I delivered my son naturally at the BirthCenter and I could not have done it without care and attention of my nurse and midwife. I had a very intense and fast labor and they were with me every step of the way. My first birth experience was very long and horrible in a hospital setting. However, this time around I felt in control and empowered to deliver without medical intervention. I delivered my son on the toilet and into a room full of love. Thanks Lifecycle! read more

I transferred my care from an ob to Lifecycle because I knew people who had delivered here. I didn't want to feel like my pregnancy/birth was just something that happened to me. Throughout my journey I appreciated their patient education, empowerment, and support so I could make informed decisions about my care. I like that my prenatal visits were longer than I could expect with an ob and that they provided a binder for me to bring with assigned homework each visit. Rather than having a "birth plan" (because they usually don't go as planned anyway) we were encouraged to think about our hopes and dreams. Everyone I've met here from the nurse midwives, nurse practitioners, lactation consultants, the clinical director, etc. have all been wonderful to me and if I could do it all over again I would have become a patient here sooner. I had many questions along the way so I'm going to be detailed here so others may know what to expect. Before you can become a patient here you have to attend a seminar to learn more about their midwifery model of care, the differences between a birth in their suites vs. at Bryn Mawr Hospital nearby (you can plan to deliver there or there may be reasons you are transferred there the day of, the nurse midwife on call has the clearance to deliver there), postpartum care, and next steps to become a patient. After attending the seminar, I had to sign a medical release forms to have my records transferred from my previous provider before I could schedule any appointments. They have two locations (Bryn Mawr and South Philly) and prenatal visits could be with the same provider or different providers. The first prenatal visit is longer and billed separately while the rest of the appointments are billed to insurance together under their global plan after delivery (not after each appointment). During my regular prenatal visits they measured my fundal height and would feel my bump for the baby's position while estimating weight (they were pretty good at that)! I had to pay for lab tests and non-stress tests separately. While I had to do my formal ultrasounds elsewhere, they had the equipment to do informal ultrasounds just to check on the health of the baby and seemed to be training their staff to do these more. I was required to schedule several classes to prepare for childbirth (series of 4 classes), about lactation essentials, and about navigating your first days at home after birth. The instructors really encourage asking questions and participation, so it was helpful to have this intimate space for that. The dates and cost of these classes are available on their site but you can't schedule them until you're confirmed as a patient. After your delivery they will follow up with you (home visit if you delivered at the birth center or phone call if you delivered at the hospital). There will be a 6-weeks postpartum visit to examine you and make sure your body is recovering but also to check on your mental health (so necessary and important)! They also have weekly lactation support and new parent support groups that were happening on Zoom, I think they are also now offering in-person options too. I could tell from the session I went to that the other families really found this space helpful and were wanting to offer encouragement to newer parents like me while sharing about their knowledge/experience. Cara, one of the lactation consultants, facilitates the virtual groups and is amazing! I hope all this information helps anyone who is considering becoming a Lifecycle patient because the last thing a pregnant woman should have to worry about is the quality of care she is receiving. read more

We had 7 couples in our classes roughly delivering at the same time. We know of 5 of them (including us) had to deliver at the hospital. At that point, why not just deliver at Penn!? It was another thing if Lifecycle was more efficient, well run, or attracted bright talent. But they don't. I don't want to go step by step of our horrible pregnancy experience here, but it wasn't fun. My main complaint is the amount of attention that was given to us during labour which was between negligible to non-existent. Secondly, the decision that were made were bad - I had to advocate for them to do tests after which they realized my wife had severe preeclampsia. And I do blame the lifecycle process issues, and sub-par midwife for this (40% of their staff is really bright, the remaining 60% is not so bright. This is the same with Bryn Mawr hospital as well). If you are super woo woo and like super woo woo things, sure go to life cycles for classes. They were really good. But overall, if I were to do this all over again I would go to Penn. read more

The best OBGYN experience I've ever had. I met with Heather to conduct my annual exam, pap smear, and blood work. She was kind and courteous. She made me feel completely at ease even when I was getting my exam done. We went through my medical history and she asked questions that not even my primary asked. I learned a lot from her. I highly recommend coming here for your OBGYN needs. FYI she is also a mid-wife. read more

Outstanding care and great practices. When my wife first said she wanted to go this option I was nervous. I couldn't help but feel like this was a "hippy" option. My worries were quickly eased at the orientation class. This is a very science-based and research heavy birthing center that is focused on the facts and the health of the mother and child. My wife is now 33 weeks and I couldn't imagine any better way to go through this process. All of the physicians and mid-wives have spent at minimum 30 minutes with us per visit and they show a true care for my wife, my son, and me. I highly recommend this birthing center! read more

LifeCycle Wellness and Birth Center - Exam room - Childbirth Education Near Me - Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania

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It is hard for me to read the "incredible birth experience" reviews, b/c I did not have that. This is one of a few difficult reviews I have to write, but I am making myself vulnerable to share, for those out there who also do not have the blessed easy path. I am not one of the 20-/early 30-yos who got pregnant naturally & easily, had few issues, was blessed with a natural birth, & was unjaded enough to still have idealism/naiveté about childbearing/becoming a parent. I certainly don't mean to put them down, but there is a darker side to going through all this, & that was our experience. Lifecycle is more than the happy easy stories. They deal with the nightmares too. They helped us through some very dark times, & that is why I give them 5 stars. We began with Lifecycle when I was pregnant in the spring of 2017. We'd struggled over a year, & got help from 2 fertility clinics before I conceived. I'd been afflicted with endometriosis since puberty, which took its toll on my reproductive organs. Despite a surgery to help, 3 different clinics all told me I'd need IVF. I was devastated to the point of seeking counseling & group support through RESOLVE (The National Infertility Association). On top of that, I was worried I was not healing properly from surgery b/c my cycle did not return. By April Fools Day, I thought it was a joke from God. I took a test to rule out pregnancy; the test was positive. I took 7 more tests, & I was PREGNANT! We went through the first 11 weeks with the fertility clinic. We had scares along the way, & every scare added to my nerves. At 11 weeks, we "graduated" to Lifecycle. At this point, miscarriage rates drop, meaning most pregnancies are in the clear to become live healthy births (thus why you get notice from most expecting couples at the 3m mark). I hadn't had the 10-week NIPT test at the fertility clinic, due to other things going on, so I got it through Lifecycle. We had been through just about everything so there was no way I thought anything could be wrong with baby at this point. My RESOLVE counselor scolded me for not calming down & trusting things would be fine. Right when I let my guard down to accept positivity, a Lifecycle nurse called to tell me my baby had a very serious issue. I could not even accept what was going on. I'd just ordered a stroller & a truckload of baby items. All weekend I'd watched YouTube videos about cloth diapers. I will leave out the details, but it was DARK. Lifecycle held our hands. They answered all of our questions. They dealt with my husband refusing to accept it. They referred me to MFM for further tests. They referred us to a postpartum counselor who offers free sessions to Lifecycle patients who have hell break loose on them. At 16 weeks, we lost the baby. Lifecycle, particularly Julie, Amy & Carol, were EXTREMELY kind & empathic every step of the way. They had been through it with other women. They cried with us. They felt pain with & for us. They knew our long road & the spiritual cruelness. Julie told me frankly, "When you get pregnant again, it will not be the same. It will not be happy or innocent. You will worry until you get another NIPT test, & you will probably still be worried after that." It was hard to hear, but it was honest, & it was what I needed. She helped me know it was okay to be in that dark place, while it was dark. In this time, we had other health scares, my 2 surgeries + 2 for my husband + a scary mammogram + lost a pet to cancer. Then, a miscarriage 2m later, then 2m after that I was pregnant. It was not innocent. It was not happy, not the way those who didn't have to lose a baby are happy. I had a subchorionic hemorrhage with lots of bleeding, & I could not accept that it would be okay. I could not accept at any time through my pregnancy that it would be okay. I was not the same, & never will be. But Lifecycle was there for me. They were real to me. In 2018, through pregnancy # 3, Lifecycle was so caring. In addition to the women mentioned above, I felt a bond with Chakia, Josephina, Gazelle, Autumn, Cecilia, Heather, & others. I had nonstop positivity from the midwives; I felt more supported than I ever have in my life. It was amazing the thought & care they gave me psychologically, as well as physically. You cannot get that elsewhere in the medical world. In the end, complications arose. I was told I could not deliver at Lifecycle & I chose a hospital C through an OB over induction. Though it was not ideal, I made the right choice for me, & I relied on my instincts in a way I never had before. It matured me. Had I not had my time at Lifecycle, empowering me to know my body & my self, I would not be the woman I was to take charge of my body's needs, & make my own choice like that. It's not always the ideal road, but Lifecycle will have your back, no matter what! THAT is amazing to come by, & is worth the world to us. My baby is healthy & strong! Thank you, Lifecycle, for what you gave. I miss you all! read more

LifeCycle Wellness and Birth Center - Lifecycle Woman Care (aka The Birth Center), Bryn Mawr -- watercolor of original practice - Childbirth Education Near Me - Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania

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I can't recommend LifeCycle WomanCare highly enough for prenatal visits (expect to get much more time than you do at OB visits and a much more personalized experience). read more

I have only really had good experiences here. While I didn't give birth here, I did get to sit in on a couple classes and visit with a lactation consultant. Everyone was helpful and the environment of support they have created here is evident. I also spoke over the phone for advice with their clinical director. She was so sweet, and gave good advice on what I was going through in pregnancy, even though I was not considered a patient with them. I think if I could find one complaint it would just be their teeny parking lot, but their neighbors have offered parking in the past when their lot was full. read more

Maybe this place used to be great, but it has become a place of intolerance and virtue-signaling. The lack of political neutrality and diversity is what sent me away after one visit. The walls are covered in political propoganda, including advertisements for their programs dedicated to black mothers run by their mostly-white staff. (If I were a black mom, I would not want a white woman telling me how to be one). Although freestanding birth centers tend to keep up-to-date with science surrounding birth and prenatal and neonatal care, this place has not done the same in regards to COVID-19 and the safety and efficacy of masks and vaccinations. Although the name of the center has the word "woman" in the title, every client is asked their pronouns instead of being trusted to maturely address a separate gender identity themselves. All this to say, I did not feel welcome or like the agenda of the center was to solely care for mother, child, and family. The overarching message was not "we care about you and your baby"; it was "your care is second to making sure we look as progressive as possible." read more

This is long overdue....I am still processing pregnancy trauma as a result of the "care" I received with LifeCycle WomanCare. I thought that I could benefit from taking more of a holistic approach to childbirth after one hospital birth but my dreams were crushed within the first few months. I experienced a subchorionic hematoma early in pregnancy and when I reached out to the midwives on call, not once but TWICE, I was told I was potentially miscarrying over the phone. The first time I was referred to planned parenthood (because I didn't have insurance at the time and was paying out of pocket) and advised not to go to the hospital because it would be too expensive. Planned parenthood does not provide OB services and my partner and I went on a wild goose chase for help for several hours before going to the ER (our bill was waived by the way). Begrudgingly I went to my next appointment at Lifecycle, explained my condition, and was told to call in if I experienced bleeding again. I did and again was told I was potentially miscarrying and that someone could see me the NEXT day. Do you all have charts?! Do you look at them before making follow up calls?! Anyway, I came in for the follow up visit which I wasn't supposed to pay for and still ended up receiving a bill. The whole experience was terrible. Despite the mismanagement of care I gave birth to a healthy baby girl under the care of midwives in a hospital setting. Given the stats of black women's mortality rates during pregnancy I wouldn't recommend this birth center to any woman of color. read more

We had the most incredible birth experience at Lifecycle! My son is now 8 weeks old, and my husband and I are still talking about how lovely the birth of our son was. All the LWC staff we interacted with were so nice, and excited for us! Our midwife Advah has the most peaceful, calming energy about her and she was everything I needed, and nothing I didn't. She was SO encouraging. She was wonderful at giving suggestions to make me more comfortable, yet didn't mind if I wanted to do my own thing. Our nurse Jess was amazing! She made great conversation, laughed with me and my husband, and also gave us our space. I felt like I was in great hands through my entire labor, as well as the first few days postpartum with our home visit. We feel so blessed to have had such a perfect experience! We hope to be back for our next baby.A read more

I love lifecycle woman care! I started going there after I fell pregnant and did all of my prenatal visits there. Unfortunately because I had gestational hypertension I had to give birth at the hospital but could still have all of my labor and delivery essentials. I had my essential oils diffuser, I was able to have the lights dimmed and minimal interaction with nurses, I was able to use the balls during labor and my nurse was just awesome! I had Francesca as a midwife and she was phenomenal! Because of the courses that lifecycle offered I was able to be calm and relaxed during my birth. This was my first one and I gave birth with no medical interventions at all! Nancy in reception is one of my favorite people! She made sure all of my billing, insurance and appointments were handled and taken care of! I decided to stay with lifecycle for my annual woman's care and they also handled my IUD insertion. They have been a magnificent group of people, and I love all of the midwives. They even offer lactation support! This place is amazing! I had my baby 11/09/22 and I look forward to my next pregnancy and being back at lifecycle! read more

Lifecycle Woman Care took my wife's anxiety about pregnancy and childbirth from a 12 to about a 2 in just one visit. Carol Sudtelgte, CNM | Certified Nurse-Midwife had great bedside manor. She was open, honest, very candid and answered all of our questions with evidence-based information. She was caring and gentle, gave us the time we needed to feel at ease with everything. This was also the best gynecological experience my wife has had in the entire Philly region. Carol cared about my wife's comfort throughout the exam which isn't always the case. read more

I LOVE the Birth Center- I've had both of my children here. First time we transferred to the hospital and I thought Jamesina was a true advocate for me while we were there. I really think without her the hospital staff may have encouraged a CSection- but Jamesina muscled through for us and we got my bb out. Second time around I had my baby at the center and it was all I could've wanted- I was in at 8pm and home the next day for lunch with my little nugget. I was in just today for my general OBGyn appointment and each time I visit I really feel like they listen to me, take the time to write down all of my family history and educate. This place is for people who want to take the reigns in their reproductive health- I love it here and would recommend it to ANYONE (unless you're having multiples...they don't do that here :-) read more

My wife received her prenatal care and labor/delivery at the Birth Center. This being our second child, we have the perspective of both a hospital/OB GYN experience vs our Birth Center/Midwife experience. The visits leading up to delivery had us meet with just about all of the midwives at the Birth Center which gave us a chance to have a rapport with the person who would be present for our birth. The midwives are very approachable and personable and patiently listen and answer questions. We never felt rushed or like our questions or concerns were silly. My wife had a healthy pregnancy and her labor and delivery went very smoothly. The time in the room after giving birth was nice. It gave us a chance to get to know our new baby and we were able to go home the very same day. I definitely enjoyed our experience and would recommend for sure! read more

The best place to give birth in PA :-) I am happy to be a part of TBC community. My experience with TBC was so great if you should see my review and have questions, feel free to msg me. read more

They preach being hands on during the birthing process. But we had our baby at the hospital and they were our mid wives and they were terrible they didn't help at all or give us any tips. The birthing class teacher barely knew anything besides what was on the syllabus and nothing more. A lot of our questions were answered with I don't know. I would suggest you keep looking we were very unhappy read more

I started my gynecology care here (now called Lifecycle Womancare) before I got pregnant, which is up to date and gave us priority to birth here. Had the most ideal birth experience I could imagine. Carol, the midwife who helped me deliver, was compassion, calm and encouraging. The nurses and staff are so wonderful. I wish more women knew that their birth experience could be this good! read more

to be frank, i am so surprisingly disappointed by the care i received during my labor. currently stay awake upset at night out of anger recounting what took place rather than by my newborn keeping me up. unfortunately had to change my birth center birth to the hospital due to high blood pressure at my 40 week appointment. Was in labor for about three days, and every midwife that tended to me in the hospital made me feel like one out of a hundred people they were tending to at the moment. always whisked away by a page. and never readily available when needed, not even when i felt ready to push. I'm pretty understanding of having to tend to multiple clients but at the same time it just felt like these midwives were stretched too thin. to top off my experience, i had a midwife who had to be accompanied by a hospital doctor? because she was new? i'm not even sure if that was the correct information i got because i found this out in the middle of my pushing when a male walked in and shouted "hey everyone how's it going"..... i was furious. embarrassed. and disappointed with the lack of information. my midwife toook the back seat as the nurses grabbed my baby and cut the umbilical cord without my consent and prior discussed wishes.... even when my husband tried to advocate for me in the moment. she was silent. honestly she was silent most of the time except when she guided me in during the push and counting to 10 and i'm not even sure if that was her or the nurse so i can't even credit that to her. during the pushing phase everything she suggested was unnatural. I ended up ignoring her and took over control of my pushing and worked with my body and my baby to get him out. we remained in the hospital another 3 days because our son had jaundice. During this time, it was also very difficult to get ahold of a midwife. we were new parents. we needed help and information. when we sought out help from the midwives we were left discouraged and unassisted. once again, left to the hospital nurses. i was so excited to experience this with a midwife and a more natural route. i'm sad to say none of these midwives helped me navigate a birth i felt happy with. i give this place two stars because the lactation consultant is amazing. and there was ONE midwife that I saw for most of my prenatal care and she was amazing, kind, informative, and helped me understand whenever I asked a question. read more

I am beyond my childbearing years, but I always only use the midwives at LifeCycle WomanCare for my well woman care. The attention and care that I receive is nothing like what an OB could ever provide. I have also had the pleasure of being present at many of the births here and their care and teamwork is exceptional, not to mention the homely, comfortable, and fantastic birthing rooms. Every tool or trick that could possibly be available for a birthing woman is available here. Even the one transfer I was present for was taken care of with such ease and gentleness and didn't even result in a C-section or medically assisted birth. The midwife stayed right with her the whole time. All the births that happened there, and all my own well woman care, is lovingly handled with exceptional wisdom and grace. read more

After having a horrible experience with top-rated OBGYN that ultimately ended in a miscarriage, I wanted to try something different and had heard good things about the Birth Center. For this pregnancy, I've been seeing the midwives and nurses at the Birth Center. With the exception of one midwife who was awful, everybody has been wonderful. They have been extremely thorough in their care, and I always feel very well taken care of at my visits. They are very on top of all health matters. The OB I saw last time did not even know I had hypothyroidism and never asked me to get blood work for that. Whereas the midwives and nurses at the center have been on top of all of my levels and tests, etc. and go over everything with me in great detail. I never feel rushed or like my questions are stupid, whereas my previous OB could not get me out of her office fast enough. I'll update my review after our birth experience in another few weeks, but so far things have been great. The reason I am giving them 4 stars and not 5 is because of the classes. As a first-time mom/client at the center you are required to take mandatory classes on childbirth, breastfeeding and first days at home. While I'm all for these classes, my recommendation is that you find another location/ set of instructors and get a certification as proof that you took those classes to show the Birth Center. The classes at the center itself are not well-organized and take much longer than they should to go over the material. The childbirth classes could take place over three 1.5 hour sessions as opposed to four 2 hour sessions. The time from 7-9 p.m. is just brutal when you are in your third trimester and have to work the next day. The breastfeeding class was definitely the worst. Instead of focusing on practical application, the first hour or more is a preachy sermon about how breastfeeding is the only way to go and the benefits of breastfeeding and how you're basically a horrible, monstrous human being if you decide to not breastfeed (which we are all on board with breastfeeding, otherwise we wouldn't be there, so we don't need a sermon). Then you get maybe a half hour of what is considered a proper latch, and all the things you really need to know for breastfeeding. The class ends with the instructor saying I can teach all this if you sign-up for a lactation consultation with me, so the whole class was basically an advertisement for the teacher. I feel like I need to find another class on breastfeeding now because I didn't get the information I needed at this one. Bottom line, the midwives and nurses are great but find another place for the classes, especially the one on breastfeeding. read more

I visited here last year and had a good experience. But soon after, I received a 40 dollar charge for the appointment. My husband called the office and explained that our insurance covers lactation appointments 100 percent. They said they would look into it. It's now almost a year later and we keep getting each bills. Each time we call, they just say, "We'll look into it." I absolutely would not recommend anyone visiting this place. read more

Love the birth center and all the midwives there! Then there is a receptionist named Nancy who I really hope is having a bad day because she was one of the worst receptionists I've ever spoken to. Cold and extremely unhelpful. I would never want that type of person working at a birthing place where compassion is needed. read more

I have never been a fan of hospitals and wanted to go all natural for the birth of my baby. My mother in law told me about the birth center and so I scheduled an appointment not knowing what to think. After my first appointment, I was hooked! They prepare you, encourage you, and empower you to not only deliver your baby but also provide support for those early days and stages of care! The best part for me was having the same midwife, Autumn and nurse, Jennifer deliver both of my beautiful babies! They were so calm and supportive even when I arrived unable to walk and screamed "give me drugs"! They checked my cervix and I was 10cm ready to push and I did, with them guiding me. My second baby was not as easy, she was almost 2 weeks late and I was scheduled to be induced but the birth center gave me some castor oil to drink. After I drink it, I went into labor and rushed to the hospital. It was the worst pain I'd ever experienced in my life! I was only 7cm when I got there so I got in the tub which helped ease the pain. My contractions began to pick up and I needed help to get on the bed! They, along with my mom and husband helped me and I was able to deliver my baby moments after. It was a hard labor and but they were with me every step of the way! They also provided me with a lactation consultant, Pattie, who was great and helped us through that first difficult time of getting the baby to latch. All and all they were and are wonderful! Highly recommend all of my family and friends to go here!! read more

The Birth Center (TBC) offers a very attractive alternative to the traditional hospital birth, if you are interested in a less-medical, more-comfortable approach to this important life event. There are no doctors on staff or on call at TBC; the staff consists of midwives and nurse-midwives. They provide a high level of support during pregnancy, labor and delivery, as well as a home visit after delivery. When my wife switched from a traditional obstetrics practice to TBC during her pregnancy, she noticed a major difference. Most of her obstetrician appointments were literally 2 or 3 minutes long; the staff at TBC would check her and educate her for 30 minutes to an hour each time. During delivery, they will let you do things almost any way you want, as long as it is safe, except that they do not offer major anesthesia, such as an epidural or other major medical interventions. My wife was most comfortable laboring on her knees, leaning her torso on my shoulders, and they were totally supportive of this. The birthing room is essentially a comfortable bedroom - a regular double bed and nicely decorated. After our daughter was born, she was placed directly onto my wife's chest and we were all able to fall asleep in bed together for a couple hours. Overall, this place should appeal to mothers with uncomplicated pregnancies who are willing to go though the process without major interventions such as epidurals, induction, or c-section. It certainly isn't for everyone, but we found they were more interesting in helping us do it they way we wanted to, and never seemed to be pushing any sort of agenda. Also, it is worth noting that Bryn Mawr Hospital, which has a high quality neonatal intensive care unit, is just walking distance away from TBC, insuring that if mom or baby need serious medical help, they can get there quickly. read more

To add to Rafael's review, I came to The Birth Center for the first time when I was, well, brand-new: my two sisters and I were all born here, and now we all visit TBC for our OB/GYN care. The midwives are incredibly knowledgeable and non-judgmental. Even though I've lived out of town, out of state, and/or out of the country for the past six years, I still make sure to come to TBC for my annual visits--I can't imagine receiving care anywhere else. read more

We had an amazing time preparing and delivering our son here. The classes were very informative and the midwives, nurses, and staff were wonderful. They are reliable, organized, supportive, and friendly. It was an experience I will never forget and will always be grateful for them. During your prenatal care visits they spend time with you and get to know you and answer any questions or concerns you may have. Even postpartum I could rely on them for questions and concerns. A few times I needed to call them for a prescription and questions and the on-call midwife got right back to me at 5am! I highly recommend delivering here. read more

we wouldn't have been able to do it without them! Proud to be the father of a birth center baby!

We didn't end up delivering here, but it was almost as if we did. The midwives, nurses, and other staff are gentle, empathetic, and kind. They are also educated and helpful. Really, this is a great place to get care for you and your baby. Of course, I'm a man, so my perspective is a little clouded, but I felt safe and comfortable and even loved here all of the time. The classes it offers are great and the instructors as good. I can't recommend it highly enough. read more

Had 3 babies there!!! The caring wonderful staff helped prepare me for birth process and delivery. Thanks birth center read more

I became a patient at TBC during my third pregnancy. I had used a midwife with my second child and wanted to have a similar experience. I found TBC after moving to Philadelphia. My pregnancy unfortunately ended in miscarriage but the midwives were wonderful throughout the entire process, checking up on me, making sure I was ok and allowing me the space to deal with it the way I needed to. My miscarriage took two mons to complete itself and they recommended, but did not force me to get a D&C. When it finally happened naturally they were just a phone call away. Most grateful for the entire team there. Everyone is so helpful and understanding. read more

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND Christine Shea as your Nurse Practioner. I've been a patient of hers since the early 2000's and no matter where she is I will see her and only her. Nurse Shea she is highly educated, on top of her game, straight to the point, humorous and above all professional read more

The BEST well-woman and GYN care out there. Tell your friends! The Birth Center is not just for pregnancy and birth. TBC sets a high standard for what people ought to expect from health care providers in general. There is no place so special and wonderful. read more

This is my first baby. The staff is very knowledgeable and very helpful easy to talk to and not judgemental.

I used TBC many years ago when my oldest was born. My birth experience was amazing. But more than the birth itself, Patty Siegrist, their IBCLC (lactation consultant) was a complete lifesaver. She has created a village of support in the Breastfeeding Support Groups that meet throughout the region. There I was given guidance from moms with older babies, met dear friends, and had Patty showing me the way. I have no idea how my nursing/parenting journey would have been without Patty's love and guidance! read more

I truly loved the care I received at lifecycle women care and the birth center. The midwives and nurses are so compassionate and caring. I was extremely excited taking the classes, and expecting to deliver my first baby there. Unfortunately, as nothing in life really goes as planed my labor lasted 5 days. I was forced to transfer to the hospital on day 3. The Amazing midwives who'd be been supporting me and overseeing my labor during the 3 days prior we're able to continue my care at Bryn Mawr hospital. The morning of the fifth day I was rushed into an emergency C-section. Although the on-call OB had to preform the surgery, the midwife stayed the entire time by my side. Even though NOTHING about my birth ended up being whAt I had hoped and imaged it being, the midwives at lifecycle weree my advocates and cheerleaders for every second. We tried every. Single. Method. Exhausted every resource, waiting as long as we possibly could have. After the birth, I was in the hospital for 5 days. A midwife stoped by every single day to check on me. Just talk, see how I was doing. I've never experienced such compassion and empathy from anyone in the medical field before. Nobody knows exactly what their labor will look like. If everything goes as planned thats wonderful. However a lot of the time that's just not in cards. And I couldn't imagine trying to play a crappy deck of cards with any place other than the birth center and their midwives. read more

I became a patient of TBC several years ago for my routine well woman care after a terrible experience with a Philadelphia-based ob/gyn who was in and out of the room in 5 minutes and didn't ask me a single question except, "are you planning to get pregnant soon?" After that experience I looked for a more caring, compassionate, and holistic provider and definitely found that at The Birth Center (now LifecycleWomancare). Each visit lasted a full half hour with plenty of time to have all my questions answered. When we did get pregnant, I was thrilled to already be a part of TBC because I had heard that they "book up" and will only accept a maximum number of patients per month to ensure that they don't run out of space as there are only 4 labor rooms at their freestanding birth center (as it turns out, I do think most women are fine, it's the women who transfer over at 7 or 8 months pregnant looking for a new provider at the last minute who may run into some difficulty). Our experience at TBC was AMAZING from our first prenatal visit to our postpartum visit and everything in between. The receptionists are lovely and very helpful, and every single midwife and provider with whom we interacted was wonderful and extremely knowledgable and up to date on the data and literature in their field. I work in healthcare and have worked alongside several ob/gyns in my training; their prenatal visits are usually 10 minutes or less. At TBC each visit was at LEAST 30 minutes and the midwives and NPs let us stay as long as it took to answer our many questions at each visit. They truly are calm, caring, and compassionate and do look out for their patient's interests. After our nuchal translucency/bloodwork screen came back positive for Down Syndrome risk, I went back to TBC the next day for the NIPT (noninvasive prenatal testing) bloodwork to officially determine whether or not the screen was accurate. We waited on pins and needles for over a week and a lovely nurse called us on a SUNDAY (they are not even open for appointments on Sunday) when our results came in to let us know the test was negative and everything was fine. Our birth couldn't have been more perfect. Our birth was assisted by Autumn and Gazelle and we couldn't be more grateful to the both of them for keeping us calm, comfortable, and ensuring a healthy and expedient delivery. After laboring in their tub for many hours (HIGHLY recommend, I couldn't have survived back labor without the warm water) Gazelle determined that I was 9.75cm dilated and that there was one little lip of the cervix that had not fully effaced. While I am 100% positive that an OBGYN would have left me in bed laboring as long as it took to become fully dilate or even worse, Gazelle and Autumn assisted me in laboring on my side to put pressure on that area to fully dilate it - 5 contractions later I was pushing. THAT is why you want the knowledge of a midwife at your birth, modern ob/gyns are not trained like that. They also respected my desire to not smear antibiotic ointment in my baby's eyes after she was born and permitted me to sign a waiver. After our daughter was born at 7am we rested comfortably in the Yellow Room for a good part of the day, and were home with our baby at 5pm. Lest you be concerned that their care stops there, a visiting nurse came to our home 48 hours later to check on mommy and baby, and she even assisted with our breastfeeding and helped to improve my baby's latch and positioning. Everything was just perfect and is exactly how I expected and hoped my care and the birth of our baby would be. In sum: -If you are looking for a practice that incorporates holistic practices into modern medicine, this is the practice for you -If you are looking for a practice that will see you through every female life cycle event from menarche to pregnancy to birth to menopause, this is the practice for you -If you are looking for a group of providers who will sit and listen to you and honor your appointment time, this is the practice for you -If you are looking for a practice that emphasizes low intervention births for healthy pregnancies, this is the practice for you -If you are looking for an experience where the pregnant mother's strength and intuition is given priority over provider preference, this is the practice for you. read more

DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE. Birth Center was recommended to me from a co-worker and I went there mistake number one. Serviced by Anne (who is no longer there, it seem), mistake number two. Make the long story short, my healthy pregnancy went out the window and now suffering the consequence, after many bad decisions made by the midwives on-call. This is not an attempt to make any hurtful or outlandishly mean-spirited comment. This is a warning to those who blindly go there without doing the research, so do your research, you are your best advocate. Don't get me wrong, I did meet a couple of caring, competent midwives at the birth center, just wasn't lucky enough to have them on-call. This place gives still gives me nightmares. Took classes with out of pocket cost, which was absolutely useless when you're about to give birth. As a first-time mom, I clearly wasn't ready, especially my body, I didn't know better. They made me take an enormous amount of castor oil. Now when I look back that is a ridiculous amount considering, many places only recommend only a couple of tablespoons. Let alone do not recommend this practice at all! Second, they popped my water when I was clearly not ready, I was barely dilated. Spoke to one of the top midwives who practised for over 40 years (she's from another practice) have told me that midwives should never pop the water as this is harder for the mom to push the baby out with no mechanism, especially when she's not fully dilated!!! And a first-time mom! I have heard when a second-time mom is fully dilated they may attempt to burst the sac to speed up the labour. She was from another place, I had a completely different experience. Which is why this experience at the birth center was completely wrong! This unnecessary practice of popping amniotic sac caused the baby to be "stuck" literally stuck. I almost had to get a cesarean if I wasn't so stubborn in doing a vaginal birth. My baby's heart rate was stable so they couldn't open me open. Someone was watching over me. I am surprised and shocked that this place is the oldest free-standing birth center in North America and yet has one of the worst trained midwives on call. None of the midwives who worked on me is no longer there I believe, except for a couple. They should really quit being a midwife because they have caused great harm to me and my baby by their lack of training and information. I was too naive to know at that time, but I should have gone to the best places as my insurance was top notch. It means nothing to me now how "old" the place was practising. Without the proper training, they'll make all the wrong calls for all the moms they're working on. I try not to dwell in the past but seriously this place gives me the creeps. Don't even get me started on all the "great" reviews on their page. A lot of them didn't give birth there, transferred, or men (?). Someone apparently was born at the birthcenter and now living a great life and left a review? Funny, not really. Note to the Birth Center: To some midwives, this is also just a job. Sad. I hope the future brings more caring, competent midwives, who enjoys their passion. read more

First time pregnancy, my son is now 8 months. Midwifery is a great alternative to the traditional hospital birth... Although I did end up in the hospital with an epidural, not to the fault of the birthing center... Just life. I enjoyed the experience of learning about midwifery and the classes were nice (and expensive). However, what I disliked the most was not having my own midwife whom I could connect with and build a trusting relationship. They rotate nurses and midwives every time you have an appointment and it's likely once your giving birth that you may not know the midwife whom is helping you. So as I said I was in the hospital, there for two days and saw about 4 different midwifes who I'm sure did not read my birthing plan and just did what they do smh. That left me very upset and I did not like my birthing experience at all. Again not upset about being in the hospital although I bruised my tailbone and the midwifes made no big deal about it after my birth and I'm still suffering from the pain 8 months later... They referred me to go to my primary care doctor who seemed perplexed that I came to see her and not those who delivered my baby which caused my injury. They also messed up my paperwork to return to work, I had to suffer through the pain and they refused to fix my paperwork. I gave them 3 stars bc I did like the overall idea of having a midwife and enjoyed the process all the way up until the actual birth. My opinion could be bias but in the end I'll be opting out of the birthing center for my next pregnancy... I recommend getting your own midwife whom you could really build a rapport. read more

It was all good until it wasn't. Just like that. Everything seemed pretty much as described in the great reviews of their practice all over the internet, and following the procedures they explained to us in the two-hour orientation session. Perhaps the only bad note was the constant rotation of midwives, since they have quite a big practice. But I believed we liked everyone we met in the months we spent with them. In week 18th we noticed a small protuberance (ping pong size) in Natasha's belly. We thought it was the baby but a midwife identified it as a fibroid. She also explain that fibroids are very common and normally don't represent a problem. We were advised to perform an (otherwise unwanted) ultrasound just for safety. The results were as expected; our baby was fine and the fibroid was small and out of the way of an eventual vaginal delivery. No other fibroids that may have been present were big enough to be detected in the ultrasound. We needed to keep an eye on it but as far as fibroids go they don't come much easier. We kept going to our appointments, exams and controls, with TBC staff always reassuring us about the development of the pregnancy. Natasha was happy with the idea of having our first baby there, I was already acquainted with the idea of hanging the "it's a girl" flag from the window and even my mom visiting from Chile had toured TBC's facility. In week 28th Natasha received a phone call. One of the midwives told her that after a medical meeting where our case was discussed they didn't feel comfortable with receiving our baby at TBC, and that we should look for an alternative. The shock was big. Seven months into our pregnancy we were not prepared for the stress of having to look for a new practice from the scratch, and we didn't know if would even be admitted in a different birth facility (I'm not sure if even TBC doesn't accept mothers so far into pregnancy). After a week of disconcert, we sent them an email requesting an explanation on the whole situation and the procedure, asking why we were not included in the decision-making process, why they were not providing any help with a back-up plan, if we were technically considered now a high-risk pregnancy, and all the doubts that arose from this abrupt termination. We also requested a meeting to discuss what happened face to face and to have some kind of closure. Clinical director Peggy Stone apologized to my wife on the phone and helped us getting an appointment for another ultrasound. She left a long message on my voice mail saying she would be available to talk on the phone but didn't have time to meet with us. After that TBC staff was very diligent in helping us transfer our records to our new providers, and that was about it. I am not arguing the medical decision. I'm not trained for it and I would not want anybody taking any chances with my wife's or daughter's lives. Still is hard to understand how can a decision like that take 10 weeks to make with nothing changing in the patient. My frustration is about the breaking of the contract established at the beginning of the pregnancy. I am talking about the spirit - and the actual wording - of the agreement between us and TBC. They are all against the alienation of modern medicine and about integrating the families into the decision, still they did everything without us. They emphasize the importance of the partner for the pregnancy (husband or otherwise) but they never communicated with us about this as a family. We never received any written report about what happened, how the decision was made, and what exactly meant for Natasha's and the baby's health. They didn't have any kind of back-up system in place even though in all their communications (written and verbal) the understanding is that you will be transfered into Bryn Mawr's Hospital if something goes beyond their parameters of safety. Finally, and from a human point of view, we were really hurt they would not make the time to receive us, to help us with the transition and the frustration of this abrupt decision way into our third trimester. Emails and phone messages are wonderful tools of the digital era but I believe they are not the proper ones to handle situations like the one I am describing. I believe that their delayed response to the fibroid is something that can happen. It may have been a difficult call discerning safety from risk, and in that matter better later than never. What is really disappointing is their reaction once we were informed even though we communicated with them very specifically about our needs and concerns. And I think their communication practices need deep examination. read more