About Our Birth Center & Midwifery Care
Asheville Birth & Wellness Center is a freestanding birth center in Asheville, NC, offering midwifery-led prenatal, birth, and postpartum care for families across Western North Carolina. Our team of experienced midwives provides personalized, evidence-based care in a safe, comfortable, and home-like setting.
Our mission is to provide safe, compassionate, and evidence-based midwifery care in Asheville, NC, offering personalized support, education, and wellness services for growing families. We are committed to improving access to care, supporting underserved communities, and serving as a clinical training site for future healthcare professionals.
The United States continues to face higher maternal health risks compared to other developed countries. Research shows that midwife-led care and birth center models are associated with lower intervention rates and strong outcomes for low-risk pregnancies.
At Asheville Birth and Wellness, we provide care that prioritizes lower-intervention care for our clients when appropriate, continuous labor support, informed decision-making, and whole-person wellness.
Our goal is to offer a model of care that is both safe and deeply supportive, improving your experience through pregnancy and birth, while also making an impact on our community by offering options that support safe outcomes.
A freestanding birth center is a healthcare facility designed for low-risk pregnancies, offering a safe and supportive alternative to hospital birth. Care is provided by licensed midwives using a midwifery model of care, which emphasizes personalized support, low intervention, and informed decision-making.
Birth Centers are an integrated part of the healthcare system, with established protocols for safety and transfer to hospital partners if needed. They offer a balance of clinical expertise and comfortable, home-like settings where families can feel at ease.
Asheville Birth & Wellness Center is part of Lilac Health, a network of midwifery-led birth centers dedicated to expanding access to high-quality maternity care. Our Asheville location was thoughtfully established to serve the growing demand for birth center care in Western North Carolina, offering families more choice in how and where they give birth.
Lilac Health is consistently delivering patient-centered and evidence-based care so that families can have more compassionate birth experiences.
By expanding the number of birth centers, we aim to eliminate maternity care deserts ensuring access for everyone to top-tier inclusive maternity care.
Asheville Birth and Wellness Center is the result of this vision. Inaugurated in March 2023, our Asheville location was chosen because we recognize the city’s vibrant culture and its residents’ appreciation for alternative birthing choices. Lilac Health saw a golden opportunity to introduce and elevate the birth center experience.
Our Philosophy of Midwifery Care
We believe that pregnancy and birth are normal, healthy life events that deserve respectful, individualized care. Our philosophy includes honoring birth as a natural and empowering process. This looks like offering support through physical, emotional, and personal spiritual aspects of care. We prioritize client interactions to center your needs, values, and autonomy, while also sharing health information that brings you alongside decision-making to be an active participant in your health and birth experience.
Philosophy
By caring for the whole person, we aim to positively impact your birth and the long-term health of families and our broader community.
Our Team
Our licensed midwives utilize the midwifery model of care, which emphasizes personalized support, low intervention, and informed decision-making.
Our Facility
Our Asheville birth center is designed to provide comfort, safety, and freedom of movement during labor.
Features include:
- Home-like birthing suites with calming, natural design
- Space for movement, labor support, and family presence
- Access to water birth options
- Integrated clinical equipment for safe, effective care
We are a fully licensed facility that meets rigorous safety and quality standards, ensuring you receive trusted care in a supportive environment.
Insurance and Payment Options
We believe that access to midwifery care should be as seamless as possible.
We currently accept these insurances and cost-sharing plans:
- Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina
- Healthy Blue (Medicaid)
- Aetna
- Christian Healthcare Ministries (CHM)
Self Pay Plans
Clients who do not have insurance or who would like to use the self-payment option because of a high-deductible plan can have a birth center birth through the Self-pay option. This bundled fee is for routine prenatal care, birth, and postpartum care. Our team is happy to help you understand your coverage and estimate your out-of-pocket costs. Any questions should be directed to us.
We are also partnered with CareCredit to provide additional financial support to our clients, click here to learn more and apply now.
FAQ
Your pregnancy care at Lilac Health starts with an orientation visit, which can happen any time in your pregnancy, ideally around 7-8 weeks. Our new patient slots tend to fill up quickly, and we do cap the monthly number of deliveries we take on for each due date!
Ultrasounds and genetic screening blood work should be done around the 10th week when possible before your first pregnancy wellness visit.
Our birthing center allows low risk birthing people to self-determine their journey to childbirth within the midwifery and birthing center models of care. Low risk means healthy, without any pregnancy complications, no prior cesarean births, and not pregnant with twins.
No, all Lilac Health babies are born at the center. We do not offer home birth services.
Yes. Birth centers are designed for low-risk pregnancies and follow strict safety protocols. Our midwives are trained to monitor for any concerns and coordinate hospital transfer if needed.
Yes. Our birth center offers water birth options for clients who are good candidates and interested in this experience.
If a higher level of care is needed, we follow established transfer protocols to ensure a smooth and safe transition to a hospital setting.
No. All births take place at our freestanding Asheville birth center, where we provide safe, midwifery-led care.
Costs vary depending on insurance coverage and individual care needs. We offer insurance billing, self-pay packages, and payment plans to make care more accessible.