Mountain Midwives

Mountain Midwives is my husband and I's choice once again with our third baby. All of the girls work very hard to get to know mom and the whole family. I have felt safe, and supported through all of my pregnancies and births. And the great thing is that after all the nine months of appointments, asking questions, building trust, and them getting to know what mom's needs are; they are the ones walking beside you through your labor, delivery, and postpartum transition! That is one of the reasons why we chose to have a midwife. I never quite felt comfortable with the thought that the Doctor on call walks in on the last minute to deliver the baby, and you have had nurses that you've never met before tending to you during you labor and postpartum. I prefer to know who my care takers are, and where they stand on different issues as much as they know me and where we stand. They watch you very closely through out your pregnancy to be sure everything stays low risk and will not hesitate to get things checked out if needed. We all agree there is definitely and time and place when Doctors are a blessing to have available. The midwives are also quite equipped to handle many obstacles that may come up and will visit with you on any concerns. They also offer a fun, and educational birth retreat to help you learn and know a lot more of what to expect and what a home birth is like. It was very helpful when I was expecting our first child. I would also like to mention that my two sisters also were cared for by Mountain Midwives. We have had five babies delivered by their office. All of us feel very positive and close to the women of their practice!
Apr 9th, 2020

Mountain Midwives is a great option if you have a good delivery experience, but you need to be aware if there is something that goes wrong you need to be your own advocate because they won't be a good advocate for you. They will stick to the laws, which thankfully are in place, however, those laws might be beyond your comfort level so you should be aware of a few things before you wholeheartedly decide to use a midwife and do a home birth. These are the things I wish I knew beforehand: 1. They will lie to you about the costs. While it is try that a hospital birth is much more expensive on paper there is a very good chance that your costs will be much closer to the home birth than you first think. You have to ask the Hospitals to see what is available. 2. Mountain Midwives will paint the hospital out to be a money making machine where you are on a time schedule for delivery and will be forced to deliver on your back with your legs in stirrups, and pitocin shots to speed things along. This may happen. However is is very unlikely. Hospitals are incredibly facilitating, and you are able to talk with them beforehand and make similar plans for your birth experience as you would with your midwife. They probably won't let you do a water birth, but I strongly suggest that as part of your decision making you at least go in and talk to the birth center at Billings Clinic or SCL Health (St. Vincent). Don't trust Mountain Midwives to be fair in their representation of hospitals.Both Hospitals in Billings are excellent options. 3. Mountain Midwives are great as long as things are going well, however, when things go poorly their decision making is bad and not practiced. You need to prepare for this and make a birthing plan that is comprehensive about both what you want in the ideal situation, but is also comprehensive about what some of your desires are if it isn't going well. How long are you okay being in labor? Are you okay with them dictating how you should position yourself for delivery? Will you be okay with them putting you on a bed on your back with your legs being held up? Do you want to go to the state limits before going to the hospital? Which hospital do you want to go to? What will you do if they start telling you the reason the birth isn't progressing is you? Hospitals monitor you closely and are prepared for and experienced with when it doesn't go well. Mountain Midwives is much less prepared to deal with the negative situation. In reality you will just end up in the Hospital going through their processes. 4. If this is your second birth then this doesn't apply as much to you. If this is your first: PLEASE talk to a OB-GYN as well as the midwives at least let them lay out their process for you. If you are looking to save cost with a home birth realize that if things go wrong you will be much worse off than if you were already in medical care. The first birth is often more difficult and take it from a couple who went through a hellish experience it is worth exploring both the home birth experience and the hospital experience. Secondly realize that the experience at the hospital might be much better than people tell you, but you have to investigate it and find out. They do tours of the birthing center and you can ask lots of questions. 5. Don't trust other people to have your best interest in mind. Both Mountain Midwives and the Hospitals will give you slanted and in the case of Mountain Midwives, false information. 6. Don't buy the Natural Birth is the only way to go argument. If you look throughout history and in developing countries Natural birth also has natural consequences of higher death rates of the infant and to a lesser degree the mother. Yes, we have gone too far, in the US especially, towards interventions in the birthing process, but without a lot of these interventions there would be a lot more couples grieving the death of their infant.
Mar 20th, 2020

I used mountain midwives for all three of my births. I was amazed at how much Pat (and Tricia in my 3rd) truly cared for my well being and spent all the time I needed to answer every question and any possible concern I had. They were very knowledgeable and experienced which made me feel very safe and taken care of. They really listen to you and are in tune with whats best for you and baby. At my births they were a peaceful and calming presence but were also ready and alert, even in the wee hours of the night. So impressed with them and their service and thankful for those ladies! We feel very blessed by them
Oct 22nd, 2019

I hired Mountain Midwives for both of my pregnancies. Unfortunately, in my first pregnancy, a cystic hygroma was found on my daughter during the 20 week ultrasound, and I needed to transfer care to the hospital. Pat was super accommodating on the transfer of care to Billings Clinic, as well as very empathetic and supportive during this uncertain and somewhat scary time. My son was born at home and my husband and I could not have asked for a better experience. I felt safe, respected, and well cared for. During the home birth class and prenatal appointments, Pat and Tricia were kind and thorough. They provided all the information necessary and I felt very confident and prepared for any situation going into labor. Pat is a wealth of knowledge and I fully trust her. I love these women and are grateful for the experience they afforded me.
Feb 24th, 2020

I cannot say enough good about these ladies! My first two births were hospital births. After two inductions and my second child having complications due to the induction, I decided I wanted a home birth. I found mountain midwives in 2015 when I was expecting our third child. They went above and beyond to make sure that I could have the homebirth that I wanted. Besides their immense knowledge they were so, so supportive. They encouraged both my husband and I when we were all alone. Neither sides of our family wanted us to have a home birth. So when we found out we were expecting our fourth child there was no doubt that we were going to use them again. My 3rd and 4th home births were different in many ways. Both births they guided me and helped me and yet I felt like I was in control of my labor and my delivery. They are amazing!!! If we have another they will be our one and only choice!
Dec 26th, 2019