Two doulas on a quest to improve maternity care, perinatal support, and the overall birth culture for Chicagoland families.

Hi there! My name is Tia Wente and I am one half of this doula dream team. Chicagoland Birth & Baby was born when two energetic, compassionate, and motivated doulas joined forces to bring better birth (and postpartum) to area families.

I started my career in healthcare assisting physicians and support staff across multiple specialties in the St. Louis area. When I embarked on my own journey into motherhood, it was less than smooth sailing. My pregnancies were high-risk and very medically managed, with the added twist of not being able to get an epidural. Thus I learned about doulas and had my first baby with the wonderful support of a doula. My second delivery was unfortunately very premature and without the assistance of a doula. The contrast in how I FELT about my births was staggering. During my second birth, everyone in the room had a job to do and was focused on that task, but no one was focused on me and my feelings. From that moment I realized the impact doula support can have on any type of birth and set out to fulfill my passion of empowering families in the perinatal setting. When no one in the room is looking at you and only at (the very important) task at hand, I will be there with you (and your partner) as my only focus.

Greetings, I’m Lisa, our holistic and crunchier side of this dynamic duo. My interest in birthwork began after my second daughter's birth. My first birth experience left me feeling traumatized and reluctant to ever give birth again so I set off to learn all things birth-related to ensure the second time was better. I read a million birth books, listened to podcasts, watched lectures, and took online and in-person classes. As a result, my second birth experience was amazing and left me feeling so empowered and wanting to scream from the rooftops about how magical and empowering birth can actually be. My passion for birth led me to help friends plan and prepare for their births and eventually to study and certify as a doula so I could help parents in my community have empowering birth experiences.

For years we operated as solo doulas under our own businesses, Tree of Life Doula Services and Reclaim Birth. As we became busier and relied on each other m0re as backup coverage we discovered we could do more good together. Thus Chicagoland Birth & Baby was formed. We spent a year building our dream and ensuring we are set up to provide quality and personalized support to each and every CB&B family. Now as we continue to grow we have added a few more friendly faces to our duo helping us offer more families birth support and other valuable ancillary services. It really takes a village to support and empower new parents and we are excited to bring the village to you!