Community Midwifery

Joan delivered both my babies (who are 10.5 months apart!). She was my rock! I am the biggest baby ever when it concerns pain and she literally talked me through it all and gave me a wise, gentle and but stern guidance I needed. We loved out monthly appointments. Felt like we were visiting a friend instead of a medical visit. I could not recommend her enough. If we were crazy enough to want more kids, she would def be our #1 choice. We love her!

What can I say? The entire experience made me want to go out and have about 10 more kids with her & Ellen as my midwives.

I saw Joan Bryson and Ellen Razgaitis for prenatal visits throughout my pregnancy, and Ellen attended the home birth of my daughter in May 2011. Joan and Ellen are terrific and I recommend them highly.
I saw Joan and Ellen at alternating visits, each an hour long, at their Park Slope office — once in the first trimester, then monthly, then weekly in month 9. They provided me a referral for the 20-​week ultrasound, and would have provided me with referrals for additional testing and ultrasounds if I’d wanted them. Joan visited my house for a home visit at the 36-​week marker, making sure everything was set up for the birth, getting familiar with the layout, and making sure emergency plans were in place if we needed them.
Joan and Ellen are both great about getting to know their clients and giving them what they want. I’m perhaps a bit less spiritual than some other homebirth moms. I wanted a few basic things during the birth: food and drink (actually I don’t think I ended up eating), freedom of movement (although I didn’t end up moving much), no internal exams (which was awesome), and qualified, experienced midwives to monitor progress and do the right thing medically as and when needed. Joan and Ellen adapted perfectly to what I wanted.
The birth itself was smooth. It was a lot of work (I was a first-​time mom), but I had great support and my husband was prepared for everything. Ellen arrived when I thought things were far along, but I actually had several more hours to go. Birth pool was less helpful than I expected, and I ended up giving birth to my daughter in bed, on my side, eyes tightly shut just as the sun was coming up. No injuries to either of us. After checking us all out and cleaning up, the midwives tucked our family into bed for a nice long nap, after which I felt great, ready to take on the challenge of taking care of my newborn.
Joan and Ellen typically call a birth assistant for the actual birth. Lana DeLowe was the birth assistant at my birth. Ellen called her when birth was imminent. (Not when I thought it was imminent a few hours before.) I’m told by my sister (my eyes were shut at the end) that Lana helped set up all the equipment and emergency supplies before the birth just in case. She also snapped a couple pictures right afterward, and she was invaluable in getting breastfeeding started. I also met the other two birth assistants that Joan and Ellen were using at the time, Jo Greep (also works in the office) and Shara Fredrick (also teaches a childbirth ed class which my husband and I found very valuable.) All three impressed me, and all three can also be hired as doulas, or you can bring your own doula. (My sister was my doula.)
Joan and Ellen work with a medical biller who navigated the complexities of getting my home birth paid for. She provided an accurate estimate of the amount my insurance would cover soon after my initial visit to Joan. The actual payment happened about five months after the birth, which surprised me, but it all worked out in the end.
Only downside of Community Midwifery is that their website is currently down. Thank goodness we have Unilocal.Get a website together, you guys!
Home birth is the greatest, and we’re very lucky to live in NYC with access to such terrific midwives! Good luck!

I met Joan Bryson in 2006 when I was newly pregnant with my daughter. She was the third midwife I had interviewed and by the second question I already knew she was the one. Her office is cozy and easily accessible by train or bus. Her appointments are scheduled in one-​hour time slots to allow plenty of time for questions. Most times, Joan and I enjoyed tea at my appointments and chatted more like friends than a midwife and client. Joan helped my husband and I deliver our baby girl in the comfort and safety of our home after sixteen very long hours of labor. Her calm and expert demeanor was exactly what we needed. After giving birth, Joan came over twice and called several times to offer nursing support.
Two years later when my husband and I decided to have another child, it was a no-​brainer that Joan would once again be our midwife. This time around my daughter (who Joan delivered) joined us on the appointments and it was a wonderful treat to have them meet once again. As with my first pregnancy, Joan exceeded all of my expectations on what it means to receive quality care from a health professional. I simply can’t say enough great things about her. She really takes the time to get to know you and your partner, something that is unheard of in the OB/​GYN world. Even after a long night of no sleep, Joan remembered our wishes and coached my husband on how to deliver our son. It was a priceless moment.

Disclaimer: Joan Bryson was not my midwife. However, she was my midwife’s backup when my midwife was out of the country for a few weeks during my pregnancy. I talked with my midwife beforehand about Joan’s credentials and demeanor so that I’d know what to expect if any complications arose. My midwife put me thoroughly at ease with descriptions of Joan’s professionalism, consideration, and competence.
While my midwife was on leave, I developed some concerns about my blood pressure, so I got in touch with Joan. Joan immediately got in touch with my midwife, discussed the matter, and then my own midwife got back in touch with me that following morning to help manage my care. When I met Joan briefly at a midwifery celebration in the park a few months after having had my son, I noticed the warmth and caring she showed to the babies she’d caught and the moms she’d helped. I’m glad that I had Joan around to step in as needed when my midwife wasn’t around herself.

I am 22, newly pregnant and have my heart set on a home birth. I found this office through an internet search and decided to set up an appointment. It was one of the last appointments I made because I have interviewed quite a few midwives and wanted to make a decision. The office itself is nice, clean, but very small. I’ll spare you all the extra fluff and details and get right to the point about how UNPROFESSIONAL this woman (Joan Bryson) is. After about 10 minutes of chatting about my pregnancy, hopes and wishes for the birth, etc I asked what I thought to be a very fair question. I asked: Well, in the event that my insurance does not cover this, what would we be responsible for (my fiancé and I)? Without even hesitating, the woman shook her head and exhaled sharply as she said «YOU CAN“T AFFORD IT» :pause: «IT IS JUST VERY VERY EXPENSIVE… I MEAN IT WOULD COST YOU $ 6,500!»
I was OUTRAGED!!! First of all, I made it very clear that I am a professional with two degrees and also mentioned the fact that my fiancé could not be there with me because he had several court CASES that he simply could not miss or let his clients down. She CLEARLY knew that we were together and both successful. She CLEARLY knew that I had done my research and that she was one of the VERY last midwives that I was going to be seeing. Therefore, she should have known that I had somewhat of an idea about what a midwife charges. My fiancé and I chose to go this route because we believe in having a natural birth and are not concerned with cost. In fact she is one of the cheapest midwives I had met (others charged 8K and went all the way up to $ 11,000)
There was absolutely NO reason why this woman should’ve went ahead and insulted me the way she did. I was not poorly dressed, nor do I speak broken English– I felt that I asked a fair question. A simple answer would have sufficed. How does SHE know what we can or cannot afford? But hang on, it gets BETTER. She went on to say later on– that she «assumed» that my fiancé and I couldn’t possibly have been together very long (possibly because I told her that we are no currently living together — but SO WHAT?!)
The way this woman spoke to me– her tone– body language– TERRIBLE and just 100% UN-​professional. I would NEVER recommend this midwifery to anyone. I felt so insulted that I immediately called my fiancé and told him, thinking for a SECOND that maybe I had overreacted. Yes, I am young and and not married to my partner yet– but was this a good enough reason to receive this type of treatment? I THINK NOT!
I would give this place ZERO stars if I could. If you are looking for a midwife that you can take seriously, and that takes YOU seriously… email me. I will give you a few pointers but steer clear of this place!

Community Midwifery is the private practice of Joan Bryson, CNM. She works out of her home office in a lovely Windsor Terrace brownstone. The waiting area is cozy and comfortable and plastered with photos of the many babies she’s delivered over the years. She offers homebirth midwifery services and well woman care.
With decades of experience, Joan’s competence and knowledge are astounding. She is kind and compassionate but also very no-​nonsense, which is something I greatly appreciate in a health care provider. She’s wonderful about answering questions and returning phone calls in a timely manner, and her appointment scheduling is usually open and very convenient. Her birth assistant, Tessa Lawrence, also offers doula services for an additional fee. I hired her to act as birth doula for my recent homebirth and cannot say enough wonderful things about her.
Community Midwifery is a gem and New Yorkers are extremely fortunate to have it. Joan and Tessa work together to give women the most personalized, intimate care possible. I can’t imagine ever going to anyone else.
Highly, highly recommended.