Midwife Options in Chicagoland: A Doula’s Guide to Birth Care

Jan 12

As a Doula, one of the most common questions I hear is: “Where can I access Midwifery Care?” Midwives are medically trained maternity care providers who provide prenatal care, attend births, and offer postpartum support. Many families are drawn to the midwifery model of care for its focus on physiologic and upright birth, informed consent, longer appointments, and individualized care.

For low-risk pregnancies, midwifery care pairs perfectly with doula support, offering families both medical expertise and continuous emotional, physical, and educational care. I tell all of my clients, “Find a provider who’s standard of care aligns with your goals, not the other way around.” This is one of the biggest steps in achieving your birth goals.

We are also lucky enough that families in the Chicagoland area have access to several midwife options across different birth settings.

Hospital-Based Midwives in Chicagoland

Hospital-based midwives, most commonly Certified Nurse Midwives (CNMs), practice within hospital labor and delivery units while following the midwifery model of care. This option is ideal for families who want a hospital birth with a more personalized, low-intervention approach.

Hospital midwifery practices often resemble traditional OB offices. Clients typically rotate between providers during pregnancy and give birth on the hospital’s labor and delivery floor. A key benefit of hospital-based midwifery care is access to medical pain management, including epidurals. Despite common misconceptions, hospital midwives fully support both medicated and unmedicated births.

If you are seeing a practice with a mix of OB and Midwife providers, It’s important to ask whether your midwife will attend your birth. Some OB practices employ CNMs or nurse practitioners who provide prenatal care but do not deliver babies.

Hospital Midwives Serving Chicagoland Families:

OMG Midwives – Hinsdale Hospital
Elmhurst Hospital Midwives
Rush Aurora Midwives
NSAGO Midwives – Evanston Hospital

Freestanding Birth Centers in Chicagoland

Freestanding Birth Centers offer a middle ground between hospital birth and home birth. In this model, all prenatal care including ultrasounds, lab work, and routine visits takes place at the birth center, and clients return there for labor and birth.

From a doula perspective, birth centers offer a calm, supportive environment that encourages physiologic birth. Families also benefit from continuity of care, building relationships with both midwives and nursing staff throughout pregnancy. Birth Centers can provide all medical care for a low risk pregnancy and offer pain medication such as nitrous, you cannot receive an epidural at a birth center. Another major advantage: all Chicagoland Birth centers offer water birth, which is rarely available in hospital settings.

Local Birth Centers:

Burr Ridge Birth Center
Birth Center of Chicago
North Pointe Birth Center
PCC Birth Center

Home Birth Midwives in Chicagoland

Home birth midwives provide prenatal, birth, and postpartum care in the client’s home and are often what people picture when they think of midwifery care. This option is best suited for low-risk pregnancies and families seeking autonomy, continuity, and personalized support.

Home birth midwives bring essential medical equipment and medications, are trained in emergency management, and maintain clear plans for hospital transfer when necessary.

When choosing a home birth midwife, ask about licensure, training, experience, hospital collaboration, and on-call availability to ensure safe and coordinated care.

Local Home Birth Midwives: