5 Doula-Endorsed Chicagoland Hospitals
New parents often struggle to pick a birth location that feels right for them. And we are so blessed in Chicagoland to have bountiful choices. It is completely “buyer choice” here!!
You may not be aware though that there are VAST differences in quality of care depending on where you chose to birth your baby. It’s one of the most important decisions you can make for your pregnancy and birth!
Learn more about your hospital’s stats here at the IL Hospital Report Card or Leap Frog Group.
Here are My TOP 5 Chicagoland Hospitals that I’ve seen most often excel in providing fabulous, evidence-based, respectful care!!
1) Advocate Sherman Hospital- Elgin, IL
Hands down Sherman is my FAVORITE hospital to support births at. I cannot rave about this L&D team enough.
The nurses here are fabulous and most have been working there for 10-30 years (always a great sign!!). They are seriously the kindest, most amazing medical staff I’ve ever worked with. I LOVE them all soooo much and I think they really excel is providing trauma-informed care for all families.
The OBs and Midwives here are supportive of ALL types of birth preferences and labor positions… including unmedicated births, high-risk pregnancies, and VBACS. And they do occasionally allow doulas in the OR with partners during c-sections (huge win!!).
Bonus… Sherman has the most amount of labor tools of any hospital I’ve ever been to and their labor rooms are warmly decorated with encouraging Hobby Lobby decor. If you’re going to give birth in a hospital, this place is the best…. and I love that nearly all my doula client births in 2024 have been here!
If I were to have another baby… SHERMAN is 100% where I’d go!!
2) Northwestern Huntley Hospital- Huntley, IL
Pretty much the same as Sherman, Huntley is superb in creating individualized birth plans and providing compassionate, trauma-informed care.
I’ve supported some incredibly high-risk births here and been so impressed by the individualized care provided to keep my clients and their babies safe. I have also supported quite a few c-sections here and I think they do a really good job at making it a beautiful, family-centered experience.
Bonus… Huntley has HUGE showers with benches that are perfect for labor!!
LOVE supporting births at Huntley Hospital!!
3) Advocate Condell Hospital- Libertyville, IL
I LOVE supporting births here. The nurses are so sweet and work hard to make families feel supported. This hospital does not have midwives, but their OBs are kind, respectful, and very patient.
Northshore or WI-boarder parents, THIS hospital is a great place to birth your baby… bonus they love doulas and their labor rooms are quite big!
10/10 Highly Recommend Condell Hospital!!
4) Highland Park Hospital- Highland Park, IL
I’ve personally had two of my babies here and love the main OB/Midwife group here. This hospital is beyond beautiful! Their labor rooms are so beautiful and they even have built-in tubs in some of the rooms.
If you are planning a VBAC, Highland Park is an incredible place to be. Their OBs/Midwives LOVE VBACS and are so incredibly supportive of them. And if your pregnancy is high-risk, this is one of the only hospitals where you never risk-out of midwifery care. You can see midwives concurrently throughout your entire pregnancy, even if you are high-risk!
Finally… the amazing midwives here started a new project for healthy low-risk families to participate in group prenatal care and education monthly. You get matched with a due date group and do your visits all together for 2-hours once a month. This is a common practice is birth centers around the country so it’s amazing to see this being brought into a Chicagoland hospital birth practice!
I LOVE Highland Park Hospital!!!
5) Evanston Hospital- Evanston, IL
Last, but not least, my beloved Evanston Hospital!! I had my own first VBAC there and my most high-risk pregnancy with their MFM group so this hospital will always have a warm place in my heart.
If you’re in the Elgin area this option is pretty far, but if you’re on the Northshore or the city, this is the place to go.
Part of the same hospital system as Highland Park, these labor rooms are beautiful and quite fancy. They do have TUBs available for use during labor.
Evanston has the highest VBAC rate in the state as a hospital, so highly recommend checking it out if you really want to guarantee that outcome as much as possible!
Evanston Hospital is amazing!!
Hope that is helpful friends! I’ll do a follow-up post soon with my top favorite homebirth and birth center practices. So thankful we have so many options in Chicagoland!!
And as always… if you are interested in EXPERT doula support for your pregnancy and birth in Elgin or the surrounding suburbs, reach out!!
I’d love to talk to you more!!