Legacy Midwifery

The short version: You won’t receive bad care here, but don’t expect to receive warm, highly personalized care. If your insurance allows for you to have a choice, I recommend that you check out the midwifery team at OHSU.
I rarely saw the same midwife more than once or twice throughout my pregnancy. This could have been ameliorated had I intentionally tried to schedule with the same practitioner– in hindsight I wish I would have tried because a couple ladies were a really great fit for my needs.
At my first appointment I opened up about my fears about not knowing the practice well, and being worried that I would not get the level of intimate care I had received with my first pregnancy. The midwife said maybe this wasn’t the practice for me and left it at that. She was probably right, but I was restricted to their practice if I wanted to see a midwife due to my insurance limitations. From my perspective, her response lacked a lot of the compassion I was seeking.
At a following appointment, I asked a midwife how many of them were on call at one time. She said 1, with potentially several patients. When I asked what that was like for her in terms of how care was managed for so many by so few, she said, «It can be difficult.» I thought her response was honest and reasonable, but also worrisome. It didn’t encourage confidence.
We were always kept waiting for the midwife, at least 15 minutes, once or twice as long as 45 minutes (not the nurses– they were prompt to get us in the room). Once, we were 10 minutes late and the midwife said «I’m glad I don’t have anything after this or I would have had to cancel your appointment.» Generally, I understand this policy, I feel very uncomfortable when I keep people waiting, but in the context of their inability to be timely it felt like a slap in the face.
The care was adequate, but I never felt great after an appointment. Throughout my pregnancy I was consistently asked the same questions about my medical history, and what I wanted for my birth, by different people (sometimes the same person) which made me feel unimportant to them, and I felt that they weren’t sharing information with each other.
In the end, I went in to labor, called the midwife on call at Emanuel and was diverted because labor and delivery was full. It would seem like that was pretty poor luck, but actually it was great. I was cared for by the midwifery team at OHSU and they were incredible. OHSU is incredible. All of the providers I encountered during my stay were impressively knowledgeable and forthcoming with pertinent information because, I think, it’s a teaching hospital, therefore they are educators at the forefront of research. It was so cool. Everyone who came in to talk to me knew my story already, which was impressive because they had only known me for a day. This level of personalized care made me feel safe, cared for, and ultimately, more informed.
Then I had to go back to Emanuel midwifery for my 2 postpartum check ups, which again were just ok, very cursory, and also weird because they weren’t a part of the delivery. My whole experience with them was just weird… sometimes ok, and often times leaving much to be desired.

I came here for birth control and was not disappointed! Very nice group of women. Very respectful and understanding.

I love the midwives here. I had a successful VBAC and couldn’t have done it without their help and support. I have had experience with other hospital’s midwives and I believe that this group is better than the others. I recommend them to my patients and friends whole-​heartedly.

I had a wonderful experience giving birth to my son with assistance from both the wonderful OBs and midwives at Legacy Emanuel. Kathleen Hill was the midwife who led my pregnancy group (they have a group appointment program called Centering Pregnancy which you can opt into if you like) and she was an amazing care provider and information resource. All the midwives and nurses I interacted with there were warm, compassionate, and very knowledgeable.
I ultimately ended up with a c-​section (large baby in breech position — no one did anything wrong or unsupportive at all during my labor and I ultimately made the call), and the midwife on call stayed with me for the procedure. I also got a visit from «my» midwife while I was still in the hospital. I felt very cared-​for and supported. I’m looking forward to my next pregnancy with Legacy Emanuel Midwifery.

So far so good– I’m 36 weeks along and just switched to these ladies a few weeks ago because I didn’t feel quite right at the previous clinic and wanted a water birth– they brought the water birthing tubs to legacy and they have all been super supportive. The clinic I switched from just rubbed me the wrong way– each visit seemed to look for what is wrong and kinda always left me feeling a little defensive. I felt like I was being treated like just a uterus and not a whole person :(I wanted a group of people who prepare for a normal and positive birth experience– at the same time are vigilant of any inconsistencies or complications. Today’s visit was reassuring and positive. I’ll add to the review as I go along but I’m very glad I switched to this group! They’ve given me and my man a print out of recommendations and readings from our discussions at the appointments and I feel very comfortable there. Looking forward to the day with excitement and anticipation as opposed to trepidation and fear is a great feeling– everyone should get to have it!

I could not disagree more with the below Reviewer. I started my pregnancy at Andaluz and had to be transferred after over 2 days in labor to Emmanuel. The midwives at Emmanuel were amazing, a huge contrast in terms of competence and professionalism to Andaluz. We delivered a healthy baby girl and they let me dictate how long I was willing to push, what birth positions I was willing to try, whether I was getting too tired. I ended up pushing for 5 hours and avoided interventions.
I am pregnant with my 2^nd now, and would not think of going anywhere but Emmanuel Midwifery. They are AMAZING!
I am at my 32^nd week and have not waited for more than 10 minutes on any visit. I was often kept waiting at Andaluz!