar Bridge when a car hit her and left the scene. Michele was driving by, stopped and gave her emergency care (stopping bleeding from the head and administering oxygen) until the ambulance arrived. I know this story has nothing to do with birthing, but it will tell you how Michele will go out on a limb to save lives and deliver you and your little one to safety. read more

Michele Fitzgerald was wonderful to have as our midwife for our first son, born at home during the first week of April, 2015. From the get-go she supplied us with a binder of information on home birth and her practice, and answered all of our questions in detail. Throughout the pregnancy she listened to our typical new parent paranoias, and while she took our concerns seriously, she had a wonderful manner of setting us at ease by arming us with information and encouraging us to trust our instincts. Her apprentices, Ellie and Jolene were also excellent. Ellie conducted a great birthing class and did our placenta encapsulation and tincture, and Jolene was present for the birth and did a great job assisting Michele, taking pictures, offering encouragement, and giving fantastic foot massage while pressing pressure points that helped alleviate the pain. The birth itself was exactly what we'd hoped for, largely thanks to the relaxed but alert service of Michele and her team. We were able to enjoy the first stage of labor at home just the two of us, and Michele made herself available the very moment that we requested her presence. She was thorough in her check ups whenever she monitored the baby's heart rate and the couple of times that she checked my dilation. She also coached me through different breathing techniques and gave positive reinforcement whenever I had a dip in energy. One of the best aspects of the experience was the fact that it was led by my body and my baby-- when I felt I had to walk, I was encouraged to do so, and when I felt I needed a warm bath, she made sure I was comfortable. She made helpful suggestions for positions to labor in to help my dilation progress, but at no time did I feel like she was trying to take over or coerce me to do anything that I didn't consent to. She was able to pinpoint when I went into transition, and immediately help us perform some techniques to help the contractions come closer together, such as nipple stimulation by breast pump and breaking my waters, so that I could get to the pushing stage with as much energy as possible. Michele was also very inclusive of my husband and mother in the experience, and incorporated them by suggesting ways that my husband could help me through contractions, instructing him on how to catch the baby, having him cut the cord, and asking my mother to time when the head and baby were born. The aftercare was just as great as the birth. Michele and Jolene did excellent work detailing the event in their paperwork, cleaning the house and starting the laundry, and making sure we were taken care of and had our instructions before leaving. The follow up house calls were also very helpful, positive experiences. One of the reasons I chose Michele was because of her years of experience, and her trust in the human body. My mother gave birth to all five of us at home and had a very good impression of Michele's ability, and now having had a successful home birth, I can attest to that as well. I highly recommend Michele and her team! read more

She was unprepared, uninformed and unprofessional. It was hard to get a word in edgewise when we talked, she just assumed she knew the problem when I started speaking, and was mostly wrong. She didn't have my information at hand, and I repeated myself over and over each time we met. When we didn't hear the hearttones, she wanted me to wait two weeks for an ultrasound, I begged for one. It showed that I had lost the pregnancy. During the week and a half of waiting to miscarry, she gave me next to no support. I heard from her once and then never again until I started calling every day. She then gave me horrible advice about herbs that would have landed me in the ER had I taken it. When I wrote to her about her lack of support during this time, she wrote back scathingly mean emails questioning my mental health, my family's stability and chalking her incompetence up to my state of mind. To top it off, she spelled my name wrong in the email. Awesome. There are too many midwives in Austin to waste your money and time on this one. She ruined my dream of a homebirth, and what I thought a midwife was like. read more

Michele is absolutely amazing, a total godsend. I learned so much at every appointment and felt so comfortable with her leading up to the birth. She helped me through a long labor with my first baby. One of my biggest fears was having to transfer to a hospital as my labor dragged on and I became more exhausted (I don't do well emotionally in hospitals). But Michele always stepped in at the perfect moment and knew exactly what my body needed. With anyone else, I think the chances are high that I wouldn't have been able to finish laboring and delivering at home. But Michele helped get me there! When I got to the pushing phase, I couldn't believe I had made it! While pushing, my baby's heart rate would drop and almost immediately Michele was able to get it going normally again. This showed her there wasn't an issue with the cord, so she let me keep pushing and shared my attitude of determination through the whole thing. She encouraged me exactly the way I needed through that last bit of labor and did what needed to be done (gentle episiotomy--I have a very small frame) to help me get the baby out safely. Then she stuck around for several hours making sure I was put back together (she's amazing at that and totally cares about the state of women's bodies after delivery), baby was healthy and able to nurse, and we felt good enough for her to leave. She was at our house with her apprentices for 24 hours and still came by the next day totally cheery and energetic to check on us! If I have another baby, there would be absolutely no doubt in my mind who I would go to for my prenatal care and home birth. She is SO knowledgeable, skilled, and intuitive. Austin TX is lucky to have her. read more

At each appointment I felt talked down to and guilted because my iron was not high enough for my weight was too low. I just had an uneasy feeling the whole time during my prenatal appointments. I told my husband that when we had our next baby I wanted to different midwife but since we had already paid her we would just see it through. The day of my son's birth was great until the she and her assistances arrived. When I would try to get comfortable they would tell me I was in the wrong position and make me move. We I finally was comfortable in the bath and the water temp was just right she turned the water on to make it hotter which forced me to get out (I protested but she wouldn't listen). She left me alone for long periods of time and only my sister and husband were there to coach me. I asked about pushing (not knowing how much longer it would be) and she had me push before I was fully dilated which caused my cervix to swell. Once I voiced concern about being transferred to the hospital she just got snippy and said something like "fine, let's go", without try to calm me down or support me. She stayed at my apartment and sent me in my car with only my sister and husband (I was 9 1/2 cm and 45 minutes away from the hospital). She showed up at the hospital and after I had a c-section said she would be back the next day. I never saw her again and never received a call. I finally called her assistant 4 days later and one came out to see me at home. I felt uncomfortable and unsupported and wanted her to leave. I was very traumatized by the birth and expected different from such an experienced midwife. I feel that she has been doing it too long that she has lost her love for her patients. read more

I first met Michele through my search to become a Midwife apprentice. Michele gave me the rare opportunity and then I found out I was pregnant with my first baby. From day 1 I noticed her generous, kind and no-nonsense manner which I appreciated and learned from. Our relationship was unique and compartmentalized...I began my apprenticeship and I was also now her client. During that time she mentored my apprenticeship and nurtured me through my pre-natal care. Through my experience with her, my admiration for her as a Midwife and affection for her as a person grew. I learned many necessary hard skills through the day-to-day operation of her practice but also some valuable soft skills from observing her style and her almost 40 years of hands-on experience with the clients. Personally, I was able to gain confidence in myself during a special and changing time in my life with the help of my many interactions with her. During my birth, Michele was the trusted and experienced professional I knew she would be. read more