Donna is truly one of a kind and I am so thankful to have had her attend both of my births. Donna possesses a unique set of skills that greatly lower a woman's chances of having a c-section. In particular, her patience during labor, her skill in fetal repositioning techniques, and her knowledge of proper body mechanics. Some people do not use midwives due to safety concerns. However, Donna is experienced, well-read, conscientious, and thorough. She delivers at the hospital and has a backup obstetrician available at all times for questions or complications during delivery. I myself am a physician, and it was important that my care provider be technical and evidence-based, and this is exactly Donna's approach. This, coupled with her respect for the physiology of birth and the body's natural abilities provide her clients with the best of both worlds. Using Donna is like having your best friend manage your pregnancy. You can't put a price on being able to have all your questions and concerns answered. I never felt rushed during an appointment (she does home visits), and it was always easy and convenient to be able to reach her directly on her cell phone. Pregnancy can be an extremely stressful time and whenever difficulties arose, there was nothing like having Donna as my care provider. I was able to discuss all my concerns and preferences with her at length, and she was an invalubale resource when making decisions. She is also the only one of my past care providers that suggested a preconception genetic testing panel which yielded very practical information. Her dietary and safety counseling for pregnancy was very detailed, and she recommended "Spinning Babies" exercises which made my birth significantly faster and easier. To top it off she is also very knowledgeable about breastfeeding and provided much assistance in this area as well. I wish more people knew about this amazing midwife so they could receive the outstanding care that I did. -Rachel Williams, M.D.

Submitted Feb. 11, 2019

I didn’t set out to find a midwife, or ever intend to use one; I met Donna accidentally and am thankful every day that I did. I believe her highly focused and individualized level of care were huge contributions to my successful pregnancy, after suffering 2 miscarriages earlier in the year. She went more in depth than any doctor I had met with, in terms of support and education, which made me feel comfortable and confident that we were doing everything possible to make this pregnancy a success. And thankfully it was! I liked having home appointments, they were easy to fit in around my very busy work schedule, and also made it possible for my husband to be a part of the process. I recommend her highly for anyone who is dissatisfied with their experiences at a traditional OBGYN practice, and looking for a more personalized care. I’m quite left-brained, and was initially worried that I would not jive with a very holistic practitioner. Ultimately, I found that Donna kept me balanced and more emotionally connected to the process, yet I knew we would be giving birth in a hospital setting which was important to me. By the time we met our son, Donna truly felt like part of the family!

Submitted Oct. 22, 2018

I didn't know anything about being pregnant. I was extremely nervous. What would this new experience be like? When choosing my care provider, I wanted thorough and personal care. I wanted to know the latest scientific research about all aspects of my pregnancy. But I also wanted a midwife, as I valued their wisdom and philosophy towards pregnancy and birth. Donna was the perfect match. She had all the wisdom and ancient knowledge of a very experienced midwife as well as being up to date on cutting edge science. She was extremely thorough, telling me everything I need to know about my pregnancy. I felt so secure working with Donna. She spent time and energy explaining every detail and I genuinely felt that she cared deeply about me and my unborn baby. During labor she was amazing, guiding me through the process of birth. I loved using Donna as my midwife. She did everything to make sure my birth was as comfortable as possible. Through Donna's expert and loving care I was able to have a natural vaginal birth. From beginning to end Donna was there for me. I feel so blessed to have been given the opportunity to have Donna as my midwife. Thank you Donna for such a wonderful and beautiful experience.

Submitted July 13, 2018

Donna Tabas was the midwife for my first birth, which thankfully was a beautiful, meaningful and empowering experience that I went through without any medications or epidural.
My prenatal visits with Donna were long and thorough - she went through every little detail with me and made sure that I was educated on all aspects of pregnancy and childbirth, which helped me stay calm during my labour because every course of action had been explained to me beforehand. Donna has excellent bedside manner. The prenatal visits were all done at my house, which made me very comfortable right from the beginning and helped build a trusting relationship between Donna and I. It's also a luxury to have all your prenatal checks done on your own bed or couch, and super convenient not to have to leave the house!
I called Donna when I went into labour and she checked me right at the beginning when I was only 2cm dilated. She diagnosed that my baby was posterior, which can sometimes lead to a c-section if the baby doesn't turn by itself, so she made me do exercises to help turn the baby, and 45 minutes into the exercises, it worked and I felt my baby turn inside me! Thanks to this good beginning, my labour went really fast from there and a few hours later, she checked me again and I left for the hospital. At the hospital, Donna stayed with me the entire time. She helped massage me and made sure I was comfortable in every way, taking into account all of my requests of how and where I wanted to labour. When I was pushing, she poured olive oil over the baby's head numerous times as it was coming out to avoid me tearing, which worked very nicely. She is an extremely knowledgeable certified nurse midwife of the highest caliber with a ton of experience, and I trusted her completely which made it so much easier to be relaxed during my labour. I knew that my strongest advocate was the one calling the shots.
Donna is a caring midwife who empowered me to feel that I was the one birthing my baby with her as the facilitator. She took the time to get to know me and by the time I gave birth, I felt like a dear friend was delivering my baby. She was clearly emotional after the birth and hand-knitted me a beautiful hat for the baby as a gift.
Whenever I hear of people who had challenges or complications during their births that might have been avoided, I feel very grateful that I had Donna as my midwife.
Anne P

Submitted Jan. 28, 2018

im a birth doula and had an opportunity to work with Donna over this passed holiday weekend. i stepped in as a back up to this birth with little knowledge of the family or the pregnancy. without getting into detail, the birth had some complications. Donna took the time to help me understand all the medical aspects of this birth. i am so grateful for her time. watching her with her patient was amazing! she is caring, compassionate, and incredibly knowledgeable. i hope to work her again real soon!

Submitted July 14, 2017

We had a mixed experience with Donna. No doubt, her highly personalized level of care and extensive knowledge on pregnancy was an incredible benefit for us as first-time parents. And it was a huge draw that she provided in-home care to accommodate our work schedules. However, she was often late to our appointments, sometimes approaching an hour, and the appointments felt unnecessarily long. One time we tried to raise our concerns about her lateness, and she became defensive and was rough with the vaginal examination that appointment. Her encyclopedic knowledge was a great resource when we had questions or concerns, but at times she inundated us with more information than we needed. She also shared her political and religious views freely, which in and of itself was not necessarily a problem, but when appointments started and ran late, we found it challenging to signal to her to end these conversations and focus on the matter at hand. She also performed a vaginal examination at nearly every appointment, which felt excessive and intrusive, especially given what we had read online and heard from other pregnant friends about their experiences.
When we went into labor, I was relieved that she was at the hospital before us; I'd been worried she might be late there too. She was focused, calm, and nurturing throughout the process, but I did not find the setting conducive to the type of laboring we had discussed at length with her. To be sure, she had no control over the nursing staff that attended us, but I had hoped she’d be better able to work with them to limit the frequency with which they came into the room and monitored me. My biggest disappointment was that in a moment of being overwhelmed and exhausted, I said “get this baby out of me” and she had me start pushing. But I didn’t have the urge to push yet and was not quite fully dilated. As a first timer, I followed her lead though. I’m disappointed she didn’t ask me first if I had the urge to push and then just coach me through a tough moment. She also had me get in the bed and push on my back, which ran counter to everything we had discussed about optimal positioning for helping the baby labor down. The result was that I pushed for hours, had to have various interventions, and lost the opportunity to have skin-to-skin because our newborn was distressed from all the pushing and had to be whisked away. I often wonder if we would have had a different outcome in a different setting. And I know we’ll be considering a different option next time.

Submitted June 7, 2017

Donna Tabas was the midwife for my first birth, which thankfully was a beautiful, meaningful and empowering experience that I went through without any medications or epidural.



My prenatal visits with Donna were long and thorough - she went through every little detail with me and made sure that I was educated on all aspects of pregnancy and childbirth, which helped me stay calm during my labour because every course of action had been explained to me beforehand. Donna has excellent bedside manner. The prenatal visits were all done at my house, which made me very comfortable right from the beginning and helped build a trusting relationship between Donna and I. It's also a luxury to have all your prenatal checks done on your own bed or couch, and super convenient not to have to leave the house!



I called Donna when I went into labour and she checked me right at the beginning when I was only 2cm dilated. She diagnosed that my baby was posterior, which can sometimes lead to a c-section if the baby doesn't turn by itself, so she made me do exercises to help turn the baby, and 45 minutes into the exercises, it worked and I felt my baby turn inside me! Thanks to this good beginning, my labour went really fast from there and a few hours later, she checked me again and I left for the hospital. At the hospital, Donna stayed with me the entire time. She helped massage me and made sure I was comfortable in every way, taking into account all of my requests of how and where I wanted to labour. When I was pushing, she poured olive oil over the baby's head numerous times as it was coming out to avoid me tearing, which worked very nicely. She is an extremely knowledgeable certified nurse midwife of the highest caliber with a ton of experience, and I trusted her completely which made it so much easier to be relaxed during my labour. I knew that my strongest advocate was the one calling the shots.



Donna is a caring midwife who empowered me to feel that I was the one birthing my baby with her as the facilitator. She took the time to get to know me and by the time I gave birth, I felt like a dear friend was delivering my baby. She was clearly emotional after the birth and hand-knitted me a beautiful hat for the baby as a gift.



Whenever I hear of people who had challenges or complications during their births that might have been avoided, I feel very grateful that I had Donna as my midwife.

Anne P

Submitted Dec. 22, 2016

DONNA TABAS, CNM – I was seeing obstetrician when I got pregnant, and the very good one as I thought. However, during my pregnancy visits to her, I always felt that I am not informed enough about important things: different testing that was required of me, what kind of food I should and should not eat, my increasing difficulty in doing my teaching job…. Hence, I decided to find somebody who will give me enough of his or her time and attention, and answer all of my questions. And that, and much more, is exactly what I have found in midwife Donna Tabas, who soon became way more to me than just a midwife.
Donna won my admiration at our introductory appointment with her gentle, intuitive, yet persistent nature; with her deep and vast knowledge of anything and everything connected with pregnancy and birthing; and her love and dedication to her patients. Donna is first and foremost great medical professional and she always first took care of my physical wellbeing during our monthly appointments. What I appreciate the most, however, is how much time and energy she put into getting to know me and my not only physical but emotional and mental life, my believes and interests, my way of thinking and living, as well as to educate me about everything that I needed and wanted to know about my pregnancy and birthing. She showed me that she is a type of care provider who I can trust with my life and the life of my unborn child with full confidence that she will do her best to keep us safe and help him come into this world in the best possible way. And this confidence in Donna’s intuitive and knowledgeable skills and abilities just skyrocketed at my birthing because she, together with my dream team (you can read in more detail about it in my birthing story “My Dream Team” on Donna Tabas website http://www.northjerseymidwiferycare.com/), made it possible for me to have a miraculous, amazing, unforgettable birthing and to bring my son into this world how I dreamed I would: lovingly, gently, patiently, naturally, vaginally, unmedicated. My son was positioned in such a way that under slightly different supervision, his birthing would ended up being a C-section. Donna, however, made miracle possible and turned sure C-section into unmedicated vaginal birth with her amazing knowledge and experience, determination and dedication, and above all her love and care. Therefore, Donna Tabas will always have special place in my heart. THANK YOU, DONNA!
With love and eternal gratitude,
TV

Submitted Dec. 18, 2016

Hiring Donna as my CNM was the best thing I did for both me and my baby. Her knowledge and expertise is top notch. She is extremely thorough and patient when explaining the pregnancy and birthing process. And during the birthing process it was most evident that I had hired a talented, skillfull and focused professional. My birth experience was marvelous and I am certain it had a lot to do with the fact that she was leading my team. Donna has a kind and compassionate personality that made me feel supported during my most vulnerable moments (pre-natal and birthing moments). I highly recommend Donna.

Submitted Feb. 24, 2016

I'm grateful I had Donna Tabas as my midwife. She had provided not only exceptional professional care but had also given her personal emotional support that made me feel so comfortable and secure throughout my pregnancy and childbirth experience.
Donna is a truly dedicated to her work midwife who takes her duty of delivering a baby "safely into mother's arms" as one of the most important purposes of her life.
She is a strong advocate of natural birth and that is primarily why I've chosen her. My expectations were satisfied completely. I had a safe and joyful journey through my pregnancy and birth with Donna always being there for me. No doctor would ever take such care of me as Donna did. She provided the best care possible for me and my baby. I will forever be thankful to her for that.

Submitted Nov. 7, 2014