Burr Ridge Birth Center offers a warm, compassionate, and home-like environment where families receive exceptional and empowering midwifery care. We are here for people at every stage and walk of life including first intimate health consultation in adolescence, annual well-body visits that assess clients from head to toe, comprehensive evidence-based prenatal, birth, and postpartum care, as well as counseling on the management of hormonal fluctuations in midlife.
Maria Escamilla, DNP, CNM
Maria (she/her) was born and raised in Mexico City, Mexico. During nursing school, she was introduced to midwifery by an inspiring teacher, who was, herself, a midwife. While in nursing school, Maria worked at a private OBGYN practice where she realized she wanted to support people as they progressed throughout their life cycles via midwifery.
Maria completed her undergraduate nursing degree at Universidad Panamericana in Mexico City, Mexico in 2016. In 2017, she moved to Chicago, IL, to pursue her dream of becoming a midwife. She studied at the University of Illinois at Chicago and graduated from the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program in the summer of 2021. Maria’s training as a student midwife was performed at Federally Qualified Health Centers in Chicago with a high volume of clients, which further solidified her interest in community-based birth and wellness care. Maria completed a Midwife Fellowship with Burr Ridge Birth Center in 2022 and now serves as a full-time midwife.
Maria is convinced that clients should have the right to access the necessary resources to ensure their health and well-being; she is an advocate of informed decision-making and consent. She believes that all clients deserve an evidence-based, trauma-informed, and culturally sensitive approach. The care she strives to provide is founded in social and reproductive justice. If you were to ask her what she most enjoys about midwifery, her response would be: “having the opportunity to make connections and learn from the clients and families that come in my path”.
Currently, Maria lives in Bolingbrook, IL, with her fiancé, Ozan, their cat, Tobias, and their dog, Orion. She spends her free time hiking, reading, and cooking. Maria always looks forward to traveling back home to Mexico to be with her family and friends.
Mary Heater, MSN, CNM
Mary (she/her) grew up in the Western Suburbs of Chicago and has never left. She was first introduced to Midwifery through her Mother’s copy of the book Spiritual Midwifery. Later, she was inspired to pursue Midwifery as a career after the birth of her three children, two of whom were born at home.
Mary has helped pregnant people through the transitions of pregnancy, labor, birth, and parenthood for 14 years. She worked first as a registered nurse in labor and delivery and later as a midwife. Her work experience is diverse — having worked in inner-city Chicago, suburban Chicagoland, high-risk academic centers, community hospitals, home birth, and now at Burr Ridge Birth Center.
Mary is excited to be a part of a growing birth center that provides excellent evidence-based Midwifery care to clients. Equity, compassion, and a desire to support people through challenging times drive her. She is hyper-aware that the type of care provided at Burr Ridge Birth Center is rare in Illinois and the United States, and feels honored to be a part of this warm, loving supportive community.
When away from work, Mary loves spending time with family, walking, doing hot yoga, listening to podcasts (Pod Save America and My Favorite Murder are favorites), watching TV, and reading books. Quirks she has come to love about herself include her talent for napping and her habit of listing all the possible foods someone can eat for a meal if they walk into her kitchen. Her motherly instincts are always compelling her to feed people. She has called Aurora home for 18 years, has been married for 25 years, has 3 adult children, two very friendly cats, and a nice collection of house plants. Her hopes for the future include becoming an avid gardener and a world traveler.
