They are amazing!! Such incredible experience during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. Trustworthy…read moreand intelligent through the whole process! First time using a midwife, and I am choosing these midwives moving forward for my care.

I had such a great experience with the midwives! I wanted a natural unmedicated birth with as few…read moreinterventions as possible and to be able to be in control of my own birth and that's exactly what I got ! When we attended the meet the midwives and were able to ask questions I knew immediately I wanted them to deliver my baby .All of the nurses are super friendly and really take the time to make you feel at ease . They want you to be able to meet all the midwives so they make sure to schedule you with a different one at each visit since they are on call and you don't know which one will actually deliver your baby . When the time came for my little bambina to enter the world they allowed me to labor as I wanted . I labored in the Jacuzzi tub with essential oils with flameless color changing candles ,my labor music playlist ,hanging string lights in my room and I even brought a small crockpot with hot water and drops of lavender essential oil with a few towels in there for my contractions ( the midwife and nurses commented how wonderful my room smelled and what a good idea it was for contractions (thanks pinterest !)My water broke in the jacuzzi tub and my beautiful girl was born after 4 hours of labor and maybe a little over a hour of pushing . It was an amazing experience and I'd say If I had another I'd use them again but this shop is closed !!

I can't recommend Gentle Birth Care enough!!! I transferred to GBC when I was 28 weeks pregnant…read more Hilary was great getting me in right away. The mid wives and their assistants are all wonderful! Very knowledgeable and kind. Hannah and Nina helped me deliver at home. My husband and I were so impressed with their skills and professionalism! They really helped me prepare for the big day. I actually enjoyed giving birth (not something I ever imagined). I will definitely be using GBC again!!

Giving birth to my three children with gentle birth care has been one of the highlights of my life…read more I cannot imagine having a child any other way. I felt absolutely safe and well cared for through every visit and every moment of my three births. ​

We love Heather and Victoria. We worked with 312Doulas as we prepared for the arrival of our first…read morechild. They were fantastic. We engaged them at about 18/20 weeks in the pregnancy and were able to take advantage of the pregnant person weekly zoom meeting (which provided a wonderful support system through the pregnancy), the birth classes (which were more evidence-based and intimate than what my hospital offered), and they were available for any questions (which gave us another opinion outside of our OB). On the day of our birth, my husband was able to engage with them via text and let them know how things were going. Heather arrived at the hospital and was able to offer comfort measures, support, and coaching that helped both my husband and I feel that we could do THIS! :) In addition, they were able to relieve my husband and let him get some sleep and they got me ice and food, etc. Just so kind. Once I started to push, Heather was there to coach us and encourage us and then take pictures of our new family when our baby girl came. Heather had to leave (they work 12-hour shifts) and Victoria slid in, so quickly I didn't realize it was happening and never felt alone. Victoria then stayed to help us breastfeed and get settled in. After our birth, we had a postpartum call to ask any questions and now participate in the new parents' weekly zoom which already has been super valuable. We'd highly recommend working with 312Doulas.

312 Doulas was recommended by a friend, and I'm so glad I listened! My review focuses on my doula…read more(Marie Weiss) and a course my partner and I took as part of our doula package. I delivered 12/19/21, and our little one is just over 2 weeks old. My doula was supportive, knowledgeable, and responsive. I expected a slow labor (first child) but had the opposite. My water broke around 4pm, and contractions came on quick and strong. All Marie needed to see was a screenshot of the app I was using to time my contractions to say, "time to go to the hospital" (my partner and I would have probably held off--so glad we listened!). I arrived 6cm dilated, and she helped me navigate an unmedicated birth (consistent with my birth plan). She offered excellent labor support (breathing reminders, holding my leg, walking me through decisions) and advocating (e.g., anytime someone walked in the room, she immediately approached them and asked who they were, why they were there, etc.). As part of our package, we took the 6-week Evidenced Based Birth course (founder: Rebecca Dekker; teacher: Heather McCullough), and we both loved it. The course meets weekly for 2 hours to discuss material presented in asynchronous modules. The material is informative, clear, and helped us make many perinatal decisions. There were many topics my partner and I would not have discussed if it wasn't for the course, and they were so important. Thank you so much 312!

We decided to go the home birth route after researching our options in the early months of…read morepregnancy. Our Midwife gave us a few choices, Sam was one of them, which we interviewed and ultimately chose Sam. The main reason was she was so down to earth that I knew she could get along with my fiesty husband and take charge at the same time if something was to go wrong. We also liked the fact that she could still come along with us if we had to go to the hospital to give birth. We were impressed and comforted by her great amount of expertise which we learned from taking one of her child birth classes. The day of the birth we called Sam at 2 am and she comforted our anxiety and asked us questions that would help her understand how far we were. As the labor progressed she came over and gave me little exercises like going up and down the stairs and swaying my hips to help move the baby around. She was the one who passed along the info to our midwife of how far along I was. My midwife came over and 30 minutes later we gave birth to our son. Sam was there adjusting my pillow, helping me drink water, and encouraging me while I pushed. After the birth, she checked on us frequently and gave us tidbit of info to help that we still use today. I would recommend Sam to anyone whether home birth or hospital birth to have by your side. We will use her again in the future and wouldn't think to go elsewhere!

We hired Samantha as our doula for the birth of our first-born, who arrived this past February. I…read morecan honestly say that had it not been for Samantha...despite my best intentions...I would not have had a natural childbirth. Although my labor was relatively short for a first-born, it was very intense and happened somewhat suddenly. Within an hour of me calling her to let her know I needed her, she was at my home and helping me work my way through it. The biggest challenge for me was fear, and she had a number of different techniques to keep me focused and relatively composed. Also, she incorporated my fiance into everything as well. It was such an amazing experience for him as well. By time we reached the hospital, I was fully dilated and our son was born just two hours later. Without Samantha, I would have given up and gone to the hospital much sooner and probably given in to getting an epidural. In case you have any doubt about whether you should go natural or not, within 15 minutes of giving birth I was up and walking around. My recovery time was quite short, which allowed me precious additional time to get to know my baby and adjust to my new life as a mommy. She was wonderful from start to finish, and I couldn't be happier with how things turned out. Thank you, Samantha!

Unprofessional, heartless, and completely devoid of empathy…read more My very first ultrasound here and as a FTM was unfortunately a terrible experience. I was publicly scolded in the hallway, near the waiting area, as I'm exiting the bathroom (hadn't even closed the door yet) by the ultrasound tech for using the bathroom before my appointment. My doctor never informed me a full bladder was required, yet when I explained I had been in agonizing discomfort, and was unaware of this rule, the tech doubled down, shamed me, and told me I "should have read the packet." "Didn't you get a folder?" "It was in the instructions" "Okay well I guess we can try it anyway, cmon let's go!!" - as I'm attempting to grab my things from the waiting room" No grace, no understanding--just public humiliation while vulnerable and pregnant. My husband and I were so taken aback and stood there, completely stunned. What should have been a beautiful moment to see my baby was robbed by the hostility of the tech. It only got worse. When I immediately broke down to NP Rachel about how deeply upsetting and unprofessional the tech's behavior was, she stared at me with ice-cold indifference. As I sat there crying, she didn't offer a single apology, acknowledgement of what I just shared with her or even a tissue as I'm crying (I literally can't make this up) Instead, she completely washed her hands of the situation, telling me to "talk to Michelle on your way out, she handles all that stuff" Now I'm frustrated, I say "Ok, and who is Michelle? And what "stuff does she handle" "Are you at least going to put this in my notes" NP Rachel - "She is the office manager and she just knows and has experience handling all of that, so yeah she'd be the one to talk to" lmao WHAT?! I'm now flabbergasted by her response and complete dismissal. Never have I had a provider tell me to take my concerns about PATIENT CARE to an office manager. I am your patient, not the office manager's. To top it off, Michelle was conveniently on "break," and my promised follow-up call never happened. It took an entire week and me officially requesting my medical records to transfer care for anyone to even acknowledge me and then I was told the sticky note to call me was lost on Michelle's desk. The incompetence is crazy at this point. Aside from two lovely receptionists named Renee and Maria, this entire practice is a cold, unprofessional failure. If you want to be treated like a human being during your pregnancy, stay far away from this place!!!

Dr Belmonte performed an invasive surgery on me without numbing me in any way. Every doctor I've…read moreasked after having this surgery done to me has said they would have numbed the area with local anesthesia first. She cut into me with a scalpel and ignored me wailing in pain. I asked before the procedure if I could be numbed and she said that's not how it's done, which by every account, is a lie. I asked if I could have a moment to think about it beforehand, she declined. This woman is cruel and in no way cares about her patients. Please, spare your wellbeing and don't see this doctor. I could cry just thinking about this experience. I don't understand how this was allowed to happen. And to top it all off, the surgery was ineffective.

Amazing, really standout care by the skilled surgeon and her whole team: doctors, residents,…read morenurses, help desk, etc. In addition to having top technical skills and knowledge, their emotional intelligence was off the charts. They were really kind and sympathetic to my family member. They do this all day long but really got to know my family member and made her feel special-celebrated small wins with her with joy. Really makes a difference to the overall experience. As family, I was able to stay in the patient's room overnight. Great food--both in-room and available in adjacent buildings. We LOVED PCT Jackie, and I wish I could remember all the sensational nurses' names, but only remember the names for Madeleine, Ashley, and Ashley because I'm so sleep deprived. Good vibes 24/7!! Diverse staff and we didn't use translation services but love that they have them. Highly recommend without reservation!

Prentice is where I delivered my long-awaited first child. I wouldn't have considered delivering…read moreelsewhere since all my healthcare needs are met by Northwestern, but my co-worker said that she decided to deliver here when they lived in Mount Prospect (or... Morton Grove?), so that was a nice endorsement since they bypassed several other hospitals in order to deliver here. Anyway, Prentice is a great hospital to deliver at. My baby moved into a breech position, so I had a planned c-section. I arrived and went to Triage where they collected my information and then I headed up to the eighth floor to be prepared for c-section. The nurse I had up there, Sarah, was great; she was attentive, personable, and kind. We talked about tv shows, dazzle dry nail polish, and other random things whilst she was caring for me. The entire team for my cesarean were great. Dr. Auger, one of my ob's partners, was attending my delivery and she was really kind and reassuring. Alex, the anesthesiologist, was gentle and careful to explain everything he was doing to ensure I understood what was happening and ostensibly ensure I wasn't freaking out. He also made sure I was doing ok throughout the c-section. The whole procedure seemed quick and though I've never had a c-section before, seemed to me to be expertly performed. When I was taken to the 11th floor, where I stayed for four days, the nursing staff was great. I was surprised that I only had two nurses who were the same from one day to another in that time. The room was pretty comfortable and all of the patient rooms are on the outer perimeter of the floor, so they have a city or lake view (I had a view of the lake and Lake Shore Park). The food was suprisingly good--I mean I never expected hospital food to be that good (it wasn't when I was in the hospital a long time ago). The food here--at least in the maternity floors--is on demand, I expect at least in part because babies come when babies come. You call the dining team and your food is delivered within an hour. They have lots of choices, and you get a main, a couple sides, dessert, and drinks. Guests may order off the menu as well for $12 per meal, and my guests chose to do that a few times. You can also get food delivered, but the delivery folks are not allowed to come to the room so someone has to meet them in the lobby. You can park in the lot (the Huron Superior parking lot is across the street) or you may valet your car. Valet was MUCH more reasonable than I expected so it's a solid choice. If you do choose to park you can probably get your ticket validated, but I'm not sure where. When you have a baby here, you'll get a few folks contacting you. The person who's creating your birth certificate will give you a call to ensure the information is correct and help set up social security enumeration if you like. Bella Baby photography will also call round to set up a time to take newborn photos, which you can choose to purchase or not. One thing I didn't like is that they give the baby their first bath, and you can't participate. You can watch but that is it. I'm not sure why they chose to do it this way; I don't know how to bathe a baby and it would be quite helpful if they taught new parents how to do this rather than do it for them and then just leave them to their own devices when they are discharged. I would recommend Prentice to anyone who is opting for a hospital birth. I felt I was given excellent care and my daughter and I were given the support we needed. If I have another child, I'll choose Prentice.

*pregnancy loss discussed*…read more This was my first pregnancy, and I had originally really wanted to establish care at the Chicago birth center, but they were having staffing issues, so I chose this practice instead. I really did not want to go through a traditional hospital system for prenatal care, but I thought working with midwives here would be close enough to the kind of experience I was hoping for (more warm, more personal). That was not the case at all. My original appointment was scheduled for a week later, but I called because I was bleeding and was able to get in that day. During that appointment, I ended up miscarrying in the office. I understand that not everyone views a fetus the same way, but regardless of that, a miscarriage is a traumatic experience. The response I received felt very clinical and dismissive. Not a way you would discuss a baby with a soul. The midwife told me that this is "just something that happens," that most women have two miscarriages, and that if I was soaking a pad every two hours, I should go to the ER. That was essentially it. The next day, I received a message on the portal from a nurse asking for my pharmacy information, not even asking if I was physically okay. Since that appointment, no one has checked in on me at all. I am not expecting emotional hand-holding, but it feels like a very basic standard of care for someone on your care team to follow up after any type of medical event. I also received an email survey, which I normally wouldn't fill out, but I felt strongly enough about this experience that I did. After submitting it, I got a voicemail from the manager of the midwives/OBs asking me to call back to discuss my visit. I returned the call the next day and left a voicemail, and I have still not heard back. It honestly felt like they were just checking a box. If you are looking for a natural, supportive, and attentive environment for pregnancy care, this is probably not the place. I only saw one of the midwives but I can't imagine the care is that different with any of them. I know this is long, but I hope sharing this helps someone else make a more informed decision.

Our bundle of joy was born at Illinois Masonic on February 4th. And although things didn't go the…read moreway we planned I can say the Midwives of Illinois Masonic were amazing. During birth our Midwife was very comforting, reassuring and constantly stopping by. During our pregnancy we were able to meet 4 of 10 midwives and postpartum we we even met a couple more. We were lucky that our midwife was on call the night we went in but I know we would have been happy with any of the midwives during labor. The most important thing is that they have a great relationship with the OB/GYNs at the hospital. Neither one of them was stepping on the others toes which makes the entire situaltion more relaxing. As a husband they were very informative and if you're willing to be open they can be a tremendous help to you. They also offered a lot of outside classes, forums, and other information to make you feel more informed about the changes your wife is going through, labor and postpartum. I would definitely choose this midwifery if it's in the stars for us to have a second child.

My main goal with my second pregnancy was a successful VBAC and the midwives at North Shore…read moreAssociates played a huge role in helping me achieve it. Throughout my whole pregnancy, I saw each midwife that was working there and I left feeling empowered and cared for every single time. These women are so supportive, patient and professional. I always felt listened to and validated, so I was able to go into labor knowing that whichever midwife was working, they would do everything they could to stick to my end goal and get my baby out safely. Jordan ended up being the midwife who delivered my baby boy at Evanston Hospital and Im so thankful for her. I will 1000% be returning to this practice for any possible future pregnancies.

North Shore offers a warm and supportive environment for both mothers and birth professionals. As…read morethe owner of Chicago Family Doulas, I've found the hospital staff to be collaborative and respectful of l birth preferences, making it a wonderful place for clients desiring beautiful and enjoyable birthing experience.

She's such a great doctor. I had both of my kids with her and I'd return to her if I ever got…read morepregnant again. Her team is great. If you are considering her, just go with her. You won't regret it.

Honestly, I was on the fence about whether I should even write this review because I'm not sure I…read morewant more people to find her. Dr. McNair is great. She doesn't make me feel rushed, which is always a concern when seeing a doctor. I've gotten lucky there with medical providers. She's no-nonsense, funny, pragmatic, and approachable; I don't feel embarrassed or like I'm asking a stupid question. My primary care nurse had suggested Dr. McNair for years before I finally visited her, and the first time I did I was annoyed with myself for giving in to my fear (I don't relish visiting doctors) and not going to see her earlier. Here's hoping I need to see her for obstetrics care soon. My biggest complaint isn't about her or her care, but is how practically impossible it is to get an appointment with her. I mean that's a testament to how beloved a physician she is, which does inspire continued confidence. I had to try for four months before I finally was able to get in--and that's as a returning patient. That is incredibly nerve-wracking. Don't get confused by the elevators. You select your floor outside the elevator car, then hop in the elevator that it tells you to use. There's parking in the building, though it's pretty tricky because it's also a residential building (though those spaces are somewhat set apart), and the vast majority of the parking spaces say they're for small vehicles only. My car is a small SUV and I'm not sure I'd feel comfortable parking it in one of them. There is parking elsewhere--this is an extensive medical campus, so there are other parking garages as well as the potential for street parking. The advantage of parking in the garage, though, is that they validate. I don't know how much street parking is so it's quite possibly less expensive, but it's Streeterville, so you never know.

I wish I could give a 6th star. I was nervous to give birth so I opted to get a doula…read more I can't say enough good things about Holly--she was truly a lifesaver during my birth experience. From the start, her calm, grounded energy helped me feel supported and confident, even when things didn't go according to plan. When my labor stalled, Holly guided me through exercises that actually got things moving--my water broke soon after, and she also shared positions that helped my baby flip. Her pain management workshop gave me tools I leaned on hard during some intense moments. And when my epidural failed (twice!), Holly didn't miss a beat. She advocated for me when I was in pain and made sure I felt heard and cared for. I honestly don't know what I would've done without her. She played a huge role in turning what could've been a traumatic experience into something empowering. If you're considering a doula, do yourself a favor and call Holly. She's the real deal.

During the birth of my first child, there were many unexpected things that came up that I felt…read moreunprepared for, especially during a time when it is already difficult to think (giving birth!). I felt ignorant and like I could have used a lot more support, especially given that the nurses were different, people I didn't know, and that I didn't always agree with (but didn't know how to handle that situation). The actual doctor came in and out only occasionally. For my second child, I wanted to hire a doula to help me cope with the contractions and to be an advocate when we went to the hospital in case I encountered any other unexpected situations. My second birth was much faster, and I had a successful unmedicated birth. I would definitely work with Windy City Doulas again. They have many doulas and helped me find someone close to me within my price range. She was very kind, experienced, reliable, organized, and professional. She even gave me other resources (like educational birth videos about what to expect in birth and at the hospital that she had made, which I watched with my husband). She recommended practicing pain coping techniques, and all of this helped me feel competent and prepared. I'm sure this doesn't happen very often, but in my case I was lucky to have the birth experience that I had planned for and wanted without complications!