Home Birth Midwife in Chestnut Hill & Northwest Philadelphia
Chestnut Hill isn't quite the city. It's not quite the suburbs either.
It's the kind of place where people know their neighbors, choose the independent shop over the chain, and make deliberate decisions about how they want to live.
More families here are making a deliberate decision about how they want to give birth.
Cardinal Birth Midwifery serves families in Chestnut Hill and across Northwest Philadelphia. We come to you — experienced, prepared, and clear about one thing: this is your birth, not ours.
Our services
Traditional Home Birth Midwifery
Full scope. In your home. In the city.
Prenatal care — in-home visits, pregnancy monitoring, lab access, informed conversation
Birth attendance — with you through labor, delivery, and the hours that follow
Postpartum and newborn support — home visits, breastfeeding guidance, newborn observation, maternal recovery
Birth certificate and Social Security card filing
Water birth support and traditional placenta preparation available
Birth Advocacy
We are a midwifery practice and an advocacy group.
Informed consent. Bodily autonomy. The right to make your own decisions in the hospital, at home, or anywhere in between.
We give you the resources and the backbone to exercise those rights.
Functional Wellness
Preconception through postpartum.
Natural fertility guidance, holistic nutrition, breastfeeding support grounded in evidence and tradition.
About Abigail Iovine
I'm Abby. I founded Cardinal Birth in 2013 after five years of apprenticeship under local midwifery elders.
I'm a mother of ten. Four hospital births. Six at home — three with a midwife, three unassisted. I am not theorizing about what birth can look like when it's left alone. I know.
I've attended births across this region for over a decade. I bring emergency preparedness, deep experience, and the kind of calm that only comes from having seen a lot of births — including my own.
You are the lead in your care. My job is to make sure you stay that way.
Why Chestnut Hill Families Choose Home Birth
For the same reason they choose the farmers market. The neighborhood school. The local business over the franchise.
They want something real.
A home birth with Cardinal Birth means laboring in your own space. Your own bed. Your own bathroom. Your dog on the floor if that's what you want.
No hospital clock. No strangers. No one in that room who doesn't belong there.
Just your people, in your home, for one of the most significant moments of your family's life.
On Legal Status in Pennsylvania
Cardinal Birth is a traditional midwifery practice. Not state-licensed. Our work is rooted in faith, education, and tradition.
Pennsylvania's legal landscape for traditional midwives is complicated and, frankly, contradictory. I write about it openly on my Substack. We discuss it openly with every family we serve.
Every family has the right to choose who attends their birth. We stand behind that completely.
Where We Serve
Chestnut Hill, Mt. Airy, Germantown, Roxborough, Wyndmoor, and surrounding Northwest Philadelphia neighborhoods. We also serve families across the broader Philadelphia region and Main Line.
In the city, logistics matter. Reach out and we'll talk through your specific situation.
Ready to talk?
Schedule a free call. No pressure. Just a conversation about your birth, your family, and whether Cardinal Birth is the right fit.
📞 (610) 216-2910