Simply amazing through two experiences. As a partner, Kristin is an invaluable resource. Her…read moreinsights are key, she's a great advocate and frankly you cannot put a price on another set of hands. Highly recommend (in fact I already have...).

Kristin from Kind Birth Services was my doula for the birth of my first daughter. I also took her…read moreassociated birth class, based on her book Expecting Kindness. Throughout preparing for and delivering my daughter, Kristin worked with me for over 30 hours. She's a stellar doula. At the time she was working as my doula, she had already delivered over 350 babies throughout her 20 year career. Her experience showed through in every interaction I had with her. Every question I had she could answer not only with broad knowledge, but also with specific examples from past deliveries. She knows birth inside and out. Beyond her deep knowledge and experience, she is also incredible at holding space and advocating for a mother-to-be through the birthing process. My original plan was to deliver at a midwifery clinic, but I had to transfer care to a hospital a week before my labor started. This unexpected change of plans would have been massively stressful had it not been for Kristin's steady consistency and emotional presence through the process. Her experience in both birth centers and hospitals again showed through to me. Throughout labor and delivery, she guided me through with clear suggestions and a calm demeanor. Because of her presence and the preparation I had from her class, I was confident in my ability to delivery vaginally without medication. She taught me (and reminded me in the moment) of the details of each stage of labor and how I could best empower myself through the process. She also helped me to be a strong advocate for myself and my own control over the birth process, which was invaluable in my transition to hospital delivery. One of my favorite things about Kristin was her passion for integrating my partner in the birth process, from the birth classes through delivery participation. My partner was well prepared and confident to be fully present in the birth process. Kristin is an excellent coach, guide and guru from the classroom to the delivery suite, and I couldn't recommend her more strongly. She also gave our daughter one of her first gifts during one of our follow up appointments with her!

I originally chose Puget Sound Midwives and Birth Center because I didn't have insurance at the…read morebeginning of my pregnancy and wanted something smaller, more personal, and supportive of a natural birth. I paid for all my early appointments in full, in cash, as soon as I was informed of any charges. I was looking for compassionate care, continuity, and a trusting relationship with the person who would eventually help deliver my child. Unfortunately, that is not what I received. I first saw Courtney in May 2025 and was told I needed to also see Amanda, the other midwife on staff at the time. I really connected with Amanda and felt hopeful that she would be present at my birth. Sadly, that plan fell apart when I was told (months later, around November) that Amanda would be leaving in December -- and I'd now be under the care of a new midwife I had barely met. From the beginning, appointments with Courtney often felt condescending and patronizing. There was a noticeable amount of fear-mongering around hospital births and C-sections -- (to the point that when I did get to Evergreen hospital the first words out of my mouth were, "I don't want a C-Section!!!") rather than being supportive of informed choice, the conversations often leaned into judgment and pressure. As I neared the end of my pregnancy, things got even worse. I went nearly 2.5 weeks overdue, and in those last five weeks, I was constantly offered cervical checks, a balloon pump, and other interventions to try to get labor started. The new midwife said she couldn't reach my cervix because her fingers were too short -- yet I was still billed for every single "exam." In total, I was charged $250 for completely unhelpful and ineffective procedures. When I asked how I would know if I was in labor, I was simply told, "You'll just know." When I called the on-call number to report that my water had broken, I was told I wasn't dilated enough and was advised not to come in. No one tested me to confirm whether my water had actually broken. As it turns out, it had -- three days before I gave birth. Thankfully, the rupture was at the top, or the consequences for my baby could have been devastating. I ended up giving birth at Evergreen Hospital, and I truly believe my child is alive today because I left the birth center and sought real medical care. On the billing side, it was a complete mess. I kept getting bills addressed to the wrong last name, even though I had input my correct name in their patient portal. The billing department never even properly checked my insurance until after I gave birth -- and only then because someone called me demanding the correct information. They had scanned my insurance card months earlier, but somehow still had it entered incorrectly in their supposedly HIPAA-compliant system. I ended up having to enter my insurance manually myself. To top it off, I'm now fighting a $600 emergency transfer fee with my insurance. I was only at the birth center for two hours before my husband had to drive me to the hospital himself -- after the midwife suggested I walk the apartment complex stairs at 3am to try to "get things going." And yet, I'm being charged as if they coordinated an emergency transfer. Save yourself the time, stress, and incompetence. What was supposed to be a supportive, natural, empowering birth experience turned into chaos, confusion, and unnecessary risk to my baby. I wouldn't recommend this place to anyone looking for truly safe and supportive midwifery care.

I started my pregnancy with an OB/GYN, but made the switch to this birth center at 26 weeks. It was…read morethe best decision ever! Both midwives; Heather and Blake are lovely! I looked forward to every appointment and never left feeling like I wasn't heard. Heather was at my birth and she made me feel calm, safe, and confident that I can do it natural (which was my goal). As a first time, mom I am very happy I made the switch. I would recommend this birth center to any and all the pregnant people I know!

Emily is such a supportive, knowledgeable, and KIND person. Her advice on breastfeeding and baby…read morecare in general made such a difference during my panicked early days of motherhood. She's an excellent listener, and I felt supported in making decisions that work best for me and my baby. Emily is responsive, considerate, and highly effective at using puppets to demonstrate proper latching techniques!

Our experience with Christina was amazing. The human touch, the honesty, the company, the…read moreknowledge, it was everything we needed! During our prenatal visits I felt like I had the power to have the birth that I wanted! She was such a great support to have by our side at the hospital! She made sure all my preferences were met and respected. She stood by our side when we needed her the most. I was able to have the unmedicated birth that I wanted thanks to all her help, knowledge and support. I really never thought I could have such an amazing birth experience! And it was so nice to meet with Christina after my baby was born. She helped us with breastfeeding. I love that she really cares and creates an honest connection.

Besides being on one of the most beautiful campuses I have ever been on (Bastyr University) the…read morequality of education support and follow provided by Simkin Center for Allied Birth Vocations is world class. I took the certification course to be an Infant Massage Educator there and was thoroughly impressed with every aspect.

I took a doula training workshop from the Simkin Center as a mid-career professional and really…read moreenjoyed the format and material. The instructors were very professional and opened my eyes to new information, concepts and different ways to think through birth scenarios. I enjoyed it immensely and feel prepared to continue on the path to be certified. Highly recommend!

Having Leah as our private childbirth teacher and postpartum doula is the best decision we've made…read morein preparing and caring for our first child! She has everything we looked for in getting us ready for the birth and helped us feeling confident in newborn caring. I'd hire Leah again and again! Leah is a well of knowledge when it comes to birth and caring for babies - she comes to our home to give the private childbirth class, in this private session format it allows us to ask direct questions; my husband and my mom were both in the class with me, Leah was able to cater the content to different roles in the household with the focus on the birthing mother. Leah is always extra prepared for the classes from various engaging activities to catered content. During the preparation for birth, we constantly reached out to Leah for suggestions and ideas. For the postpartum phase, Leah came to our home to educate us in various baby caring tasks/details per our requests; we did some lactation sessions, a lot of Q&As, and gave baby the first sponge bath! Leah's patient, steady, and very encouraging throughout the process, leaving us feel empowered to care for the baby after she leaves. She's super detailed, wearing masks to the postpartum sessions as the newborn is not vaccinated yet. She's super communicative - reply to my questions over email and text as things come up. Always super encouraging and send me the right direction. We wouldn't be able to be at such a fine place this early in the newborn stage if it's not Leah. I'd recommend Leah to anyone who's looking for childbirthing class and/or postpartum doula!

Leah is an absolute joy to work with!…read more She is kind, understanding, and extremely knowledgeable. We had her help following the birth of our twins (and my c-section) and it was such a relief not only having the extra set of hands but having the reassurance of her expertise, especially as a first time parent. It was so incredible having a few hours to nap - knowing the twins were in good hands - and waking up to a clean kitchen and folded laundry! I HIGHLY recommend Leah!

My experience with these ladies, was amazing! First they provided a free consultation phone call,…read morethen great informational video and a prenatal appointment in person to go over questions. After delivery I was having extreme pain and long feeds, and I was able to have an AT HOME visit, which was amazing itself. Emily was able to promptly provide feedback on my newborns feeding and issues, which we got a great recommendation listing for pediatric dentist for lip and tongue ties removals. Since the procedures, my newborn has been feeding great and gaining weight, and the several follow up appointments have been just as good, Emily provided techniques on different positions, how to adjust the latch, and queues for when baby is done eating. HIGHLY RECOMMEND Fern Lactation! They are just great people and glad they were apart of my postpartum experience! Furthermore, the scheduling process was great! They were able to text to help set up appointments and made it so streamlined and less stressful! THANK YOU!

Emily is incredible! I was referred to her by both my doula as well as a good friend who had used…read moreher; my baby had stopped latching on day 6 and I was desperate for support to be able to breastfeed her again. Her office is so clean and cozy, and from the first second, Emily was extremely warm and welcoming. She is so knowledgeable about lactation and put me at ease, she is great about consent before touching and so gentle with my baby. She always includes my partner in the appointment and our results were instant. I am now able to breastfeed the way that I wanted and also in a way that works best for our lifestyle and we have continued to evolve with each appointment. I highly recommend Emily, she is so kind and compassionate and she gets the desired results for your breast/chest feeding journey.

I'm one day shy of my son's first birthday and as I reflect on my pregnancy and birth and…read morepostpartum experience, the role that Lizz and Elliott played continues to be profoundly instrumental in my overwhelmingly positive perinatal journey. I'm a practicing birth doula who met Lizz and Elliott years ago in a professional setting, and knew after watching them first hand that they were the midwives I wanted when it was my turn. They held me through the great mystery of pregnancy and when we learned that my baby was breech and my plan for a homebirth was no longer in the cards, Lizz and Elliott offered me the support I deeply needed to feel confident and at peace moving forward with a sacred planned cesarean birth. I'll never forget our sweet third trimester visits looking at my son on ultrasound and marveling that he loved being head up. This tone of celebration and acceptance of how things were unfolding and my informed decision to belly birth absolutely led to me having an empowered birth experience, free of trauma and regret, full of the oxytocin that good midwifery care facilitates. I continued my follow-up support with them once I returned home from the hospital, something that was important to me when I decided to work with community midwives. I can confidently say that I achieved my goal for my birth which was that no matter how things might unfold I wanted to feel held and cared for medically, emotionally and spiritually by my team. Sharing some sweet film photos that my doula snapped during a prenatal visit with Lizz!

I received the best medical care in my life from Lizz and Elliott and their wonderful student…read moremidwives. They were incredibly knowledgeable, professional, accessible, and thoughtful about every aspect of their practice. I felt seen, heard, respected, informed and utterly well-cared for as someone with a non-traditional family structure and a particular medical background. I would recommend them for anyone, and especially for someone who like myself has had some history of less-than-affirming experiences with medical settings.

Barb was put on this earth to do exactly what she is doing: Inspiring countless nervous moms-to-be…read moreto overcome their fears and embrace the beauty and wonder of the birth experience in all of its unpredictable but amazing glory. She is Seattle's hypnobirthing grande dame, and her passion, experience and knowledge of the techniques she teaches have turned many a doubter (likely most of the male partners in the classroom) into die hard believers of the power of self-hypnosis techniques to attain complete relaxation and control. Most useful for us - especially my husband - was her empowering approach to birth: the birth experience does not have to be terrifying, over-medicalized, or powerless.

Let me stare by saying I was a skeptic about HypnoBirthing. It was my wife who first brought the…read moreidea to my attention. Since completing the class and the birth I have become a convert. It was a wonderful experience and I wouldn't have changed a thing. I can't say enough about Barbara Decker she is simply amazing. We were lost in the wilderness before we signed up for her HypnoBirthing class at Great Starts. We did our research and found it to be a better deal than elsewhere and the class included Breastfeeding and Newborn Care which others did not. We knew immediately we were in good hands. We were also fortunate enough to have her as our Doula which was priceless. Her energy, attention, guidance was a true gift in the birth of our daughter.