Our Mission
At Authentic Birth Center · Wellness Collective, we strive to provide the highest quality midwifery care, family support services, health care, and education. We are family centered, affordable, accessible, and culturally respectful. We cultivate and foster partnerships that empower, strengthen, and nurture individuals and families in our center, in our care, and in our community.
Our Promise
- Superior care and customer service for each and every person walking through our doors
- Exceptional standards of care and practice for our individual professions
- Polished and professional presentation of ourselves, services and products
- Respect for every gender, age, race, religion, and culture
- Evidence based care and education presented with an open and honest approach without intent to solicit
Our Providers
LaNette McQuitty
Certified Professional Midwife
Owner & Director at Authentic Birth Center
[email protected]
Thank you for considering Authentic Birth Center! I feel so blessed to be able to fulfill a lifelong dream of owning my own birth center and offering “authentic” care to women and newborns in southeastern Wisconsin.
When Wisconsin began offering state licensure for midwifery in 2007, I immediately began the process to meet my longtime aspiration of assisting birthing families in their homes. My journey really started, though, years ago when I began supporting growing families as a Doula and Childbirth Educator. I have worked with hundreds of Milwaukee area families as a Doula and educator since 1980.
In 2008, I dual enrolled in The National College of Midwifery, Taos, New Mexico and the Midwest Maternal Child Institute, Chicago, IL. In spring of 2009 I completed a residency program living and working as a midwife with the tribes of Malawi Africa. After returning home from that life changing experience, I began a six-month apprenticeship, working with a Homebirth Certified Nurse Midwife in Illinois.
In February 2010, I earned my Associate of Science in Midwifery Degree and sat for the NARM exam. I received my CPM in February 2010 and was licensed by the State of Wisconsin in April of 2010. It has been an amazing couple of years as I navigated the path to becoming a CPM. Though, the letters behind my name have changed, my belief that birth is a natural, normal and healthy life event, is stronger than ever!
I firmly believe that birth is a family centered event and birthing at home allows families to bond in quiet and delight. I continue to be profoundly aware of the power of women, the transformations that birth brings to families and that births are, unquestionably, the most intimate yet empowering moments in life.
My goals also remain the same.
- I seek to care for and support expectant families that choose to birth outside of the hospital setting. I strive to provide exceptional skilled prenatal care with patience, warmth and respect. Moms, you will be treated like a queen!
- I want to strengthen confidence in women with their ability to birth, breastfeed and nurture their babies.
- I will work to ensure that women continue to have choices regarding their births.
Jessie Heppner
Certified Professional Midwife
New Morning Midwifery, LLC
[email protected]
Hello! I’m Jessie Heppner, Certified Professional Midwife. It is my joy and privilege to serve families alongside the other midwives practicing at Authentic Birth Center – Wellness Collective.
My interest in birth work began during the time that I was living in Papua New Guinea, serving as medical support with a mission organization. On weekends, I would volunteer as a doula in the labor ward of the local hospital. The deplorable conditions, morbidity and death that I witnessed drove me to research what I was seeing and propelled me into a deeper investigation of how I could better serve the women who delivered their babies there. Over the 4 years that I worked with these women, I grew in my passion to see all women provided with more options, more compassionate care, and better outcomes. When my term with the organization ended in 2017, I returned to the US and enrolled in midwifery school where my passion only grew, and my calling to the practice of midwifery was solidified.
It is my wholehearted belief that pregnancy and childbirth is a natural process that a woman’s body is uniquely designed to perform, and that over-management hinders the most efficient workings of this design. The midwifery model of care is one that supports the physical, psychological, and social wellbeing of a woman throughout her pregnancy and into the postpartum period. It emphasizes education, quality counseling, and informed consent at every point along the way. As a midwife, I desire to provide such individualized care, recognizing that each woman has a unique background and needs. My clients are invited to be the decision-makers in their pregnancy and birth journey, and I will always make time for further discussion and questions, when needed.
Time after time, I have witnessed women bring their babies into their arms, triumphing over the hard work of labor, proving to themselves that their bodies and minds are capable of such a task. I count it an honor to be invited into these spaces and love watching families shift and grow with the introduction of new life.
Fiona George
Certified Professional Midwife
Peace at Birth Midwifery, LLC
[email protected]
Hello, my name is Fiona. I am a certified professional midwife serving families at Authentic Birth Center – Wellness Collective.
Out of hospital birth has always been a part of my life. I was born at home along with six of my ten siblings. I have many fond memories of going to the midwifes’ home for prenatal visits and watching her hands communicate with the babies in my mother’s womb. Although I did not always know what it would look like, I have always desired to be involved in birth work.
I first started birth work in 2018 as a doula, and found my way to Authentic Birth Center where I attended nearly 200 labors and deliveries as a student and gained all of my clinical experiences. After completing my clinical training, I couldn’t imagine practicing anywhere else and I was given the opportunity to open a practice inside of Authentic Birth Center. In January of 2022, I received a Bachelor’s of Science in Midwifery degree from Mercy in Action College Of Midwifery.
I am honored to walk alongside and serve families through their pregnancy and birth journey. My goal as a midwife is to empower mothers and fathers alike as they embark on this journey into parenthood together, whether it be for the first time or 10th time. I believe that every woman is created with the incredible ability to create, nourish and give birth to new life. I recognize birth as a sacred experience and will honor your wishes for however you desire your pregnancy and birth to transpire.
Angela Guzzardo
Certified Nurse Midwife, APNP
[email protected]
Hello, I’m Angela Guzzardo, Certified Nurse Midwife. I am so honored to be a part of the midwifery group at Authentic Birth Center – Wellness Collective.
My love of women’s healthcare began during my childhood in Alaska where I was blessed to attend the births of two of my siblings. These experiences helped to guide my journey in becoming a nurse and my passion for women’s health.
I spent the first 10 years of my nursing career working in antepartum, labor and delivery, postpartum, and OB clinic. In 2012, when I became pregnant with my first son, I knew I wanted a more holistic care model than was offered in the hospital setting where I worked. This is what lead me to midwifery care, and after a beautiful homebirth I started the process to become a nurse midwife. Over the next 4 years I earned my Master of Science in Nurse Midwifery from Marquette University and added another little boy to my life.
My goal is to create a partnership with the families I serve –one built on trust and a shared knowledge of physiologic birth and the midwifery model of care. I deeply believe that each person is the creator of their own birth process. No better or worse, just an understanding of personal wants and wishes that, together, I hope we can bring to fruition in a safe and supportive space.
Kelsey Pendleton,
MD
[email protected]
Welcome! I am Kelsey Pendleton, a family medicine physician here at Authentic Birth Center—Wellness Collective. I am so honored to serve you through your journey into parenthood and to work shoulder-to-shoulder with the wonderful midwives here.
“Matrescence” is the transformation of a woman into a mother—a beautiful process that begins years prior to baby’s arrival. It starts with your first hopes and dreams of becoming a mother and continues the rest of your time on Earth. While the birth of each child is a seminal moment in this transformation, there is such beauty in the experiences both before and after. My passion is providing care for these mothers and their growing families along this lifelong journey including pre-conception, pregnancy, and afterwards.
I fully subscribe to the midwifery model of care that relies on informed consent throughout your pregnancy and birthing time. While I offer all the medical amenities available in conventional maternal care, I also will walk with you step-by-step through the benefits and risks to assist you in making the best decisions for yourself and your baby. I trust that when given complete knowledge, you know what is best for your family. Additionally, your prenatal care will include in-depth conversations about lifestyle factors such as nutrition, movement, stress, connection, and sleep in order to encourage a healthy low-risk pregnancy.
As a mother who birthed at Authentic myself, I understand the sacred experience that is had when body and baby work as one to bring them Earthside. It is a joy to bear witness to this transformation in our mothers and families. I am also privileged to offer my continued support in your matrescence whether through in-home postpartum care packages for you and baby, breastfeeding medicine consultation, or membership in our family medicine direct primary care practice upstairs in the Authentic Birth Center—Wellness Collective.
Chelsey Isaacson
Celestial Midwifery
[email protected]
Hello! I’m Chelsey, and I’m so pleased to meet you! I fell in love with Midwifery following the home birth of my first child, who is now 6. My journey towards midwifery can only be described as serendipitous. I myself was born at home, and then my son was born into the hands of the very same midwife some 20 years later. The empowerment I felt after his birth moved me, and continues to change my life to this day. As I eased into motherhood and all that entailed, I also dove headfirst into birth-work.
In 2016 I became a certified birth + postpartum doula, a birth photographer, and a placenta encapsulationist. I went on to serve 50+ families in those capacities over the course of 3 years while adding another sweet babe to my own family. In 2019 I began formal midwifery training at a correspondence didactic program before beginning my formal apprenticeship as a Student Midwife here at Authentic in 2021. Since then I’ve attended over 100 additional out of hospital births.
My own second home birth was far from perfect, and I likely would have had an emergency cesarean if I’d been laboring in a hospital- without the innate knowledge and trust that my midwives both held in themselves and encouraged in me. That birth ignited a passion and a deep knowing that all birthing people deserve the perinatal care and support that I had. My philosophy regarding childbirth is that it is an important and empowering, yet most often a completely normal physiological process which should be respected and safeguarded. I am passionate about making evidence-based, inclusive midwifery care available to all committed parents.
I believe having the support of a qualified midwife through each step of your care and birth can greatly improve your journey as you navigate through labor and the transition into parenthood. I believe you are strong and capable of anything and deserve someone dedicated to helping you accomplish the birth experience you desire. I deeply believe women and all birthing people deserve respect, autonomy, and non-biased treatment through their care experience. Birth is a unique, life-changing event for every woman and client who journeys through it’s unfolding. It is with great gratitude and excitement that I look forward to meeting you and supporting you on the journey ahead.
Authentic Birth Center · Wellness Collective
530 N 108th Place, Wauwatosa, WI 53226
Authentic Hours
Monday-Thursday 8:30-4:30pm
Friday 8:30-12:30pm
Saturday-Sunday open for births