A few months ago I asked my clients what some of their favorite birth centers were, and Authentic Birth Center came in as a top choice by several! I decided to do a little more research so that I could let you know what makes them unique from other places, as I have personally only given birth at West Allis Aurora (also amazing!). LaNette, the owner, was kind enough to offer some insight into their birth center. If you have any questions, leave them in the comments!
Now, read on to find out if Authentic Birth Center is a good choice for you!
1. How long have you been in business? Tell me a little about why you are so passionate about your birthing center, and the drive to start it!
Although I have been attending births since 1980, the birth center opened on LABOR day 2013. The drive to start it was purely logistics. When attending home births with a family in labor, I was distracted by the thought of someone else going into labor and not being able to be in two places at the same time. With very limited midwife resources, it would have been devastating to send someone to a hospital because I was with someone else. I am so relieved that this is not a concern with the birth center and its staff!
2.. Can you tell me what you would say makes Authentic Birth Center different than a hospital birth? Why choose to birth at a birth center?
If you are sick or have risk factors, hospitals are a great place for giving birth. A healthy pregnancy with a healthy baby has less chance of complications and deserves to be a personalized experience in a pampered, luxurious location that honors the easier physiological birth process. Authentic Birth Center in Milwaukee strives to be the experts in both physiologic birth and expecting the unexpected.
3. When should moms reach out to you if they are considering this as an option?
We do have months that we need to wait list families, so we recommend you call us soon after you have a positive pregnancy test. There are times when the discovery of Authentic happens later in pregnancy so call us then as well, we do have families that move out of state or need to change their plans for an unforeseen reason.
4. I see that you offer services such as placenta encapsulation, psychotherapy, yoga instructors, etc! These seem like amazing additions to a birthing experience. Can you tell me a little about the benefits you’ve seen to having these services?
Just as your birth should be personalized to what is important to each individual, other modalities are perfect for some as well. Choosing to be supported by our lactation specialists, our in house chiropractor, massage therapist, mental health therapist or having your placenta made into medicine are all part of those personal choices.
5. Anything else you want new moms to know?
We understand that special moments in life should be captured in photos so that the memory can be reflected upon. For some, it is after they are holding their new little one and for others the desire is to capture the entire experience. We have thought of this when procuring our birth tubs. 3 of them have glass walls that can be covered or exposed for the photographer to get the underwater shot of the baby emerging. Again, part of personalizing what families tell us they want.
Thank you, LaNette for sharing! If you’d like to find out more about their birth center, you can read more here.
Make sure to check out more of our local resources on the blog!
A resource for moms struggling with perinatal anxiety and depression: Mom’s Mental Health Initiative
Postpartum Physical therapy: An interview with Revitalize Physical Therapy
