Wisdom Midwifery

We just had baby number two with this practice. My wife is still a huge fan and would not deliver anywhere else. This one was much shorter. In the hospital at 20:45. Baby in arms at 21:47.

This review is specifically for Whitney Pinger, as I generally had good experiences with the other midwives. (Although I heard that two of the best, Sierra and Laura, have left this practice recently.) My experience with Whitney in the delivery room was awful. She was surprisingly rude for a midwife. I wanted a midwife practice, because I kept hearing stories about how caring and patient they are during the entire pregnancy and delivery. However, Whitney was the complete opposite. I was stunned. The pushing was extremely stressful. I felt like I knew what to do — it was like an instinct. However, Whitney was yelling to push harder and faster. It was so awful. I ended up with a second degree tear that she stitched wrong, and it never healed properly. 4 months after delivery, I had to be re-​cut, and stitched up properly by my OB. Unbelievable. I wouldn’t recommend Whitney to my worst enemy.

These midwives don’t know when to turn things over to the doctors. They treated my sister like it was a game on how natural you can go. In the end… the baby died from them not judging well when things need to be turned over to the doctors! I have had 4 kids myself and never seen any other midwives allow someone to try and push for 6 hours! Go to someone else please! This is not the first time this has happened with them!

I wish I had switched to this practice sooner. They have a fabulous reputation for safe & successful natural births in a hospital setting– in fact, they are getting so popular that I was told by a doula to switch to them *before* getting pregnant to make sure of getting their prenatal care.
Check out their website for the full philosophy and nutrition guidelines, and attend one of the monthly ‘Meet the Midwives’ sessions to learn more.

I just gave birth to my first son and GW mdwives were fantastic! They totally helped me follow all my religious Preferences and were just awesome all around! I had a healthy natural birth because of them, while still in the comfort of a hospital setting!

I recently delivered my first child with GW’s Midwifery group and had a great experience from the early stages of pregnancy through delivery. I can’t recommend them highly enough. If you’re even curious about natural childbirth please attend one of their «meet the midwives» public sessions (and watch the Business of Being Born or similar films). I also took a Bradley class which I found helpful, albeit somewhat unnecessarily lengthy.
I signed up with the group the day after I got my first positive home pregnancy test. I’d suggest doing the same as they book up quickly. From then on, you’ll have regular appointments just as you would with any Ob/​Gyn office and you’ll rotate through the various midwives a couple of times so you get to meet everyone. Although they aren’t on-​time for all appointments, I rarely had to wait more than 15 minutes or so past my original time. Occasionally there was some delay in them responding to immediate questions but I think they’ve resolved that by giving patients a «main midwife» that is their primary point of contact rather than issuing those standard questions to the on-​call midwife.
Much is made of the diet and exercise requirements. First off — for the most part, this is how we all should be eating — pregnant or not (ie avoiding processed foods in favor of whole grains, fresh fruits, veggies and lean protein). I didn’t have any morning sickness and felt great throughout pregnancy and I’m sure the food I ate (and didn’t eat) had something to do with keeping my blood sugar even (associated with less nausea) and keeping me feeling great. The exercise requirements are basically to keep moving, be it walking or jogging throughout pregnancy (I walked 2 miles a day throughout pregnancy and did some other exercises) — in other words, it’s not that hard. I also saw a chiropractor regularly in my third trimester at the midwives suggestion and found that it helped a lot with round ligament pain, sciatic pain, etc.
They also will suggest you hire a doula to help you through the birth process. I wasn’t sold on this idea at first, but we did and given how long our labor and delivery process was, I’m glad we did (note to book a doula early too as they book up quickly as well). District Doulas is a great group.
Overall, after speaking with others who delivered with the midwives, I think mine was an unusually long and arduous birth (I was in the hospital for 24 hours before delivering). The midwives were in touch with me throughout my labor at home and Laura spent countless hours with us when we arrived at the hospital before handing me off to Marsha who delivered my girl the next day. Despite encountering many unforeseen obstacles along the way, I had complete trust in the midwifes to help myself and my husband make educated decisions (along with our doula) at each step. When Laura suggested some Pitocin and other interventions I hadn’t planned on, I knew she wouldn’t have done so unless she really felt strongly that it was the right thing to do. I firmly believe that with any other group or at any other hospital I would have been induced (rather than waiting for labor to start on its own, which it did), been given antibiotics due to the amount of time we thought my water had been broken (which, as it turns out was not the case) and possibly had a C-​Section due to the total amount of time in labor and pushing — that didn’t happen either. Although it wasn’t the water birth I had hoped for, it was a normal, vaginal delivery (with no tearing or other side effects) and a healthy, large baby.

We just had our baby on Sunday. Wisdom was and is amazing. If you want a midwife in DC, they are a great choice, if you don’t want one, google the «unbreaking birth» lecture on you tube and then call them.

I credit Sierra and Marsha with helping me to have a beautiful and empowering birth. I really felt like they listened and helped me avoid what many
might have seen as a c section. Could not be happier!

I’m 7 months pregnant with my first child, and I feel so lucky to live in a city that offers Midwifery services at the hospital. I want a natural childbirth, but I also want to be surrounded by the best that science can provide in case of an emergency. WISDOM has a fantastic open house that explains in great detail their practice, as well as when they consider medical interventions necessary. I felt so much more confident after the open house that this was the right choice for me. All of the midwives have different personalities, but you have the opportunity to meet with each of them before delivery. Personally, I’ve found each midwife to be very professional, calm, and really helpful in answering my questions. No matter who is on call when I go into labor, I’m confident we’ll be in really good hands.
As other reviews have noted, this isn’t the choice for everyone. The diet and exercise guidelines are strict. Whitney Pinger is an intense personality, and after my first appointment with her, I left feeling like, «whoa – I really do not want to disappoint her.» Even though it’s hard to give up sugar and white flour when you’re craving nothing but chocolate cake and cottencandy cupcakes, it’s been a really positive experience for me. When I do occasionally cheat, I end up feeling so much worse than I when I stick with the diet.
I’ve also found taking a Bradley Method class useful, and I’d recommend it, or becoming familiar with any resources that really go into detail about what to expect from a natural childbirth in the hospital environment. There were just so many assumptions that I made when I first got pregnant that have turned out to be incorrect, and taking a class and reading more about what to expect in a hospital has been helpful.
Bottom line: I’m so thankful for WISDOM Midwifery, and I’m really looking forward to delivering my son with them soon!

This practice is not for everyone. On the positive side, Whitney delivered my baby and did an outstanding job. That’s the most important thing. On the negative side, I was not prepared for the pain of natural childbirth and would not do it that way again. Some of the staff do not have be best bedside manner. I would not get postpartum care there. I came in 3 months postpartum to ask them about a prolapse and they were very late, did not see it and gave me bad advice, plus I got charged for seeing a specialist and did not get my problem solved. I went to my old doctor today and got a simple device that solved my problem, which wasn’t mentioned as an option at Wisdom. Also at 3 months I ordered an IUD and Wisdom’s office assistant incorrectly told my insurance does not cover it. This caused a lot of stress trying to decide whether to pay the $ 650 or go without. When I found out 6 months later that it does cover it, and wrote to complain, I heard nothing back from Wisdom. When i was pregnant, I had to do a lot of my own research as they sre not super forthcoming with information unless you do your homework and ask. It is really their way or the highway and that attitude can leave you not feeling very supported or positive when you leave their office sometimes. They have many strengths and just as many weaknesses. Just because your friend loves them does not mean you will.

I’m two months out from delivering my first with WISDOM Midwifery and what an amazingly positive experience it was. I went with a midwife because I wanted a natural birth and also feel strongly that a pregnant woman is a person, not a patient.
Yes, Whitney washes over you like a tsunami in your initial visit. But I appreciated that. She’s really built her practice from the ground up and getting midwifery care into hospitals is her life’s work — so sure she’s going to want to make sure that the women she works with carry that same vision. She grilled me on my lifestyle, exercise, what I want out of the pregnancy, how educated I was on pregnancy, natural birth, etc. I was definitely squirming and hoping I was going to make the cut. My husband actually found it pretty funny since I’m normally pretty confident and stubborn but Whitney owned me. At the end of the appt though, she gave me a high five as I left. You think your OB/​GYN is going to high five you? Unlikely. (Also unlikely would be calling them by their first name). And flash forward to me just hours after delivery when Whitney swooped into my room, praised me for be awesome and powerful through my delivery and showered me in hugs and kisses. Laura delivered my little boy and she was fantastic. Nora also popped in to check on me and tell me how amazing I was in my recovery room.
Being with WISDOM through my prenatal and post-​partum care has left me incredibly educated and empowered when it comes to childbirth. The midwives are 100% invested in making sure you have a healthy active pregnancy that ramps you up for a powerful delivery and fast recovery. I was also really pleased with how much they got my husband involved. I had been with a different midwife practice in my first trimester and they would barely acknowledge him and belittled his questions.
I’d deliver #2 (whenever that happens) with them without hesitation. They also just hired two new midwives so they’re able to accept more mommies-​to-​be these days.

After my poor experience with the doctors in this practice, I thought I would try the Midwifery service. Let me save you some time: they’re «famous» in the DC area (if you believe their hype), and gosh aren’t they just the bees knees?! They’ve had write ups in local papers (but nothing from anyone who has actually visited them, and last night, I found out why).
First, their website doesn’t work. None of the links function, but let’s not get caught up on that. Last night, I went to my appointment with Whitney. She informed me that they have a natural birth rate of 97%, with a c-​section rate of 3%. Sounds good, doesn’t it? She then went through my medical history with me, and determined that I should reconsider natural childbirth. Why? I’ve had my appendix out, and two nights ago, I slept on my neck wrong and it was hurting. Yeah. She said, and I quote here, «What happens if your neck hurts while you’re trying to give birth?»
Does she think the baby is coming out of my neck?
«Well, I know what it takes to have a natural childbirth, and even to raise a child! And I just think you need to reconsider your options.» Uhhh…
Here are my suspicions: they have such a great natural childbirth rate, because they only take a very select TYPE of woman. I’ll be honest: I have never run a marathon. I don’t have abs of titanium. I suspect they’re ONLY looking for athletic women in perfect condition who have never had surgery of any type. If that’s you, and you don’t mind extremely judgemental and rude staff, then this is your place. If you’d like a natural, calming, caring environment with people who respect you, I STRONGLY suggest you look elsewhere.
And just in case you’re wondering, I WAS accepted into their client list, but I’ve decided someone else can have my spot… this is not what I want for my baby.