Birth Care & Family Health Services, Birth Center - Christiana, Pennsylvania

Jessica M.

I had both of my babies at Birth Care. I love giving birth here and wouldn’t want to go anywhere else. I have a long drive to get here, but it is worth it. The midwives are very professional, knowledgeable, and friendly. They are all Certified Nurse Midwives with many years of experience. I had Danielle for my first labor and delivery and Dana for my second. I love how the midwives are respectful and let me make my own choices before, during, and after birth regarding what lab work I want or don’t want, what medications I want or don’t want, and how I want to labor, with no judgement or pressure. You have a lot of choices here. They will say what is recommended but there is no judgement or pressure for making your own decisions. I started off both of my pregnancies at OB offices and did not like how I was treated. It was a breath of fresh air switching to Birth Care. I got very personalized care here. They remembered who I was. I wasn’t treated like I was in an assembly line. I like how the practice is small. There are three birthing rooms and I was the only patient there for both of my labor and deliveries. The rooms are cozy and feel like home.

If you are worried about insurance coverage, Birth Care takes insurance.

They also have emergency supplies in case something goes wrong. They have oxygen and medications on hand if someone needs them.

If you like the idea of laboring or giving birth in a jacuzzi tub, that is allowed. You can labor in the shower, with the peanut ball, a stool, toilet, or wherever is comfortable for you. You are not hooked up to a continuous monitor. They use a Doppler to check on the baby, so you are free to move around however you would like. You are allowed to eat and drink during labor. Although I didn’t each much, it was nice to have that option. Another really great thing about giving birth here is that you are not held hostage after you give birth. If everything goes well, you finish all of the required things (peeing, eating, etc) and there are no complications, you can leave after 4 hours. I left about 6 hours after my second birth and that was nice because I could get home to my older kid. It was kind of funny because labor started right when I put my older kid to bed, I gave birth in the middle of the night, and we were home with his sibling by 10am. A lot happened while he was sleeping. Grandma barely had to entertain him because we weren’t gone very long.

This is a great place with great people. I hope you give it a try!

Colleen S.

I can't say enough good things about this place. The only reason for the lack of star is because I feel they could use more staff that could help with calls either in office or medical questions. So if we could all support birth centers more than hospitals they could probably have more help. I have family with medical background so I worry less about things people without medical knowledge would panic about. Tho they do try hard to let you know they will get back to you as soon as they are able.

I'll start with I had a very traumatic hospital birth with my first. With the hospital I told them from the get go I wanted a water birth and a natural experience, even though I'm not againt all medical checks. (blood work, testing for STIs, and Glucose.) I am against others. (unnecessary checks, scare tactics, and after birth things; if not necessary, after being checked for things while pregnant.) I was not high risk! Not to mention they ignored the majority of the birth plan I gave them. My child was sent to the NICU. My husband was supposed to be my advocate, whom they completely ignored. Also, I was bullied into the cascade of interventions and was told to just put myself together once everything was finished, when I've never had a child before.

Birth Care was immensely different in all the best ways! They have 3 birthing tubs for water birth! They work with you in trusting your body and make sure you sign up for the birth class they offer so that you can be informed. They do let you know if there is anything out of there scope of practice or high risk situations. That there is always the chance of transferring to the hospital which is in Ephrata or I think another woman's care facility depending on the situation. That said they have the best nurses and Midwives. I had the pleasure of meeting most of them and thankful had one I knew at my birth.

Where they went above and beyond my expectation was the head Midwife Danelle was so kind and compassionate and made room in her busy schedule to help me process my previous birth notes; to help me know what happened, since it was so traumatic and chaotic.

Then when I did finally go into labor. That night something happened that there hot water heater just wasn't working. They went through the immense trouble of getting crock pots and stock pots from the neighbors and there bord of directors with her son came to help make sure my water birth still happened. Which with no other pain relief very much made the whole thing possible. The Midwive Cali and my Nurse (that I regretfully forget her name) did their best to help coach and made my husband feel very secure and validated in his being there with and for me. Also, with my mom's help I was able to have my 2 yr old there so that she could immediately come in and see her new sibling to help with transitioning into being the older sibling. They really did everything to make sure I had a much better experience and really helped with the after care which my recovery time has gone much faster than I did from the hospital.

Even though it is hard to advocate for yourself in that much pain, they made me feel very in control old how everything happened.

I will continue to say hospitals are not for normal/ natural child birth, they are for emergencies and high risk situations. And hope more people consider Birth centers or Midwives for their assisted birth experiences. I give Birth Care 5 stars and hope more people will work with them to make other birth experiences as great as mine. I'll be switching my normal women's care to their facility!

Emily M. A.

SO grateful for midwife Merrilee two years ago.. when baby girl's head was in a funky position, she clearly communicated my options to me and then gently and kindly used her unconventional tips and tricks and within the exact time frame she gave, baby popped into position and we had a beautiful water birth (probably saved me from a c section)

Cassandra P.

If you want a physiological birth where your provider trusts you and your body… DO NOT birth here. They are essentially “med wives” versus true midwives. They don’t even live up to the ethics or the true philosophy of traditional midwifery. They will find any reason to risk you out. Their ultrasound tech is pretty awful and honestly I would not get ANY of the tests by them. They give you the swab to do your own Group B test… I didn’t even want to do the test but they were incredibly insistent (which is weird since there is no evidence on this) and I didn’t even swab myself just out the swab in the container and it STILL came up positive. So, that tells you about how sanitary their “lab” is. They claim to value autonomy and following the evidence, when I presented peer review journal articles to support my decision I got such pushback. I would truly just freebirth over trusting this place. It’s not worth the heartache. I wish I had never trusted them.

EDIT, 1/15/25: I am editing my review for this addition from the EDIT pint on, only in response to the response I received to my review. I negate their claim that they have had "turnover" in staff considering that the staff members that caused ACTUAL HARM to me are still on their site as being actively employed. That is your first lie right there. Second lie is that they claim that they are providing informed consent and autonomy in screenings. False. The midwives FOUGHT me on the GD test and me wanting to use a natural alternative and they told me no. I did it anyway because through LabCorp, you can use certified alternatives like GlucoGanics or Fresh Test. Why was this a fight? Especially when I offered to do a 2 week monitoring of my blood sugars, which per the literature is the most informational data set. The amount of sugar in one of the lab test bottles is more sugar than I eat in a day. Whatever outcome from that test would surely not be informative of my daily sugars. Further, I didn't want the Strep B test and I was FORCED. The midwife even joked to my husband, "Should we have you go wrangle her and hold her down in there?" How atrocious. How dare you even speak to have my husband physically restrain me for this sort of thing. That is horrific. On top of that, you provided multiple screenings for Domestic Violence... while he was in the room? The first instruction on those screenings is to have the woman do it WITHOUT her partner present. When I tried to engage in conversations with the midwives at the conclusion of my pregnancy I was told I was a BAD MOM. That is ABYSMAL. Why would you ever say that to a mom, let alone a new mom? It was another instance of the midwives trying to strong arm you into doing what they wanted you to do. I am a doctoral level professional. I know how to read studies, articles and how to make an informed choice. But I was considered less than. Why? Is it because of where you are situated and you just think anyone that comes to you is stupid or uninformed? That is how I was made to feel and several times I was told by the midwives that they work with an uninformed client base and they have never had to answer questions like mine. How belittling to tell a woman that she has too many questions. That in and of itself is rooted in misogyny and the saying "woman are to be seen and not heard." I am sorry if you felt me being outspoken and curious was too much for your agency. I was told I was "fake smart" by a midwife because I presented a statistical fact to them that is actually something factually supported by ACOG and the research. In sum, it's abominable that your reply to my review could be so shallow, trite and invalidating. I am sorry but if you want to "strive" to do better than you need a total overhaul. Multiple of your midwives are truly horrible and rude and perpetuate actual care. It's been 3 years since I went with you for my care and truly I still relive these horrific experiences. I wouldn't refer my worst enemy to you.

Madeline G.

I transferred here from the hospital half way through my pregnancy after my insurance dropped me and we could no longer afford it. After my first prenatal appointment, I wish I'd gone here my whole pregnancy. All the nurses and midwives are so wonderful and caring, they treat you like a person and remember you specifically. They worked with us over the course of the next couple months as I applied for and got denied for Medicaid and were so understanding in setting up a plan for us to pay them. The understanding and empathy we received from every member of the staff was a huge change from the hospital. We just delivered our first baby at the birth center early yesterday morning and I cannot say enough good about it. It is a relaxing atmosphere, the midwives know exactly the right amount to be involved, they and the nurses are knowledgeable and go so above and beyond what is required of them. I cannot recommend them enough and hope that we are able to come back here when we have another baby.

Victoria S.

I would highly recommend to anyone who wants a natural birth experience! I felt so cared for and seen by all the staff. Birth Care and Family Health Services offers truly exceptional individualized care. My daughter was born healthy and the midwives dealt quickly and professionally with all of my postpartum needs. I have not been able to say enough about my positive experience here. Thank you so much for giving me the birth that I planned for!

Travis L.

My wife and I had the privilege of working with Birth care for the birth of our son. We were very impressed with the professional and friendly midwives and nurses. The whole atmosphere was much more relaxed and peaceful than what we've had with the hospital we dealt with previously! The staff was very caring and treated us well! Definitely recommend!

Sarah M.

I'd love to give negative stars! This place is horrible! They lie, talk down to you, try to coerce you into medications and procedures that are NOT natural or necessary... Where do I start? They claim you'll get to know all the midwives so you'll know and be comfortable with whoever is at your birth. Not true at all! I saw a different midwife every time, including having a midwife and nurse I'd never met before at the birth! I endured multiple extremely uncomfortable "checkups" that I'm sure is standard at every hospital and as a first time mom, had no idea I could refuse. (You do not have to get pelvic exams! Protect yourself.) They told me I would owe about $1,000 after insurance but then after my daughter was born, they claimed I owed over $5,000, and then would not even accept payments on it. There was no way I could pay that at once, so they sued me. Here I am, brand new mom, no money for a lawyer, either, obviously, and had to go to court by myself and ended up having to owe even more, their "court fees". Really really horrible way to treat someone. Now three years later my husband and I are still years away from paying off the loan we had to get to pay these liars. DO NOT USE BIRTH CARE. Go to New B.A.B.I. in Strasburg. Went there with our second baby and they were amazing!