I wish I had switched to this practice sooner. They have a fabulous reputation for safe & successful natural births in a hospital setting- in fact, they are getting so popular that I was told by a doula to switch to them *before* getting pregnant to make sure of getting their prenatal care. Check out their website for the full philosophy and nutrition guidelines, and attend one of the monthly 'Meet the Midwives' sessions to learn more. read more

What every other one star review of this practice has said. The practice overall isn't terrible and several of the midwives we met were quite nice and supportive. But then for a regular check up we drew Whitney and everything went downhill from there. I had misgivings from the beginning, but trusted my wife's wish to check out midwivery. What Whitney emphasizes in the the Meet the Midwives event is also plainly unscientific and dangerous. She said that women should eat like their ancestors several generations back--which, if one is historically accurate, would lead to life expectancy in the 30 to 40 year range. I reiterate what all the other reviews have said: Whitney is rude, snobby, judgmental, and, at least we felt, unconcerned with the patients, as evidenced by her focus on absurd numbers and her own story. We felt she was completely unprepared to deal with the most minute complication, but, more importantly, to speak to someone with respect and tact. read more

I'm 7 months pregnant with my first child, and I feel so lucky to live in a city that offers Midwifery services at the hospital. I want a natural childbirth, but I also want to be surrounded by the best that science can provide in case of an emergency. WISDOM has a fantastic open house that explains in great detail their practice, as well as when they consider medical interventions necessary. I felt so much more confident after the open house that this was the right choice for me. All of the midwives have different personalities, but you have the opportunity to meet with each of them before delivery. Personally, I've found each midwife to be very professional, calm, and really helpful in answering my questions. No matter who is on call when I go into labor, I'm confident we'll be in really good hands. As other reviews have noted, this isn't the choice for everyone. The diet and exercise guidelines are strict. Whitney Pinger is an intense personality, and after my first appointment with her, I left feeling like, "whoa--I really do not want to disappoint her." Even though it's hard to give up sugar and white flour when you're craving nothing but chocolate cake and cottencandy cupcakes, it's been a really positive experience for me. When I do occasionally cheat, I end up feeling so much worse than I when I stick with the diet. I've also found taking a Bradley Method class useful, and I'd recommend it, or becoming familiar with any resources that really go into detail about what to expect from a natural childbirth in the hospital environment. There were just so many assumptions that I made when I first got pregnant that have turned out to be incorrect, and taking a class and reading more about what to expect in a hospital has been helpful. Bottom line: I'm so thankful for WISDOM Midwifery, and I'm really looking forward to delivering my son with them soon!! read more

I just delivered my second child with the GW (Wisdom) Midwives and I am again very happy with the care that I received. Leading up to the birth I saw Dina, Whitney, Anayah and Kimla. They all had a wonderful bedside manner and took my concerns seriously. The front desk and scheduling staff were always friendly and helpful. When I developed a serious medical concern at 37 weeks pregnant, Whitney scheduled me for an urgent induction. Whitney was my midwife for the labor and birth. She was extremely knowledgeable, supportive and reassuring. Even though my birth plan had to change because of my health problem, I feel like the birth experience was a positive one. Both baby and I are happy and healthy 1 week postpartum. I also had a good experience with the labor and delivery and postpartum nurses and the Lactation consultants at GW. The rooms were large and clean. The food was actually good. My husband even said he was comfortable while sleeping in the room with me. read more

I had an amazing experience from start to finish with them. If you are pregnant and do not want a C-section, this is the place to go. I had a successful VBAC(vaginal deliver after c-section) with them after 75 hours of labor. Any where else I would of had another c-section. They were all very supportive of my birth plan and worked with me to achieve that. I cannot say enough good things. Random tip: eat the chocolate cake at the GW hospital after Labor. It's soooo good. read more

I am so grateful this practice exists in DC and would highly recommend this group to other pregnant ladies. I felt so well cared for and was treated considerately and respectfully by every single midwife we saw. If you are considering them-- attend a Meet the Midwives event (it happens monthly, sign up on their website) and see if what they say resonates with you. For me, with their thoughtful and very simple care throughout my pregnancy, I was able to have a birth experience I will always remember in the most positive way. Prenatal Visits: I found them easy to schedule, got text reminders, and at the majority of my visits, I waited 5 minutes or less. Insurance was no problem and I never experienced any billing issues (I have BCBS). Most visits they did some basic checks on me and listened to baby's heartbeat. Just 2 ultrasounds total. Very down to earth and common sense guidance when I had questions. At 36 weeks, they provide some optional recommendations for tea and vitamins you can take to possibly help contractions be more effective. I followed the recommendations and I think they really helped, but who the heck knows. I delivered my first baby at 41 weeks with no interventions. Not even a mention of induction unless something goes awry or you get near 42 weeks. You can email the midwives any time and I always got a response within 8 hours, usually from Whitney, with really thoughtful advice. Diet/Exercise: The guidance the midwives gave was essentially the same common sense stuff Michael Pollan advises. Eat food, not too much, mostly plants. Lots of water. This guidance, along with their advice not to eat white processed foods is written down for you, and of course you can take or leave whatever advice and suggestions you want. It's not like anyone is going to be watching over you at the bakery :) I had cupcakes and cookies and other crap on occasion with no trouble at all, but I do think that doing my best to stick to good foods as recommended helped me stay healthy throughout my pregnancy and postpartum. The exercise guidance is basically to keep moving, however you like. Try to get outside every day. I found all of this to be simple and practical. Meds: Basically this practice is designed to help you achieve an unmedicated birth with as few interventions as possible. However, you are not signing away the possibility of any kind of pain relief including an epidural. In fact, depending on your labor, the midwives may recommend that you receive pain relief! Especially if you are exhausted and your labor is going on for a long time. They provide guidance about under what circumstances they will recommend you get some relief. And you can ask for whatever you want or change you mind at any point. No one in their right mind is gonna argue with a woman in labor. Delivery: If you want a super chill, relaxing environment for the entire labor, you might want a birth center/home birth. This is a hospital so a lot is totally out of your control and you will probably be one of eight or more women delivering that day/night. I arrived at the delivery floor at 11:30pm at 6cm dilated and had to wait for about 30 minutes while another woman who had arrived before me completed her paperwork. She was seated comfortably while I was wailing and carrying on like a wild animal. Unless the baby is falling out of you, you probably ain't the priority, you gotta get in line :) I waited again for a little bit in triage and it took the nurses a few tries to get my hep lock in. Again, it's a hospital, so they put in an IV no matter what. The midwives recommend you get a doula. It's not a requirement or anything, but if you're open to it, I highly recommend it! The doula really helped me cope during this hospital transition. She knew where the shower was and got it set up while I hobbled to the room. Turned off the lights in triage so I wasn't bathed in flourescence. Helped the nurse put the IV in a location that she knew wouldn't get wet in the hot tub. And on and on. I would have been in a pretty poor state without her, but stayed pretty calm with her help. Around 12:30am, I was in my room (very nice, private, spacious, shower, and I lucked out and got a hot tub too). The nurses were SO unbelievably kind. I felt safe and trusted the care I was getting the whole time. I got checked by another midwife 24 hours after the birth and she spent lots of time with me answering any questions. I was released (by my request) 2 hours later. read more

I credit Sierra and Marsha with helping me to have a beautiful and empowering birth. I really felt like they listened and helped me avoid what many might have seen as a c section. Could not be happier! read more

After my poor experience with the doctors in this practice, I thought I would try the Midwifery service. Let me save you some time: they're "famous" in the DC area (if you believe their hype), and gosh aren't they just the bees knees?! They've had write ups in local papers (but nothing from anyone who has actually visited them, and last night, I found out why). First, their website doesn't work. None of the links function, but let's not get caught up on that. Last night, I went to my appointment with Whitney. She informed me that they have a natural birth rate of 97%, with a c-section rate of 3%. Sounds good, doesn't it? She then went through my medical history with me, and determined that I should reconsider natural childbirth. Why? I've had my appendix out, and two nights ago, I slept on my neck wrong and it was hurting. Yeah. She said, and I quote here, "What happens if your neck hurts while you're trying to give birth?" Does she think the baby is coming out of my neck? "Well, I know what it takes to have a natural childbirth, and even to raise a child! And I just think you need to reconsider your options." Uhhh... Here are my suspicions: they have such a great natural childbirth rate, because they only take a very select TYPE of woman. I'll be honest: I have never run a marathon. I don't have abs of titanium. I suspect they're ONLY looking for athletic women in perfect condition who have never had surgery of any type. If that's you, and you don't mind extremely judgemental and rude staff, then this is your place. If you'd like a natural, calming, caring environment with people who respect you, I STRONGLY suggest you look elsewhere. And just in case you're wondering, I WAS accepted into their client list, but I've decided someone else can have my spot... this is not what I want for my baby. read more

I'm two months out from delivering my first with WISDOM Midwifery and what an amazingly positive experience it was. I went with a midwife because I wanted a natural birth and also feel strongly that a pregnant woman is a person, not a patient. Yes, Whitney washes over you like a tsunami in your initial visit. But I appreciated that. She's really built her practice from the ground up and getting midwifery care into hospitals is her life's work - so sure she's going to want to make sure that the women she works with carry that same vision. She grilled me on my lifestyle, exercise, what I want out of the pregnancy, how educated I was on pregnancy, natural birth, etc. I was definitely squirming and hoping I was going to make the cut. My husband actually found it pretty funny since I'm normally pretty confident and stubborn but Whitney owned me. At the end of the appt though, she gave me a high five as I left. You think your OB/GYN is going to high five you? Unlikely. (Also unlikely would be calling them by their first name). And flash forward to me just hours after delivery when Whitney swooped into my room, praised me for be awesome and powerful through my delivery and showered me in hugs and kisses. Laura delivered my little boy and she was fantastic. Nora also popped in to check on me and tell me how amazing I was in my recovery room. Being with WISDOM through my prenatal and post-partum care has left me incredibly educated and empowered when it comes to childbirth. The midwives are 100% invested in making sure you have a healthy active pregnancy that ramps you up for a powerful delivery and fast recovery. I was also really pleased with how much they got my husband involved. I had been with a different midwife practice in my first trimester and they would barely acknowledge him and belittled his questions. I'd deliver #2 (whenever that happens) with them without hesitation. They also just hired two new midwives so they're able to accept more mommies-to-be these days. read more

I started out with this practice with my first child back in 2016. I developed placenta previa (complete) and therefore was unlikely to deliver vaginally. Whitney met with us and basically kicked us out of her practice. It was clear that she was more worried about her stats than the actual patient and their wishes. However, the other midwives we met with were exceptional and all have lovely bedside manners, save Whitney. If you have a completely typical pregnancy, are very young, in excellent health, go with Whitney, Otherwise, I would look elsewhere. We had our second kid with the "regular" OBGYN team at GW, and they were phenomenal. I had some complications at the end, but they treated me with respect. I delivered my second without drugs as an induced VBAC. It was a wonderful experience. So don't believe the myth Whitney has created about only delivering naturally with midwives. The standard OBGYN team at GW has humanity and humility and will take great care of you. read more

I chose WISDOM and Whitney Pinger as a midwife for my second child precisely because of her strong focus on nutrition and wellness. It just made so much sense to me that how I took care of myself during pregnancy would affect the delivery and the health of my baby! I was thrilled to find a provider who cared as much about healthy outcomes and wellness during pregnancy as I did. The OBGYN for my first birth didn't even broach healthy eating or exercise or talk with me about what I could do during my pregnancy to affect the delivery. Whitney is a strong, motivating, and caring person, as are the other midwives I know on the team at George Washington University Hospital. Her strength gave me the strength and confidence I needed to deliver my baby naturally. WISDOM midwives have high expectations for their patients - but they are also there throughout pregnancy and birth to help women achieve the births they want. During my birth, Whitney provided me with the best care possible. I had complications after the birth, and looking back on it, I realized that she was appropriately cautious and medically responsive to my situation. She called in her medical partners who would be ready if I needed interventions. You should consider WISDOM Midwifery if you want midwives who will help you take control of your pregnancy and birth - and offer you the guidance to have the birth you want. read more

All the midwives at GW Hospital were great. They always answered our many questions at all our appointments and took very good care of us throughout the process. We met with a number of them, including Witney, and have nothing but positive things to say. They especially came through when it mattered most - the day of our son's delivery. They were very patient and worked hard to give us the natural child birth we wanted. They also worked seemlessly with our duola. I can't say enough and can't thank them enough. We would definitely have our second child with them! read more

I just gave birth to my first son and GW mdwives were fantastic! They totally helped me follow all my religious Preferences and were just awesome all around! I had a healthy natural birth because of them, while still in the comfort of a hospital setting! read more

We just had baby number two with this practice. My wife is still a huge fan and would not deliver anywhere else. This one was much shorter. In the hospital at 20:45. Baby in arms at 21:47. read more

We just had our baby on Sunday. Wisdom was and is amazing. If you want a midwife in DC, they are a great choice, if you don't want one, google the "unbreaking birth" lecture on you tube and then call them. read more

We attended the monthly information session in March, sat through a 1.5 hour long presentation and at the very end Whitney asked if anyone was due in August (we are due August 26th) and said too bad because they're full. That information would have been useful before the presentation. We spoke with Whitney afterwards to ask about the likelihood of getting off the waitlist and instead of being understanding and/or helpful she took the opportunity to trash the practice we were trying to leave. There seems to be a lot of ego wrapped up in this practice- a lot of boasting about their record and little attempt to connect with the potential patients. That being said, all of the other midwives that presented seemed lovely. But even if we got off the waitlist the chance of delivering with Whitney, based on both our experience and other reviews, was enough for us to go to midwives at Medstar. read more

I delivered with Wisdom Midwifery in January 2017 and had a great experience. I know there are differing opinions of Whitney, but I had her as my primary midwife and therefore saw a lot of her over the course of ten months. Her personality probably isn't for everyone; she's quite blunt, but I also found her to be very caring, practical, and encouraging. She made sure to spend a lot of time with us in each visit and answer all our questions. My pregnancy was pretty uneventful except for three hiccups - first, an ultrasound abnormality which turned out to be nothing but required extra genetic testing; second, our baby was measuring small at 36 weeks so they had me come in for extra monitoring; and third, baby was a flipper - she went back and forth between breech and head down throughout the last four weeks. We ended up having a successful ECV at 40 weeks to flip her, two days before my water broke. Through each incident, the midwives communicated and worked seamlessly with the high risk OBs at GW, and I always felt like I was receiving the best, most competent care from everyone involved (plus everyone was just so KIND throughout a stressful, albeit short procedure). For the ECV, Whitney was right there working alongside two OBs when they turned my baby in just two minutes. I also am so grateful to GW's wonderful OBs, especially Dr. Madkour, for succeeding with the ECV and allowing me to have the natural birth I wanted. Throughout my long labor, I had Ashley (for an office visit when I found out my water broke), then in the hospital had Jenna, Hannah, Marsha, and finally Jenna again who caught my baby. JENNA IS AMAZING!!! I am forever grateful to her for managing the last few hours of my weird and long labor so well. The only reasons I am dinging one star are: (1) The postpartum recovery experience. This is an issue with GW Hospital rather than with the midwives. While the labor and delivery nurses were all wonderful (with the one exception of the nurse who was with me at the end and told me "you may want the epidural, no one's asking you to be a hero" at a very critical juncture...not helpful) the postpartum nurses were less professional, less knowledgeable, and just didn't seem to care as much. You really had to be on them to ensure you got the stuff you needed afterward, and you're feeling pretty vulnerable while physically recovering and figuring out what to do with this new human you just produced. However, a couple of the midwives who were with me throughout labor came to visit me in postpartum and they were extremely caring, kind and helpful with my questions about lactation, baby care, and recovery. (2) Scheduling prenatal appointments was kind of annoying. They do have a great online patient portal where you can schedule, but you can only select a midwife you've already seen. That's not helpful when you want to try and schedule appointments with a bunch of different midwives so you get a chance to meet most of them. I ended up having to call or schedule the next several appointments in the office with the receptionist if I wanted to meet more of the midwives. All in all, I would absolutely deliver here again. I ended up able to give birth without an epidural, which was really important to me, and also had the comfort of knowing that if anything went wrong and we needed an emergency c-section or assisted delivery, the high risk OB practice and NICU were available to us. I think it's so wonderful that women wanting a natural birth can achieve their goal in a hospital setting, and hope more hospitals adopt these kinds of programs across the country. read more

I had my first baby with Wisdom Midwifery. Being pregnant for the first time, I had a lot of questions about what I was feeling, and was treated as though I am not tough enough to go through natural childbirth or the questions I was asking were ridiculous. I did not feel comfortable during my visits with Whitney Pinger because she made me feel like my questions were an insult and that I wasn't in tune with my body. At the time, I was a healthy vegetarian 30-something who worked out regularly and was very careful about my diet. Yes, there are other midwives in the practice, but you don't get to choose who is on call when you go into labor, and I got stuck with Whitney. My husband was in touch with her every few hours during the 48 hours before I went to the hospital and I was in labor, but the pain got so bad, I asked him to drive me to the hospital. Whitney chastised us for not calling her before going to the hospital. She checked me and said that I wasn't far enough along, and that we could either go home or stay the night. We decided to stay the night because the paperwork takes long enough to fill out, and I was in so much pain, that I didn't want to go back home. Whitney suggested that I get an epidural because I was in labor for so long before getting to the hospital. However, I didn't really want to do it. After talking to two anesthesiologists and before I could get the epidural, my water broke and I was going into labor. (5 hours after I checked in...) Whitney was in and out of the labor room the whole time I was pushing - not what I would have wanted as I was pushing. She only stayed when I started crowning. Luckily, my husband and one of the nurses stayed by my side the whole time. Looking back, this is probably the reason why I ended up tearing and bleeding, causing a lot of postpartum physical issues. Whitney stitched me up and got me on an IV because I had bled quite a lot, about 1L. No meds were given to me, and so I felt every thing that was done to me. (Imagine having just pushed out a baby without meds, and then getting stitched up without pain killers or numbing medicine...) I was never given additional blood or a blood transfusion, and wasn't even taken into surgery for the 30+ stitches. Right after the onsite surgery (30 minutes later), the nurse made me sit on my stitches to get wheelchaired to my next room. I almost fainted when I got into the chair, and immediately had salts thrown in front of my face to prevent me from passing out. Within a few weeks after leaving the hospital, the stitches I received got infected and I couldn't walk. Although I kept on going back to Whitney to get seen for all of the post-birth pain, she kept on reassuring me that it was normal. I finally went and got a second opinion (at a different hospital) and found out that I had a bad infection where I received my stitches. With special antibiotics, it took three months for the infection to go away and another nine months of pelvic physical therapy to get the pelvic muscles to function semi-normally again. After one year, I still don't have the strength back in my pelvic muscles (measured through kegals). Although my husband and I have started thinking about having another kid, rest assured that I will not set foot into GW nor will I consider midwifery again. (I also had my normal physician who was at GW give me meds that I shouldn't have been taking while breastfeeding my baby - leaving me to never trust GW again.) read more

This review is specifically for Whitney Pinger, as I generally had good experiences with the other midwives. (Although I heard that two of the best, Sierra and Laura, have left this practice recently.) My experience with Whitney in the delivery room was awful. She was surprisingly rude for a midwife. I wanted a midwife practice, because I kept hearing stories about how caring and patient they are during the entire pregnancy and delivery. However, Whitney was the complete opposite. I was stunned. The pushing was extremely stressful. I felt like I knew what to do - it was like an instinct. However, Whitney was yelling to push harder and faster. It was so awful. I ended up with a second degree tear that she stitched wrong, and it never healed properly. 4 months after delivery, I had to be re-cut, and stitched up properly by my OB. Unbelievable. I wouldn't recommend Whitney to my worst enemy. read more

I recently delivered my first child with GW's Midwifery group and had a great experience from the early stages of pregnancy through delivery. I can't recommend them highly enough. If you're even curious about natural childbirth please attend one of their "meet the midwives" public sessions (and watch the Business of Being Born or similar films). I also took a Bradley class which I found helpful, albeit somewhat unnecessarily lengthy. I signed up with the group the day after I got my first positive home pregnancy test. I'd suggest doing the same as they book up quickly. From then on, you'll have regular appointments just as you would with any Ob/Gyn office and you'll rotate through the various midwives a couple of times so you get to meet everyone. Although they aren't on-time for all appointments, I rarely had to wait more than 15 minutes or so past my original time. Occasionally there was some delay in them responding to immediate questions but I think they've resolved that by giving patients a "main midwife" that is their primary point of contact rather than issuing those standard questions to the on-call midwife. Much is made of the diet and exercise requirements. First off - for the most part, this is how we all should be eating - pregnant or not (ie avoiding processed foods in favor of whole grains,fresh fruits, veggies and lean protein). I didn't have any morning sickness and felt great throughout pregnancy and I'm sure the food I ate (and didn't eat) had something to do with keeping my blood sugar even (associated with less nausea) and keeping me feeling great. The exercise requirements are basically to keep moving, be it walking or jogging throughout pregnancy (I walked 2 miles a day throughout pregnancy and did some other exercises) - in other words, it's not that hard. I also saw a chiropractor regularly in my third trimester at the midwives suggestion and found that it helped a lot with round ligament pain, sciatic pain, etc. They also will suggest you hire a doula to help you through the birth process. I wasn't sold on this idea at first, but we did and given how long our labor and delivery process was, I'm glad we did (note to book a doula early too as they book up quickly as well). District Doulas is a great group. Overall, after speaking with others who delivered with the midwives, I think mine was an unusually long and arduous birth (I was in the hospital for 24 hours before delivering). The midwives were in touch with me throughout my labor at home and Laura spent countless hours with us when we arrived at the hospital before handing me off to Marsha who delivered my girl the next day. Despite encountering many unforeseen obstacles along the way, I had complete trust in the midwifes to help myself and my husband make educated decisions (along with our doula) at each step. When Laura suggested some Pitocin and other interventions I hadn't planned on, I knew she wouldn't have done so unless she really felt strongly that it was the right thing to do. I firmly believe that with any other group or at any other hospital I would have been induced (rather than waiting for labor to start on its own, which it did), been given antibiotics due to the amount of time we thought my water had been broken (which, as it turns out was not the case) and possibly had a C-Section due to the total amount of time in labor and pushing - that didn't happen either. Although it wasn't the water birth I had hoped for, it was a normal, vaginal delivery (with no tearing or other side effects) and a healthy, large baby. read more

I just tried calling to learn more and set up an appointment. The woman I spoke with on the phone was very rude and made me feel uncomfortable about the two basic questions I asked. Although I've read good reviews, I'm not sure I'll give this practice a chance. read more

These midwives don't know when to turn things over to the doctors. They treated my sister like it was a game on how natural you can go. In the end...the baby died from them not judging well when things need to be turned over to the doctors! I have had 4 kids myself and never seen any other midwives allow someone to try and push for 6 hours! Go to someone else please! This is not the first time this has happened with them! read more

I was hoping for a drug-free birth and decided to go with the GW midwives. I followed the diet and exercise suggestions and had no big issues during the pregnancy. Labor went pretty well until I pushed for 6+ hours and was transferred to the team of doctors who said I needed a quick (baby's heart rate was dropping) forceps delivery which they did (my baby was small, 6.5 lbs, but not positioned well and also my first). During the entire labor, I felt like information was always held back from me. For example, the midwife didn't want to tell me that the baby was in a more difficult position (we actually hardly ever saw or heard from the midwife) and neither the midwife or doctor warned me of the potential dangers of a forceps delivery or gave me an option of a c-section. My baby was fine, thank goodness (although had a bruised face for a few days), but I suffered a 4th degree tear and have had many issues since (I am 1 year out). It seemed like our doctor had never used forceps before (it took her multiple tries and positions), but we had no idea who she was during all of this. I spent awhile in the OR after the delivery being sewn back together (when I asked the doctor how many stitches, she replied "a lot"). I have been advised to not have another vaginal delivery and most likely won't (although at the time, Whitney said if I waited at least 3 years to have another child, I should be ok to try a natural route again). I understand that tearing is a normal risk, however, please be warned about the potential dangers of forceps, since they use these at GW instead of a vacuum (a vacuum is what most hospitals opt for now). Ok, so given just this, I probably wouldn't (well, I really couldn't since I need a C-section now) go with the midwives again. However what happened next would make me advice everyone to run from this practice. I went to my 6 week follow-up appointment with a bad case of mastitis. The whole bottom half of my right breast was red and swollen and I had felt sick for 2 days (I actually moved the 6 week appointment up a day since I thought I needed antibiotics). When I went to the appointment I had to see a midwife I had never seen and she didn't seem to think I had mastitis since I had no fever. I was also on high doses of ibuprofen (for the tear) which can reduce fevers, but the midwife didn't seem to think this mattered. She said that the breast looked "angry" but she didn't think it was mastitis. 4 days later I went back and insisted on getting help. At this point I was very sick and in an extreme amount of pain. The midwife said that I would need to see a breast specialist but they couldn't get me into see one for 2 more days - she also recommended I try some homeopathic remedies to help fight the infection. I was sent home almost in tears and decided I should go to the ER. I sent the midwife a message through their portal and told her that I was going to head to the hospital. She quickly told me that she would try to get me into a specialist at a different hospital the next day (she told me she didn't know the schedulers couldn't get me in for 2 days, to be fair). The next day (at a much better hospital and practice), I found out that I definitely had mastitis and was scheduled for surgery to have 2 abscesses removed. At this point the Midwife became very helpful and offered to do a home visit (a nice gesture but a little too late at this point). I spent 2 months going back and forth to this hospital for wound care and missed an additional 6 weeks of work. I keep asking myself, WHAT WENT WRONG? How did these midwives not know to treat me for mastitis (a fairly common occurrence). The midwife I had for my 6 week appointment was younger (and maybe new?), however I still don't get it. I haven't talked to the midwives since that experience and don't plan to ever go back to this practice. I actually wonder if they will be shut down at some point if this is happening to other women as well. Although I do believe some of the midwives may be great, I think I got unlucky with the midwives that are not as great. Finally, I would also like to say that GW is a very busy, small hospital and the administration for the midwife practice is lacking. They lost some of our paperwork and as I was pushing in the birthing tub, I was asked to re-sign a few or the forms we had carefully filled out and handed in a month before. I write this all because I know that finding a good health care provider while pregnant is very important. I did a lot of research on GW prior and decided to take a chance with them given the mixed reviews. I'm sure if you have a smooth pregnancy and birth, things will be great (and I do like how they advocate for exercise and nutrition), but if not, you may want to be in more knowledgeable, capable hands. read more

I bought into the hype of Wisdom after reading an article in the City Paper and going to the orientation at GW. They make it so hard to schedule an initial appointment - they put you on hold forever (I had to call 5 times before I got to speak to someone), then they ask you to e-mail personal medical information before they will even consider you. After jumping through all those hoops, the visit was a disaster. Very disorganized at check-in, no one to answer questions without waiting in a long line. The nurse was nice, but the midwife Whitney was cold, quick to mention the statistics on miscarriage (way to make me feel comfortable and happy about the pregnancy), a lot of emphasis on if the pregnancy was wanted. She was also put off that I didn't want the male medical student in for my vaginal exam, even though it's my right. Overall, it was not the calm, organized, friendly, positive, reassuring visit I expected from a midwife. After the visit, I was left in the hallway without any direction on when or how to schedule a return visit, what testing I would need or where the lab was. Going there was the biggest mistake I made in my pregnancy, but thankfully I found another center with midwives that's great. I'd recommend Birth Care or Midwifery Care Associates! read more

It's been seven months since I delivered, and it's taken a long time for me to process everything. Basically, I joined the midwives because I heard how great they were, and I did like my prenatal care with them. However, my delivery with them was another story. It was my first baby, so I expected it to be long and painful. What I didn't expect was how stressful and traumatic it was going to be, mainly because of Whitney. I won't into too many details, but she is very much a bully, and was rude to me, my husband, and the nurse. I don't know what I would have done without my amazing doula. GWU is a teaching hospital, and I was fine with that, but Whitney cared more about showing off to the students, and I felt like just another project of hers. I had my hypnobirthing MP3 to listen to, and Whitney, who seemed to like that idea during my prenatal care, laughed and made fun of it, and started barking orders at me when it was time to push. I was rushed through the pushing part, tore badly, and took 6 months to heal. Now when I tell people my story, I realize it is very much not the norm for a midwife to scream at you to push harder and faster. It was unbelievable. I feel like it was pure bad luck to get stuck with Whitney for my delivery, and I don't think it would have been that traumatizing if I had a different midwife. read more

This practice is not for everyone. On the positive side, Whitney delivered my baby and did an outstanding job. That's the most important thing. On the negative side, I was not prepared for the pain of natural childbirth and would not do it that way again. Some of the staff do not have be best bedside manner. I would not get postpartum care there. I came in 3 months postpartum to ask them about a prolapse and they were very late, did not see it and gave me bad advice, plus I got charged for seeing a specialist and did not get my problem solved. I went to my old doctor today and got a simple device that solved my problem, which wasn't mentioned as an option at Wisdom. Also at 3 months I ordered an IUD and Wisdom's office assistant incorrectly told my insurance does not cover it. This caused a lot of stress trying to decide whether to pay the $650 or go without. When I found out 6 months later that it does cover it, and wrote to complain, I heard nothing back from Wisdom. When i was pregnant, I had to do a lot of my own research as they sre not super forthcoming with information unless you do your homework and ask. It is really their way or the highway and that attitude can leave you not feeling very supported or positive when you leave their office sometimes. They have many strengths and just as many weaknesses. Just because your friend loves them does not mean you will. read more

This practice is outstanding. I appreciate the integrative medicine approach to childbirth, and the enthusiasm for supporting my choice to try for a VBAC. Currently (as of 3/2012) there are 4 midwives in this practice - Whitney, Nora, Laura, and Marsha. They have very different personalities, so make certain you meet all of them (and they will encourage you to do so). Nora is my favorite - she is patient, nurturing, listens carefully, and practical. But all of the women are knowledgeable, and I am comfortable with any of them attending my labor and delivery. The 1st appointment is typically with Whitney who will ask a zillion questions about your choice for natural childbirth, your medical history, details of previous births (if you're not a 1st timer), etc. Her intensity is a little startling and I wasn't sure at first about the practice. But I also understood that she wanted to make sure I really want to do this because natural childbirth can be challenging - especially for a VBAC patient like myself. I repeat - make sure you meet all of the midwives - they are not all alike. However all of them are very upfront about risks, especially if you've previously had abdominal surgery of any kind (including cesarean). They want you to be well-informed and so they make no assumptions about what you may already know or not know. I also appreciate their honesty about my previous and on-going health issues that might make natural childbirth/labor difficult. The practice works closely with the OBs at GW, so if any complications arise during your pregnancy they immediately seek 1st and 2nd opinions (this happened with a questional sonogram result for me). They do their utmost to resolve most pregnancy-related complications to keep you in their practice. They have diet guidelines they want all patients to follow. I'm not a hardcore natural birther type person, so I find the diet guidelines hard to keep...but I recognize it's really healthy and I'm doing my best to stick to it. They also require all expectant moms to have a birth couch or doula present during labor/delivery. I only rated the practice 4 our of 5 stars because I have yet to give birth and I can't rate them on what I have yet to experience. As an aside, another reviewer mentioned trouble with the website. During fall/winter 2011 the practice changed the web hosting sites. I've not encountered any trouble with the current website: http://www.wisdommidwifery.org/ read more