Midwifery & Women’s Health

I delivered our first born in October of 2015 with Mary Saracco.
As a nurse with labor and delivery experience, I can not say enough about the phenomenal care that she provided for me. She helped me through position changes during the last hours of labor and pushing and proved to have the perfect strong maternal energy that I needed as a first timer. Her years of experience showed and I trusted her completely.
I was able to labor throughout the birthing suite room, in the tub and in the shower as well before bringing my baby into the world naturally. She supported our decisions to delay cord clamping and baby’s assessments so that I could bond through skin-​to-​skin. She even let my husband help with the delivery and announce the sex of our child.
Following the birth, we saw Mary Beth Waldorf on multiple occasions to make sure baby and I were doing well before discharge. She, too, has wonderful encouraging maternal energy.
I found our birth to experience to be wholly satisfying and I am very happy that I chose to birth with midwives and with Elmhurst group.
That being said, I recommend that every pregnant couple exploring options for birth care be very proactive. Come to your appointments with questions. Ask the providers about their experiences. You are allotted a full 15 – 20 minutes during provider visits so make the most of it, especially in your third trimester as you prepare for birth. I found having formed relationships with all of the midwives and having shared my birth plan with each during our last visits to be very empowering and greatly enhanced my readiness for natural labor with them at my side!
Best of luck to all you soon-​to-​be mamas out there!

Michelle and the staff were wonderful but I did not have a good experience with any of the 3 midwives. My visits were very cut and dried. Mary Saracco was especially rushed and distracted. I kept thinking maybe it takes them a while to warm up, but every visit was short and impersonal. I changed to a different midwifery practice at 5 months and it has been a much better experience. I don’t expect a midwife to be my best friend, but I need to feel that she cares.

If you struggle with your weight, please don’t put yourself through a meeting here. It is so sad to see a Midwifery clinic be taken over by medical risk management policies that demean women.
Today I went in for a meet and greet as I am attempting to switch doctors at 31 weeks pregnant. Apparently this is an impossible feat. The more I am learning about childbirth and the type of birth experience I would like, the clearer it became that I needed to find an experienced midwife practice with good clinical oversight. Sadly, I did not find that here.
I met with Michelle for my appointment and she was about 45 mins late. She took one look at my medical record and stated that they would not accept me because I was on a blood sugar medication pre-​pregnancy for my PCOS. She said they basically had to treat me as if I had type 2 diabetes even though I have diet controlled gestational diabetes and a history of insulin resistance that is controlled with diet, exercise and a pregnancy safe medication.
As she continued talking, things got much worse… Instead of politely ending the meeting there, she just kept going. She stated that EVEN THE OBs at Elmhurst don’t take women with a BMI over 40. My BMI pre-​pregnancy was less than 40, but I am overweight, so I am not sure what she was trying to say. I asked «where is an overweight person who would like a natural childbirth supposed to go?» She then stated that someone with a BMI in that range is not just overweight, but obese and poses a huge risk in delivering a child. Again, why is she giving me this information? I understand that I am significantly overweight. I also know that I do crossfit 2−3x a week, walk 10,000 steps most days, count my carbs and take VERY good care of myself. I have a medical concern that makes weight loss a challenge.
So basically the message was this «Even though you are technically under our BMI limit, you are too fat to deliver a baby here.» I left in tears.
I am deeply concerned at the way this practice masquerades as a group of nurturing midwives but just below the surface functions like a medical practice that has been totally co-​opted by a medical risk management machine. But instead of real risk management strategies, they appear to turn away women who need them most while needlessly demeaning and body shaming them. This is the opposite of the very mission and nature of midwifery. I left asking myself: is this a real midwife practice or marketing ploy by Elmhurst Hospital to capitalize on the the growing trend toward nurturing, natural childbirth?

This place has been wonderful! I am halfway thru my pregnancy and have been here since the beginning of my pregnancy. I am looking forward to my delivery and hopeful that I will be able to have a water birth. I am in the advance maternal age category and this will be my first child. I have to say I feel as though I am in very good hands!
The midwife that I have been requesting for my appointments is Mary Saracco. She is extremely professionally, knowledgable, and patient with me cause I ask a lot of questions. She knows here stuff. I appreciate her since of humor and directness. I am sure all of the midwives are great, she is the one I connected with the most. Dawn the receptionist is super friendly always and she is always willing to offer help. Mary Ellen and Jennifer the nurses are terrific too. They are prompt with test results and calling in prescriptions. So glad I decided to come here. The facilities at Elmhurst hospital are super clean and modern.

UPDATE:
I gave birth to our first chid, a beautiful baby girl 3 days ago, on July 1 2014. I especially wanted to come back here to update my review for Elmhurst Midwifery group. My labor, deliver, and birth experience were absolutely PHENOMENAL. Shirley was the midwife on call when things got rolling (although I also saw Mary Saracko a couple days prior as well). I do not have enough good words to say about them, or the entire staff of nurses and PCTs and hospital staff in Labor & Delivery (and Post Partum Care) at Elmhurst Memorial Hospital.
As my labor+delivery progressed, it became apparent that the completely non-​medicinal approach I was looking for may not be possible — However, when I consulted with Shirley before hand she reassured me that she would try her best to stick to the original plan, granted that baby and I were not in danger. She was so understanding and encouraging and exhausted every possibility to fulfill my goals of a natural birth — and succeeded! Instead of giving me pitoccin like any other OB would have immediately done, she gave me option of natural induction, which WORKED! I went into spontaneous labor, and within 2.5 hours, baby was out (and healthy)! And because there were no medicinal interventions during this birth, 3 days later I am healing beautifully and feeling like my old self!
At the end when things got really rough and I was asking for epidural, Shirley was there with me, and like we’d discussed at my prenatal appts, did not let me cave in. She did not leave my bedside during active labor or delivery, and coached me through breathing exercises to combat the pain. If it was not for her expertise and guidance, my plans of a natural and un-​medicated childbirth would not have been fulfilled.
I honestly cannot say enough good things about this practice. Every midwife, nurse, the receptionists, etc. that I have met at Elmhurst Midwifery are so compassionate and caring. Another thing I’d like to mention is that not once (either during prenatal appointments or during the various stages of labor and delivery) did I feel rushed or that I was a number that the midwife had to see. Rather, each appt was long, every single one of my many question were answered fully and I was given information to make my own educated decisions on various procedures.
Overall: If I am in the Chicago area again if and when I decide to have more children, I know I will be going to Elmhurst Midwifery!

I had my first two children with the midwives at swedish covenant at was blown away with how good my experiences were. Since moving to the suburbs, like every other schlub with two kids, i needed to find a new practice to deliver our third child. I interviewed three and I am happily moving forward with the midwives at Elmhurst Hospital.
I was treated warmly by the receptionist and Shirley stepped in to take my appointment when it was clear that the other families needed Michele’s attention more. I was extremely impressed by Shirley’s willingness to discuss the process they go through to be sure the care they give was evidence-​based. I was also gratified by her bedside manner, which was savvy, compassionate and clearly intelligent, both socially and academically. She was the only midwife I interviewed who asked about my previous pregnancies at all and then she used the information she learned at different points in the rest of the conversation.
The supervising OB was never mentioned and I don’t think he/​she shared the office, although I’m sure if I had thought to ask, Shirley would have been forthcoming. Structurally, this gives me A LOT of confidence that their philosophy of care IS non-​interventionist and trusting that my body knows what it is doing. Having that within a hospital setting, just in case, makes me very comfortable.
Their website is terrible. It still says they deliver at West Suburban. They don’t but I’m glad they have the experience from there but have brought it much closer to me so that I can take advantage of it. (I helped a friend deliver her baby at West Suburban and it was also tops.)
I look forward to a positive pregnancy and delivery with the midwives of Elmhurst Hospital as resources and caretakers.

This review is based off of a meet and greet that I had recently with one of the midwives. It is by no means a review of every midwife there or of their specific practices.
I chose to have a meet and greet with the midwife clinic during my 28^th week because I wanted a more personal experience during labor and delivery. I was incredibly excited for this visit, as were my husband and doula. I met with one of the midwives last Saturday to not only meet her, but hear more about what they do and the differences in care between them and the OBs at the Elmhurst Clinic.
The front desk staff member was incredibly kind, as was the CNA/​RN/​LPN who met with me prior to the midwife’s entrance. I waited approximately 20 minutes for the midwife to show up and when she did, she barely cracked a smile, nor did she look at my husband. She sat down and immediately asked if I had any questions. Now… normally the professional would begin casual conversation or talk about their practices and such, rather than immediately asking me for questions. When I began looking over my list of questions, she rolled her eyes and said «well I guess I will just give you my talk and that will probably cover everything».
She then went on to list their practices and the different situations in which an OB would be more appropriate. She then took a brief look over my medical history and asked how my current pain was (I have a number of chronic pain diagnoses, as well as a dislocated rib and intercostal neuralgia). I explained that I was in a lot of pain and working on getting that under control naturally. Immediately after I said that, she told me that labor pain will be much worse, so I should get used to it — NICE. That’s not exactly the sort of professional response one would or should expect.
The rest of the appointment continued in an awkward manner, with her barely acknowledging my concerns or questions and seemed extremely rushed, as though I was taking up too much of her time. She had me lay down so she could feel our little one was breech or not, but said «well I can’t even feel a baby in there» and then said it was nice to meet us, to make another appointment if we would like and then she left. Needless to say, I left very disappointed and did not make an appointment to return. I will stick with the OBs at the clinic, as they definitely made me feel as though they cared and this particular midwife did not. I am glad that other people have had such great experiences with this group and I hope everyone else does as well– it just didn’t feel right to me.

I wanted to express my gratitude and appreciation to the Midwife Clinic. The entire staff welcomed us with open arms. This came as a surprise considering my wife and I heard about this clinic at week 35. We set up an appointment and transferred all of our records and became one of their patients during week 36. This decision ended up creating a chain of events which resulted in an amazing birth experience. From the receptionist, to the nurses, to the midwives, every appointment became enjoyable. Our anxious thoughts of trying a natural birth began to go away. All the questions we had were answered with options and suggestions instead of persuasion. Not once, did we ever feel rushed during a visit. On the day that we went in for delivery, our midwife met us at the hospital and her confident, calm presence really shaped the atmosphere within the hospital to our desired setting. My wife was not hooked up to any devices which allowed her to move freely throughout the room and into the shower. Near the final phase, we both were able to move into the tub. With the lights dim, our midwife monitored the progression of labor with simple, easy prompts. I tried my best to support my wife and felt very safe and secure with the guidance of our midwife. I know this was the most challenging, yet most rewarding experience for my wife. Thank you does not really encompass the amount of gratitude that I feel for this group. All of the staff have exhibited a sincere passion for my wife and myself that will not be forgotten. One more amazing experience happened today. We stopped by the office to introduce our boy to the staff. He was met with those same open arms and the midwife clinic proved to me once again that I could not have asked for a better staff to share in this experience.
With the utmost sincerity,
Jerry Pettigrew

We had a fantastic experience with the midwives. Although I ended up having a c-​section due to a late-​in-​pregnancy breech presentation, the midwife group was still there to support and educate my husband and I through the process. Perhaps a detail that is often overlooked by first time moms (me!) is the quality of the back-​up physicians. The back up MDs in this group are all so friendly and patient-​centered. I am so glad that I found this group. Highly recommend!

I have been a patient at this practice since 2000 and have had the pleasure of delivering all four of my girls with the midwives. Midwives and doctors alike, everyone is highly competent, professional and a pleasure to work with. Most importantly, they offer a plethora of choices to women for both birth and Obgyn services and provide these options with the necessary detail to make an an informed decision. I will continue to support the practice and If I were crazy enough to consider having another child, the first people I would call would be Partner in Women’s Health.

I switched to the Midwives from a traditional ob/​gyn in the midst of my prenatal care and am beyond impressed. Whereas at the other practice I felt like merely a number at a baby factory, at the Midwives my husband and I found that we were encouraged to ask questions, no matter how ridiculous, and that there was a lot more time set aside for us at each appointment than anywhere else we had tried out. The midwives take the time to get to know each patient and have an intuitive sense about what they do in addition to outstanding medical knowledge — I believe some of them also teach at UIC.
I recently gave birth (at West Suburban Hospital) and I was reminded why my gut told me to switch to the midwives. The midwife who attended my birth was not who I had been regularly seeing, but was present throughout my labor and was patient, calming, and knew when to be firm with me — I was a little apprehensive about using the birthing tub for labor but when encouraged to use it found that it really helped my labor.
On occasion there can be a bit of wait but I found that if one arrives a little early one is usually seen on time or close to it. Yes, the office staff could be a little better in the communication department, but I have experienced nothing that would deter me from continuing my relationship with the midwives.
I cannot say enough what a positive experience I have had with the midwives throughout my prenatal care and delivery. I look forward to continuing to see them for future needs!