Community of Hope Family Health and Birth Center

FHBC is a wonderful practice with great midwives! They are absolutely amazing working through a myriad of women’s health issues from annual exams, to pregnancy to protection to of course pre-​natal care. We recently moved so I will no longer be part of this practice and was challenged on finding another midwife practice that was as welcoming and knowledgeable as these midwives. While I did not get to take advantage of it, I love the setup with the group care as you enter your third trimester and wish more practices had this.
The only reason I did not give them 5 stars is as of the date of this review you cannot deliver at the birth center and have to deliver at hospital (and the midwives do not deliver there, your care is transferred to the midwives at Washington Hospital Center. I know they are hoping to start this again soon!

There are not enough positive things to say about FHBC. I relocated to the DC area earlier this year, mid pregnancy, and I through some online searching decided on FHBC. I now know this was the best decision I could have made for myself and the delivery of my son.
Every single staff member that I worked with throughout my prenatal/​postnatal care at FHBC have been the nicest caregivers I have ever had the pleasure of interacting with. I cannot say enough positive things about everyone from the receptionists to the midwives. My husband was a little reluctant about me using FHBC for my prenatal care because, well quite frankly there are no fancy thrills. But what FHBC lacks in opulence (cough GW cough) they more then make up for in the quality of their staff and the support they provide to patients. They listen to your concerns, do not shove any particular ideas down your throat, nor tell you that you are wrong for wanting something specific. They truly care about their patients, take the time to get to know you and have a truly personable visit each time.
I was not able to have a delivery at the birth center due to some preexisting health issues but I can say the midwives that worked with me through my delivery at WHC were simply amazing. We had prolonged labor and I know that if it were not for the midwives I would not have been able to deliver without a c-​section. The birth of our son could not have been a more special experience. I treasure that experience and will continue to rave about the care and support I received via FHBC.
If we ever decide to have a another child in the future, we will be back.

FHBC is such a fantastic establishment. I know what you’re thinking: «How on earth can an OBGYN be fantastic? I dread my annual appointment!» Trust me when I say that the midwives and doctors at FHBC will make the experience much less uncomfortable than it might normally be.
They’re a very hippy-​dippy establishment, so if that’s not your thing, you may want to go elsewhere. They won’t shove their ideas down your throat, but they do advocate childbirth in a birth center instead of hospital (duh…they are a birth center), breast feeding, and just about all other au-​natural techniques there are. They really emphasize that their doors are open to anyone from any walk of life. They’re warm and welcoming, and don’t pass judgments.
If you’re not pregnant (I’m not) you can still use their services for your annual exam and, just recently, for primary care for the whole family (including men!). As far as annual exams go, they make sure the actual exam portion of the visit is very short. You won’t be on that exam table for ages (thank god!). Instead of the drawn-​out process I’ve experienced at other OBGYNs, they take a good 15 minutes before the exam to get to know you as a person (whoa! shocker!) and then about 2 minutes for the exam. Then they send you on your way!
I highly recommend FHBC because every single staff member you interact with is friendly, and they really go out of their way to make you feel comfortable. you can’t ask for a better experience.

I thought it was worth coming back to mention that after a REALLY rough IUD insertion appointment which culminated in me hugging the (really clean) toilet in the FHBC’s bathroom and losing every ounce of my dinner (see: Shawafel review, it’s really quite delicious on the way down), my nurse midwife sat with me for AN HOUR until I could peel myself off the examination table and head home. She exemplified patient care that night (I took a 7pm after-​work appointment) and was just really fantastic all around. What’s more, she called me a week later to check in on me and see how I was feeling. Young women in need of GYN care in DC — this place, in terms of customer service (as it were), is really as good as it gets.
On a side note: in addition to waiting with me for an hour, the nurse midwife also was nice enough to call cab companies for me. Not ONE of FIVE companies picked up the phone. Not one. We were hold with one for over 20 minutes. F*ck me, DC needs better regulation on cab companies.

I transferred from my home birth to Washington Hospital Center recently when my labor stopped progressing for 6 hours at 8 cm. I was met there by Family Health and Birth Center’s Erika Sawyer, who took over the birth. I have to say that Erika was fantastic! I did not want to be in a hospital, but ended up there and don’t regret it because of the level of care I received by Erika. Once there, she was able to figure out my baby was OP, and was able to get her turned. She also was great when it came to pushing. I pushed for two hours, and when my baby was born, she came out with her elbow wrapped by her head, and I had zero complications from it. Erika’s practicality, patience, and sense of humor made an unwanted hospital experience something that I have no regrets about. I hope to have a home birth yet, but I was so impressed with my birth experience, that I may use the Family Health and Birth Center for my next child.