I always tell everyone. In my 3rd pregnancy I switched from my OB who made me wait 2hrs, spent 5 min or less with me, when I asked a question, the OB had her hand on the door and basically dismissed me. If this other OB treats physician colleagues that way I wonder how she treats people who are not medically trained. Anyway I was pretty far along and a friend recommended Barbara Charles. In my first appt with her, she spent more time with me than all my OB visits combined from 2.5 other pregnancies . She talked to me about nutrition so my baby would come out as healthy as possible and so that I could maintain my own health. To say she was an advocate is an understatement. She was always helping me look up resources and giving me great advice for the health and wellbeing of our family. I have met a few other moms in town who had her as a midwife and we all talk nostalgically. She's amazing. I still call her a few times a yr even though my last child was born almost 12 yrs ago. Having witnessed many births since I considered being an ObGyn myself, and having known many ObGyns who deliver at home with midwives, I can say I am blessed to have had her as my midwife, friend and teacher. She should get pd at least double for the extra miles that she goes for her patients. She is a health professional that truly cares about doing the best work and taking care of people.

Submitted Sept. 30, 2023

Barbara was my midwife & nurse throughout my pregnancy. I was a high risk mother as I was 46 when I ended up having a vaginal, because my water broke before getting in the water to have a water birth. Since I am petite, diet was so important to have a natural delivery. My vaginal delivery was the most beautiful experience I ever had with Kia, named after Ki which means vital energy. My water broke in her clinic which meant we had to skip water birth and go directly to hospital for VB. This was 2002, so my husband and my mom who was also a retired nurse were allowed in the delivery room. I had no epidural, no episiotomy and no drugs. My remedies were all natural, including homeopathic remedies.

Barbara & I met at the ki energy wellness center where I was a ki energy healer and holistic practitioner in new york city, where she would come for ki meditation and ki energy treatments.
I understand how some birthing mothers who believe in vax & medications & drugs may not align with our natural & holistic way of life & experience.

I am a still a holistic health practitioner in Harlem New York. www.kienergycenter.com
Or info@kienergycenter.com
Laura Abadsantos-Rogers

Submitted June 3, 2023

I had a miraculous birth experience with Barbara. I thought that my first birth (without her) went well but after my son was born boy I had realized that that was the natural birth I really wanted. My video is so peaceful and beautiful that I share it with all my friends and family. I am so inspired by her knowledge and experience in the field that is has lead me to want to help others with their birth, and make it an as wonderful as mine was. I am so lucky to have Barbara help me with my healthcare needs as my experience with Barbara continues for ob-gyn.

Submitted March 15, 2021

Amazingly self centered. Hates men. Will absolutely lie to hospital staff. Doesn’t care at all what you want. Overall terrible

Submitted March 11, 2021

Barbara goes to bat with you, and is with you step by step going over your nutrition, how emotional needs. and physical needs. She is amazing. She was with me for 66 hours with my 1st, and 33 hours with my 2nd. She will tirelessly help you get the babies out safety and make sure she's in your corner. And help dad get rights too. I love her so much.

And to the person who gave her a 1.5 star rating - when it's your time, she gives you the same. All moms are important, and their may be an issue they need to address.

Submitted Dec. 3, 2020

Barbara was my Midwife for my second pregnancy & V-Bac delivery. She was not only my medical provider and care giver but also my advocate at the Hospital when the Attending OB GYN refused to allow me to try to have a VBAC. She is a humane and kind practitioner putting the patient well being above anything else.

Submitted Nov. 4, 2020

Let me not mince words here: Barbara Charles should not be a practicing midwife. From the very beginning there were signs: her talking waaaaaay more than necessary on the phone and in the office, the crazy long wait times in her office (I'm taking 1 1/2-2 hours for her to talk to you for maybe 30 minutes), the fact that her office is pretty much a broom closet with an examination table with one single lamp to light the room as well as examine you with, she stresses you out with the craziest diet imaginable (her thought process is that carbs make fat babies, so the less carbs you intake the smaller your baby will be. Mind you I ate carbs to my heart's content and my baby was perfectly normal) and finally I've caught her sleeping in her office once or twice at my scheduled appt time. Then it progressed: around 30 weeks into my pregnancy she asked me if I had a pediatrician set up yet, I said I didn't but I was looking in my neighborhood about an hour away from her office. She then goes on to ask if I plan on vaccinating, I gave her a firm yes but then she started talking about aluminum in vaccines and that I should consider a pediatrician on Long Island who is anti-vax that she knows of. Then coronavirus happened. Around 34 weeks (mid Feb) I started to see she was panicking a little bit, she literally tried to tell me to chew on raw garlic. I was about to start weekly visits as I was entering my last month before my due date so I scheduled them all in advance until then. At this point I should say that as a one woman show she doesn't keep track of appts well and I developed a habit of calling or texting before every appt to confirm JUST TO BE SURE. Ask yourself why a patient is taking that initiative. And every week for a month she would cancel my appts with one excuse or another. Then finally at 38 1/2 weeks, about mid March at the height of corona, I called to ask her if my husband would be allowed in the delivery room and her response, I'm not kidding, was "what is it with you people and needing the entire world with you when you have a baby, just leave everybody at home. Anyway I can't be your midwife anymore, I already gave your information to another Dr associated with the hospital. I'll send you his information soon." And that was the last I heard of her. And if you're wondering, no she never sent me that other Drs information I had to go searching for that on my own. Last I heard of her she fled to Wisconsin or something. Overall, stay very far away. The biggest blessing of the entire pregnancy was when I transfered care to that OB and very far away from Barbara Charles.

Submitted June 28, 2020

Worst birth experience ever. She doubted my progression and how I told her I was feeling and needed to push and left the room! THE NURSE (Caren) HAD TO DELIVER MY CHILD. She said she had to her other patients. Everything has been videotaped for evidence in the event we needed to sue her. EVERYTHING you agree on during your appointments she will not do the time of. Its just to keep you coming. She turns onto Dr.Jekel and Mr. Hyde when in labor. You can schedule an appointment with her and then still wait 2 hrs to be seen.

1. She is a bully. Will yell and scream and try to muscle you to do things her way to accommodate her schedule if she has other patients in hospital.

2. She's condescending and rude, insensitive and makes racially biased remarks. She also bad mouths other patients to you and she never wants you to question her practices or do your own research.She told me to not look up to research what she told me.

3. She is incompetent and disoriented. Confused my chart with another while in labor. Telling my that I was in fact Strep b+ and needed a penecilin drip when during my appointment for the results she had said otherwise. Her thoughts are scattered and she struggles to stay on topic.

4. She disappeared for hours during my labor . My family members found her sleeping at the front desk repeatedly. She said that I sas demanding because I wanted her there with me.

5. Tried to muscle me into a pitocin drip because my labor was moving but not as fast as she wanted and she was tired and had other patients. She said my labor was dysfunctional because of it. My labor was fune and my deliver turned out perfectly. I am glad I ignored her insisting on it.

6. She lied about what she saw on the charts in order to avoid setting up the hydro birthing suit because she was tired. When I asked why I couldn't labor in the water as promised she said it was because I hadn't progressed enough. The nurse Nancy had to say "BARBARA SHE IS READY TO GO!'

7. The staff in the hospital hate her. The nurses confided in me after my experience due to her competence. I also kept in contact with some of the other women who were pregnant around the same time as me I had met in her office. THEY SADLY HAD THE SAME EXPERIENCES while giving birth.

8. After birthing she left me in the tub and disappeared. I tore and so was bleeding out. She didnt know how to repair the tear and was digging in me as I yelled and screamed and asked her to stop due to the pain. She completely ignored me.

The list can go on and on honestly about my experience with her because I labored for many hours.
ALL in ALL, I DO NOT RECOMMEND HER. Save yourself if you want a special and cherished experience.

Submitted June 18, 2020

Let me just say Barbara has been an angel in my life .When i found out i was pregnant i knew I wanted to use a midwife and i found her through google , since i was new to the area . I developed real love for her , she was genuinely helpful to me and provided resources and knowledge i needed to have a stressfree pregnancy. She was responsive and knowledgeable about everything and she took her time with me as a first time mom. We clicked from the first day , she delivered my healthy baby boy Xi and i couldnt have thanked her enough for being supportive throughout my very emotional pregnancy roller coaster . 10/10 recommended

Submitted April 30, 2020

Barbara is extremely knowledgeable and experienced. She has a sixth sense for how things are developing and what will happen and she is prepared for everything. I truly believe that if I’d had anyone other than Barbara delivering my baby, my childbirth experience would have culminated in a C-section. The first obstacle I encountered to delivering naturally was my baby’s position, as he was breeched and remained that way for most of the third trimester, until Barbara encouraged us to have him manually turned.

Barbara also knew exactly what to do during my long and complicated labor. She was focused, calm, and she believed in me and my baby, which helped me believe in my self when I needed it most. Importantly, the staff at the hospital (who were also amazing) respect her very much. They followed her lead through the difficult delivery to a successful and healthy birth.

Barbara has a plan and a set of beliefs on how to maximize the chances of a successful vaginal birth and she delivered on that in a big way for us. She has a few quirks that can get frustrating (e.g. she’s very focused on diet and weight and sometimes offers long stories which seem unrelated) but in the end the time she spends and information she provides are far more valuable than what you would get with another practitioner. She is deeply committed to her practice and patients, and that was apparent to me through my pregnancy and labor. We had some disagreements along the way but in the end she always respected our beliefs and was the most supportive and loving midwife you can have. Barbara is an amazing and unique person. We couldn’t be more grateful to have had her for our pregnancy and birth, and truly feel like she is a part of our family forever.

Submitted Jan. 23, 2020