I found the transferring process to be terrible. And rather than ending up at Evergreen (mere minutes away) I had to go across town at UW. I was assured during my pregnancy that if a transfer was needed we'd go to Evergreen. It was one of the selling points. After 4 hours of exhausting pushing, I realized that (1) the baby wasn't coming out despite their claims that I was making so much progress and (2) they were not going to suggest a transfer on their own. I demanded a transfer we were told Evergreen was full. My husband had to drive us across 520 in rush hour traffic. While the baby's heart readings were fine in the office that is an hour drive and it's scary to think of what can happen to a stuck baby in that amount of time.
I've heard that I'm not alone in having to transfer to UW from this birth center, so please think about this possibility.
I'd highly recommend looking into the hospitals around the Seattle area. Many have lovely facilities and some have midwives on staff.
more