I can't say enough good things about the mid-wife team I was blessed to have during the duration of…read moremy pregnancy and delivery! Every visit was sincere care and encouragement. I ended up with a high-risk pregnancy and had to be transferred to care at Cox South. This beautiful mid-wife team went with me, advocated for me, and gave me every possibly chance at the most natural birth possible. They held pressure points to relieve my contractions, they soothed me with essential oils and worked along side team I was assigned to at Cox. I ended up needing an emergency c-section after signs of preeclampsia developed into HELLP Syndrome. I was heartbroken but the Family Birth & Wellness team never left me. They truly doubled as a doula in my case and also helped me understand all the hospital lingo and presented me with more knowledge and options which put me in a strong place of power when advocating for myself and my baby. My postnatal care though is really where they won my heart. Without saying too much detail... baby was delivered c-section, however, the placenta was left in and I was sewn up with it inside of me. Cox doctors didn't believe me when I said I felt something was wrong like something was inside of me, even though my puffy preeclampsia state didn't go away after baby was born as it normally would. My midwife team however took me very seriously, monitored my blood pressure and as I got sicker and sicker post birth they determined I had an infected uterus and an appendix at risk of eruption. They immediately got me meds for my high blood pressure and sent me into the ER ASAP. ER doctors thought the assessment was ridiculous but despite push back from the ER doctors, I stated firmly, with all confidence in my midwife team, that the tests needed to be done! Yes!! Turns out my uterus was infected and my appendix was inflamed. ER doctors were in amazement and kept asking how I knew... how a midwife would know... ...and got me into surgery immediately to avoid an eruption of the appendix. So, would I trust Family Birth & Wellness with my life? And my baby's life? YES, Yes I would. Zero doubts or hesitations... because, you see, I did once, and they saved me. They have my whole heart.

I had a really good experience the first few visits however as my pregnancy progressed it got…read moreworse. We chose a midwife because we wanted to have minimal medical intervention as possible for our sixth birth. After having five successful vaginal deliveries we were confident that our sixth delivery would be similar, easy enough we wouldn't need to go to a hospital. When I questioned the midwifes authority and said I didn't want a procedure that was dangerous to me and the baby they fired back an email saying they were severing our relationship I was 40 weeks and 6 days and without any sort of discussion they threw me out in the cold. Thankfully I was able to walk into Cox hospital two days later and have another easy vaginal delivery. My advice don't go here unless you're willing to blindly do whatever they want regardless of the safety of you or your baby.

A great help during the births of our three children. She is a great advocate for during the…read morehospital births, helped us stand for what we wanted and not cave to peer pressure. She is a very calming voice in a chaotic environment. Highly recommended!

Melanie was my doula for my second son. My first birth was planned out like a dream, and ended up a…read morebit of a nightmare, so I was reluctantly hopeful that my second delivery would be my "redemption birth". We quickly became close friends, which was so beneficial for my ability to relax during labor. She stayed so in tune with my progress and what I needed at each stage. My favorite memory is laying on the side of the tub, whispering about needing medication, maybe I needed to go to the hospital. She sweetly replied, "you're doing so well, why would you think you need a hospital?" I responded, "because I can't take another level, and I haven't even gone into transition yet". She smiled, looked me in the eye, and said, "honey, I think you're in it right now", with a little giggle that made me smile. Lo and behold, 10 minutes later I was pushing. I delivered my baby boy in the sweet serenity I'd dreamed of, and Melanie held my hand, massaged my back, danced, ran water over my back, and affirmed my ability to do it without missing a single beat. She is truly a blessing, and I can't speak highly enough of this amazing angel!