FORT COLLINS — A birth center in Fort Collins is at the center of controversy after criminal charges were filed following an investigation into a newborn's death.
Fort Collins Police told Denver7 they responded to a 911 call related to a distressed newborn at Tender Gifts Birth & Wellness Center in Feb. 2026. In response to a question from Denver7, the department confirmed the infant died.
Investigators uncovered a similar 2025 incident, according to the Fort Collins Police Department, in addition to evidence of forgery and tampering.
Similar information was also illustrated in an inspection report from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) based on a complaint of a newborn death. CDPHE told Denver7 they received three complaints between Feb. and March of 2026 regarding Tender Gifts Birth & Wellness Center, and investigated the facility in early March. The state health department cited the center for a "lack of patient assessment and monitoring during labor and insufficient quality review of this incident to prevent recurrence," according to an email from a spokesperson.
At this time, CDPHE does not have any open complaints or investigations for either facility. Online, Tender Gifts Birth & Wellness Center shows locations in Fort Collins and Grand Junction, along with a Delta clinic.
"Health facility complaints give us the information we often need to investigate facility wrongdoing, enforce compliance, and hold facilities accountable for quality care across Colorado," CDPHE wrote in an email to Denver7, after linking to how to submit a complaint related to health facilities.
While CDPHE regulates birth centers, the state health department does not oversee the licensed professionals working at such facilities. The Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) is responsible for the providers.
In a statement, a DORA spokesperson told Denver7 they have active investigations related to the "direct entry midwives involved." Fort Collins Police say DORA is running the parallel investigation utilizing the evidence gathered by law enforcement.
Both Althea Hrdlichka and Brecklen Ables were charged by the Larimer County District Attorney's Office in connection with the Fort Collins Police investigation. Online, Hrdlichka is listed as the owner and clinical director of the facility, and Ables is described as a certified professional midwife.
Court documents show that Hrdlichka is charged with three counts of Attempt to Influence a Public Servant (F4), one count of Forgery (F5), and two counts of Tampering with Physical Evidence (F6). Ables also faces three counts of Attempt to Influence a Public Servant (F4) and two counts of Tampering with Physical Evidence (F6), according to the complaint.
Denver7 reached out to phone numbers connected to Hrdlichka and Ables asking for a comment before the publication of this story. Neither responded to the request.
The two defendants have bonded out, and court dockets show they have first appearances scheduled for Sept. 15.
Lindsey Kroskob told Denver7 she started working at Tender Gifts Birth & Wellness Center last summer and was fired in Jan. of this year after she grew concerned about what she was experiencing at the facility.
"I was hired on as a fellow midwife. So she [Hrdlichka] sold it to me as though it was a fellowship, meaning there would be mentorship and guidance. However, I was working as a full staff midwife with no oversight," Kroskob said. “When I came on at Tender Gifts, I was brand new. I had just passed my boards and received my licenses.”
Kroskob explained that midwives care for clients who are considered to have low-risk pregnancies, with strict parameters in which they can and should work.
"We provide prenatal care, we attend labor and birth, we provide postpartum care and newborn care up to six weeks, roughly," Kroskob said. "I personally had midwives for two of my births... It's a monumental experience every single time, and I believe that women deserve healthcare that honors their autonomy and their ability to make decisions for themselves and their bodies.”
At first, Kroskob believed the birth center in Fort Collins was a great place to begin her career. She said that changed almost immediately.
“Midwifery is a relational experience. It is different from a hospital in that, I'm your provider, and I have an appointment, and I'm doing everything. I'm doing vitals. I'm listening. I'm getting to know you and doing that education piece," said Kroskob. "We were given 30-minute slots for appointments. Because of the way that things they were back-to-back; there was no break, from beginning to end each clinic day. And so I was trying to figure out how to really connect with these women and these families, and there was no room. We had to get all of these people in, because of the financial aspect of it. So, there was a large focus on on billing and maximizing that."
Kroskob said she experienced a "fetal demise" during her time at the center.
"Afterward, we were instructed not to speak to each other. We were not given an opportunity to debrief. We were told that if we wanted to talk about it, we must go to Althea directly, and pretty much to pretend like it didn't happen," Kroskob claimed. “On the safety side of things, we needed to understand what had happened, why it had happened, and do everything within our power to assure that it never happened again. None of those steps, at least, were part of any conversation with me.”
Similar concerns were echoed by Tierra Lynn, a craniosacral therapist and the founder of Maitri Family Wellness in Fort Collins.
"I was a birth worker before this. That's actually what brought me into this. So, I was a doula and attended births in this community for 20 years now," Lynn said. "I transitioned to this work because I was just seeing families having so many hard experiences and not having any place to go to help them integrate it.”
Lynn said there was "trepidation" in the community regarding the way Hrdlichka operated a birth center.
"Althea has been known to make some choices in attending births that other birth workers and midwives don't always agree with," Lynn explained.
When Lynn learned Hrdlichka was arrested in connection to the birth center, she was not surprised.
"There's a history of midwives being persecuted wrongly, and so we always look at that. But these charges say something more is going on," Lynn said. “Midwives are watched very, very closely, and so the level of concern around Tender Gifts and Althea since the birth center opened tells me that something deeper is going on, rather than just wrongful persecution of midwifery.”
Lynn organized a healing space on Friday afternoon for families who used Tender Gifts Birth & Wellness Center. More details can be found on their social media when individuals RSVP for the session.
“As somebody who facilitates healing spaces for families, my goal tomorrow [Friday] is to have a space where families can see each other and really feel that they are not alone," Lynn said. “It is just heartbreaking for the birth community of Northern Colorado that we've had to witness this for all of these years in silence, and now to see it cracking open, I think is just making everybody feel all of these years of silence even more deeply."
Kroskob was hesitant to speak out about her time at Tender Gifts Birth & Wellness Center, but felt accountability was critical to this case.
“This is not a reflection of midwives, and again, there's a tendency for midwives to really want to band together and protect their own, and I think there's validity in that at times," Kroskob said. "We also lose our credibility if we continue to let people be harmed without using our voices and our skill sets to protect the people that we got into this profession to protect."
