My pregnancy was unplanned, so I found myself rushed to do my research. My OBGYN was vaginal birth…read morefriendly and so I felt confident that he would help make sure he did everything possible so that would delivery vaginally. In nursing school I was introduced to the idea of doulas, and knew I wanted to have the support of a doula. I went off the recommendation of a friend and found my doula and ended up meeting my midwife through her as well. I finally decided to ditch my OB at his 8th mention of c-section at our prenatal appointments. It was definitely God that placed Afua in my life and I could not be more grateful. Afua came into my life at a time that I lost my sister and mom. She was the mother figure I needed providing me with all the love, support, and tough love that mothers give. I love her approach to patient care because it is unmatched by the experience you get in mainstream healthcare. Afua treated me as family, she validated every one of my concerns no matter how silly they were. She guided me throughout my pregnancy, she provided a place for all expectant and new moms to come together and share their experiences and learn from each other and support one another. She has built her own village here in Houston. I am eternally grateful to her for the support she provided to me without fail and without hesitation. Not only did she provide me with exceptional personalized prenatal care, she safely delivered my baby in the comfort of my own home and she mended my soul. Thank you Afua! I love you!

I had my first baby with Afua and The Birthing Place, and the whole experience has been amazing. I…read morestarted my pregnancy with my long-time OBGYN, but quickly realized that there's a difference from a once-a-year appointment and ongoing, regular maternity care... And a difference in what I expected from a health care provider and what the provider was willing to give. I felt rushed during my appointments, spent the vast majority of the visits sitting alone in the waiting room or exam room waiting to be seen, just to finally get 30-60 seconds with the Doctor who barely looked up from the clipboard to ask me 'everything looks good, any questions?' before heading out of the room. I knew I wanted more personalized care from someone truly invested in my and my unborn child's wellbeing, someone who made me feel less like a number and more like a valued client, who welcomed dialogue and discussion on prenatal and birth options without judgement or a 'this is our policy' mentality. Afua and her team met all of my requirements and then set the bar higher than even I could have expected! Her prenatal care model was thorough with more frequent visits than others, which I really appreciated because as a first time mom I would come up with lots of questions. Having the bi-monthly appointments meant I was checking in on my little ones progress more often than my other pregnant friends, it helped alleviate my fears and anxiety that something was wrong and created a strong rapport with Afua. I really love how easy it is to get in touch with Afua- she personally answers all phone calls and texts, so there's no going through a front desk or multiple midwives to talk to. It's easy, efficient, and really made the prenatal (and birth!) experience comfortable. She also has monthly group prenatals, where other pregnant moms get together to discuss relevant birth and childcare topics, meet new friends, and of course eat!! I love the community feeling and getting to know other moms in the area who are also planning on delivering with a midwife. She also hosts meetings for dads, where the men have the same opportunity to mingle and get/give parenting advice. My husband and I opted for a home birth, and the whole process went so smoothly that I'm still in awe that my daughter is here, healthy, and happy, and it's all thanks to Afua.

Where do I begin?…read more Erin saved me in so many ways. I sought her out & told her over and over what my needs were. She patiently listened to every word with TRUE openmindeness. I've had PPD twice in the past. I've had multiple preemies. I was terrified in so many ways and she heard it all. When the day came for medically necessary induction, I reached out to Erin. To get my placenta and she came. Even though we called at 4am. And she came to me in recovery and catered to me while she could. Keep in mind, we had no idea induction was going to happen and we hadn't paid her anything at this point. There were complications in surgery. And I didn't learn about them until a day later. By that point, Erin was schedule to drop off my placenta pills to me in the hospital. I learned (before she came) that I couldn't have anymore children. It would be "devastating in the least". We were broken over the news. This baby was our last and we weren't prepared for that. When Erin came, she had with her last minute add on's. Placenta prints, my cord shaped into a heart, herbal concoctions & love. It began the healing process. Never before had I had my placenta encapsulated or the cord keepsake. And she provided healing things for me. The benefits from my pills have been phenomenal I DONT have ppd, my milk supply is amazing and my body and mind are able to heal. I can never repay her for those things. Erin Young is truly amazing. She became apart of me and anticipated needs I didnt know I needed met. Thank you Erin

Make the right decision. Especially if you are going to be a new father. This woman taught me what…read moreto do and what not to do in order to provide the absolute best experience possible for my wife. Erin is worth every penny. She will move at your pace, always find a way to be helpful and is extremely skilled at "plugging in" when things are either tough or easy throughout the pregnancy and labor. Her fee is a steal for all the value she brings. For a clueless male like myself, her teaching aides are terrific for learning something new and applying it with success. Don't go through it alone. Get Erin on board and know you can be confident when it's time for birth.

OMG Francis and her team was the absolute BEST EXPERIENCE I could have ever imagined. This was my…read morefirst home birth and the knowledge that she gave to myself and my husband created such a calm, smooth, delivery. She has such a beautiful gift. She is connected in a way that is indescribable. She literally got to me on time and, prepped us, and was so easy to trust. She kept calm, made sure my baby was safe even while he was underwater, and guided me to a successful delivery in which I didn't tear or anything. Every step of the way she was on it. She's thorough, honest, has integrity, easy to talk to, great personality, and knows exactly what she is doing. She Brilliant at this. I love her so much and Im so grateful that she was brought into our lives.

My husband and I had a great experience with Frances and the team at full circle. It was our first…read morebirth and I'm so glad we decided to have a home birth. We were blessed to have a safe and smooth birth experience and the ladies helped me immensely during labor and during my first week of breastfeeding. I always felt genuinely cared for and understood during my prenatal appointments. They take the time to listen and chat with you, and I always felt that my decisions would be respected. The ladies always gave me amazing resources for any questions we had. I knew as soon as I met Frances that her voice would be the voice of encouragement I needed during my birth experience.

Catrice has been a Godsend in my life with my first pregnancy. I utilized her service for at home…read morenatural birth class. She took her time to give the information and answered the many questions that I had as well as went above and beyond to provide me with additional information. Throughout our time together Catrice has felt more like a big sister with a wealth of birth knowledge. I've never felt more comfortable with a "birth practitioner" than I have with her. While we didn't utilize her doula service I felt like I did indeed have a doula with her as she was always quick to respond to my questions. PS She is a strong advocate of the daily 4-6 dates a day. As a first time mom from start to finish my birth was less than 10 hours and wasn't difficult at all. I attribute that to a lot of the information I was provided by Catrice.

From the owner: Childbirth Education classes, Breastfeeding Support, Labor and Birth Doula Care, Postpartum Doula…read moreCare, and Teen Pregnancy support servicing the Houston area.

Where do I even begin? I would say Patti is worth every penny but quite honestly I think her…read morepresence at our daughter's birth was priceless. Not only does she bring 30 years of quality experience, she shows up with the most incredible aura. Calm, confident, and steady. Throughout the pregnancy, she was checking in on us regularly and provided guidance on how to manage the last few weeks of pregnancy. The pre-labor massage seemed to reduce the time I was in early labor and she took diligent time to talk through our birth plan so that we felt equipped for the big day. When the big day arrived, she arrived at the hospital quickly after we alerted her. She coached us on proper positioning and was the necessary resource during the chaos of childbirth. I had a tight pelvis and back labor and she was able to provide insight and direction on what decisions might be best for our specific case. Patti sees the whole picture of childbirth and was able to help my baby come out smoothly and without complications. I truly believe I would have had to have a c-section without her there. My husband and I call it is a p-section (P for Patti). I thought having her at the birth was essential but even more so was she essential postpartum. She spent many hours putting my body back together, working on our baby girl, teaching us massage techniques and breast feeding tips. Our baby had a bad crick in her neck and would roll over to her side at night which made us worried. After Patti released her tense body, she has been sleeping so much better and is able to keep her neck straight. I hope Patti is around for all my future babies births because I can't imagine doing it without her! She is the Mother Theresa of childbirth and has given her life in the service of mamas and babies. She has the most important job in the world and she does it so well.

We truly cannot recommend Patti highly enough. From the very beginning, she provided a calm,…read moreknowledgeable, and unwavering support during the most important times of our lives. During labor, her guidance, encouragement, and compassion made an incredible difference - we felt supported every step of the way. We are forever grateful for her role in our birth experience!!!!

I wish I could give this place -50 stars. The midwife in charge recommended that my water be broken…read morein office as I was 40+ weeks, and this led to me getting an infection. Additionally, they DID NOT have nitrous oxide available, even after I was reassured several times that it would be there. Ultimately I had to be transferred to the hospital. The midwives knew that they couldn't naturally induce my labor, and instead of sending me to the hospital right away, they allowed me to endure an agonizing 24 hours so that they could collect money. Please do your research as they are extremely understaffed and head midwife is unprofessional. I was late the only one visit by 4 minutes and she left early even though I left a message that we were stuck in traffic, but she routinely had me wait up sometime up to 30 minutes while she finished with other patients. I had chosen a different route for my birth. Additionally the older reviews, are from when this birth center was located in Pasadena at a completely different facility with a different staff - it is different now.

Full disclosure: I did not end up birthing with Bay Area Birth Center, but they were one of the…read morebirth centers that I interviewed when choosing a midwife. I met Jackie and BABC at the BIRTH Fair back in 2016, and they were on my list of potential midwives when I became pregnant with my first child in 2017. I knew I wanted an out of hospital birth, and at the time was focused only on a birthing center and not home births. Jackie is an experienced certified nurse midwife (CNM), which means that she has a nursing degree and a "masters" in midwifery, which makes a lot of people feel more comfortable, especially if they're used to birthing in a hospital. Personally it made no difference to me- both CNMs and licensed midwives are legal and licensed in Texas, but it's nice to know that if it's important to you that BABC a CNM. I toured the facility and met with Jackie, asked her my questions - because as a first time mom, I had a BINDER of questions that I asked all the midwives and pediatricians I interviewed- and she was very professional and I could tell how passionate she was about her job, and really about her role helping women achieve happy, safe births for them and their children. You might be wondering, if I liked her so much why did I not choose to birth at BABC? Honestly, the amount of time it actually took me to get from my house to the birth center was over an hour- even though it was only about 15 miles away. The thought of traveling that far at least monthly for checkups, and then being in labor and potentially having a 2-hour drive to the birth center during traffic was too much for me to handle. I ended up choosing a provider located much closer, but I gladly recommend Jackie and BABC to anyone in the vicinity looking for a midwife.

If you're looking for a good birth class, my husband and I strongly recommend the Bradley Method…read morecourse at the Heart of Houston Birth Center with Anne! The Bradley Method is a husband-coached natural, unmedicated birth approach. The course covers the physiology of birth (vaginal and caesarean), all possible medical interventions during birth (when some are necessary and options you may have in different scenarios), relaxation techniques for birth, coaching guidance for husbands and/or other support personnel (e.g., close friend, family member, etc.), and more. Anne was incredibly fair and supportive of medical interventions when desired or needed-- so you won't feel like it's "all or nothing" for an unmedicated birth! As first time parents, her class and guidance brought us peace as we prepared to welcome our little baby. She made this season of preparation peaceful and we loved our birth experience thanks to her.

From the owner: I believe in the power of a woman’s body to birth her baby. In my classes, I focus on training…read moreparents to give their babies the healthiest start in life, helping them work to strengthen their support of each other, and building a community of new parents. We also learn a lot and have fun every week!

Sarah and this one of a kind shop is the best of the best when it comes to all things related to…read morebaby and parenting! Unique and super ingenious baby products and goods, organized yet plentiful variety in the shop, wonderful classes and outreach programs for parents and baby, and so much more! This shop is pretty much a one stop shop and highly recommend any new parent or seasoned parent to come and check it out! Kids are totally welcomed too! Sarah is super friendly, great to chat with, she is really knowledgeable, and so genuinely kind and gracious! I sing her praises! I met with her to do a private one on one consultation on babywearing! Babywearing, you ask?! Yes, "Babywearing" isn't as intuitive as one would think and when there are so many wraps, slings, harnesses, carriers, etc. out there on the market that when you actually read the manuals, watch the video tutorials, etc., it can still be rather confusing and not as helpful to safely use it and put your baby in it. Plus, add being a new mom running on no sleep, I needed someone to directly show me and help out! Hence me reaching out to Sarah for a one on one and I'm so glad I did! I have a Moby wrap and a LilleBaby carrier and tried my best to use and understand them but had no confidence and a fear of dropping my newborn. Sarah spent over an hour with me giving me tips, tricks, best practices, let me practice, (she even has a weighted baby doll to mimic what it would be like to use your child. Super helpful since my little one was asleep and I knew I couldn't put her or manipulate her in a wrap/carrier at the time), etc. She made it so easy and straight forward, provided me with the confidence to use both wrap/carrier seamlessly, she was so patient with me, and an overall wonderful teacher! I can go on and on about Sarah and The Pure Parenting Place but just simply without a doubt recommend her and this shop to you! 10 out of 10 stars! You will be so glad you did!

The shop owner, Sara is so knowledgeable! There are tons of other accessories, clothes, feeding…read moreneeds, toys, and shoes. This is a great place to register and find unique and useful things for others. Many items are made, or invented here in Texas. This shop is a must see for moms. It is the only shop in town that has cloth diapers, and the owner can tell you all you need to know. They also are a home to classes for kids, such as baby sign language and get-togethers for new moms. And lastly, the shop supports the community doing public service projects to keep our kids safe and healthy. I cannot say enough good things!