Where to begin?! We moved to Austin from Arizona, and within about six months of being here, got…read morepregnant with our second child. We had an amazing home birth team in Phoenix, so our expectations were really high for the type of care and knowledge we wanted in our Midwife. Being new to Austin meant we didn't have a large network of people to ask for references, so I researched online, read reviews and looked through credentials. I knew very quickly I wanted to work with Christy and Jenni. I had an extremely difficult pregnancy, although I was also sick the entirety of my first as well. I had hyperemesis gravidarum, meaning I was throwing up constantly, losing weight, and unable to keep down hardly anything. Christy has a huge wealth of knowledge and practices functional medicine alongside traditional options. I was always given information of references for alternative therapies to help my nausea. They were always helping me manage my sickness and we worked closely with a perinatal MD for any tests or services Christy couldn't provide herself. I had incredible care throughout my pregnancy and can't stress enough how great a resource Christy was for every ailment. Our birth experience was awesome! It only lasted an hour and a half (sooo fast!) but it was in the middle of the night with a birth tub. Our baby was born in a state of shock, partially because of how quickly everything progressed, and had a little trouble breathing. Christy knew what to do immediately and got her breathing and feeding perfectly in no time. The postpartum care we received was incredible. I had pelvic floor issues and our baby had some skin issues and Christy and Jenni were always available to answer questions and connect us with a provider that could help if it was outside their realm. Truly, we can't say enough about our experience and this team of women! They are wonderful and you and your baby will be in great hands.

Finding Jenni and Christy was like winning the lottery. I literally can't put into words how…read moreamazing these two women are...and how positively they have impacted my (and my family's) life. They are just. The best. Jenni and Christy helped my wife and I through two births, and unfortunately a few miscarriages. We first met them while interviewing for a midwife back in 2015. We interviewed a few other people around town, but instantly clicked with Jenni and Christy. They are warm, responsive, realistic and the best part - they really care about you, your pregnancy and your experience. Our meetings were sometimes long - filled with laughter in addition to medical explanations of my changing body. They took a few minutes each time to do the medical stuff, blood pressure/pee test/feel for baby...but then, the rest of the time they just wanted to know how I was feeling. I miss them. When my birth came around, Jenni was my rock. She is kind and gentle - her presence during the chaos of birth was invaluable. She kept me calm, centered and most of all, feeling safe through 8 hours of active labor and a 3 hours of pushing. My kiddo didn't want to come out, but they literally pulled out a bag of tricks: peanut yoga balls, weird positions, ropes to pull on and things to rest my legs on. They kept my spirits up, even when in those moments of wanting to give up. And, with their help I birthed a healthy little girl in the comfort of my home. It was amazing. Women are amazing. Now I'm crying. I can't recommend these MotherBloom midwifery enough. They taught me about the power of being a woman - and I know that I am a better mother because of my experience with them as my midwives. They really are, the best. I heart them so much!

I was so scared to give birth and they were the most patient people. The people there make you…read morefeel calm and welcome. Come to the day I give birth and Sara handled my near death experience like a pro. The team was calm yet fast the whole time. So they basically kept me from freaking out. My body was being very uncooperative with birthing and it was the team that came through. They did everything on their end despite the challenges they were faced with. They made a pretty abnormal birth feel like it was all in good hands

I have always been the kind of person who goes for the least amount of medication and prefers…read morethings the natural way. But this was a mistake. Primarily because of the after birth support which was hardly anything. They sent us back home in just about 6 hours after birth and I had a terribly long labor. After that, figuring out breastfeeding, and coming back for the baby and my check up was difficult beyond measure. Ladies, do yourself a favour and do not opt to birth here. The midwives are all sweet and the pre birth consultations were great. But what mattered for me was the fact that my husband and I were under constant fear of being transferred to the hospital midbirth. And then when I gave birth after being in labor for more than 3 days, I bled excessively and there was scolding and discussions in spanish between the midwives and the help which we could not understand as we dont know the language but it was clear that something was wrong and they were considering a hospital transfer. Luckily that didn't have to happen. But it was stressful none the less, knowing that I could not get all the care and support in the place where I was. Ofcourse we knew this before hand but who anticipates the worst? And then with hardly any rest, when I was barely able to walk, I was sent back home. They asked my friend who came to pick me up to help with breastfeeding. All of this additional stress could have been avoided if I were in the hospital. I would have gotten to stay for 3 days, got breastfeeding support, I would not have to do back and forth to visit the doctor within 2 days of giving birth and could have been stressfree that I have all the support needed around me. Apart from the time that the midwives spend with you to get all your questions answered while you are pregnant, there is nothing that was nice here. If you have good insurance I would not recommend to birth here.

Kristin is so wonderful. She takes her time, listens, and is so caring and thorough. Her student…read moremidwife, Sami, is amazing as well. They're a great team and I'm so happy to have had them as my birth team.

Kristin has delivered both of our babies, and we absolutely love her! She is calm, peaceful, and…read moreknowledgeable--exactly the sort of person you want walking with you through the journey of pregnancy and childbirth. I've texted her many a time with all sorts of questions, and so appreciate her quick responses and willingness to address whatever concerns I might have. Her care and support through both of my pregnancies/labor and deliveries was a total game-changer in both experiences being so positive for me and my family. We love Kristin and couldn't recommend her more highly!

Dear Sandra, From…read morethe bottom of our hearts, thank you for being such a profound and cherished part of our family's journey. You have been by our side through the birth of all three of our precious babies, and your unwavering support, gentle guidance, and warm spirit have meant more to us than words can express. You were there in our most vulnerable and powerful moments--holding space, offering strength, and helping us welcome our three babies into the world with calm, confidence, and love. Because of you, we were able to experience the kind of births we had only dreamed of. You gave us the gift of peace in those sacred first moments, and that is something we will carry with us always. You've witnessed our family grow, and in many ways, you've helped shape the beginning of each of our children's stories. That makes you part of our story too--and you will always hold a special place in our hearts. We are forever grateful for you and hope to stay connected in the years to come.

My original review still stands but I have learned a lot since my first baby was born and I…read moreseriously can't emphasize enough that I would not recommend this center to anyone that I care about. After talking to multiple different mothers, medical professionals, dulas, and midwives I have realized that my experience was even worse than I originally thought before I had anything to compare it to. My experience was so awful that it isn't even about the money, but that was definitely wasted too. Again, after talking with other mothers, doctors and midwives, I feel that I was extremely cheated in many ways. My biggest mistake was not changing care providers along the way when I was seeing several red flags...I made so many excuses for my negative experiences. Not counting myself I had 3 people unaffiliated with Sandra at my birth for support, all of whom did not have great things to report about her once I was recovered and able to process the experience. Sandra's center is an unorganized mess (clean in terms for filth but not clutter) and was during my entire pregnancy. Her personal organization of medical equipment and files is a mess. Her "resources" are a mess. Her website is poor and outdated. She lacks a lot of common sense and the ability to think critically. Her bedside manner is awful and she has no respect for any opinions or lifestyles that she does not personally agree with. She also has a serious inability to accept any personal accountability which is probably my single biggest issue when it comes down to it. There are no good reviews in the recent years-all of "her" best reviews were when she was at a different location and with a partner, hmmm, wonder why that is. I want to be clear that I am not speaking for any of Sandra's students as they are just trying to learn, independent of her, and were not the problem. I am also not speaking for any of the independent business or individuals that she works with/recommends. My issues are all with Sandra herself. She should not be running her own practice. Now I also want to be clear that I do not think she is an awful person, and maybe in the past it was different, but for whatever the reason where she currently stands is a quick to judge, short tempered, slow to think and adapt, inconsiderate, extremely unorganized, probably overstretched, and out of date with modern resources person, let alone as a midwife running a full time practice.

I need to put out there that I DO NOT recommend Lunaria Birth & Wellness. I started with them…read morearound August 2021 when I was pregnant. Communication was difficult, but I always give the benefit of the doubt. I had to go to MFM to get a dating ultrasound, and it took 2 weeks to even get them to properly send the fax report. In fact, I believe they ended up calling in the referral. I didn't have anything else with them until my 12 week appointment, as that is usually when midwifery care starts. My 12 week appointment they took blood (that I never received results from and still do not know what they collected) and sent me on my way. I lost the baby before my next appointment. That is a whole other story, but I ended up calling my midwife while in the emergency room, and she said they were going to work on getting me into the hospital they work with. I never heard from them. I advocated for myself in the emergency room (the second time in there) and ended up having a D&E. I was told that they would have a bereavement doula reach out. I was told that they would send me an email that has an explanation of fertility appointments that I can take advantage of. Nothing, I got nothing. I had an appointment set for 18 weeks-ish. No one called me to tell me it was cancelled so I assumed we kept it to talk about next steps. I arrived and No one was there. They told me they took me off of the schedule because they didn't know if I would still be in the hospital or not. Okay. That's fine. Again, I really try to give the benefit of the doubt. At this point, I have paid my deposit AND they took a payment while I was recovering from my surgery. So they have a little over $2k from me. Time went on, I had a few chemical pregnancies. I called to ask if I could get a referral for an ultrasound to make sure everything was okay. It took a lot of calling back and forth, including me mitigating with MFM, who ultimately wouldn't take me because I wasn't pregnant. They sent me to a third party, who was really sweet, and she said results will be in Monday (4/11). Monday came and went, I never heard from Lunaria. I called the next week, thinking maybe they were just busy; and was told they would email me the results. I never got the results. I called again a week later, was told they should be in my email and that they will send them again. Once again, I did not get them. I called one last time, at the end of May, over a month from when I had the ultrasound. They finally read me the results over the phone and sent them to me via email. They told me I had an 8 cm cyst. That I may have to go in and have it removed. That a doctor may make me have a hysterectomy. She said she would get back with me two days later. She never did. So I called the OB office that did my surgery and managed to get an appointment with them. They read the results I had emailed to me and told me that what I was told was a cyst was my uterus. That I do not have a cyst. I called Lunaria (6/17) after that phone call and told them that this was unfortunately the last straw for me. That I try to give grace, but this was too much. I wanted a detailed invoice, and I wanted a refund. I was told that the head midwife was in Dubai and wouldn't be back until the following week. I called (6/22) and was told she was back but was jetlagged. Okay. Understandable. I called the next day (6/23) and was told that she was working on it right now and will get it to me. I didn't receive anything so I called the next day (6/24) and was told they are working on it but I need to give them a day or two. It was Friday, so I called today, Monday. This time, I was told their birthing center roof fell in so they were having to work from home. But that she was working on it. I told her I wanted a call from the head midwife. I have not heard anything yet. At this point, I am not sure what is taking so long. I had one actual appointment with them. I had a couple back and forth phone calls that amounted to nothing. I will not be using them again, and, as nice as the people are, I unfortunately do not recommend them. I'm hoping to get an invoice soon, but if not, I will be asking for them to refund everything.

Being a new mom, I figured out quickly that I needed assistance when my husband went back to work…read more Everyone always recommends asking for help if you need it. However, I asked for help and feel as though I was failed. I reached out to Blooming Tree after becoming desperate regarding postpartum doula services. I spoke with Calli via email. She indicated that she would call me later that evening regarding scheduling, due to having availability the following week. I sat around that evening waiting for that call, and it never happened. I did not receive an email, text, call or anything regarding rescheduling. My husband reached out the following day, and we did not receive a response that day either. So, we didn't bother following back up and chose an agency that displayed excellent communication and reliability.

My first home birth with Michelle went super well. 7 years later I'm having my second homebirth…read morewith her. I think she's super knowledgeable, and is a master at her craft. I trust her, & feel that I'm in wonderful hands with her. Excited to meet baby #2 with her help :)

I'm the father, so I'm going to write from my perspective and it's been a little over a year since…read moreMichelle helped us. I think during the initial consultation, my wife was a little hesitant because she is very direct. However those hesitations were quickly put to rest. Michelle took very good care of my wife during our visits and was very flexible. Her apprentices were kind and respectful as well. She listened to my wife's concerns and either put them to rest or explained why xyz was necessary. This was our second child, but our first home birth. She explained the process and ran out to our home even when it was a just having Braxton Hicks. During the actual birth she was calm and collected and allowed us to kinda do our thing, although there was a few times that she was direct. During the birth itself, she allowed me to actually pull my little one out, which was such an awesome and unique experience that I will be able to cherish for the rest of my life. Thank you to Michelle and her team for being awesome and having such a welcoming vibe, and allowing us to have such a beautiful birth.

Terrible exerience by just interviewing her. Strong opinion and not a good listener…read more We are expecting a baby in Jan, 2013; and in stead of hiring a nanny, we are thinking to find a doula who can provide us a more professional assistance of taking care baby and me. While interviewing with Ryka, she had very strong opinion, firstly, she tried to sell me the idea of nature birth, which is fine, I was open to it, but then she told me my OBGYN and hospital is not good, I may want to consider change another Dr., what the hack is that?? I tried to tell her that I already have my birth plan that I believe I would be most comfortable with and I am looking for a post partum service not a nature birth service; But she doesn't seems care. Throughout the entire 30minutes interview, she spent most of her time talking about home birth, and didn't even mention particular about how she would take care of baby or how she can assist me after I gave a birth. Apparently, she doesn't seems care of how baby would be taken care, then, again, she came back to sell me home birth and how terrible it is if we decide to give a birth in the hospital, such as I would lose mother-baby bonding, my OBGYN Dr. Seeker is not good, and tend to like using C-secion more than anyone else. That is irreating. No, I would not recommend her; if she doesn't show she care baby, how could I trust her service when baby comes? She did mentioned she charge $30/hr; and 20% non-refundable payment, plus extra traveling expense from her place to my place. Good luck with your choice if you decide to choose her.