Pregnancy ~ Birth ~ Postpartum
Prenatal care from contract signing (as early as 10 weeks) to birth at 37 weeks+:
Midwifery team attendance of home birth: attended at home from 37 weeks+
Postpartum Care for 6 weeks & Newborn Care for First 2 Weeks of Life
Postpartum Closing with Birth Mentor
- Starts with initial 90-minute prenatal visit scheduled around 10-12 weeks of pregnancy: Routine labs drawn/sent; optional NIPS; optional ordering of dating/viability/confirmation ultrasound.
- The following visits in pregnancy follow standard visit schedule (monthly until 28 weeks, then every 2 weeks until home visit at 36 weeks, then weekly until birth). Telehealth visits offered as needed/appropriate.
- 36 week birth planning visit: two-hour in home visit to bring birth supplies and review birth plan with the whole birth team!
- Upon initiation of care: Midwife available 24/7 for client concerns during prenatal and postpartum care, by phone for urgent situations; via electronic health chart for non-urgent matters.
Midwifery team attendance of home birth: attended at home from 37 weeks+
- We provide all medical birth supplies, including birth tub and necessary tub supplies
- Midwife team provides support during and after any hospital transfers as needed
- Team typically stays 2-3 hours postpartum for uncomplicated births to ensure the client and baby are stable; longer as needed
- Offering includes standard, routine care for baby; physical exam (weight, measurements, etc.); oral or injection vitamin K and eye prophylaxis (with informed consent/refusal); and completion of birth certificate form(s)
- In-home visits for client and baby at 24-36 hours: Includes critical congenital heart defect (CCHD) screening; hearing screening; and newborn metabolic screening (PKU test)
- In-home visit for client and baby at 4-6 days postpartum. Baby transitions to pediatric care after this visit.
- 6-week postpartum visit: 60 minute office visit for client
Postpartum Closing with Birth Mentor
- In-home traditional offering that serves to provide closure to the birth cycle. Includes herbal bath, birth processing, and rebozo closing
- In the event that a client decides to not include this service, the fee of $300 will be deducted from the birth fee
Evidence-Based Global Midwifery Care:
An empowered home birth starts with building your team. Create a meaningful, trusting relationship with our team through individualized care during hour-long prenatal visits, and count on our loving and professional attendance on the big day when you need us. Enjoy the support of your team after birth with three postpartum home visits, including a postpartum closing; and a 6-week office postpartum visit.
Our Global Midwifery Package doesn't charge extra for: birth tub rental and cleanup, vbac (vaginal birth after c-section), or first time birthing parent.
Home Birth Midwifery Care: All-Inclusive Package: $6,000
Additional Services as Needed:
Confirmation of Pregnancy or Early Pregnancy Concern Visits: $300
Self-pay lab package and medications: fee TBA
Midwife Care for Concerns: $50-150
- Visit scheduled as needed, prior to 10 weeks of pregnancy; may include labs, ultrasound order; problem management, options counseling, emotional support, and miscarriage management
Self-pay lab package and medications: fee TBA
- Includes all routine labs and medication, at midwife’s cost
Midwife Care for Concerns: $50-150
- Telehealth, office, or home visits for non-routine concerns, including: evaluation for preterm labor; infections; postpartum depression/anxiety management
(In Addition to Home Birth Midwifery Package; Available Only for Birth Roots clients): $1,800
- Are you ready to embark on a profound journey of self-discovery, a journey that transcends the physical and delves deep into the mystical essence of birth? Welcome to Birth Roots Community Midwifery’s Birth Mentorship, where we honor and celebrate your choices, guiding you without judgment and with deep respect for your story and your roots.
- In Spanish, when we talk about giving birth, we say “Dar a Luz,” which translates into, “To Give Light”. The magic behind such words inspires and guides Cote’s work as a birth mentor/doula. Giving birth, “Dar a Luz,” is not just a physical process. It is deeply emotional, transformative in many ways, and in some cases even a spiritual awakening. Our Birth Mentor is honored to be able to share such a profound experience with you.
- Birth mentorship is an invitation to slow down and to connect with the deeper layers of yourself that are transformed through the birth process. Our time together is intentional, so that we can build a solid team of support for you. We will dive into breathwork, movement, and sound. Using Spinning Babies techniques and a Birthing from Within approach, the partner is also invited to be an active part of the process and experience.
- The Birth Mentor functions as an integrated member of the Birth Roots midwifery team to work as a bridge between the clinical aspects of midwifery and the client’s emotional and physical needs during birth and postpartum.
- Package includes individualized birth and postpartum preparation through 3 prenatal visits and 2 Holistic Sessions at Coté's house ~ (making a total of 5 prenatal visits). One of those visits is the attendance to the 36 week midwife visit to facilitate communication with the rest of the birth team. Access to Motherboard Birth ($50 value) for building the birth plan. The Birth Mentor integrates wisdom on nourishing and healing herbs for the childbearing period.
- Birth Mentorship clients receive a 20% discount off any childbirth education offered by Coté.
- We will learn about and prepare for "La Cuarentena," a Latin American tradition of care that brings attention to nourishment, community support, and compassion during the often forgotten fourth trimester. We close our time together with a “Postpartum Closing” that honors the journey your body went through and acknowledges the deep transformation you just experienced.
- The Birth Mentor provides unlimited in person physical and emotional support during labor; uplifting you to tap into the deeper layers of your being to facilitate the birth as an initiation and a rite of passage.
Birth Mentor/ Doula Package
Reproductive Wellness
Reproductive Wellness Across the Lifespan
Our midwife provides care outside the cycles of childbearing to help you meet your health and wellness goals -- from preventive health and annual wellness exams, to addressing reproductive health, family planning, fertility, menopause, and mental health concerns.
Well Person Visit
A visit for preventive health and wellness. Typically includes a review (for a new client) or update (for an established client) of the client's health history; general health exam; and counseling regarding the client’s health and reproductive health goals. Pelvic exams are typically not indicated unless a client is due for cervical cancer screening (Pap/HPV). The midwife follows evidence-based cervical cancer screening and follow-up per the ASCCP. Labs may be ordered for preventive health maintenance. Breast cancer screening can be performed (clinical breast/chest exam) or ordered (e.g., screening mammography).
Concern Visit
Focused on a client's concern. Concerns that may be addressed by the CNM: family planning (natural family planning, prescription, IUDs, counseling and referrals for permanent sterilization); infection screening and testing (UTI, STI, vaginitis, etc.); cervical cancer screening and follow-up (Pap/HPV); depression and anxiety; and nutrition counseling. Visits may include a physical exam and client education and counseling. Labs may be ordered as indicated; and prescriptions may be provided as needed.
A visit for preventive health and wellness. Typically includes a review (for a new client) or update (for an established client) of the client's health history; general health exam; and counseling regarding the client’s health and reproductive health goals. Pelvic exams are typically not indicated unless a client is due for cervical cancer screening (Pap/HPV). The midwife follows evidence-based cervical cancer screening and follow-up per the ASCCP. Labs may be ordered for preventive health maintenance. Breast cancer screening can be performed (clinical breast/chest exam) or ordered (e.g., screening mammography).
Concern Visit
Focused on a client's concern. Concerns that may be addressed by the CNM: family planning (natural family planning, prescription, IUDs, counseling and referrals for permanent sterilization); infection screening and testing (UTI, STI, vaginitis, etc.); cervical cancer screening and follow-up (Pap/HPV); depression and anxiety; and nutrition counseling. Visits may include a physical exam and client education and counseling. Labs may be ordered as indicated; and prescriptions may be provided as needed.
Office Visit - New Client: $300
Office Visit - Established Client: $150
- 60 minutes: For any type of visit, from well person to concern-focused.
- IUD Placement: $100
In-home Intrauterine Insemination (IUI) services
- Office Consultation for New Client: $300
- 90 minutes: For a client new to the practice or a client that has not been seen by this midwife for an office visit within the previous 3 years. Includes any type of visit, from well person to concern-focused.
- Labs billed separately by lab provider (LabCorp or Quest)
- 60 minutes: For any type of visit, from well person to concern-focused.
- IUD Placement: $100
- IUD would need to be pre-ordered, and is billed separately. Inquire about self-pay pricing and insurance billing for IUDs.
- Office Consultation for New Client: $300
- Includes: Review of client history; physical examination and labs as needed; informed consent for procedure
- Includes midwife support and education for optimizing success of IUI
- Midwife on-call for 1 menstrual cycle; provision of up to two IUI procedures in client’s home per cycle
Education Offerings - Forthcoming:
Community Support Offerings - Forthcoming:
- Home Birth Class: monthly, via Zoom
- Postpartum Nutrition and Herbs Class
- La Cuarentena
- Newborn Care Class (diapering, car seat safety, safe co-sleeping)
- Lactation Class
- 2 hour class of comfort measures and rebozo
Community Support Offerings - Forthcoming:
- Newest Parent Group (for new parents 6 days to 6 weeks postpartum)
- New Parents Group (for new parents 6 weeks to 9 months postpartum)
- Lactation Support Group
- Trying to Conceive Group
- Sound medicine - guided meditation
- Community birth/mother and birthing parent blessings
- Movement and sound (Yoga and chanting for pregnancy and postpartum)
Education & CommunityOfferings
Childbirth, postpartum, and newborn care education tailored to home birth clients and families, offered by a holistic birth mentor
Courses and groups to be individually priced, offered by the Birth Mentor. Sample classes & groups. All courses are optional and open to BRCM clients only.
Experience Birth Roots
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s up with your name?
What is your home birth and IUI service area?
Is home birth expensive? (Do you offer a sliding fee scale?)
Who will be at my birth?
Why do you put pronouns on your website and ask your clients and their partners their pronouns?
Do you require any interventions?
Is home birth safe?
What happens if you have more than one client in labor?
What is your COVID policy?
What’s up with your name?
Birth root is another name for trillium, a lovely spring ephemeral plant that is native to this area. Spring ephemerals are a delightful sign of spring, as they are dormant in the winter and then begin to make their appearance when it’s time. As nature-lovers who love a good walk in the woods, and who thrive in our connection to the local species. And how wonderful that such a sweet little plant is also known as birth root?
Further, we humbly offer our services in the spirit of honoring the roots of who we are and what birth can be – hence, Birth Roots!
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What is your home birth and IUI service area?
We proudly serve home birth clients across the Chicago area and work within a service area of about 45-60 minutes from the midwife's home in Oak Park. We do ask for assistance with securing parking for our clients located in the city of Chicago, so that we do not have to travel far with our necessary equipment
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Do you offer a sliding fee scale OR TAKE INSURANCE?
Home birth attended by a qualified attendant can be an investment. For some, it will be a comparable expense to a hospital birth; for others, it may be much more expensive. Our team hopes that one day, access to health care, especially birth and reproductive health care, will be treated as a human right--in the meantime, paying for care remains the responsibility of our clients.
In the meantime...the Financial Agreement includes a fee schedule to pay in installments: on contract signing; at 20 weeks; 28 weeks; and in full by 36 weeks of pregnancy.
Financing is available via Care Credit (6 months of interest-free financing); we also offer PayPal Pay in 4. We also encourage our clients to register with BeHer Village, a baby registry for birth services, to request support for midwifery fees from friends and family.
We do not offer a sliding fee scale, and in order to keep our services personalized and to the highest standard of care, we are not in-network with any insurance plans. Our biller can provide a Verification of Benefits and help you apply for a PPO waiver or Gap Exemption. We are also happy to provide a superbill in order for you to submit to insurance for any out of network benefits you may have.
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Who will be at my birth?
Your Birth Roots midwifery team will generally be comprised of: one licensed midwife (CNM) and one experienced midwife assistant (RN/CPM/SPM). The midwife assistant at this time is either Coté or a trusted Certified Professional Midwife. With your permission, we may also have a second assistant, who may be a midwifery student or midwife assistant in training.
If you choose to work with the Birth Roots Birth Mentor, the Birth Mentor will also attend your birth, but may arrive prior to the midwife team or stay longer, depending on your needs.
Anyone else that you choose to invite to your birth is your choice. We encourage you to be thoughtful regarding who you invite to this personal, private, and perhaps sacred event. We are happy to provide referrals for birth doulas, sibling doulas, and birth photographers as needed. We welcome and encourage the involvement of our clients’ partners, other children, and other family members to whatever extent is comfortable for the client and their family.
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Why do you put pronouns on your website and ask your clients and their partners their pronouns?
In our approach, we make no assumptions about who our clients and community members are – from their gender identity to their religion to their preferences regarding vaccinations. Personalized care means that we care how our clients want to be known and called.
We are also proud to support clients of all genders and gender identities, including transgender, gender non-binary, intersex, and agender clients. Sharing our pronouns is just one way in which we invite all of our clients and local birth world to join us in welcoming birthing, lactating, and postpartum clients of all genders to our shared community. Inclusion is about welcoming and expanding, not about taking anything away from anyone! We happily serve and know our clients as they want to be known – whether that is as a woman, mother, baba, papa, parent, man, etc.
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Do you require any interventions?
Birth Roots Community Midwifery requires that all clients entering care are known to be appropriate for home birth at the time they enter care and that they agree to transfer care in the event that a high risk situation arises. This means that we accept clients for care that are most likely to have uncomplicated births and have no medical problems. In order to remain in the care of Birth Roots, clients must be actively involved in their care, participating in routine prenatal care with the team. From there, the most important aspect of care is the relationship we build with our clients, so that client autonomy is paramount.
Our team provides recommendations that we have found, through our review of research and our own experience, may help keep a client’s pregnancy/birth/postpartum low risk and appropriate for home birth, but final decision making regarding care during pregnancy and the birth plan remain the responsibility of the client. In the event that the choices of the client do not align with the team’s comfort, the client and team will meet to discuss alternative care arrangements.
A few aspects of care will make the team more comfortable to care for a client during pregnancy and birth, such as establishing an accurate due date; completion of initial labs; and a basic anatomy ultrasound. We can attend births in the client's home at full term: 37 weeks to 42 weeks. For clients wishing to have a home birth attended by our team, we do ask that clients work with our team to establish an accurate due date and to work with the team as needed to encourage labor by 42 weeks.
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Is home birth safe?
Multiple studies have demonstrated that similarly low-risk individuals choosing planned home birth and choosing hospital birth have had comparable outcomes for both the birthing individual and the baby.
There are many aspects of the care we provide that may make your birth safer, such as screening for gestational diabetes, preventing infections, using medications to prevent hemorrhage, and assessing your baby’s heartbeat during labor. We discuss each of these aspects of care with our clients during pregnancy to create an individualized plan to help you and your family feel safe – physically, mentally, and emotionally. Our team not only focuses on prevention of potential complications; we also train and prepare to manage complications that can arise during birth, and are ready to transport clients to a higher level of care (the closest hospital) when needed. Home birth is safest when attended by providers that are well-trained in the care they offer. At this time, our team does not attend births for clients expecting multiples (twins/triplets). With informed consent, and in emergency situations, we can attend breech birth. We do support our clients making informed decisions regarding birth past 42 weeks. We happily support clients that are planning Vaginal Birth after Cesarean (VBAC) meeting certain criteria.
As our practice grows in volume, we will provide transparency regarding our outcomes.
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What happens if you have more than one client in labor?
We limit both the number of clients that we accept for birth care each month, as well as their geographical spread, so that we minimize the possibility of having to care for clients in multiple locations at one time. In the event of more than one client laboring at a time, we may send one team member to assess a client while another team member is attending another client. In the event that birth is imminent in any location, we call upon qualified backup birth workers to attend in our stead. Each birth is attended by a minimum of one licensed midwife (currently a CNM) and one experienced birth assistant (RN, student midwife, or CPM). We make every effort to have every birth attended by at least one practitioner that is known to them when we call in a backup midwife or assistant.
A further reason that our practice limits our client numbers and geographical spread is to protect the health and wellbeing of our practitioners. We also plan vacation time well in advance so that our practice can either close for a short time, or arrange for appropriate backup care that will be known and acceptable to our clients.
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What is your COVID policy?
While the current strains of COVID-19 appear to be less dangerous than those in the early stages of the pandemic, they still cause varying stages of illness that may harm pregnant individuals, other vulnerable individuals, and keep the Birth Roots team from attending their clients. We ask that clients take measures to prevent spreading COVID-19 among the Birth Roots client population and team by:
Testing for COVID with any known exposures or symptoms;
And following CDC guidance on isolation.
For our own safety and to be able to remain as available as possible to attend the clients in our care, our team follows the CDC guidance on isolation. You may see members of our team masking in the office or at a birth if we are concerned about the current level of COVID-19 spread in the community, or if we have personally been exposed.
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