Know Your Options: Where to Deliver Your Baby in Minnesota
Here in the Twin Cities, we have a wide range of choices available to those planning to deliver their baby within St. Paul, Minneapolis, and the surrounding areas of central Minnesota and western Wisconsin. These options vary depending on one’s hopes for birth, preferences in care, personal health history, and so much more! We know it can be daunting to sort out all of your choices, learn what’s available to you, and figure out why you’d want to go one route over the other. As doulas, childbirth educators, and birth photographers, we’ve supported hundreds of families, both near and far. We don’t bring in any judgment, bias, or preconceived agenda of what’s “best” for you. Rather, our Birth Planning Sessions help folks make informed decisions by laying out allllll of the options in front of them and providing evidence-based information for each one. Only you get to decide what’s right for you and your family, and we’re here to help you feel confident in that decision and make plans to receive the care you undoubtedly deserve throughout your birth and beyond.
Options in the Twin Cities are ever-evolving, and we will do our best to keep this list updated. Please let us know if we’ve inadvertently omitted any birthing locations or homebirth midwives.
Pregnant in the Twin Cities? Here’s a list of many of the birthing location options available to you!
Birth Centers:
We are so lucky to have such a plethora of options for freestanding accredited birth centers in our area. As those who live outside the Twin Cities can attest to, many areas do not have the same access to this option for their care. Not only do birth centers support folks in their birthing time, but they also provide well-rounded care from preconception planning to annual exams, to postpartum and early newborn care. The midwives, birth assistants, nurses, family practitioners, and support staff at these locations are absolutely phenomenal. For folks planning a low-risk birth, any of our local birth centers below are a great option to add to your list of providers to interview.
Twin Cities Birth Centers:
Roots Birth Center (Minneapolis)
Willow (Minneapolis)
Minnesota Birth Center (Minneapolis, St. Paul)
Twin Cities Birth Center (Formerly Health Foundations Birth Center) (St. Paul)
Birth Centers in Greater Minnesota:
Trillium Midwifery Services (Prairie Du Chien, WI)
River Valley Birth Center (St. Peter)
Luna Birth Center (Brainerd Lakes area)
A New Story Birth Center (Milaca)
COVID disclaimer: don’t hesitate to ask questions about vaccination, masking, and sanitation practices during your midwife interview to make sure your potential provider is in alignment with your family’s preferences.
Home Birth Midwives:
Home birth has been around forever and continues to be a safe and invaluable option for many families birthing in the metro area and beyond. This is especially true for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color who will be present in the birth space. We know racism, prejudice, and bias still play a huge role in maternal and infant health outcomes, and like many states, Minnesota is combating that with more options for homebirth midwives and culturally-centered care in the safety of families’ homes. Here in Minnesota, we have traditional midwives (TM), Certified Professional Midwives (CPM), and Certified Nurse-Midwives (CNM). Additionally, CPMs can apply to be a Licensed Midwife (LM), but it isn’t a requirement. As you interview midwifery teams, be sure to get to know their personalities, values, and philosophies surrounding birth. Once you have a well-rounded perception of who a midwife is and how they practice, you’ll be able to make the best choice for your family. For more details about the standards of practice for out-of-hospital midwifery in the state of Minnesota, check out this resource page on the MCCPM website. Note that some of these midwives are licensed to practice in Wisconsin as well, and many serve western Wisconsin.
Twin Cities-Based Homebirth Midwives:
Geneabirth | Erin Piorier (CPM) and Sarah Biermeier (CPM)
LifeCircle Midwifery | Jessica DeFilippo (CPM, LM)
Mandala Midwifery Care | Janine Stiles (CPM)
Metro Midwifery | Britt Jackson (CPM)
North Star Midwifery | Aly Folin (CPM, LM) and Kelsi Hines (CPM, LM)
Nourish Midwifery | Kate Andrew (CPM, LM) and Amber LaBancz (TM)
Tender Heart Midwifery | Holly Fix (CPM)
Thrive Midwives | Kari Michalski (APRN, CNM)
Trillium Midwives | Emme Corbeil (CPM, LM) and Grace Flannery (CPM, LM)
Treasured Birth | Kelly Martin (CPM, LM)
Twin Cities Midwifery | Kate Saumweber Hogan (CPM, LM)
Homebirth Midwives in Greater Minnesota, Western Wisconsin, and Eastern South Dakota:
Advent Midwifery (Duluth)
Duluth Midwife (Duluth)
First Memory Midwifery (Duluth)
Flying Purple People Catcher (Duluth)
Lake Superior Midwifery (Duluth)
Midwife Mykl - Michael Warwas (Iron Range, MN)
Iron Range Midwifery (the Iron Range, MN)
Midwife Rosa (Ely, MN)
Christine Mehl Midwifery (Fargo-Moorehead)
Brainerd Lakes Midwifery (Brainerd, MN)
Oak Tree Midwifery (Cambridge, MN)
Wildflower Midwifery (Zimmerman, MN)
Empowered Midwifery and Wellness (Alexandria, MN)
Ignite Midwifery (Sauk Centre, MN and Long Prairie, MN)
Evensong Midwifery (Western Wisconsin and East Metro)
Earth Mother Midwife (Menomonie, WI)
New Birth Midwifery (Waconia, MN)
Nourish Midwifery (Stillwater, MN and Northfield, MN)
Rochester Community Midwives (Rochester, MN)
Rochester Midwifery, Birth, and Wellness (Rochester, MN)
Tree of Life Midwifery (Southwest Minnesota, Eastern South Dakota)
WomanCare (Southeast MN, Southwest WI, and Northern IA)
Hospitals:
Though it’s becoming more and more common to inquire about out-of-hospital birthing options, we know many folks feel most comfortable in the care of hospital staff, whether that’s with an obstetrician (OBGYN) group, family practice (FP) doctor, or the hospital midwifery (CNM) team(s). While each hospital has its own labor and delivery policies, so too will each of these different types of care providers. As you’re inquiring with various hospitals in your area, it’s important to ask about these overarching birth policies from the hospital, as well as the individual practitioner groups that you may want to seek care from. For example, water birth is an option at many of the hospitals here in the Twin Cities, and some care providers are more experienced with or willing to support water birth than others.
A note: be mindful of the verbiage “birth center” within a hospital setting. The care in an accredited freestanding birth center can be very different from that which is offered in a hospital’s labor and delivery unit, and it’s important to differentiate the two in order to receive the type of care you’re hoping for. Below are the hospitals available to those birthing in the Twin Cities and surrounding areas.
Hennepin Health
HCMC (Minneapolis)
Allina Health
Abbot (Minneapolis)
United (St. Paul)
Buffalo
Mercy (Coon Rapids)
Regina (Hastings)
Fairview M Health Hospitals
U of M Riverside (Minneapolis)
Ridges (Burnsville)
Southdale (Edina)
St. Johns (Woodbury)
Woodwinds (St. Paul)
Princeton
Wyoming
HealthPartners
Methodist (St. Louis Park)
Regions (St. Paul)
Lakeview (Stillwater)
Hudson
North Memorial Health
Maple Grove
Robbinsdale
CentraCare
St. Cloud
Monticello
Other
St. Francis (Shakopee)
Ridgeview (Waconia)
Northfield
Curious how COVID is impacting the various birth options here in the Twin Cities? Be sure to look at the hospital’s website for up-to-date information and policies for birthing families. The number of support people and availability to have in-person doula support has been in flux with the number of COVID cases throughout the last several months, however here is a summary (updated March 2022) of which hospitals are allowing doulas to accompany the families in their care.
Ultimately, we encourage you to shop around. Find out who offers what, where you feel most comfortable, and which options feel safest for your family’s values and preferences for how you want to be cared for during your birth. Having a care team established will bring you comfort and confidence in moving forward in all the other birth planning you may be doing during your pregnancy.