My husband and I wanted to hire a birth doula to make us each feel more comfortable and confident…read morewith labor prep and the process of birth and labor itself (this was our first child). We both wanted someone to support and advocate for us in the hospital if need be and I wanted an experienced person to be with me throughout my time at the hospital to help me through an unmedicated labor should I decide to go that route. After lots of research and interviews we hired Tara for her calm, capable demeanor and her level of experience as both a a doula and a midwife. Tara visited our home twice in my later pregnancy to get to know us and to understand our wishes and build my birth plan. She also helped us to prepare for early laboring at home with labor positions and advice on staying hydrated and resting as much as possible before going in to the hospital. I went into the process with an open mind, thinking that I might attempt an unmedicated birth but I wasn't at all against an epidural or other pain management should I feel it necessary. Tara never tried to dissuade me from that plan in any way which I really appreciated. I ended up laboring at home for 18 hours before going into the hospital - throughout the day we were in constant contact with Tara and she listened to my voice and my contractions to help us make the decision as to when to go in. The nurses at the hospital told us we timed it perfectly when I got there. After a couple of hours laboring in triage with very intense contractions, I made the decision to get an epidural. My labor progressed quickly after my epidural and shortly after Tara arrived at the hospital, it was time for me to push. She worked alongside our amazing Beth Israel nurses and doctors in a really cohesive way and was a grounding presence helping to keep me hydrated, calm, and making sure I was as comfortable as possible and that my husband was able to be by my side and supporting me like he wanted to. She kept a log of events that happened during my labor (which I definitely would have forgotten/been unaware of) and even took our first family photos once our son was born. Since I had an epidural and had labored at home for most of the time, our time with Tara was much different than I had envisioned (she was really only physically there with us for my time pushing). Had I gone ahead with an unmedicated birth, we would have made "better use" of her since I would have felt like I needed her in the hospital with us sooner. Nevertheless, my husband and I were so grateful for her calming presence throughout the day and for the time we did have her there with us despite not feeling like we "needed" her as much. It was still so nice to have her with us! We are so grateful to Tara for her guidance and support and highly recommend her to all other parents-to-be!

Tara was so incredible throughout our labor and delivery, as well as in her prenatal and postpartum…read moresupport. Through every step of our through-the-night labor, Tara was present, calming and grounding, and gave so much gentle and helpful guidance around everything from positions to hydration to thinking through key decisions. It was a challenging but incredibly rewarding experience, and Tara's support was instrumental the whole way. Additionally, everyone we spoke with at Mt. Auburn had such glowing things to say about her when we mentioned we were working with her as our doula. We are so lucky to have been supported by her.

I delivered with the Midwives at Mt. Auburn Hospital just over a week ago and can't say enough…read morepositive things about labor and delivery as well as the recovery period. I had read rave reviews about Mt. Auburn (including multiple people claiming to have had a "wonderful" labor there), all the while wondering how wonderful labor really could be. I now understand completely. From the moment that we called the hospital after contractions started to the arrival and long delivery process, each nurse and midwife that took care of me provided the utmost care, professionalism, and explanation of what was happening next and why. Amidst the inevitable anxiety of a first labor, I felt fully cared for and at ease. I can't thank the nurses enough for their tremendous care during both the labor and delivery process, as well as postpartum care for myself and baby. Postpartum, the nurses and a wonderful lactation consultant provided guidance on everything from what to expect during the first few days of our newborns' life to feeding techniques to giving the baby a first bath. Recovery was peaceful and allowed us time to bond as a family of three. By the time we left the hospital, we felt prepared enough to care for our newborn and with the opportunity to call with any questions that we might have. Thank you, Mt. Auburn!

I'm very disappointed by my recent experience with the Midwives at Mt. Auburn Hospital. My prenatal…read morecare was pretty standard, nothing exceptional. I had a low-risk pregnancy and everything went according to plan. The midwife I saw continually pushed for induction through castor oil, membrane sweeps, and evening primrose oil - these are not proven to be effective and are not positively backed by scientific research. I cannot believe that they don't follow evidence-based research when making medical recommendations. I went into labor spontaneously and progressed well. However, during my entire active labor, the midwife was in the room for no more than 5 minutes total. She basically did a quick pelvic exam and then left me on my own. I had no one in the room with me other than my husband. There was no nurse and no midwife - I felt so unsupported. After about 6 hours of labor, the midwife came back in and suggested a peanut ball and a warm bath, but she disappeared without setting me up with either. I guess my husband was supposed to figure this out? She returned a few hours later and I requested nitrous oxide - She said I needed a form for this (which was already in my file) and disappeared again. I never received anything to manage my pain and never saw the midwife again. I would have hoped that the midwife would have suggested labor positions to ease pain, pressed on my back/hips, showed my husband some ways to help (we took Bradley classes, but some extra direction in that moment would have been appreciated), provided encouragement, shown care, and simply been present. I feel like I was ignored and neglected. No one even brought me water. It wasn't until an OBGYN arrived that I felt like I was validated and heard - she got an anesthesiologist and I received an epidural. The OBGYN delivered my baby via c-section after failure to progress. My after-care at Mt. Auburn was pretty good. I felt all the nurses were caring and competent. I had to self-advocate to get time with the lactation consultants, but they were helpful. Takeaways: If you want support of any kind during labor, you'll need to hire your own doula. If you plan to breastfeed, arrange for your own postpartum doula or seek support from a non-hospital affiliated IBCLC. I am exclusively breastfeeding in spite of the care I received and not because of it. Just find a good OBGYN and forget about all the midwife nonsense - they're basically useless.

I had SUCH a good experience with this group of midwives. I mainly saw Tamara and Meghan and liked…read morethem both very much. I ended up with a fairly rare pregnancy complication (not their fault) and they handled it very well, making sure I had the right referrals and treatment. I then had to be induced early and they did a good job with that, also - always keeping me informed of my progress and the baby's health. If I have another baby, I will DEFINITELY be seeing them again.

Had an absolutely horrible birthing experience here in 2013. Something I can never live with…read morepeacefully. They are not an all natural birthing center, they heavily push vaccines while pregnant and groom you to come to terms that you will most likely end up in the hospital giving birth. I ended up in the hospital after a small leak (not a water break, the leak stopped immediately). Was given cytotek and then was given pitocen when labor did not start within 48 hours of my leak. After two days of induced labor a nurse exclaimed that my water had not even broken yet. It was absolutely a terrible experience and the bedside manner of the staff was even more terrible. After my eventual birth (leak on Thursday, birth on Monday- 5 days, ended in cesarean) my midwife (Kat) told me, and I quote, "most of the midwives that work here end up giving birth in the hospital." I also want to add that I was on fluids for 4 days while being induced. My son was obviously born with extra fluid on him, and subsequently lost it the day after he was born. Because of the weight difference, I was forced by the staff to give him formula while I was waiting for my milk to come in (it came in in the normal two days). Do NOT go here. There are better options out there. I had a vback at MgH of all places and the natural experience there was a completely different, amazing experience.

I adore this Birth Center. The care here is amazing and what a beautiful environment to experience…read morea birth. (water births are an option!!) The staff is top notch and compassionate - words just can not speak enough about this hidden gem for families that want to experience a natural birthing experience!~ If you are interested in having the potential to have a natural birth with some say in what you want then this is the place for your experience!~ Great Midwives and nursing staff, and the center is right across the culdesac from the hospital where there is a great OB/ CNM team as well. Worth your time to check it out if out of hospital birthing is something you would like to experience!~

Horrible experience with Woman's HealthCare at Waltham. Went for midwifery care for my second…read morepregnancy because they were recommended. The front desk, lab, and nursing staff were cold, distant, and robotic. It was my first appointment and they expected me to know where to go and how to do the regular testing procedures that they require at every appointment. They were not warm, friendly, or helpful at all! One woman was even a little patronizing by telling me to "calm down, take a breath, and drink my water" when I was excited to schedule the first ultrasound to see my baby. They tried to automatically schedule me for early blood tests and ultrasound without asking if I wanted them. At other facilities I've been to, the reason for these tests was explained and they always asked if we wanted them, which I declined. Waltham requires urine tests at every appointment, a full physical and pap for new patients (even though I've had both within the appropriate time frame at other facilities), and suggests unnecessary testing as often as possible. Even the paperwork they send you home with is almost 50% information about what can go wrong during your pregnancy and all the unnecessary medical tests they can run for you. It was terrifying! I'm healthy, low risk, and my last pregnancy had no complications so there is no reason to scare woman about every single highly-UNLIKELY thing that could possibly go wrong. We don't need an overload of information that probably won't apply to us, it will just keep us up at night worrying! During my appointment, as the nurse took my medical history, she typed my surgery dates incorrectly into my chart and I stopped to correct them multiple times. They also did not type my full medication list into the computer (I wrote it out on intake paperwork so I didn't say anything because I had been correcting them enough and wanted to stop meddling). I requested a modified appointment schedule as I already had a primary provider elsewhere and they refused, requiring me to have the full spectrum of appointments, which essentially doubled the appointments on my calendar. They may just be being conservative and thorough, but for someone who doesnt like hospitals, it felt like they were trying to bill as many procedures as possible for the insurance payout. I dont like being used as a lab rat to boost a hospital bottom line. After the appointment, they said the would call me to schedule my ultrasound appointment later that afternoon and they didnt. I never got a call, only found out when I could finally log into my online chart. Of course they scheduled it at a time that didn't work for me because they never called to talk with me before scheduling it. Took me a week to log into the medical chart because they spelled my name incorrectly on my record. I filled out all the intake paperwork and wrote my name multiple times and they still spelled it wrong! I only found out when I called the tech service desk when I couldn't create an online chart account. Then I had to spend an hour calling multiple offices to get the spelling of my name correctly, only to find out they also misspelled it on my email address also so I needed to start the process all over again. When one of my lab test results came back outside of the normal range, I requested a referral to a specialist for a second opinion. When I asked to speak with the midwide directly about the test results, they refused. The nurse I spoke with said that they were not concerned about the out-of-range test result and dismissed my concerns. I felt so worried when they tested for a problem at the appointment, and then when the problem was confirmed via test result, they dismissed my request for further testing and treatment. I was not pleased at all with how I was treated at Woman's HealthCare at Waltham and immediately switched providers. It was very disappointing because I had heard such good things about Mount Auburn Hospital. Your experience may be different, of course, but I just wanted other people to be aware of my experience. There are much better providers in the area and you dont have to settle for being dismissed, disregarded, and used as an easy paycheck. Go somewhere else.

Granted, my experience there was a few years ago but I still remember how great it was. Amanda was…read moremy midwife, and as a first time mom was very reassuring but also made sure I was informed. The office staff learned my name when I started coming every week and I generally didn't have to wait long to get in the room. At the time, there was this nurse with a lovely Irish accent who answered questions on the phone - I loved her! Just the best! The only downside to the office was having to go to the hospital for the ultrasounds. Unfortunately by the time I was pregnant with my second, we had moved away and I had to find a new midwife (and hospital). Otherwise I would have loved to go back to these midwives.

Ann was great. She was so good at keeping a very calm atmosphere, even when things didn't go as…read moreplanned. I ended up with a 36hr delivery and never once did I feel pressured into making things "move along". She was very good about informing me of my options without the feeling of being pressured into anything. I delivered at home to a 6.8Lbs baby boy. I couldn't recommend Ann enough. She truly cares. We love her so much and are so thankful to have had her by my side.

stay far away from this midwife! I moved to MA at 30 weeks pregnant and transferred into Ann's…read morecare, after a few meetings it was clear she wasn't very personable & did not seem to want to build a relationship. My husband & I were unable to find another homebirth midwife so late so we stuck with Ann as we thought she at least had the medical knowledge needed for homebirth. she claims she trust the bodies natural way to birth (as do we!). Well my water broke & while waiting for contractions to begin she suggested I just go to the hospital 10 hours in. Ann was unable to provide me with any support during that time, she did not suggest anything to help kickstart labor. I labored at home for 50 hours on my own, I asked her at one point to just come check my baby's position/ heartbeat to ensure she was still okay in there, Ann's response was she could be there in two hours or so, and that she'd be unable to tell anything with baby since I'm in labor (???) I'm not even sure what that means.. as that's her whole job. at that point I felt completely ABANDONED. my husband & I decided to go to the hospital for a non stress test since Ann now said she did not feel comfortable doing a homebirth because baby could not be doing well she stated (after never even coming to see me in person!!!) on our way to the hospital she asked me to call her & then said I was going against her suggestion by going in, but when I asked if I turned around & went home would she still do the homebirth she said no. Thus, 50 hours after my water breaking we checked into the hospital as we were ABANDONED by Ann after taking our 6k birth fee. now she is ghosting us and will not respond. this is NOT the compassionate care she claims to have, and this is NOT the first story I've since heard about her doing the same to others.

Let me start off by saying Sarah is amazing and knows her stuff…read more I had a lot of girlfriends that had postpartum so I wanted to do anything I could to not get it with my first baby and this was one of those things to help. It might sound a little crazy but my placenta pills gave me energy when I was exhausted made me a happy mommy and I knew 100% that I was going to do it again with my second baby. I'll never forget coming home with my first baby and waking up in the morning and thinking that my dogs were so dirty ( and they are inside very clean dogs) I thought to myself -now I know why people get rid of their pets when they bring home newborns then my husband gave me a placenta pill and right away I was back to my old self nursing my baby on one side and holding my little puppy on the other side...lol!! I don't know what that was about..... maybe my hormones and my brain adjusting to a brand-new baby, nevertheless I never got baby blues postpartum or anything AND my milk came in with both kids pretty much the same day as I got my pills. Sarah makes it such an easy beautiful process I highly suggest using her and everything she provides I believe deep down in my soul and my brain that this works. Happy baby happy mama

Sarah is one of the most passionate and knowledgeable professionals that I have encountered…read moreregarding natural birth and related services. My husband and I attended her Bradley Method course along with five other couples. Her presentations were consistently filled with invaluable educational content and a delivery that was very easy to understand. She presented research based approaches and information, and recommendations that enhanced our pregnancy and ensured a healthy delivery. As each topic was discussed, she demonstrated such eagerness to share in our journey. In fact, she was always available to assist in answering questions and to help us make informed decisions prior to and after baby. In addition to her superb Bradley instruction, I utilized her services to encapsulate my placenta. Though I do not have a comparison, I was happy with my postpartum results as I attributed my smooth recovery to her services. I highly recommend Sarah to all expecting families! If you have the opportunity to attend sessions in a group that is what I recommend, as we have established lifelong friends along the process. Most importantly, we have a VERY happy and healthy beautiful baby boy!!! Congratulations to all of you in search of services related to your growing families.

Had SUCH a bad birth experience with Beth Hardiman. Loved the midwife i was with Thru her but dr…read morehardiman was on call so did not have midwife at birth. She was SO judgemental and arrogant and it really turned the situation sour for me. Even networking with the anesthesiologist while performing the C section as if I was invisible and not even there. So unprofessional , I can't even believe it happened. After the birth, nurses on the maternity floor came in and shared information that was private with me that Dr Hardiman had absolutely no medical reason to share. I did complain to social service nurse but probably should have followed up with HIPPA filing. With infant there's too much going on, so never did, but I regret having to experience baby's birth with her. I

Super smart, skilled, thorough and, above all, a kind & caring human being. What more could you…read moreask for in a doctor?

Hilary and her team were all top notch, and I would recommend them most highly to any newborn…read moreparent. We worked with Molly S for postpartum doula help. Molly was an invaluable support both emotionally and with practical help during a difficult time. It was like having a wiser, older sister help out and counsel a few times a week. She is kind, knowledgeable, and brings a lot of mom wisdom from parenting her own three kids. The back office structure and onboarding and contracting process were all fast and efficient. Highly recommend.

I truly do not have enough words to express my sincere gratitude and praise for Hilary and her…read moreteam. I sent Hilary a message at 2am after months of sleepless nights and she promptly replied the next day and set up a call for us to chat. She completely understood not only what I was going through and the help that my family and I needed but she has the kindest, most caring, loving and dedicated team who were willing to jump in at a moments notice to ensure that our baby boy got the love and care he needed so that the rest of us could get some much needed rest. If anyone is thinking about a night nurse or daytime doula, I would 1000% recommend Hilary and her team.