Best Midwife Worcester Near Me

Beck Rothberg: I had care with Embrace (Rachel Blessington and Sarah McRell) from Oct 2021-May 2022. I don’t believe that pregnancy and birth need to be medicalized and I also know births don’t always go as planned. In order to trust a provider for home birth you need to know that they can discern when medical consultation is indicated and when a situation is becoming high risk. In my experience this practice did not identify multiple high risk situations, which led to significant trauma for myself and my family in our pregnancy and birth experience. I got pregnant at 36 through IVF, so a higher risk pregnancy, and at first I felt reassured that they felt I could have a home birth but as my due date approached there were three huge concerns that I think are worth sharing:- When my 20 week anatomy scan showed my baby was small, I was recommended a third trimester scan to make sure everything was ok and that an induction and hospital birth wouldn’t be indicated. Rachel indicated to me that this was not a concern and that “they always say that.” I’m not really sure why they didn’t just refer me for a third trimester scan, it wouldn’t have taken away their business or cost them anything. Around 35 weeks my fundal height started measuring short and they still weren’t concerned. At one appointment around that time they made mention of me being three weeks earlier along than I was (“That’s great for 33 weeks”), and I had to correct them that I was 36 but they were still dismissive about it. My baby ended up tiny (less than 5 lbs) and we had to spend a week in the hospital with complications. The pediatrician said we likely would have had an IUGR diagnosis with additional screening, at which point I wouldn’t have proceeded with our planned home birth and possibly could have avoided a c-section.- I started having high blood pressure readings at my visits in the third trimester. They never during my entire pregnancy did a urine screening to make sure I wasn’t experiencing preeclampsia. When I was admitted to labor and delivery I was diagnosed with preeclampsia which became severe postpartum and I was readmitted to the hospital for it. Again, I might have done things differently if I had more information.- My water broke just shy of 39 weeks and labor never started. They had me at home for almost three days with my water broken and I had to request a non-stress test, which they had equipment to do in my home and other birth professionals have told me should have offered after 24 hours with my water broken. I had to request “longer listens” to my baby’s heartbeat despite having my water broken and the vibe was “we will do it but this is unnecessary”. In trying to convince me that a home NST was not necessary, Sarah offered that Rachel said if I felt I needed constant monitoring because I was anxious then I should elect to go the hospital, which was gaslighting (something in retrospect that I experienced with them throughout my pregnancy). The NST that they finally did showed the baby was in distress with contractions. I ended up being admitted to the hospital and had to have an emergency C-section, which of course sometimes happens, but I also had an infection from the prolonged rupture of membranes and my baby and I both had to be treated with antibiotics.In short, my family experienced significant prenatal and birth trauma with this practice. In order to have true informed consent in a medical situation you need to be given all the information. It seemed like rather than being my advocates and supporting my autonomy around pregnancy and birth, they were truly against me having access to all of the information I needed to make safe decisions for myself and my baby during pregnancy. When my family declined postpartum care from this practice they gave me a full refund without any prompting, stating that my family did not receive the care that we deserved. I wish that they would have identified this early on so that I could have explored other options to have a birth closer to what I imagined.

Grace Sliwoski: Erika is an amazing skilled, compassionate, creative, and powerful midwife, doula, birth coach, and overall supporter of new parents! She brings a wealth of experience supporting laboring women from many parts of the world combined with a deep humility and empathic approach to her work that was a huge asset in the birth of both of my children. Erika listened to me and supported my needs for my birth plan and won the trust and support of my doctor and the nurses who were also present. This allowed for a peaceful and collaborative dynamic during a challenging 4 day induction where I felt respected, supported, and loved. Erika is truly the best of the best!

N M: Erika, I hope you read this because it is long overdue. You were my solace in a troubled time, when I had nobody to support me. Despite my bad decisions in a state of fear, you never abandoned me. When I caved into myself, you waited at the entrance and reassured me that you were still there... and in the end you asked for nothing... nothing but reassurance, a simple letter, that you had done your job. For 11 years I have thought about how I owed you this letter, and my baby boy is so big now. I will tell the world that you did more than just your job. You loved. Thank you for being my friend, my midwife.