Frederick Birth Center

As a first-time father, I was apprehensive about choosing a birth center. The thought of not being in a hospital was honestly nerve racking. I decided that I owed the future little me more than a decision based on my emotions. I spent several months researching the pros and cons of hospital births, home births, and birth centers. Frederick Birth Center was not our first choice. Due to my hesitancy we opted for a semi-birth center by the name of “Bay Area Midwifery Center”. This was a compromise between a birth center setting and hospital setting. After my wife pointed out to me that my excitement and overall mood in the pregnancy fell I confided in her that after a few appointments I felt alienated as a future father. The appointments always kept us separate, treated me with an air of suspicion, and treated me as an afterthought. We decided jointly to excuse ourselves of their services and seek something better. That journey led us to Frederick Birth Center. Our first appointment was a breath of fresh air. We were treated as an actual couple who had equal say in the next chapter of our lives. We were given a tour of the facilities, and being a hospital worker myself, I took note of all their equipment and made a mental note of their precautionary measures should complications arise. This place was checking all of the right boxes. What solidified our decision were the appointments with staff, the classes offered, and abundant information on hand. Each appointment was done efficiently with plenty of giggles and good humor, questions being asked on both sides and proper thought out answers being given. My wife and I decided to have our first child here, regardless of the hour drive from our home. Baby came in the night, I was kneeling on the bed next to my wife as she pushed, offering words of encouragement and a hand to hold, we moved from tub to bathroom to bed as my wife felt she needed, she was allowed time to laugh and ask questions and move all through the night until the baby was in our arms. We stayed a couple hours after taking pictures with family and winding down from the birth. We are glad to have found Frederick Birth Center in 2019, we are in the middle of preparing for baby #2 and the lovely staff at FBC is still our #1 choice.
Sep 26th, 2021

Sep 21st, 2021

I gave birth as a first-timer at FBC in March 2021. I researched my options extensively and was so excited to find an independent birth center run by women, and in the end I had the low-intervention, drug-free birth I planned for and a beautiful healthy baby, but there were many things that concerned me about my experience here. To name a few - the midwife Mychal routinely disregarded COVID precautions, to the point where I did not feel like I was in a professional medical setting in the middle of a pandemic. I traveled an hour to and from all my appointments and was excited to receive a certain level of education from the Center and found that my appointments were rushed, questions and concerns constantly brushed off, and the classes were unorganized and half-hearted. I was disappointed in the lack of professionalism amongst the staff and surprised at how blatantly unhelpful they were at times. All that being said, Faith is a goddess. I had painful back labor for over 12 hours and she was my rock and provided me so much peaceful energy and comfort. I will never forget how she made me feel, she was amazing.
Aug 28th, 2021

My experience at the Frederick Birth Center was nothing short of amazing. I gave birth to my 3rd daughter here and it was going to be my first attempt at an unmedicated delivery after a previous c section. Mychal supported me the entire time and I was able to have a successful unmedicated water birth! I could not have been more pleased with my experience here. The birthing rooms are gorgeous and the aesthetic throughout the whole center is lovely . If you are considering using this birthing center look no further !
Jul 21st, 2021

I inquired several months ago and was placed on a waiting list. After several weeks they emailed and said a spot had become available. I just needed to do a brief intake and then I could tour and meet the owners. The coordinator was only in the office two days a week and was unable to respond in a prompt matter. Every time I called I was sent to the answering service with no response. I became frustrated and finally reached out and said that I was no longer sure about the facility, as I had such a terrible time with them communicating. I finally got an email telling me that’s the person I had been emailing no longer works for them. The new coordinator said that I could give her a call, so I did. She asked when my birth was and I told her December 2021 and then she responded by saying that they are actually closing down their business as of September. Uhhhhh what?! Completely shocked. I was given no further explanation although it was a truly awful experience I am thankful that I dodged a bullet having to give birth there. What a nightmare.
Aug 18th, 2021