Millie and El Camino Health: A New Maternity Partnership in Palo Alto

Millie and El Camino Health are opening a joint maternity clinic in Palo Alto in early December 2026. It brings together Millie's midwifery-led, OB-supported care and El Camino Health's nationally recognized maternity services, so you get personal, continuous support with a hospital team behind you.

Here's how it works, what it means for your pregnancy, and how to get started.

Why Millie and El Camino Health are partnering

More families want care that is customized, educational, and personal. Both organizations were built around that idea.

Millie was created to rethink maternity care around what families need: longer and more frequent visits, a doula on your team, support you can reach any time, and a home visit after birth. El Camino Health is a not-for-profit health system that delivers approximately 5,000 babies a year, and its Mountain View hospital has been named one of the Best Hospitals for Maternity Care by U.S. News & World Report.

Unlike a traditional referral relationship, the joint clinic gives you one unified experience. Each team brings what it does best: Millie's continuity and accessibility, and the specialty expertise and facilities of a leading hospital.

The timing matters, too. More people are starting families later. The CDC reports that 21% of U.S. births in 2023 were to mothers 35 and older, up from 9% in 1990. This partnership is designed for that reality, with early, proactive monitoring and a hospital team ready if your care needs grow.

How your care works, from first visit to postpartum

Your midwifery-led care happens at our clinic, and your birth happens at the hospital. Here's the path:

1. Start at the clinic. If you're under 8 weeks pregnant or transferring care, begin with a 20-minute virtual consult. At 8 weeks or later, your first visit is 40 minutes in person, with labs and an ultrasound to confirm your pregnancy.
2. Prenatal visits in Los Altos. You'll see your Millie midwife at 4300 El Camino Real, Suite 201, near Palo Alto. Your Millie Guide, a practicing doula, meets with you each trimester, and your care team is a phone call or app message away between visits.
3. Added support when you need it. Millie and El Camino Health OB-GYNs co-manage your care whenever more expertise is needed. Both teams share clinical protocols and a common patient record, so nobody starts from scratch.
4. Birth at El Camino Health - Mountain View Hospital. Your Millie team is with you, working alongside El Camino Health OB-GYNs and hospital nurses.
5. Postpartum care that keeps going. Three postpartum visits, including one at home, plus weekly drop-in office hours. Lactation, nutrition, and mental health support are there when you want them.

What this partnership means for you

• One connected team. Your midwives and the hospital's OB-GYNs and nurses work from the same protocols and the same patient record, so you don't repeat yourself.
• A midwife who knows you. Your Millie midwife stays your primary clinician from your first visit through postpartum.
• A hospital behind you. If something unexpected comes up, you're already connected to El Camino Health's labor and delivery services, its women's health specialists, and its on-site NICUs.
• Insurance that works the way you'd expect. Clinical appointments, labs, ultrasounds, and labor and delivery at El Camino Health are billed to insurance.
• More choice. You don't have to pick between personalized midwifery care and the resources of a leading health system. You get both.

About maternity care at El Camino Health

El Camino Health is an independent, not-for-profit health system serving Silicon Valley and the South Bay. Its mother-baby services include private birthing suites, family-centered NICUs, high-risk pregnancy care, childbirth classes, virtual tours, and breastfeeding support. A few things to know about El Camino Health - Mountain View Hospital is where you'll give birth:

• A newly expanded Women's Hospital. The Melchor Family Center for Women & Newborns at the Orchard Pavilion was dedicated on September 17, 2026.
• A dedicated OB emergency room. Laboring parents can be assessed right away and move to a delivery suite without passing through a general emergency department.
• Private NICU family suites. Parents can stay with their babies around the clock.
• Recognition for quality. El Camino Health has been named one of the Best Hospitals for Maternity Care by U.S. News & World Report, and it was the San Francisco Bay Area's first Magnet hospital for nursing excellence.

How to get started

Millie Palo Alto opens in early December 2026. Join the waitlist and we'll let you know as soon as appointments open. Already pregnant and seeing another provider? We accept transfers up to 32 weeks, and you can book a free info call to talk it through.

We currently accept these insurance plans, plus Medicare:

• PPO: Aetna, Anthem Blue Cross of California, Blue Shield of California, Cigna, HealthNet, TRICARE West, UnitedHealthcare
• HMO: Aetna, Cigna, HealthNet, Valley Health Plan, TRICARE West

Frequently asked questions

Where is the clinic, and where will I give birth? The clinic is at 4300 El Camino Real, Suite 201, in Los Altos, near Palo Alto. All births take place at El Camino Health - Mountain View Hospital.

Who will be at my birth? Millie midwives and El Camino Health OB-GYNs work together, sharing clinical protocols and a common patient record. If a cesarean section or another intervention is needed, El Camino OB-GYNs perform it in collaboration with your Millie midwives.

Will there be more Millie and El Camino Health clinics? Yes. The Palo Alto clinic is part of a broader plan to expand choice and access to maternity care in Silicon Valley and the Bay Area, and a second clinic is in development in the South Bay.