Saint Peter's Mary V. O'Shea Birth Center

My experience was great especially the birth of my baby girl. Joanne was so great and encouraging. I enjoyed coming for my appointments I would do it all over again
Aug 27th, 2022

I had 41 weeks and 4 days on pregnancy I decided induction, I got home then I back to there I gave birth my second baby on the birth center it was very quick delivery like 10 minutes!! I stayed in there 12 hours, the nurses were taking care of me and my baby they checked and asked me how am I feeling? All the night every 2 hours. It was best birth center is very clean and beautiful room is very quiet peaceful, the staffs nurses are very lovely and all best midwives Katelyn and Danielle are very nice and have a great personalities, they explained my prenatal was very important!! And I had first son 2019 on 4 floor with my midwives joanne and Nicole. I do recommend it that all the women need hear the midwives explains about risk of pregnancy and take care of pregnancy and postpartum are important
Jun 28th, 2023

I had my son at the Mary V. O'Shea Birth Center on 3/28/23. The prenatal care was excellent and I felt like my questions were heard and answered. Every interaction with the staff, nurses, and midwives were pleasant. They have a really great team working here! And the facilities are absolutely beautiful. It feels very clean, and the room was such a peaceful place to give birth in. However, like any medical facility, you don't get to choose who is working when you go into labor. There was only one midwife, Jennifer, out of all of them that I didn't really connect with. I didn't really mind during prenatal appointments, and when she was on call when I was in labor I tried to think positively and not judge too quickly. But even though overall my birth experience was positive, the most negative parts were because I did not feel like my birth plan was fully honored. Some examples were, when I was in early labor at 39 weeks she was talking about scheduling an induction at 41 weeks (mind you, I was told the birth center allows for births up to 42 weeks anyway. And it was on my birth plan not to use pitocin unless absolutely necessary). After the birth she said she was going to start pitocin as a precaution, and I was like, "Um, no you're not.". She also didn't let me push the placenta out on my own, but said that she was going to take it out and make sure that every piece was there. I don't see why she couldn't make sure every piece is there after I push it out by myself, as was done with my previous births. (I have no history of hemorrhaging, nor did I have risk factors.) I will say that she had very gentle hands and it was practically painless when she checked for dilation. She was knowledgeable as well and could quickly tell how dilated or how soft my cervix was and when I was ready to push. I don't want to paint her in a bad light, but I am being honest about my experience and how I felt about the birth. One of the most positive things from the birth were the wonderful nurses and a student midwife who was with me most of the time. She poured water on my back in the tub for who knows how long through my back labor, let me hang on her as I walked to the bathroom, talked me through contractions, and helped me through pushing. I am so thankful that she was there. The staff overall, do a great job to facilitate a natural, yet safe medical environment for birth. But I felt like with this midwife I was fighting little things the entire time to get the birth I wanted.
May 2nd, 2023

Edited to add: Joanne is no longer with the practice and neither is Nicole- both amazing midwives and a huge loss to the birth center. They were too short staffed when my friend went into labor in Sept. 2022 and she had to go to the hospital and her baby was delivered by a random doctor she never met (a midwife didn't even meet her there or visit her afterwards). I hope they work out their staffing issues. My daughter was born on 7/26/22 at the Mary V. OShea birth center with Joanne as our midwife. I arrived ready to go after a rapid labor at home and the staff was highly competent and professional. Less than 40 minutes after arrival, my almost 10 pound daughter was born naturally and med free- exactly what I wanted. Nadia, the mother baby tech, was absolutely amazing with the extras like birth photos and our first photos, helping me get started with nursing and answering any questions- she really went the extra mile! My husband and I loved being able to stay in the same room the entire stay and were able to go home the same day. My first was born in the hospital (St Peters) and we both agreed the birth center was so much better in terms of privacy and treatment. I would highly recommend the midwives and birth center for those who are low risk and would like a med free and natural birth!
Mar 7th, 2023

Joined the birth center around 22 weeks. Delivered 10/10 at the hospital. I decided on the birth center to have an intimate and natural birthing experience. Unfortunately I wasnt able to experience either. The midwives, although very nice and professional, were not personable. There were times I met a midwife 2-3x already and they did not remember me. I felt like a number and not an individual. Appointments always went smoothly and there was not a long wait. I also did not feel rushed during my appointments. Scheduling appointments was easy as well. However, the every other Wednesday closing was sometimes inconvenient. About a month out from my due date I was advised that it was a possibility that I would have to give birth at the hospital if there was no midwife on- call due to a staff shortage. The day I was admitted, I was transferred to the hospital for that reason. However, the midwives still cared for me while at the hospital and delivered my baby. Given my situation, I would have had to transfer to the hospital regardless, but because of the staff shortage, I had to be transferred a lot sooner. I would have definitely preferred having the option to remain in the birthing center until my time maxed out. In addition, it was frustrating at times receiving different information from each midwife. For example, one recommended iron supplements, while another never even mentioned concern with my bloodwork. Cohesive care would have been appreciated. The techs, Shawna, Kristina and Alex were very helpful and friendly! Overall, I traveled a hour for prenatal care for a specific reason and unfortunately it wasnt worth it for me.
Dec 14th, 2022