Blossom Birth & Wellness Center, Phoenix AZ

Absolutely love this place! We had the best experience with our first baby. Everyone was so patient and caring as we walked through our first pregnancy and birth. We were very uneducated as we started our journey but walked away with so much confidence. It was the perfect place for me, my husband and our baby. We want to have all our babies here!

I was so glad that I found Blossom when I was pregnant. The facility feels very relaxing/peaceful and it was so nice to have the thorough, hour long appointments throughout my pregnancy with such a holistic approach. The staff are all very kind, especially Gabby and Diane the Midwife are awesome. Everything went smoothly with my pregnancy and all was well with Blossom through the end of my pregnancy up until when it was time to deliver. I ended up getting transferred to St. Joe’s for my delivery which is apparently pretty common per the delivery staff I spoke with at St. Joe’s. Thankfully I had hired a doula so I had someone with me at the hospital and wasn’t all alone after there was a total change in my birth plan. Luckily I was able to deliver naturally without medication at St. Joe’s.

The billing practices at Blossom are unusual. They insisted upon collecting thousands of dollars by the time I was around 30 weeks pregnant, and assured me I would receive a refund if I didn’t deliver at Blossom. It’s been 6 months since my baby was born and I still haven’t received any communication about the billing, and when I’ve reached out they’ve stated it’s still being worked on and the latest update was that I likely won’t receive any refund. I’m still asking about any kind of statement of what the charges were for my visits and I still see them billing my insurance for multiple claims, it seems unlikely that the amount they collected from me would exactly match what my out of pocket cost would have been when I didn’t even deliver there. I am hoping to receive some kind of update soon from Blossom.

Update: my insurance paid Blossom over $10,000 despite the fact that I did not deliver there. And they never gave me any refund despite the promises for one if I didn’t deliver there. I would be cautious about their billing practices. They tried charging me $5,500 before giving birth despite that being the out of pocket max if you don’t have insurance when my insurance pays for out of network claims.

I am truly blindsided by the carelessness and lack of communication displayed by Blossom Birth Center. I began prenatal care with them approximately a month and a half ago and have had a consultation with the OB as well as two follow ups with Midwives. During my consultation with the OB I informed her that I had an autoimmune condition that was in remission and was on medication for said condition. I had already had one perfectly normal, uncomplicated, low risk delivery. The OB assured me that this condition was not an exclusion (I had checked their list of exclusions prior to the consult), that they work with people with autoimmune conditions, and only severe cardiac and hypertensive conditions would be risked out. I felt great about this and scheduled my first visit. In both my intake forms and at both of my follow ups it was noted what condition I had and what medication I was on. Also note I have a specialist I see frequently who has assured me this medication is safe for pregnancy and breastfeeding and provided me with supportive literature. Today, at 20w I receive a call from one of their midwives and the OB saying they would be dropping me as a patient because the medication I am on is “very dangerous” (implying it is irresponsible for me to be pregnant while on this medication) and would be better off in the hospital, without telling me what care I would need at the hospital that a birth center couldn’t provide. Note, I’ve already had a completely normal, uncomplicated birth with this medication. It all feels very shady that they saw me for multiple appointments, collected my payment, and then dropped me citing the reason being a condition and medication they have known I was on since before I even signed on as a patient. Personally, I would not trust this birth center or ever recommend them to someone seeking a birth outside of the hospital.

It was amazing to work with Blossom!
As a husband, they really helped put me at ease and provided valuable support, coaching, and equipped my wife and I to learn what was needed for a successful delivery.

I cannot speak higher of Blossom and their staff. I have had all 3 of my blessings here and each experience brought peace and complete joy with devoted care from Mary and Nichelle. We love blossom!

I had all three of my children at Blossom Birth Center. It was a life changing experience: I felt so safe, loved and trusted that I could give birth naturally.
Everyone at Blossom took time to make sure my family was educated, and they listened to all our concerns. I couldn’t recommend Blossom enough to anyone that wants to have a birth center birth! Truly life changing in the best ways.

We are truly thankful to have had the incredible team at Blossom to birth our two children. Dr. Nichelle, Mary and their team hold themselves to a high standard of care for their patient families. And yes the entire family receives holistic, professional, and loving care from the team with the focus being mommy and baby! They believe in not only caring for our physical well being as pregnant and birthing mommies but also our psychological and emotional well being. They ensure that not only are we in a good place, confident, safe and cared for but also that our support teams are providing proper support love and understanding to the pregnancy and birthing process. The team truly understands the sacredness of the birthing process and does not take their role lightly and we so appreciated that. My husband was more of an allopathic medicine proponent and was nervous about natural birthing but he was eased with Dr. Nichelle being on the team. You truly get the best of both worlds. Now he believes in home births! Our first blossom baby took quite a long time to be delivered and while if I had been in a hospital it most likely would have ended in a c section Dr. Nichelle employed midwifery techniques to coax our baby out. Our second blossom baby barely made it to the birthing center for delivery because we had such a great support and guidance from the beginning of the pregnancy and I was so confident in my ability to labor at home. Our baby was born within 30 min of arriving and I know having Blossom as a team just supported such an easy pregnancy and delivery, even during COVID. Now that we have moved out of state we see the lack of quality natural birthing centers and/or restrictions to their existence and I truly wish all communities in our country had the opportunity to have incredible pregnancy and birthing care that took INSURANCE like the care we received at Blossom Birthing Center!

I have had 3 of my children at Blossom and am thankful for a midwife team focused on me and my baby. They have so many protocols to keep you and baby safe. Their partnership with St, Joe’s is awesome as well. I highly recommend skipping the cold feeling hospital and prenatal care and go with providers who genuinely care for you and your family.

Such a warm and inviting, family-like feel to all of my appointments and the birth itself. Wish we could have had all of our babies here!

The most divine and peaceful experience I could’ve ever asked for. We would like to especially thank Liliana, and Daniella for being so encouraging and supportive through the entire labor and delivery process and to Chynna for always answering all of our questions and making us feel so welcomed and cared for. I will definitely be having all my babies here and we could not be more grateful.

I had a really good experience with the OB Nichelle. I trusted her completely with what turned out to be a c-section at the hospital. I received great assistance with obtaining donor milk.

The midwife Mary was hit or miss during my first pregnancy and did a terrible, completely insensitive job of letting me know I had a miscarriage. I won't be going back but there are some very positive points to using them.

Update to response: Maybe try compassion. I felt like a nuisance and was told sometimes it just happens. When I got the news, it was provided in doctor speak, so I had to ask directly. I still wasn't that upset. What got me were the questions on when I took the pregnancy test, why I took it so early, and a pretty clear implication that maybe I was never pregnant. It got in my head and I took a test after our call - positive. That seemed particularly heartless and rude. My first appointment was scheduled for the day after it happened. I had been pregnant and dreaming about the future for a month. It could indeed have been quite a bit worse, but that fact doesn't minimize the very real hurt.

I've delivered my baby now, and it has taken my quite some time to gather my thoughts on my experience with blossom birth & wellness. There are a few positive things that did come out of their service. For one, they involve both parents. They strive for more holistic and natural care. While these are a few positives, I dealt with a lot of stressful events and care. Constantly my weight was talked about during each visit, and within a negative manner. I do heavy lifting so my weight was higher than their general patients (which doesn't equivalent to health). I was told three times that I would no longer be a patient due to miscommunication with the providers. They definitely choose who they do and don't want to work with. In addition, they told that I can no longer be a patient when I was in my late second trimester which caused additional stress and anxiety. I was also not given a list of providers that they would recommend to receive care, so I had to quickly find a doctor. I also feel that they are not culturally competent, and could meet the needs of African American woman. I should have taken the advice of a previous review as that is the same poor of care that we received. While this facility may not have been a good fit for my family and I, through God's guidance we found an excellent doctor who was more than equip and knowledgeable in meeting the care of my baby and I's needs as an African American women. I was able to complete a vaginal and un-medicated birth thanks to my doctor who listened to all my needs, concerns, and being mindful of my health. I would not recommend them to anyone, and suggest that you fully do research on reviews, facility, and staff. This can have an impact on your pregnancy and birthing experience.

We had our son at Blossom Birth Center 7 months ago and it was a beautiful experience! All of the birth assistants and midwives were kind and attentive to me during our appointments (I especially loved Chynna and Kathryn who I had the most for my appointments and attended my birth!) They take far more time than you’d have at a standard OB to answer your questions, check in on your mental state regarding labor and birth, and overall provide a gentle and listening presence. I had a successful and calm birth experience and a healing postpartum and I contribute much of this to the education, support, and resources Blossom provides and encourages. This ranges from taking a lactation class at The Milk Spot next door, providing postpartum breastfeeding support, supporting a balanced diet and exercise, and empowering couples through birth classes to truly invest in the labor and birth they desire. One last thing I loved was that the Blossom staff prioritizes informed consent and ensuring that their clients know what each intervention and test is for. They are respectful of the decisions we wanted to make for our baby throughout the whole process.
If you are interested in this kind of thoughtful and loving care definitely give them a call to set up a tour!

I have so many wonderful things to say about Dr. Nichelle Whitehead and my experience at Blossom Birth Center. I was to birth two healthy babies there with the support of Nichelle and her team. During my second pregnancy we had to navigate through some challenges and they were with us guiding and educating my husband and I every step of the way. I would not have been able to deliver my babies naturally without them. I chose Blossom because at my original OB the care was good but I was not getting the experience I always envisioned. Going in for quick 10 minute appointments was not how I wanted my pregnancy care. At Blossom every appointment was slow and relaxed. They answered all my questions, listened to my fears, and wiped my tears when I was over come with emotions. Anyone who is seeking top level health care in a nurturing environment Blossom and Dr. Whitehead is where you should go. The whole staff will always be part of our family.

Update: Blossom sent me a handwritten apology letter for this review. I appreciate their effort to acknowledge the difficulty I had and this supports my claim that they really are good people, even if it wasn’t the right choice for me! I’ll add a star for their care and intentionality in this regard!

I had an okay time at blossom. There were really lovely aspects, and not so lovely aspects. I never really felt peaceful there and I had a hard time connecting with the providers apart from the providers at the Milk Spot. I was a really nervous new mom and I never really felt comforted by their answers which were typically “go home and rest, maybe you need to quit your job, you’re just a new mom”. I was even told once that because I was having a normal pregnancy, I was probably just creating problems in my head and that’s why I felt bad. I needed a lot of questions answered and a lot of accompaniment, but I didn’t really receive it from anyone but Diane and Britney at the Milk Spot. Especially when I was transferred to the hospital after I thought my water had broken. I felt so alone and unsupported. I had a seriously traumatic and heavily medicated birth and I hemorrhaged and could hardly move for weeks. I don’t think placing blame on any of the midwives is helpful because I do think they did the best they could, but in retrospect there were some huge issues that could have been handled differently and prevented the whole transfer to the hospital in the first place. I definitely couldn’t trust them again with my health and my birth. I wouldn’t return because I just never felt really supported as I prepared for my birth. I felt stressed, belittled when I asked questions or when I needed support, and I didn’t mesh well with any of the main midwives or obgyn. I know now that that is extremely important for a peaceful birth experience so my bad for not listening to my instincts. I know many people who have a great experience and I would never deter anyone from seeing how they liked it for themselves. It’s really important that you listen to your peace and your instincts. If you feel loved supported and strong, stay, if you do not, explore other options.but for me, I will not be returning to blossom for care. Best wishes to the team there, they are good people and are in my prayers.

I cannot tell you enough how much I love the team at Blossom Birth Center. I have been a client here since 2009. We have welcomed all five of our children with the help of these ladies. Their care for moms welcoming babies goes beyond just mom and baby. They welcome and encourage husbands and siblings to be involved in the entire process. I’m so thankful for the care and knowledge these ladies have to help give me the best birthing experience possible. It’s an entire team working together to make sure mom is feeling great and supported physically and emotionally through the entire pregnancy and beyond.

I'm posting this about a year late, so I'm not sure if anything has changed since my time with Blossom, however.if you are looking for a relaxed, yet safe, environment to have your baby, this is the place for you.
The building's interior is beautiful and serene, the birthing suites are large, multi-functional, and relaxing.
Mary the midwife is kind, caring, and so chill. She's very motherly in a cool kind of way. I felt like I could tell her anything, and she seemed to genuinely care about me and my health. I felt comforted after every appointment I had with her. She definitely knows what she's doing and I believe she saved my son's life by sending us to the hospital when his vitals weren't looking good. It's unfortunate that I did not have the opportunity to experience what it's like to have her by my side during labor and delivery.
Rachel the midwife is kind, caring, and fun. She's like your best friend that you don't see very often, but whenever you do, your relationship with her picks up where it left off and it never waivers. She truly cares about her patients and she's very knowledgeable in her field. She lights up the room with her energy and up-beat attitude. Visits with her genuinely brightened my day. It's unfortunate that I did not have the opportunity to experience what it's like to have her by my side during labor and delivery.
Dr. Nichelle is the mama bear that you so desperately need. Trust me on this. At my initial appointments with her (which I only had a few. She missed 1 or 2 appointments with me for other emergencies which is completely understandable), she just seemed very professional. She's kind and gentle, but very blunt. By that, I mean, she's really nice, but she does NOT sugarcoat things. And you really need someone like that in a stressful situation. Before I gave birth to my son, I felt like I really didn't have a chance to get to know Dr. Nichelle. Which is fine, didn't bother me. But let me tell y'all who she is. She is the woman who will fight tooth and nail for what you need and want. She will protect you mentally, emotionally, and physically during one of the most important events in your life. And she really knows what she's doing. I was rushed to the hospital with Kyla (more about her later), and after being monitored for a little bit there, I was rushed to the OR for an emergency c-section. But I never ended up getting one, because Dr. Nichelle showed up and took over the situation. She reassessed me and decided to deliver my son vaginally, right there on the OR table. The nurses and docs were saying that they had never seen a vaginal birth in the OR before! Haha. My son came out perfectly healthy and strong, and I got to hold onto him the whole time. Dr. Nichelle was extremely supportive and encouraging throughout that whole ordeal. She really did feel like a mama bear that was there to protect me. She was so calm, too, and that really helped. Dr. Nichelle also shooed away people trying to take my blood for who knows why. And, after all of this, Dr. Nichelle personally made sure I had everything I needed emotionally, because I was struggling during the post partum phase. I had multiple postpartum visits with her and she directed me to the proper resources that helped pull me out of the funk. She is an amazing doctor, and I am so glad, grateful, and thankful to have had her by my side.
Chynna the birth assistant was the woman sent with me to the hospital, as a doula, when Mary the midwife became concerned with my son's vitals. I had never met her before this day, so at first I felt awkward because I didn't know her and she was going with me to admit me to the hospital. But this woman. I have no idea what I would have done if she was not there. Like I said, I did not know her, but when all hell was breaking loose, K
Chynna was right by my side, rubbing my hand, my shoulder, my back, etc. I felt like I had known her all my life. She was so comforting in the way she spoke to me, and she definitely did not feel like a stranger. She was absolutely amazing at being my doula.