Authentic Birth Center * Wellness Collective

I cannot express enough how wonderful our experience with Authentic Birth Center was. After the first informational meeting we were convinced this was where we wanted to receive prenatal care and deliver our baby. First of all, the center is beautiful. Its modern, yet warm and welcoming. The birthing suites just take your breath away; when you walk in you feel like you’ve stepped into a day spa. From the start they were completely upfront regarding all costs which put us at ease. They make it very affordable even if you don’t have health insurance. What makes Authentic Birth Center such a unique blessing to the community is the staff. These women are highly skilled, respectful, knowledgeable, nurturing, patient and dedicated. This was my first baby, and my labor was long, with some challenging hurdles to overcome (slow dilation, back labor, exhaustion). But the team was amazing. They were able to incorporate several natural techniques to bring my daughter safely into the world. And the care didn’t stop there. During the day and a half I stayed at the center they were so kind and respectful. They were doing so much to ensure we were comfortable and really let us bond with our baby. I will be forever grateful to them for being my guardians of safety and empowering me to trust my body and believe that I can birth (Ok now I’m crying). If you desire to deliver your baby naturally, you need to surround yourself with a like-​minded team, not just in the labor room, but throughout your pregnancy. I hope more and more women are guided by their intuition to choose a more nurturing environment for themselves and their baby. Thank you, ladies of Authentic, for all you do.

When my wife was looking for a place where our child could be born naturally and with great caring midwives she knew she wanted to go to Authentic. LaNette was fantastic as was Katy was a fantastic assistant. We went to group prenatals at Authentic learning much from the midwives and other couples. When we toured the facility I wondered if it was a spa or a place to have a baby. In the end it was both: a luxurious, comforting, supportive atmosphere that was perfect to have a baby born in. Our whole experience was fantastic and we look forward to going to back there for check-​ups and classes just to see the LaNette, Katy, Ali and the rest of the great staff.

Love Love Love Authentic! They are the sweetest, most knowledgable professionals in town. They are passionate about their work and gentle with their care. I had my first baby birthing experience with Authentic and I felt prepared and well informed with my choices.
I loved the group sessions! It was nice to know that other couples had similar concerns and that we weren’t alone wondering about important issues during labor/​delivery, health choices, and happy moments like eating, and gaining weight.
We are so honored to have delivered our precious baby at the beautiful Authentic Birthing Center!!!

When I became pregnant with my second child, I already knew that I wanted to see a midwife for my prenatal care. I had seen a group of midwives at an Alternative Birthing Center in a hospital for my first child and had been happy with the care I received. However, they were no longer covered under my insurance and I was hoping to find even more personalized care this time. There weren’t many options, but one of the midwives at Authentic Birth Center, Alice Phipps CNM, was in my insurance network. Although more than an hour’s drive away, Authentic was also the closest free standing birth center to where I live in northern Illinois. I wasn’t sure if the long drive would be worth it, but after attending one of their Birth Options classes and receiving a tour, I was optimistic that it would be. And I was right.
Ali was wonderful to work with. She was always calm and kind. She took her time with me and our appointments were often close to an hour long. I never felt rushed and I always felt listened to. When discussing evidenced based interventions and tests, Ali was open about what was involved and their pros and cons and let me decide what I wanted to do. She was not pushy and trusted me to make good decisions. I had gestational diabetes and we were able to work together to come up with a diet plan that worked to keep my blood sugar under control and she did not require that I undergo additional interventions as long as my numbers were good. They don’t do ultrasounds at Authentic, but Ali set up referrals to a local hospital for them. They have a back-​up OB in case they need to transfer care due to a complication. I only saw him once, but he seemed nice and fairly laid back.
I didn’t see Lanette McQuitty for my prenatal care, but I did have some interactions with her when I was at the birth center and she was always courteous and kind, as were all of the staff members at the birth center. It is very child friendly. I often had to bring my rambunctious toddler to appointments and they were always very patient with him.
The birth center is beautiful and very inviting. Each room has a large birthing tub, which I took full advantage of during my labor. I was able to choose which room I wanted to birth in. The staff were great during my labor. Very calm and laid back. They were attentive when I needed attention and were also willing to hang back when I needed some space. They were always very encouraging and really showed that they were confident in my ability to birth my baby with minimal intervention. I was only planning to stay at the birth center for 24 hours but stayed for closer to 36, at their suggestion, so that baby and I could relax a bit before returning home.
They will bill your insurance for you and if the birth center is not covered (it was not for me) they only charge you one flat fee no matter how long you stay.
My husband was also very happy with the care we received and has even said that he wants us to go back if we ever decide to have a third child.
I would highly recommend Ali Phipps and Authentic Birth Center to anyone interested in a low intervention, medication free birth.