Whether you choose to deliver in a hospital, birthing center, or in the comfort of your own home, it’s so nice to have a little background and hear about other women’s experiences. We already shared your reviews of several popular hospitals in Dallas, so now we are taking a look at the best Birth Centers in Dallas according to real moms. You can read more about natural childbirth experiences by one of our contributors, or check back soon for a Birth Story taken place at a birthing center.
There are several Birth Centers around DFW, but these are the two that we have continually heard about from moms around town….which is generally a good sign.
Birth and Women’s Center
What They Say:
“Since 1993, more than 2,900 families have chosen Birth and Women’s Center for safe, nurturing care. Ours was the first Dallas birth center to be staffed by Certified Nurse Midwives. The center, a 100-year-old home, is nestled among the quaint Victorians of the Swiss Avenue historic district and is only three blocks from a major hospital.”
“We support fathers to be totally involved. Most mothers labor in water, and some choose water birth.”
“Birth and Women’s Center captures the loving essence of home birth. Your whole family may be present, or you and your husband may choose to share the experience for yourselves. We honor the emotional intimacy of birth in ways not seen in more traditional settings.”
What Moms Say:
“I have given birth to both my children at the BWC and I love how much the midwives there trust a woman’s body and allow you to make any choices you like when it comes to prenatal care and your birth experience. They don’t try to medicate every ailment during pregnancy, and they allow you to labor with whomever and however you would like, while offering suggestions to help move things along and provide comfort. My favorite thing is the giant tub. Labor was so much easier in the tub! My favorite memories are of washing my newborns in that tub and of lying with my husband and new baby in the giant bed for hours after the births. It’s also really cool how the inside of the birth center is decorated with the footprints of all the babies born there – ours are both upstairs in the corner of the receptionist’s office!” -Jenny B.
“I had my son on December 2010 at this amazing place, it was everything I could wish for my first pregnancy, I had the best experience. Cherie Boettcher CNM and her staff were always so kind, caring, warm and passionate about providing an excellent environment for my family, they just make everything easy to understand, if I had a question (which I had thousands) they took the time to explain it to me and educate me, since this was my first pregnancy I was very excited about going to this place, because they seemed to gather all the things I was looking for my birth, such as natural birth, near hospital in case of an emergency, no anesthetic (since I know that could affect my baby), homelike and relaxing environment (they actually had candles, relaxing music, it was quiet and peaceful), waterbirth and the best of all my husband could be a part of it too!!. and hands down I can say “THIS IS IT” and I feel so proud to say I DID IT. it was the most beautiful experience of my life and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I was also trying to avoid a C Section, (since I wanted my son to be born when he was ready and not when the Doctors were) Cherie and Beverly litterally tried EVERYTHING to avoid me going to the hospital and I am so glad they did. ” -Raquel S.
“We were so impressed with the center and with the prenatal visits, but when it came to birth, Cheri was awful. Pushy, demanding, in a hurry and generally mean throughout the labor. I was confused and hurt while I should have been concentrating on bringing my baby into the world, and my husband was furious at the midwife on this most special of times. I was injected with pitocin through my IV without my, or my husbands, knowledge or consent. We had our baby and Cheri rushed off to where she was planning to go that evening, leaving us with the postpartum girl who, gratefully, was really great. Since then we’ve had another beautiful little one naturally and peacefully with a wonderful midwife from a different birth center, but I’m still left with disappointment and rage on my son’s behalf his that birth wasn’t all that it could have been because to one person’s mood. ” -Marsha
Allen Birthing Center
What They Say:
“Allen Birthing Center is fortunate to have an experienced and highly educated staff. The fact that they possess master’s degrees and post-graduate midwifery education as well as many years of experience is unique to this DFW metroplex birth center.”
“Pure babies born to healthy mothers during pure and healthy deliveries are our ultimate goal at Allen Birthing Center. In our experience, negativity and inappropriate chemicals are often more harmful to mothers and babies than physical ailments. With one-on-one professional care, we work to provide you with a birth experience that keeps you and your baby safe and intact, both in body – from your abdomen to your perineum – and in spirit.”
What Moms Say:
“Allen Birth Center was nice, plus there’s such a nice area for family to be close yet not TOO close” -Kelly C.
“I delivered my first child, a girl, at the Allen Birthing Center in June 2009 naturally and drug-free. My husband and I were so pleased with our experience that we didn’t hesitate for a moment to use them again for the prenatal care and delivery of our son this year.
My prenatal care during both pregnancies was exceptional. All of my appointments were so enjoyable because the midwives were always on schedule and efficient so I didn’t waste hours in a waiting room or alone in an exam room. The midwives also liked getting to know a little about me other than just my pregnancy, so by the time I delivered my first baby, the midwives felt more like family to me and not just my doctor. I was well informed and they always respected our wishes.
During labor, I loved the fact that I was allowed (and encouraged) to lay in different positions, walk around, sit up, etc. without having IV’s or monitors hooked up to me. I even gave birth to my son in the birthing tub, just as I had planned. I was so happy that my new baby was never take out of my sight and my favorite part about using the Allen Birthing Center was being able to go home so soon after giving birth. I was home after each delivery within 4 hours of giving birth and it was so relaxing to be back in my own home, in my own bed with my new sweet baby. Having a midwife come to my house 2 days after delivery to examine both me and baby was really great, too!” -Amy B.
I wanted SO BADLY to have my son (born April 2nd) at the birth and women’s center – it’s beautiful and I thought the staff were great. I had Tricare insurance, which has a contract with the center, making them an in-network provider. I was 30-something weeks when I tried to switch. When I went for a tour and to get information, I was told I would have to come up with over a thousand dollars in a very short amount of time, but they would “work with me.” The center was in my network of providers and shouldn’t have charged me at all until after they’d billed my insurance. I was told that “in their experience” my insurance wouldnt deny the charge, but they would not get around to paying it either, so they asked for the money up front. I was heartbroken, especially since my insurance company told me that it was against their contract with the birthing center to charge me beforehand like that and that it was definitely a charge that was covered. There was no way we could come up with the money in such a short time. I delivered my son in a hospital, where I was induced, trapped in a hospital bed, had no support, and didn’t pay a dime. As it turns out, a good friend of mine had almost the exact same thing happen. I intend to deliver my next child at a birthing center, but I will never set foot in the Birth and Women’s Center again. If I want to be treated like a wallet without a face, there are hospitals all over the country that would be thrilled to oblige me.
I have heard awful things first hand from moms who delivered at BWC- the midwife is rude and pushy and uses drugs almost all the time to speed things up.
I used the Allen Birthing Center and could have not been more happy with the whole experience!
Hi,i am from nigeria and want to come over to garland dallas for my childbirth and i want to informed of how it will cost me to have my baby in a hospital and birthing center please.THANKS
Having a baby in a birthing center will run around $3,000-6,000 USD. Having a baby in a hospital will range from $5,000-$10,000 USD.
Hello Mommas!
I love your blog!! This is my first time to be a mom, I found out I was pregnant on Monday. I took a tour with the BWC today b/c I want a natural water/medicine-free birth and I live in Deep Ellum. I felt assured at times that this was the place and then other times I felt like Cheri was judging me..? She seemed to be nicer to the women that had already had kids before or stated they had insurance. I just got mixed signals from her since I stated I was paying out of pocket. BWC stated they will not push any vaccinations on you but in the packet there is a letter saying that Tdap is highly recommended by the state. I see Allen has more consistent positive reviews. Could you kind enough to tell me what ya’lls top choices are? I am looking for experienced mother’s advice.
Thanks.
I had the privilege of using Bella Birth Center in McKinney for my last baby (April of last year). I loved the care I got while pregnant. While things went differently than planned, because of how quickly I progressed, I ended up having my baby at home. Kathleen, my midwife, got to my house in time to take deliver my son. The care I received was great, and would use the again if we had another baby.
I also tried to deliver at the BWC, and had the majority of my prenatal care there, but a very late discovery that the baby was breech meant that I had to go to Baylor for a C Section. I would say you need to really know what to ask for if you go there (and, if you have an easy birth, then it is probably a fine place to go). I felt like if I didn’t think to ask a specific question, I wasn’t told about certain options/care (or what test results meant). I always had to call to confirm test results, and I didn’t feel like most of the staff knew who I was (like the time a midwife spent five minutes going over another patient’s chart–who was ten weeks behind me–before we caught the mistake). They just hired several new people who are great, so it might have just been poor timing with turnover and overworked staff. Of course, the real lesson for me was that all that really matters is a healthy and happy baby, as the birth is just one (hopefully!) day! Focus more on meditation, healthy eating and exercise before baby is due, rather than where; you won’t care how she is welcomed into this world!
I had a wonderful experience giving birth to my child at Lover’s Lane Birthing Center and am having my third there as well.
Just don’t use Lovers Lane Birth Center with Dinah, Waranch. I tore really badly and she didn’t even realize it was infected. I went to see her the day before I went to an OBGYN and she specifically told me it wasn’t infected but it wasn’t healing properly. She referred me to her doctor but then didn’t check on me for a week. The next day, Ten days after the birth, I had to have a 2 hour emergency surgery to remove the infected tissue and repair what they could. It was so infected it was almost sepsis. It was really serious and I could have died.
Bella Births in McKinney is the way to go. I had my 4th baby, first out of hospital birth at Bella Births. It was perfect. It healed a lot of the trauma I had experienced in my hospital births. Kathleen is a Certified Nurse Midwife so she has graduate level education in nursing. Her profile is very impressive: http://www.bellabirths.com/#!kathleen-mayorga/c6ef
Dinah was terrible! She jeopardized my life and the life of my baby. I had a uterine rupture and was in excruciating pain. She didn’t want to transfer me to the hospital, and tried to talk me out of it. When I insisted on going to the hospital, she began insulting me….talking badly of me to her assistant “Lindsey”, making rude comments to me, asking if I have a neighbor who could help me, calling Baylor hospital and telling them I was just whining because I couldn’t handle birthing pains (this was my fourth child btw), refusing to help me, saying I just wanted an epidural, telling her assistant I was crazy….the list goes on! Dinah tried to convince me to let her break my water, instead of transferring to the hospital. I refused, and she was mad. The level of disrespect and abuse was horrible. I will forever be traumatized! BTW…there was never any Pitocin used.