Millie Clinic

I've seen them for 2 pregnancies. I think overall they're great. I've mostly seen Talia who I adore. She was especially great during a very difficult circumstance in my first pregnancy.

I think you get a *lot* relative to what you pay -- it's more or less what's offered by very expensive midwifery clinics. I don't know how long they'll be able to offer all that they do for free (e.g. postpartum home visit, doula appointments during your pregnancy) but for now it's great. The office is really nice and the staff is super friendly. They've also hired a bunch more people and are now able to admit at Alta Bates as of this month (so that if you deliver there you will almost certainly see a Millie midwife).

I think they're getting busier so it got harder to schedule with Talia, which was the downside of their becoming more popular. 

I started going to Millie at 8 weeks and it’s been a great experience so far. Due end of Feb and have loved all the midwives I’ve met. You also meet once a month with a doula and they care about both the mom and baby! 

Couldn't recommend them enough - we were choosing between UCSF and Millie and are so grateful we went with Millie as our care provider. The level of service, attention, and care is truly what all care providers should aim for. They never rush us out of appointments, are communicative, helpful whenever we have had questions, and the additional classes you can take are informative. They also provide something called a Millie Guide, who you meet with 3x throughout your pregnancy to answer questions and walk you through current trimesters. I'm 35 weeks, so haven't yet delivered, but it's comforting knowing our midwife will be with us when we do deliver at Alta Bates. Hope that helps! 

I have only done a couple consultations with them when I was looking for a provider to support my 2nd pregnancy. The midwife I met with seemed pretty warm and friendly, but I got the impression they are still figuring some things out. But that is solely my opinion. Additionally, their midwives just got privileges to deliver at Alta Bates for labor and delivery as of 11/1. Before this, they only did the prenatal and postnatal care... but did not make that clear from their marketing and initial free consultations :-/. Hope that intel helps! 

I had an uncomplicated pregnancy and transferred to Millie in my second trimester, and thought it was fabulous. I wanted the wholistic care of a midwife; I liked that you can easily rotate through different midwives at the practice (to get a second opinion, or if the personality match isn’t right), or stay with the same person. Everyone I saw there took the time to really listen, and gave actionable advice. I liked the virtual visits for appointments that didn’t have a physical aspect, because getting out of the house became challenging for me. Something unique they have is the Millie Guide, who is a birth worker (with doula and lactation experience) you meet (video call) with several times to make a birth plan, and who you can text/email any questions along the way. I loved my Millie Guide, she made the whole experience for me. She provided emotional support, evidence based info and experiential wisdom, and valuable educational material that worked perfectly with my learning style (pre-recorded birth class, and newborn care class). Millie also organises in-person classes if you prefer, but I didn’t take them (again, I had trouble leaving the house). With Millie, you deliver at Alta Bates, which I thought was a good hospital with modern practices (I recommend taking an in-person tour beforehand with your partner to rehearse getting to the delivery floor). Lastly, the postpartum follow-through with Millie was exceptional. Birth isn’t the end; the first 2 months postpartum were very rough, and Millie sends a nurse with lactation expertise to your house to check on you after a week, and then a couple weeks later follows up with a virtual checkup (which I appreciated since I was in no condition to leave the house). That checkup detected some complications I wouldn’t have received care for otherwise. The midwives there also really advocate for your postpartum recovery, and helped me get in with pelvic floor physical therapy. I felt cared for as a person, and my autonomy was respected. This was my first pregnancy/birth so I can’t compare it to a different clinic, but I don’t know what more I’d ask for. 

Not direct experience with Millie, but in 2022 we hired their in house LC Ellen Schwerin shortly before she joined them. We didn’t have the greatest experience with her and would not recommend her to new parents, especially queer parents, though she wears an LGBTQ+ ribbon. While her advice was grounded in obvious experience, her bedside manner left us in tears more than once. On day 4 postpartum, she told my wife that she was “biologically irrelevant” in terms of lactation and that her sole job was to keep nosy visitors at bay. Technically correct, yes, but an insensitive thing to say to two sleep deprived, emotionally wobbly new mothers already anxious about bonding with their baby. We gave feedback and she did attempt to be more inclusive at the next visit, which was appreciated.