Seattle Home Maternity Service & Childbirth Center — Attraction in Seattle

Working with the midwives at SHM throughout two pregnancies (and a miscarriage) was the best care I have ever received for anything, ever, period. My first experience with SHM was about 8 years ago (2019), when my son was born, and more recently we had a daughter with them as well (2023)- both were home births. Heather was one of the midwives in the practice throughout both pregnancies, and for the pregnancy and birth of my daughter, Brooks was in the practice as well. I have never felt so cared for by any other providers. Heather and Brooks (and Traci when she was part of the practice in 2019) were so HUMAN with me. They see you as a whole person, and offer care on a wholistic level. I never felt rushed, always felt like there was time for my millions of questions.

There are a few specific moments that stand out to me, these are things that are just so different from the type of care I have received in other settings:

1. A few days after my son was born, we started to worry he had jaundice- he was looking a bit yellow. We called the midwives (they are on call even after your birth for a few weeks) and within 30 minutes Traci was literally in our house checking out our son, making sure he was doing ok. I was floored by how prompt, caring, and skillful she was in helping us in this moment- to make a phone call, and have a provider in your home in less than an hour! Truly amazing, especially when you are a brand new parent freaking out about something with your newborn baby.

2. Similarly, when I was pregnant with my daughter, I had a sudden miscarriage scare. This was particularly scary for me as I had experienced a miscarriage in between the two pregnancies, and was really nervous about another one. It was about 8pm at night, and I called the midwives. Heather was on call, and she asked if I could meet her at the clinic in 1/2 hour to check on things/make sure everything was ok. I went in, and it turned out everything was fine (phew!). I will never forget the relief I felt knowing that she was there for me, and in such an immediate way. Again, I just couldn't believe how available and present Heather was with me, I have just not experienced anything like this in any other care setting.

These are just two examples of so many times when I felt completely met, seen, and cared for- there were many, many more. What I am trying to convey is the midwives are truly THERE for you throughout the whole time you are in their care. You don't have to jump through any hoops/wait a long time for an appointment/etc. You just call, and they are right there.

All of this doesn't even touch on the experience of all the routine prenatal care, as well as the labor and delivery of both babies. All of this was exceptional. They are attentive and expert in their field, guiding you through the process of pregnancy and birth one step at a time. Always giving me all the information I needed, always trusting me and my body, always encouraging me and being present in just the ways I needed. I trusted them completely with my and my babies health, and they could not have done a better job of taking care of us throughout the pregnancies and during both of the births.

I don't plan on having any more babies, but if I did, I would work with them again in a heartbeat. As you can tell by the length of this review, they made a big impression and impact on me- I could keep going on for a lot longer chronicling all the myriad of ways they supported me so well during my pregnancies and births. The care I received from them had a profound impact on my life. I strongly recommend SHM for anyone wanting to have a home birth or birth center birth. I feel incredibly grateful for the support and care they provided my family, and will...

Heather and Brooks are amazing midwives and such a gem for the Seattle birthing community. I had a beautiful home birth attended by Brooks in December 2023, but I also saw Heather throughout my pregnancy. They work seamlessly together and have a similar style, which is intuitive, data-based, respectful, and very warm and loving. One of the highlights of my birth was having my 4 year old son present, and they were very supportive and helpful in making this happen, including a book recommendation that we read so often that my son was quoting it during my labor. They listened to my wishes and did everything in their power to give me exactly the birth I wanted. One example was to have a quiet/dark room, and I thought it was so kind when Brooks used a head lamp for my exam after birth rather than turning on the overhead lights.

As a bonus, logistics were all easy, too. The portal was great for communications, scheduling appointments with Suzanne was easy, there are dedicated parking spots, and appointments were on time.

Anyone would be lucky to be in the care of the midwives at Seattle home maternity. I couldn’t...

Had a really lovely conversation with one of the midwives. Like so lovely. But, I live internationally part time and one of my tests in the country I’m in was high and made me “high risk” according to them. However my doctor here was not concerned. I get they have to do their best to set boundaries to ensure the best care. However, when I did arrive to the States and went to another birth center they actually conducted fresh tests and compared and found everything to be fine. Completely low risk. And decided to monitor my progress just in case there was something going on. But I continue to be fine. So I’m just a little saddened and confused as to why this center wrote me off so easily. Just an email, which it turned out, they actually made an error reading the test and it was not as high as they thought (tho still elevated at the time). I have theories but may never know. This caused some unnecessary anxiety for a first time generally anxious mom. I’m looking at it as a blessing in disguise but still feeling overlooked and just want to encourage all women, esp WoC to advocate for the best of care....