Blossom Birth and Wellness Center

I love this place! I chose this place after I had a «traditional» birth at Arrowhead hospital with a Dr who had high c-​section rates and interventions, with my first son.
I knew I wanted something different after experiencing a 2^nd degree episiotomy, being induced and had an epidural as well as no birth classes & hemorrhaged after being in labor for 24 hours, exhausted from no food or drink for almost 2 days. My then Dr, claimed birth classes were a waste of time and that all Moms should get epidurals too.
With my 2^nd pregnancy, I educated myself and watched documentaries and read about my options and effects on baby etc etc etc. I originally wanted to perhaps do a home birth but my husband was not comfortable with that. We found two birth centers and really liked Blossom and also like the fact that one of the owners is a Dr. As well.
I ended up having two beautiful birth experiences here with these awesome midwives. I had Mary Langlois at both of my births there at blossom. She has such a calm way about her that is so reassuring and comforting when you’re going through your birth experience and labor. They have years of experience and I’m so grateful that I chose them instead of another place. Their combined knowledge about birth, breastfeeding, labor partners/​doulas, nutrition during birth, etc etc etc is just amazing and it’s hard to find a provider that well rounded. Trust me I searched. I’m that type. If you’re even considering a midwife and birth center or a home birth, I recommend the team at blossom birth center. They have wonderful birthing tubs, showers and it’s all in a private room. They really take care of you and believe in YOU and your ability to birth in the way a woman is designed to. They are inspiring and I’m forever thankful and changed ever since my experiences birthing there with them. I had two beautiful water births and I pushed out two boys. One was 10lbs 9oz and 22″ and the other was 10lbs 3oz and 22″. They were confident in my ability to birth these large baby boys and I did it!!! My first Dr wasn’t, which was why he induced me with my first son at Arrowhead, which was 9lbs 9oz and 22″. I let my 1^st Dr freak me out about size and my midwives believed in me and reassured me that even if something did happen we were only a handful of blocks away from the hospital if we needed or I wanted to go there at any point during my labor. I didn’t need to go and I’m just so thankful I was able to have two water births at Blossom and have their awesome and experienced staff with me.
I live up in north Peoria near Lake Pleasant and they are down by the Children’s hospital off of the Hwy 51 and Thomas rd. so it was a drive for me but so worth it. I don’t care where you’re at in the valley, quality is worth it in pregnancy.
I recommend this place to everyone!!! You won’t be disappointed.

Love, love, love. I love everyone who works in this birth center.
I’m keeping this short and sweet. Blossom is a holistic environment, Nichelle, Diane and Mary all compliment one another, and ultimately you reap the benefit of all of their collective knowledge. Together they will guide you through the most healthy pregnancy you can ever imagine and empower you to own all of your choices regarding labs /​sonograms /​etc etc etc. Your appointments are never rushed and the support that is offered is genuine.
My pregnancy lasted about 41 and a half weeks without alarm, additional testing or interventions. My son is healthy, happy, and spent the first 24 hours of his life chest to chest with me.
Pretty long intake process, and you do have to be healthy and low risk. They are exceptionally clear about how their billing works and will answer all of your questions with transparency. They will work with you and are honest, hard working, loving professionals.

It has been awhile since my first review and I just wanted to update everyone on a certain event. To which, I still do not have an answer from blossom about what happened. When I was a blossom patient I did not know my blood type. So normally, they did a blood draw and tested. To my knowledge this is a pretty simple routine that blossom is comfortable doing. My results came back as O-​. Which I found out after I had given birth, was incorrect. I’m not sure if you understand the importance of being a negative blood type when your significant other has a positive blood type. Basically the doctor wants you to get a shot called Rhogam. After completing some research I personally denied the shot. And I had to deny it at least four times verbally before I signed the paperwork. Michelle and Mary both gave me the speech about how it’s my decision, but they want to make sure I’m informed. I felt like they were pressuring me by asking me more than once. I am grateful for sticking to my guns in not doing the shot, because it would have killed my daughter and quite possibly myself. It’s a very serious issue. I would have never know either, because like many people, I trusted the doctor. How I found out that it was incorrect is the scariest part. After a long few days of labor. I had to transfer to the hospital for complications. My daughter’s arm was stuck by her face when tying to enter the world. I had some issues and my vitals were on the rocks. Luckily I made it through with not needing blood. The nurse came back in my room three times to draw more blood because she said my records and the first draw (a routine draw they do when entering the ER) did not match. After sending it to 3 different labs, my blood type was finally correct. O+. After contacting Blossom about this event. They gave me the information for Pacific Medical Labs in California. I spoke with Dr. Reza and Dr. Zarjami about how this could have occurred. After many discussions they informed me that their machines triple check and have never been incorrect. They are placing the blame on blossom. Which it is possible that my blood was switched with another at the office. After informing blossom of what the lab had said. They have never responded to the event. They actually ceased all contact. I also have not heard about a balance that I apparently owed them either. They have also removed my mothers Unilocal review because it was «secondhand» information. Even though she was the one covered part of my payment. I hope you will think twice about the care you want to have for yourself while being pregnant.

My husband and I absolutely LOVED the care and support we received at Blossom. Nichelle and Mary were so informative, caring, open and so warm and welcoming! We were never rushed or made to feel like our questions didn’t matter… we were like a family.
Our prenatal care really established a wonderful relationship with them and made it feel so comfortable.
The day I gave birth, September 14, 2014 couldn’t have been any more amazing and perfect. Nichelle was on call that night and Sommer, an amazing doula, was there to receive us when we arrived. They were so nurturing and made us feel so at home and loved.
I got to have the birth I dreamed of surrounded by gentle women and love. I am so thankful to have found this birthing center and this amazing group of women. We will DEFINITELY be back when we have another child.
As for the negative comments regarding Kashuna and the billing… it’s awful! We never had any issues. Everyone was very clear on payments and how everything works from our very first appointment and were always willing to explain further if we ever had questions. Kashuna has been wonderful helping us set up payments that fit with our budget.
I highly recommend Blossom!

It saddens me to read the negative reviews written here. I birthed two of my children (I have three, my first was born at home with a different midwife) at Blossom and I couldn’t have been happier with either experience.
First, let me give a quick background of my birth history. Back with our first child in 2008, we visited a traditional OB/​GYN for the first seven months. We decided to explore our options when I was told, all in the same appointment, that my doctor preferred giving episiotomies and would also likely be on vacation during my due date, at which time I would fall into the hands of about a dozen other unknown doctors. No thanks. At the time, there were no birth centers operating in Phoenix so we decided on a home birth with another local midwife. Here, I received care similar to that of a doctor and while my birth was at home, I also received several unnecessary interventions (membranes stripped, castor oil, water manually broken) «to get my labor going». I delivered my daughter on my back and on my bed and it was an incredibly painful, emotionally traumatic experience for me.
When we became pregnant with our second child, we shopped around and were pleased to find several birthing centers had opened since the birth of our first daughter. We toured Blossom just as construction was finishing and we immediately fell in love with the facilities. Mary and Nichelle, along with the entire Blossom staff, are patient, compassionate, knowledgable, and refreshingly candid. I looked forward to my appointments throughout my entire pregnancy. Each was an hour of relaxation, where my daughter (and later on, daughters!) would play while my husband and I chatted with Mary or Nichelle, asking questions and preparing ourselves both mentally and emotionally for the birth. The birth of my second child was an incredibly personal experience that I will forever hold sacred. It couldn’t have been better and I attribute that to the excellent care I received while at Blossom. After, we were actually a little sad we wouldn’t be visiting the center anymore! I kept joking with my husband we should have another baby just so we could go to Blossom again.
To our delight, two years later we were back at Blossom, expecting our third child. Blossom felt like home to us and our second birthing experience was just as incredible as the first.
I highly recommend Blossom to any expectant mothers who ask. Nichelle’s tenured OB/​GYN experience coupled with Mary’s extensive midwife background makes for an incredibly personal, loving, and safe environment. For a healthy mother, the level of care she’ll receive here far surpasses that of a hospital, and even other birthing centers. Blossom is an unparalleled, unique birthing center and we are deeply grateful to have found it.
*Regarding those negative reviews of billing, we never had one issue throughout the entirety of both pregnancies. Kashuna was a saint to work with (she graciously helped us set up a payment plan that fit our budget, patiently explained to me countless times how my insurance worked and where we stood in our payment plan, and was always quick and kind with her responses when we had questions). I never felt something didn’t add up or like we were being cheated.

I delivered my daughter at Blossom in April 2014 and couldnt be happier about the entire experience. From the moment we did the first tour with Jaclyn, right through until the postpartum visits, the Blossom team was nothing but fantastic.
When I fell pregnant, I went to my traditional OBGYN. I constantly felt like my questions were annoying and I was just another line item on their revenue report. They were also very condescending when I mentioned I would like to take the natural approach, and at that point, I knew I had to seek an alternative. I was nervous to do a complete home birth, but also knew that having my daughter at a traditional hospital would increase the chance that I would potentially «give in» and «accept» the epidural/​petocin/​c-​section easier than I would at Blossom.
Nichelle didnt give us the «warm and fuzzies» on our first visit, however her approach was candid, and it was clear that she has a LOT of experience. Nichelle ended up being an angel during the delivery, and without her experience and desire to fight, the outcome would have been very different and certainly not what I was aiming for.
During every appointment leading up to the delivery, no session was too rushed and no question was too stupid. The Blossom team really takes pride in preparing you both mentally and physically which I feel went a long way towards my successful natural delivery.
After reading the other reviews on Unilocal,i was nervous about the cost and the billing. We experienced no issues and felt that it was worth every penny. (I managed to obtain approval from my insurance to classify them as «in-​network» based on the lack of natural birth options in PHX. I still dont know if that helped at all, but it was worth the try).
I would highly recommend A) a natural birth to anyone who wants to avoid meds and c-​sections if at all possible and b) wouldnt hesitate to recommend Blossom to do so.
It really was a fantastic experience that I wouldnt trade for anything!

Mary and I have been discussing my experience and she has been wonderful. She is such a great person, truly a class act. She is great at what she does and is exactly what you want in a midwife. I appreciate her honesty, humility, and patience.
Please don’t take my negative review on Kashuna and the insurance debacle as a knock against Nichelle and Mary’s expertise.

As a registered nurse, I knew getting plugged into hospital protocol and procedures was not what I wanted for my labor and delivery.
After discussing my birth plan with my kind and gentle OB, he pushed for induction. He told me I had a small stature and my hips were too narrow to birth naturally. This was completely shocking, considering how accommodating and understanding he was with each 15 minute appointment we had with him before. I exited the exam room, and asked my records be transferred to Blossom Birth Center at 30 weeks gestation. I didn’t know what I was missing until I met with Diane, Mary and Nichelle (The midwives at Blossom).
They took me in right away, pouring out love and knowledge each appointment, which were each an hour long. The encouragement they showered me with was unbelievable and much needed. Everyone else I knew thought I was absolutely crazy for wanting a natural birth and even told me I was putting my unborn daughter’s life in danger and would be begging for an epidural. The atmosphere of Blossom was a God send, and the staff selflessly worked to equip my husband and I with the courage and confidence we needed to endure through a beautiful birth experience. They truly are passionate and dedicated to providing the best holistic care possible.
In labor, I felt nothing but pure love! As soon as I walked through the doors, Sommer and Mary had drawn a bath and made me breakfast. After relaxing in the bath for a moment, I lied in bed while Sommer massaged my feet and led me through some light stretching exercises to get baby girl in optimal position… I took a small nap (gathering some much needed energy) before Nichelle and Jacqueline arrived. Through labor they showered me with positive words of encouragement. They called me a warrior, beautiful, and strong. They prayed over me and with my husband and I. Just before Hosanna arrived, they broke out in song, singing our most loved worship song ‘Hosanna’. And two pushes later our beloved was born.
My husband and I look back at our prenatal, labor and postpartum care with Blossom with endearment. They gave us beautiful memories and the most wonderful experience. Words cannot describe how grateful we are to the staff!

I delivered my second baby here after my first delivery in a hospital with a midwife that was not supportive of my birthing plan. These women are fabulous and each bring their own experiences that will make your birthing experience incredible.
I loved walking into my appointment and being the only one in the office. I never felt rushed during my appointments and always felt that they had my best interest at heart. They listen to what you have to say and offer invaluable advice. If you are looking to deliver your baby naturally and in a caring and loving environment these women will help you with that. If I had to do it all over again it would definitely be at Blossom!

When I found out I was pregnant with my first child, I knew I didn’t want to give birth at a hospital (I wasn’t sick, just pregnant!), but my husband and I didn’t feel confident enough to deliver at home, so we visited both Phoenix-​area birth centers (Blossom & Babymoon) to get a feel for what’s out there for expecting parents. I am SO glad that we ended up choosing Blossom — really on a whim — because we felt it had a better home-​like, conversational vibe overall, and because it was a bit less expensive. What we ended up with was a birth experience truly better than we ever could have imagined, and an education throughout my pregnancy that has given us a profound new outlook on birth culture and parenting entirely. The women at this establishment are such a gift to all expecting families. Our birth becomes a memory that lasts our entire lifetime and sets the foundation for our children’s lives… I do not give this recommendation casually!
My favorite things about Blossom:
1. Mary’s unbelievable technical skill during the birthing process and her inspirational passion for what she does. My baby was out of position so I had a particularly long labor. She not only stayed with me throughout, but was able to do things for me to help move the process along without interfering with it — without her help, I could have easily ended up with an «emergency» c-​section… Instead of birthing my baby into my own hands like I did :-)
2. Diane’s expert use of natural, botanical remedies. She introduced so many comfort measures that we would not have thought about without her. Plus, she was just generally a joy to be around during pregnancy.
3. The sweet birth assistants. Sommer was particularly great to us through pregnancy, labor, and post partum. And I will always be thankful to Jaqueline for helping to teach me to breastfeed with my minutes-​old daughter.
4. Zabrina Pell’s Bradley (natural, husband-​coached) childbirth class ended up being REALLY helpful to us during labor, which ended up being HARD, and all weekend long.
5. The whole team’s general confidence in, respect for, and patience with women and our babies, which really helped carry me through my difficult labor.
6. The way they anticipated every rising need during labor, in a way I know we couldn’t have on our own or in a hospital. I packed my bag for a night, and ended up laboring all weekend, but this didn’t end up mattering at all. From showers to meals and everything in between, they made both my husband and I feel so completely cared for. Almost like a birth spa ;-)
7. Financially they have been overly kind and understanding. My husband is starting a new business so this aspect has been especially meaningful to us.
8. The community. My baby and I still go to Blossom every week because they hold events for all the moms and babies who birthed there! And being around like-​minded, supportive women made the process of achieving natural birth easier. They gave me a point of relation. «If they all could, I can too!»
Every expecting mama will have to make her own decision about where she is most comfortable birthing. I will just say that being able to give birth at Blossom has enriched my family’s life in a way I never could have expected!

We came to Blossom because we were searching to make our birth a memorable and pleasurable experience, and not be just another couple getting hurried out the hospital door. Not only was our pre-​birth experience excellent! (1 hour + appointments as opposed to 5 minutes or less with a doctor who never looked up from the chart), but the birth was the amazing miracle its supposed to be and can be treasured at a place like Blossom. They followed up with us to help us with all the questions we had in the first few weeks. And with the way medical insurance and the ridiculous rates at hospitals go, we actually saved over $ 2000 by using Blossom. We have already referred one friend to Blossom, and anybody out there looking to let your birth shine like it should, GO BLOSSOM! GO NATURAL BIRTH!!!

Before I became pregnant, I researched and meditated on where and how I wanted to birth my unborn baby. For me, Blossom was a clear choice and the first call I made the day I learned I was pregnant.
From the moment I walked through the doors of the birth center, I knew I made the right decision. Nichelle and Mary became, and still remain, two of the most important people in my life. The genuine, loving care combined with years of medical expertise gave me much needed comfort. Emotionally and nutritionally, you will not find better support. Each visit is an empowering experience. My son, now 18 months — has been healthy, alert, and intelligent from the moment he arrived. That prenatal protein intake sure does make a difference!
Seeing these one star reviews genuinely hurts me. These are serious accusations, especially when it comes to our prenatal health and the care of our unborn babies. I hope my fellow Unilocal users have the wisdom to see that these negative reviews are a reflection of money issues — which was never a problem for me — in fact, Kashuna was very professional and always responded quickly and accurately. Billing policies are policies for a reason. This is a business and as a business owner myself, I know this and respect it. These reviews are not a reflection the incredible prenatal care and unparalleled support you will receive when choosing the loving care of Nichelle and Mary.
My son will forever have the benefit of Blossom. Healthy, bright, and growing inside of a calm, happy mommy. It doesn’t get any better than this.

I honestly could have not have asked for a more beautiful and amazing birth experience.
When I first found out I was pregnant I went and had my first appointment with an OBGYN. I felt like a number not a person. I was in and out of that office so fast and I feel like she dismissed every question I asked her.
From my first appointment at Blossom with Nichelle I felt cared for and important.
I am trying to make this a quick and sweet review because I feel like if start to go into detail about how incredible my 9 months with Blossom were this could turn into a novel!
Bottom line, I plan on having all my babies at Blossom!
I have a video montage of the day of my sons birth at Blossom on yotuube.
Images speak louder than words sometimes.
As far as the other weird reviews on here regarding billing and money, we never had an issue. Our insurance covered a little less than half the cost and we paid for the rest. Even if we didn’t have insurance and had to pay the entire fee out of pocket it would still have been a THIRD of what you would pay to a hospital.
Crooks and Liars? I don’t think so. I think maybe just some confusion and misunderstandings with the billing department. This whole operation is run by just a few ladies. I doubt they are «out to get your money» They are just trying to run a business and bring healthy babies into the world!

I have to echo what another person wrote here: CROOKS AND LIARS.
Their billing person Kashauna in particular is a HUGE LIAR. We were told on several occasions by her that she would cut our refund check after the insurance settled (they forced us to pay cash upfront before they would deal with our insurance since they billed out-​of-​network). We were also told from the beginning by Nichelle, the doctor that ended up delivering our baby, that after the insurance settled we would get a refund check. But as it turned out, once the insurance paid out, Kashuna changed her story and said they don’t ever issue refunds. Then she and the rest of the staff at Blossom wouldn’t return phone calls or emails.
After months of this CRAP, we pretty much decided it wasn’t worth our effort to fight them (exactly what they were hoping, I’m sure!). Well fast forward into the new year, I get a notice from my insurance company that they sent another bill (9 months after the birth) billing them for another $ 8K, this time under a different «code.» They waited as long as they could to try to rape my insurance company for whatever was left in my accounts at the end of the year. Clearly, they know exactly what they are doing and how to steal as much money as possible from their clients and insurance companies. Between the cash they took directly from me and the money they swindled out of my insurance company, they have received significantly more than anything that was paid out to my previous doctor/​hospital for a previous hospital birth.
Putting aside the financial piece of this, the thing that most upsets me is how we were treated. The actual birth was a great experience, but based on everything that happened afterwards, I literally feel sick to my stomach when I think of Blossom. We opened ourselves up to trust our doctor and midwife and try to build a relationship with them (which is so different from the average doctor at a hospital). And now we both feel stupid and used for having trusted any of them with our money and more importantly we regret trusting them with my life and our baby’s life.
This is a nightmare. They are UNETHICAL LIARS. If for some reason you still think Blossom is a good idea for you, be forewarned.
UPDATE March 2013 — About 3 days after I wrote this initial review on Unilocal,I got a hand written note from Nichelle & Mary with a check for $ 1000 labeled «refund.» The note says: «We wish you all well. All facility fees were billed at the same time and yours was mistakenly included. We are enclosing $ 1000 and are sorry for the misunderstanding and confusion that ensued. Thank you again.»
First off, I find it very sad that I had to post a negative review on a social media tool in order to get some kind of response out of them. And secondly, if they «MISTAKENLY» billed my insurance, then why wouldn’t they refund the full amount (much closer to $ 5000 in Dec’12) they mistakenly took back to the insurance company? Instead they send me $ 1000 even — about half as much as I expected to get back in the first place and certainly a lot less than what they «mistakenly» took from my insurance. Sounds like they are just trying to get me to leave them alone.
And in response to Mary’s initial comment, I am not saying that Blossom’s fees are not «competitive and fair» but instead the agreement I had with them and what I was told on multiple occasions is different than their actions and what I was charged. It really didn’t matter whether the fees were $ 20… or $ 20,000 — in the end it is the principle. I certainly hope that after this negative review that they use it as an opportunity to fix their accounting department — Nichelle and Mary are very good at what they do — birthing babies naturally. They however, in my experience, are not good at running a business and hiring ethical people. I hope, for the sake of the natural birthing community, they «fix» this.

I had my baby delivered here and I will never ever refer anyone here, ever. They are crooks! I came to their facility at 34 weeks pregnant and you would think they would pro-​rate the price to the service rendered at 34 wks but they don’t. Fine we accept because I wanted to have my baby delivered at a birthing place so badly so my husband agreed. They take insurance but bills everything out of network so for us it’s basically paying cash. We used our ins here thinking we can get our out of network deductible met since but what huge mistake because we had to deal with their insurance person, Kashauna who is a big joke. She had sent in the claim incorrectly which caused a huge debacle. We asked her to correct the claim which we she confirmed she canceled but didn’t. Since she sent in the wrong claim, the insurance cut them a check from our Flexing Spending account that would over pay them the amount we agreed to pay. It only makes sense that we would get our money back for the difference but it was not the case. Kashauna said she can’t guarantee if that money can be refunded back to us. Uh, hello!!! It’s your fault you sent the claim incorrectly and the insurance cut you a check from our flexing acct which will be over paid and you can’t tell me if the money will be refunded? Mind you, we provided a copy of the EOB and the amount of check and it specifically state on the documents that it’s 100% patient responsibility but still they brushed us off. All of sudden, no one returns our calls or emails and when we do finally speak to them they said we’re harassing them. It was huge disappointment and an embarrassment for a business to be dealing with their customers this way. Their behavior was absolutely uncalled for.
Granted, I did have a wonderful experience delivering my baby here but the nonsense we had to deal with afterwards was ridiculous and just left a really disgusting taste in my mouth of how they do business.
Fortunately, we got our money back but it was a NIGHTMARE. Please let me explain why I’m calling these people crooks. After Kashauna said she canceled the correct claim to be sent in since we agreed to pay everything by cash and we did. However, after a few days later they told us they sent the claim to the insurance company anyway. So the nightmare continues dealing with these people. The insurance could not cancel the claim while it’s processing so the end up cutting them another check. Kashauna said she would call us back about the claim and we never heard from them ever again. Sadly, I knew they wouldn’t call so it clearly confirms what type of people they are —– CROOKS and LIARS…
I felt that it’s important that I do my due diligence to let others know about them and to be careful if you do decide to come here.