Laurelhurst Women’s Clinic

I had a different experience with Diana. My visit was painful and she was more rough than I’ve ever experienced before. She insisted I should partake in a particular procedure that I did not agree with or feel comfortable with considering my medical history. But instead of discussing other options, she claimed if I didn’t partake it would lead to severe medical issues in the future, such as inability to have children. She also appeared a bit upset and angry that I wasn’t in accordance. I didn’t appreciate her tone and demeanor to me. She was curt, condescending & threatening. She was only willing to discuss that one option and refused to refill the prescription I had been on for over 10 years. I believe she should gain more experience before scaring patients with theoretical situations. I went to another doctor to receive a second opinion since my visit with her scared me and I wasn’t in accordance with her strong beliefs regarding my medical situation. The other opinions I received from other Gyno’s agreed with my take and I avoided the costly procedure.

This clinic is amazing. They delivered my first child. Their patience and compassion is unlike any doctors office I’ve ever been to. I happened upon them by chance and I’m so glad I did. I have been a patient for 2 years now and cannot recommend them more to anyone looking for a midwifery. Its also conveniently located in the Providence plaza which has child care for when I have my appointments.

I am 14 weeks pregnant and have been seeing Diana Shane, one of the clinic’s midwives, since finding out I was pregnant. As it is early in my pregnancy I will be back to update this review after delivery, but wanted to post an early review on Diana. It was such a relief to find a professional, honest, and empathetic midwife who is kind, caring, and fully-​informed. I have been totally satisfied with my prenatal visits so far. As for the other Unilocaler who had a less than stellar experience with this clinic, I’m happy to say my experience just doesn’t line up.
The office staff are friendly and responsive. When interviewing midwives, they were the only clinic who took the initiative to take down my insurance information and actually contact them, and then call me back to tell me what my coverage was (instead of telling me to do it myself).
Diana (and the staff) accommodated me for an emergency/​unscheduled ultrasound early in my pregnancy after I called to say I was having some issues. Needless to say, I was scared and nervous, and they put me at ease by scheduling a same-​day ultrasound.
Diana and her assistant have been nothing but kind and accommodating. So far, I would definitely recommend this clinic to any mom-​to-​be.

After my first pregnancy and birth at OHSU through the midwife group, I was searching for a more personal birth experience (at OHSU you get whatever midwife is on call when you go into labor, the woman who delivered my son I hadn’t met before). I initially wanted a home birth, but my insurance wouldn’t cover it. So my search led me to Renee Beninger at Laurelhurst Women’s Clinic.
I saw her at most of my appointments, and she was at the birth through the entire process. She is warm and kind, and the most laid back midwife (and probably person) I’ve ever met. She was the perfect amount of support I needed while in labor, and I never felt like I even needed a doula due to this support.
For a time during my pregnancy, my baby was breech, and I was scheduled to have a c-​section. During that time Dr. Anderson (the OB that works closely with Renee) saw us for a few appointments and consulted us on the procedure. He too was one of the most laid back people I’ve ever met, but at the same time very professional. He was on call for a few emergency phone calls from me, and was happy to answer my questions even in the middle of the night.
Also, Renee’s nurse, Joy, is amazing. She is incredibly friendly and caring and I felt well taken care of when I was in the clinic.
If you’re looking for a personalized birth experience with practitioners who are accommodating and open to any kind of birth (they even do water births!), go to Laurelhurst Women’s Clinic.

This clinic was close to home and another Unilocaler gave it a rave review so I had high hopes. My goal was to find a midwife and stick with her throughout my entire pregnancy. In a perfect world, I guess. To be clear, I did not see Renee Beninger who I read so many good things about on their website. Another midwife at the clinic was assigned to us.
When I made my first appointment the lady who answered the phone took all my personal and insurance information and then explained that I would be required to pay $ 100.00 every month until the baby was born to cover the cost of birth. I found it extremely unusual that they wanted me to pay them BEFORE I even delivered the baby but okay, I digress. I would do that if it meant seeing someone who I liked and felt secure with.
When I went in for my first appointment, I met my midwife and I must admit, I just didn’t click with her. She came off to me as brash and icy and I was hoping that in choosing a midwifery, I’d get some sort of motherly, warm creature. Not the case but fine. I figure as long as she knows what she’s doing, I can move move past that. Things progressed okay, we got to hear our babies heartbeat, and then I needed to do a blood draw. The assistant who did the blood draw was very nice but couldn’t draw blood to save her life. It was ridiculous. In my entire life, I’ve had to give a lot of blood and I’ve never had this experience before. She pricked and prodded, and couldn’t tap a vein. Ouch! Her glove ripped and her finger was sticking out of the glove and she never bothered to put on a new one. That was weird to me. But after about 10 minutes she got some blood. Or so I thought.
Move to my next appointment which was only 2 weeks later. When I came in, the midwife didn’t seem to remember me or my husband at all. She even asked him, if we had met before. ??? So weird. A lot went on in this appointment that bothered me. I was put in the wrong room because they forgot that I was coming in for an ultrasound. They thought I was there for a pap. No one ever mentioned a thing about a pap to me before the appointment. So they decided to move me to another room after an awkward few minutes. Then after the pap, I was positioned for a trans-​vaginal ultrasound. BUT the machine wasn’t ready like it was supposed to be. And the midwife had NO clue how to prep the ultrasound machine which I also found to be really odd. So she had her assistant come in and the assistant proceeded to prep the machine WITHOUT gloves. This is a piece of equipment that is going to be inside of me. This got brought to her attention and she re-​did the prep with gloves this time.
After that entire ordeal, I was told I needed to give blood *again*. Surprise, surprise. The assistant said that she made a mistake during my last visit and so the last blood draw was unsuccessful. So here we go again with the poking and attempt after attempt to get my blood. Finally, minutes and a painfully bruised arm later, she was finally able to get some blood. Hopefully this time it worked because it’s crucial in early pregnancy to make sure your blood work is taken and analyzed for any issues.
I have since made an appointment to switch to another midwifery. When it comes to the emotional roller coaster of pregnancy I very much NEED to feel that I’m in competent hands. I just can’t stay with them because I honestly don’t feel completely safe. I truly hope others do not share this experience.

This clinic is located within the huge Providence Medical Center, which has FREE VALET service Monday thru Friday! After visiting a Kaiser compound last month this experience felt like luxury. A rarity for a doctors visit. It makes all the difference in the world when you are all sick and your head isn’t together, for someone to go and park your car for you. For free! There’s a friendly reception on the ground floor as well to help you find the right office, plus a Seattle’s Best and some other cafes.
The ladies at the women’s clinic were very nice and cheery, I didn’t have to wait long at all. My doctor spoke to me almost as a friend, even though I had only just met her. This clinic is a very comfortable place.