Sally H.

We chose Ellie to be our birth attendant because when we met her, we immediately and whole heartedly trusted her. I think it is because of that deep and sincere trust that I was able to relax completely into my labor and to deliver my children at home. I completely trust Ellie’s medical training and her competence to handle stressful, urgent, and uncommon aspects of birth. My first son was a pretty “textbook” labor and delivery at home with Ellie and I attribute a lot of that to the information that I learned in our hour-long prenatal visits. We got to know each other well, my husband and I knew what to expect, and we were comfortable having her in our home.

Our second son did not have such a “textbook” labor or delivery. He had shoulder dystocia, and with Ellie’s care, he was safely delivered without any harm to him or to me. Unrelated to the shoulder dystocia, I hemorrhaged very heavily after he was born. Ellie handled the situation with a calm and quiet seriousness, wasting not a moment to take the necessary actions to stop my bleeding. The situation was frightening for all of us and Ellie’s grace, poise, gentleness, and tenderness helped us tremendously. When I look back on the experiences of my home births with Ellie, I cherish every moment. Her presence, kind words, and confident reassurance made for the most perfect birth that I can imagine.
Jenelle Isaacson

I chose Ellie Legare to be my midwife for the home birth of both my daughters. Prior to working with Ellie I had been receiving prenatal care at Kaiser and met a wonderful nurse their who had given birth at home. The nurse was very supportive and encouraged me and my husband to explore the option of home birth if it was something we were interested in. It was important to me in the beginning stages of my decision that I found a midwife that would be just as supportive of my involvement with my care at the hospital. I wanted to feel as if both sides were working together rather than at odds.

Ellie honored my choice and supported me fully through the entire process. Quickly I found there was little reason to continue my care at Kaiser, the prenatal care I received from Ellie far surpassed any of my experiences in the Hospital. The time, attention, education and care exceeded my expectations. With my second daughter I saw Ellie exclusively for the entire process.

During the birth itself Ellie was an amazing teacher and guide to have at my side. Her strength and experience put me at ease and gave me the confidence to focus my attention on the birthing process and my own journey. She artfully knew when to give me space and when to step in and give me guidance. During my first birth I had complications after delivering my daughter, I lost a large quantity of blood after hemorrhaging. Ellie remained very calm and acted quickly to stop the bleeding. At the time I had little awareness of the seriousness of my condition. Ellie's calm and efficient manner did not steal from my beautiful moment with my new baby. I did not feel fear and was able to stay within the moment. I was also well cared for and the issue was dealt with quickly. I am extremely grateful for this now because I feel this was a situation had it been without Ellie could have been a defining moment in my birth experience. However it feels much more like a small side note in an amazing journey.

Ellie and her apprentices also provided wonderful after care for both of my girls. She helped me through difficulties nursing, she helped navigate my husband and I through the overwhelming feelings of "now what?" we had at the beginning giving us gentle encouragement through both humor and patience. One of the things I miss most about being pregnant is seeing Ellie each month. The woman is simply hilarious! She is also genuine and open and always ready with a kind word. In both mind, body and spirit I was well cared for by Ellie Legare.
Kate

One of the hard things about choosing a mid-wife is knowing if you’ll be comfortable with this person in the most intimate moment of your life. Will you be able to trust them with your life? With Ellie, it’s a definite, YES!

The fist time I met Ellie I went with a friend who was interviewing her as a potential mid-wife. From the moment I walked in, Ellie exuded confidence, patience, expertise, familiarity, and balance. I had never thought of the idea of a home birth and I wasn’t even pregnant, but I knew that it was worth exploring.
When that friend had her baby, I sat on her bed with Ellie examining the baby. The room was comfortable, relaxed and calm. It was exactly what I wanted.

The next month I got pregnant. Three months later I miscarried our first baby. Ellie was not only a medical help, but an emotional help. She was available, loving, and hopeful that we would be able to conceive and carry a baby again.

Eight months later I was pregnant again. This time our baby came that following September and it was an amazing experience that Ellie helped to facilitate. She understood my husband, my mother and the delicate balance between letting me take the lead and giving wise advice. She honored all of my requests and guided me to have a fantastic birth.

We have since had another daughter and son and both were attended by Ellie. Our last and final birth was difficult but Ellie knew me, knew what I needed and again, understand my family and how they needed to respond as well.

Ellie is not only a professional mid-wife that helps guide mothers to achieve their desired birth, but she’s part of the memories that are made on that important day.