Lifecycle Wellness and Birth Center — Local services in Radnor Township

I wanna start by saying all of their staff is very kind. I was treated kindly by everyone and I truly believe that if you’re young, healthy, and have an absolutely uncomplicated pregnancy they’re probably the perfect place to go. But that was not my experience.

Administratively they are not the best. Just about every single referral ordered was incorrect. Once a referral was written for a Covid test but it should have been a non stress test. Just stupid hassles all the time. It was as if they had never dealt with a HMO before or written a prescription using appropriate diagnosis and procedure coding. The maternal fetal medicine doctors who were doing ultrasounds wanted them to share records of my non stress tests for collaborative care- those records were never sent. I needed my records when I ultimately had to transfer care and they printed 200 plus pages rather than being able to share them digitally directly with the doctors. Also when verifying insurance benefits they should inform clients of cost at lifecycle and at Bryn Mawr hospital- for my insurance it would have been basically nothing at lifecycle but over 10k at Bryn Mawr. Should have been told that from the first appointment- would have left then.

I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes some time in March and I don’t believe I was properly guided. There was all this focus around making sure my blood sugars were controlled enough so that I would not need insulin, because insulin was the factor that would risk me out and force a hospital birth.

However, after being put on insulin and risking out of the center, I learned that although blood sugar control is important during pregnancy, the control matters the most during labor. And that there is no way to predict how your body will respond during labor. That high blood sugar during labor is what puts the baby at risk of having hypoglycemia and seizures during those first few hours/days of life. If blood sugar spikes during labor insulin must be given, which they couldn’t do. It is not even clear to me if they would have been checking my blood glucose levels frequently during labor. Under their care it was my understanding as long as I could control my blood sugar with diet and exercise during pregnancy the risk to my baby after birth was very low. That is just not true.

Thank god I ended up needing to go on insulin and had to transfer out of the practice because otherwise the potential of something happening to my baby due to uncontrolled blood sugar during labor could have been high and we would have been at the birth center rather than a hospital. I know the hospital is across the street but that just doesn’t seem worth the additional risk to my newborn.

Although I did end up getting the care I needed via transferring to an OB at the very last week of my pregnancy, I do wish the risks were explained to me more clearly and that they had suggested a transfer of my care at the time of the gestational diabetes diagnosis. In hindsight I really feel like this mishandling is negligent at best and at worst dangerous.

Because of the last minute transfer of care it seemed at first like I would have to show up at an ER during labor because no OBs had any appointments within the week. Fortunately, the staff at lifecycle was able to pull some strings and get me seen by an OB at Crozer. I was seen by him once before my daughter was born, 4 days later. This was very stressful though I am grateful for their effort.

It was disappointing to be under the care of lifecycle for my entire pregnancy, transferred out at week 39, and they never reached out to see how it went or if she was okay or if I was okay. Just seemed like ultimately they didn’t care about me as a person or my baby- they only cared about the business.

Needless to say I won’t be returning and would caution anyone with gestational diabetes to be sure to educate yourself better...

I just learned today that there is a link between oxygen deprivation at birth and autism and ADHD. My first child experienced oxygen deprivation -- never cried at or after birth and arrived light purple in color -- and she has autism and ADHD. I've also learned that sonograms performed in the ninth month can tell if the baby's head may be so large that vaginal delivery could risk oxygen deprivation.

When I gave birth to my daughter some years ago, The Birth Center as it then was didn't perform ultrasounds after the seventh month; they considered the procedure too invasive at that stage. I wonder if this is still their policy. If they had done a late stage sonogram, they would have seen how large my child would likely be (they were guessing she'd be 7 pounds, not 9) and more to the point that she'd have a rather large head. She was born exactly on time, neither early nor late according to the most accurate prediction.

My biggest complaint is this (and there were a few errors made by TBC prior to the actual birth): I was attended to by their most experienced midwife, whose affect and energy I appreciated. But when I was fully dilated and in the thick of it, I found myself holding back from pushing my hardest because it felt like I was about to be damaged by the bowling ball coming through. I just wasn't in a hurry for that greatest pain -- and I'd been taught that when it was really time, my body would naturally want to bear down and push push push to completion. So there was a delay, until the midwife finally said, with a bit of worry in her voice, that I really needed to push my hardest now. And so I did, and my daughter arrived forthwith.

I was right about the damage: some exterior tearing and an anal fissure (only finally diagnosed by TBC six weeks later, when they clued in that the agony I'd been feeling with every bowel movement was not normal -- they then treated me and I quickly got better).

This tearing was no doubt going to happen no matter when I bore down once I was fully dilated. Also, I was a tallish, strong, athletic person -- it's not that I couldn't do what was required. So if the midwife had just told me a couple minutes earlier that I MUST now push as hard as I could, my daughter would have been through the birth canal more quickly and not have experienced oxygen deprivation. I think, based on the research I've now become acquainted with, that it's highly likely that her autism and ADHD symptoms would be significantly milder than they are and she'd be having a happier, less difficult life than the one she must now lead.

It's true that this specific link hadn't yet been made when she was born. But TBC told me that being a little oxygen deprived during birth was common and no big deal. Surely they should have known better. Surely it was at the very least suspected that lots of problems might result from oxygen deprivation, and it should therefore be avoided at all costs.

I now so wish that I'd gone to Bryn Mawr Hospital instead. It might have made all the difference for my daughter and, frankly, the world. Her IQ falls in the gifted range, but she can barely make any friends; her MO is frustrated and childlike. She's in college, but I don't know if she'll ever be able to support herself and live independently.

Addendum: My spouse and I were told our daughter's APGAR score was normal in all categories except color at 1 minute, and that at 5 minutes her APGAR was a perfect 10. (I now feel doubtful as to the accuracy of this; she never cried, and her color -- she's of northern European ethnicity -- moved from purple at 1 minute to brown at 5 minutes, i.e. a mix of purple and yellow due to her slight jaundice.) Even if her APGAR grading was accurate though, this is the point: a person with genetic risk factors for autism is likely especially vulnerable to the effects on brain development of any...

*Not your body or choice— their choice for you *Fear based medicine *they use scare tactics to get you to comply with their demands *these women have stained the title of midwifery practice- I don’t understand why you go into medicine and are unkind, lack compassion and bully towards pregnant women.

I heard great things about this center and am rather disappointed for how I was treated. The clinical director, Jesse and Ruth Murray treated me. When Jesse Schwartz, the clinical director threatened me that if I don’t do as they instruct I will be dropped from the practice- I’m literally 40 weeks pregnant and having to figure out last minute places to give birth as I refused to let myself be bullied by their demands and especially when I told them what happened and they covered and defended each other.

The entire practice preaches about what you want and how you want your birth but it’s an illusion.

I gave them my birth plan and they disregarded it. Once I hit 40 weeks (estimated date not always accurate), I clearly told them I wanted unmedicated birth and will not accept an induction or epidural and they kept pressuring me and trying to bully me into alternative options even telling me that they can induced me right here in the office and started taking out the stuff to do it when I clearly wasn’t even expecting it or discussed it with my spouse.

Then after a verbal dispute that I did not want this procedure done I was informed that I had an induction scheduled that I wasn’t informed about or ready because I told them that this is rather rushed.

I got so stressed that my blood pressure spiked in the office and they wanted to find any reason to send me out for induction even though my blood work and urine indicated I didn’t have preeclampsia and it was from the stress I’ve endured arguing with them about my choices and risks I’m willing to take as with all things in medicine. I especially did not appreciate being told that if the doctor deemed it necessary that I be induced and have a c section even when it’s not medically necessary at this stage in my pregnancy and my body can’t handle pushing this baby out.

When I told them I was not interested. I was shocked when they were judging and pushed back at me based on my preferences.

They even questioned my religious preferences for my baby and clearly they were disgusted by my faith- which really bothered me. So be wary if you’re faith based it’s rather judged here by select providers.

The crazy part is that they are extremely sly and manipulating about coercing you and will use another staff to give you the same message in a nice tone but it’s still them trying to get their way.

Sarah, an experienced midwife, was the only one who truly understood and was the most experienced and was supportive of my plan and willing to work with me but I think some of them are scared and inexperienced at being confident in their medical decision making and are not as in tune with the women’s body physiologically. Any small thing, they just want to send you out to the hospital and idk if that’s for more money as I learned in the birthing classes that a huge percentage of births at lifecycle has had a increased in transfers to Bryn Marw.

If you’re picky about what you want, you’re better off having an independent midwife and giving birth at home to get what you truly want because it’s...