Bay Area Midwifery Center

I delivered at the birth center in April and it was an amazing experience. After two disappointing pregnancy experiences with OB’s I wanted something different. Each of the midwives listened to me, gave me their time, and treated me like an individual- not a checklist. I felt empowered and supported to pursue a natural birth and a low intervention pregnancy and birth. I received excellent care throughout the pregnancy and delivering at the birth center was everything I hoped it would be. If you’re interested in a home like environment with all of the reassurance of being right next to a hospital, it’s the perfect middle ground. They were also responsive whenever I needed to use the after hours line for urgent issues. I plan to have any future babies here, too! I did occasionally have a difficult time scheduling appointments due to a staffing transition but the office staff and nurses are all so friendly and helpful.

I had my first appointment for my pregnancy and all I can say is it was worth the wait and I’m so thankful I’m here. I felt HEARD. No one telling me what to do…. No tests I didn’t want. No scary scenarios. Only tests I wanted with discussion of pros and cons. Such a positive and healthy environment. Every OB practice I’ve been to has discouraged a TOLAC and VBAC and immediately pushed a repeat c-section on me. Today I was finally heard, finally evaluated for me, and not looked at like a number. I was given encouraging statistics about the possibility of vbacs instead of being shot down as I had been by previous providers. Its just just so refreshing to feel so positive after an appointment.

I transferred quite late from my OB because of a desire for a different birth experience. I requested a referral at roughly 20 weeks and it did not go through for a while insurance's fault. However, when I finally called to make an appointment at Bay Area, I was roughly 26 weeks. I was given an appointment time for 29-30 weeks. Once I arrived at the appointment, I was informed I could not give birth at the birth center because I had not transferred by 28 weeks. If I had been informed of this on the phone at 26 weeks... I would have pushed for an earlier appointment. Additionally, there was no consideration for the fact that 1 I had had one previous vaginal, normal birth with no complications and that 2 I had no complications and was 30 weeks into a completely normal, healthy pregnancy. This low-risk pregnancy was not taken into account. I transferred here because I did not want another hospital birth, but was disappointed not to be able to give birth at the birthing center. Additionally, the midwife on call when I arrived at the hospital did not adhere to my birth plan and offered me medication when I was in transition and after 8 hours of active labor. My birth plan specifically indicated that I did not want to be offered/asked. The midwife who was on call for the delivery, however, was wonderful and did help make this birth experience better. I would say that for the most part, you are likely to interact with someone who really does care for you and wants you to have the birth you desire. However, because they are closely tied to AAMG and "Hospital Policy", there are barriers to having the physiological birth you may desire.

Love how natural they are and how they have supported every personal decision throughout my 2nd pregnancy. If you do your own research and have a vision for your own birth, this is the place for you. Come with your own questions though. Don’t expect them to necessarily hold your hand. Having a natural vbac in the hospital with them in a few weeks and I feel so calm and confident thanks to their support and my own preparation.

My daughter had her first visit there and it was her last. She was a first time soon to be mom. The midwife ordered routine blood work and when the results came back with a “questionable” result they called. The woman who spoke to my daughter was rather rude and treated my daughter like she was less than truthful about her past. They would not run any further test and just passed her on to someone else. The test wasn't even the correct test, later discovered by her primary care doctor. I referred my daughter to Bay area and won't refer anyone else!

Bay Area is the best midwifery practice! I switched to them at the end of my first pregnancy due to an OB telling me I needed a c-section just because I had crohn's disease. I did not like that answer and decided to switch to a midwife. From the very first visit I was treated with such kindness and care. I fell in love with everyone there from reception to nurses to the midwives themselves. I just delivered 3 months ago my third child with them in the hospital with no pain meds and they advocated for me the entire time. Each baby had a different midwife to deliver them and I had a great experience with everyone. Delivering during covid-19 is difficult and the practice had to change their ways to accommodate the safety issues and each appointment I have attended since had felt safe being seen and I still feel like they care about me more than any other doctor I have ever seen before. I have nothing but love for this practice and I recommend them to everyone who want a hands on approach to care! Its hard to find the type of service and excellence that they provide.

Hands down the most amazing group of providers. From the front desk, to the RN team and of course the midwives my husband and I have loved our experience at Bay Area Midwifery. I would recommend them to any woman seeking a compassionate, empowering and supportive birth experience.

I was very disappointed with the care I received here. This was for my second pregnancy, low risk, and my first was without any complications. I was seen in person at 7 weeks. My second visit was a telemed visit where I was only asked how I was feeling. No further information was discussed and the visit was a waste of time. I called a few days later with bleeding and was brushed off that everything was fine and they would see me in a month. Well a few days before my next appointment I had heavier bleeding in the morning that stopped. I spoke to a nurse who called me back over an hour later and instructed me to go to the ER since I had just hit my second trimester. I was very upset since this was during a covid spike, and they wouldn’t give me a reason as to why they wouldn’t see me in person. A Midwife didn’t even call me back. The nurse got an attitude with me when I expressed my concerns for going to to the ER and wanting to be seen in person by the practice first. I ended up going to the ER because they refused to see me and there was absolutely nothing wrong. The ER was confused as to why my provider wouldn’t see me and offer an ultrasound. Instead I was hit with a $1500 bill from the ER when nothing was wrong. I went in for my last in person visit with them and another midwife apologized but understood why I was transferring my care. Overall I just felt unimportant and couldn’t count on them to provide for me. I didn’t have these issues at all with my first midwifery practice Out of state. If you ever had concerns they would bring you in. Bay Area consistently brushed me off and made me feel unimportant. They are the only midwifery practice in the area and it’s a shame they treat patients this way. No one should feel this way during their pregnancy. It’s already a high stress time and you should trust that your providers will be there for you.

I am sad to see all the recent negative reviews of this practice that i love. I delivered my son at the birth center almost 2 years ago. I was well cared for and delivered with no issues. My prenatal care was amazing, I felt like they really cared about me as a person and wanted to make sure I was cared for holistically. The lactation specialist was also very helpful. I can’t speak to what has been happening during covid, I’m sorry others are not getting the amazing experience I did.

Worst experience ever. They are under staff and we could not have our baby here. We were forced to have the baby at the hospital and was not told we must adhere to hospital guidelines at this point it really bad and forced to stay at the hospital!!