FAQs

Everett Birth Center

Who are you?

We are Amy, Anna, and Siri of Snohomish Midwives! We have been members of this community and catching babies for many years, mostly in homes and freestanding birth centers all over Snohomish County. You can read more about us individually here!

What are your goals?

We hope to revive this birth center space into an accessible, inclusive place for people to receive prenatal and postpartum care, give birth, and gather as a community.

When do you open?

That remains to be seen! We’re renovating the space to include a full clinic room as well as giving it a general facelift. At the same time, we are going through an extensive licensing through WA State Department of Health and credentialing process through both Commission for the Accreditation for Birth Centers. These timelines aren’t within our control. However, we are still catching babies with privileges at Puget Sound Birth Center and Sprout, so if you want to come into our care before the birth center opens, we can still be your midwives!

How can I help?!

We’re so glad you asked! We’re looking for all kinds of volunteers. Fill out this form to get involved!

What is a midwife, anyway?

We are Certified Professional Midwives (CPMs), which means that we provide prenatal, perinatal, postpartum, and newborn care for healthy, low-risk people. We are licensed to catch babies at homes and free-standing birth centers, and work collaboratively with hospital providers if the need arises.

We are guided by the Midwives Model of Care©. The core principles of this model are:

  • Monitoring physical, psychological, and social well-being throughout the childbearing cycle

  • Providing individualized education, counseling, and prenatal care, continuous hands-on assistance during labor and delivery, and postpartum support

  • Minimizing technological interventions

  • Identifying and referring when obstetrical attention is indicated

Is midwifery care safe?

For low-risk people, the short answer is YES!… Particularly in a state like Washington, where midwives are well-integrated into the medical system.

To quote an article from Motherly (2025):

According to research from the CDC and the Commonwealth Fund, when midwives are fully integrated into health systems—able to prescribe medication, admit patients to hospitals, and work without burdensome oversight—maternal and infant outcomes improve dramatically. We’re talking 41% fewer maternal deaths, 39% fewer newborn deaths, and 26% fewer stillbirths.

Midwifery is associated with increased rates of spontaneous vaginal birth, improved satisfaction with quality of care, and an increase in positive breastfeeding experiences.

Midwifery care is  also associated with reduced rates of labor induction and augmentation, as well as lower rates of cesarean section and forceps delivery, reduced use of regional anesthesia, fewer preterm births, decreased perineal tears, decreased infant mortality rates, and lower costs for both clients and insurers.

Not only is midwifery safe for low risk families, but families are more likely to reflect positively on their pregnancy and birth experience. Midwives believe in a sharing of power and decision making. This leads to increased reports of their clients feeling in control, competent, and empowered. 

In other words... the majority of pregnant people fall in the category of "normal" and "low-risk" pregnancy.  And for those people, choosing midwifery care gives them the greatest chance of having a normal, uncomplicated birth and reduces the risk that they will have a cesarean delivery, even if they have to transfer their care to the hospital during labor.​  

Do you take insurance?

YES! Our midwifery services are covered by all major insurers besides TriCare and KaiserCORE. Medicaid is accepted and welcomed.

Everett Birth Center will also be contracted with insurance once we are licensed and operable!