BirthLink

Your Source for Birth and Wellness Services

Alternative and Free Standing Birth Centers

Alternative Birth Centers are actually special rooms on the regular labor and delivery floor within the hospital. The birthing suites are larger and have more natural birth equipment, sometimes including special hydrotherapy tubs. The main difference between regular L & D (labor and delivery or family birthing center) and the ABC (alternative birth center) is that you must commit to having a natural childbirth and all staff and your primary care will do everything they can to help make that happen. If some complication does arise, or you change you mind, you will be transferred to the regular floor. Many parents have reported having very special experiences with the ABC. Some have called it the next best thing to birthing at home!

Free standing birth centers are separate facilities from hospitals. Illinois was the only state that had a law against them. The process of reversing the law and establishing new rules and regulations took many, many years.

Be sure to check the Midwives category for more information on licensing for midwives in Illinois.

Please contact the practitioner directly to schedule an appointment or to schedule a tour of these birth centers. Be sure to let them know BirthLink sent you!

Need help? - please contact us.

"Every mother, childbirth educator, physician, or midwife who has spoken out about the normalcy of birth or written about the need for change has contributed to what has become a gentle birth revolution."
Barbara Harper - Gentle Birth Choices

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  • Birth Center of Chicago

    Chicago, IL
    773-232-2299
    www.birthcenterofchicago.com
    Area Served: Chicago & Suburbs

    Our freestanding birth center is guided by care of Certified Nurse Midwives, all APRNs with a minimum of a masters degree and expertise in well body, gyne, low-risk pregnancy and birth care.

  • Burr Ridge Birth Center

    Burr Ridge, IL
    630-793-BORN (2676)
    www.burrridgebirthcenter.com
    Area Served: Chicago & Suburbs

    Our freestanding birth center is guided by the care of Certified Nurse Midwives, all APRNs with a minimum of a masters degree and expertise in well body, gyne, low-risk pregnancy and birth care.

  • PCC Community Wellness Center & Free Standing Birth Center at PCC

    Berwyn, IL
    708-386-0845
    www.pccwellness.org/
    Area Served: Chicago & Suburbs, Midwest Region

    PCC’s Certified Nurse-Midwives offer full-scope midwifery care, including prenatal, postpartum, family planning, and obstetrical/gynecological services. Midwives attend births at West Suburban Medical Center and PCC’s free-standing birth center, the Birth Center at PCC. Waterbirths available. VBAC available at West Suburban. For questions about the Free Standing Birth Center email Mary Sommers – Director.

  • West Suburban Midwife Associates

    Oak Park, IL
    708-848-3800
    westsubmidwives.com/
    Area Served: Chicago & Suburbs

    Unique private practice. Non-intervention birth, water birth, VBAC, VBA2C and caring support in the Alternative Birth Center of West Suburban Hospital in Oak Park. Well-woman gynecology, annual exams and pap smears, contraception and pre-conception planning. In-network for most PPOs, Chicago health System HMO, discounts for self pay. Public insurance coverage for hospital charges only.