Visit our statistics page to see more!

Austin Area Birthing Center is busy designing our new south Austin location on West William Cannon Drive between West Gate Blvd and Manchaca Rd.  We are working with an architect, space planner and interior designer to create a birthing center unlike anything Austin has seen before!  The south Austin location will have examination rooms, three beautifully decorated birthing rooms each with their own bathroom and a huge teaching room for birthing classes. 

Our south Austin birthing center will be staffed with the same friendly, knowledgeable and qualified Certified Nurse Midwives as you’ve come to know and love in our Duval location.  In addition, we will offer bi-lingual birthing classes.  The estimated opening date for our new south Austin birthing center is June, 2010.

We've created a new website so that you can follow our progress.  Please visit www.austinabcsouth.com to see pictures and read articles about our new South Ausitn location.

For the most current information about what's going on at Austin ABC, visit our Facebook page, we update it daily.

Check out our bright, brief video on Facebook. You do not need to have a Facebook account to see it. The link opens in a new window — just close the Facebook window to return to Austin ABC: South Location Video Link

Looking for more information about Vaginal Birth After Cesarean? A good resource is the International Recovery Advocacy website at www.ican-online.org

Born In the USA

• National health spending is expected to reach $2.5 trillion in 2009, accounting for 17.6 percent of the gross domestic product. 
• More is spent on health care in the United States on a per capita basis than in any other nation in the world.
• Childbirth is the leading reason for hospitalization in the US
• Childbirth in the US is over medicalized. The current style of maternity care is procedure-intensive, and six of the fifteen most commonly performed hospital procedures in the entire population are associated with childbirth. 
• Cesarean section is the most common operating room procedure in the country. US C-section rate in 1970 was 5.5%. The US C-section rate in 2007 was 31.8%. According to the World Health Organization recommendations about optimal cesarean section rates the best outcomes for mothers and babies occur with cesarean section rates of 5% to 10%. Rates above 15% do more harm than good.
• Maternal and newborn hospital charges ($86 billion in 2006) far exceed those of any other condition. Private insurers pay for 49% of births; Medicaid covers 43%.
• The United States newborn mortality rate ranks 29th the second worst rate in the developed world
• The United States ranks behind at least 40 other nations in maternal mortality rates; the highest in over 20 years.
• Eighty percent of pregnant women are considered low risk.

AABC has added a new Video page dedicated to Knowledge and Learning. You can find it in the right-side menu under More About Us -> Videos - Knowledge. The Knowledge and Learning page begins with a new video named "Reducing Infant Mortality" that pulls together noted birth experts that reflect on current trends and analyzes why the United States is ranked higher then most developed countries.

While this video ranks the US at 48th, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, in a NCHS Data Brief dated October 2008 ranks the US at 29th and notes;

"The U.S. infant mortality rate is higher than rates in most other developed countries. The relative position of the United States in comparison to countries with the lowest infant mortality rates, appears to be worsening. In 2004, the United States ranked 29th in the world in infant mortality, tied with Poland and Slovakia. Previously, the United States international ranking in infant mortality was 12th in 1960 and 23d in 1990."

You you can view the video on this page.

A free informative class for AABC clients and potential clients

Joan Smith, nurse midwife, our clinical director will be teaching a class on breast feeding here at AABC on saturday Sept. 26, 2009 from 1pm - 3pm.

The class will feature a video and refreshments will be provided. Joan has experience with teaching breast feeding, extensive study of breast feeding and has breast fed her own twins!

Please RSVP early if you plan on attending....346-3224. The class is open to all AABC clients and potential clients but space is limited. Don't miss the wonderful opportunity.

Our 2008 birthing mother statistics are available for your review.  To compare our birthing mom's statistics from year to year visit our statistics page.

Could it be?

No, not exactly...KEYE News visited the Austin Area Birthing Center to film a commercial and AABC invited some moms with their babies. What unfolded was something akin to controlled chaos. The babies did fine in the beginning, but after about 8 minutes they began to slump sideways and one or two got fussy. The moms and midwives seemed to really enjoy watching the whole thing.

Our Sofa Babies left to right; Rachael Cochran, Marley Benson, Sarah Rose, LeGoff, Henry Bensel, Dylan Scales, Landon Jones, Kinley Katanick, and Dylan Ford

How AABC turned no coverage into a Blessing For Us

A Problem with No Insurance

Lydia, our toddler and I had cheap insurance from the internet because my husband's teachers policy required us to pay almost one thousand dollars per month for coverage. We liked the thought of spacing our children two years apart so I started calling around approximately one year before I got pregnant trying to find maternity coverage. All the policies had a rule that I had to wait one year to get pregnant and they were all very expensive.

Beyond the cost savings, I'd like to share a perspective of the birth experience with my first daughter in a group provider/hospital setting, compared to the birth experience of my second daughter at Austin Area Birthing Center.

Why is this newborn grinning? Click here to find out!

Roswitha Dowell, CNM with baby Michael Avitzour.

December 2, 2008

"My birth experience was so perfect that I would say it was like the movies.  But the movies NEVER show you a non-ridiculous birth. So I’ll say it was better than the movies, and we rode off into the sunset."

I’m going to just start with the stats that someone considering unmedicated childbirth or the Bradley Method would want to know: I’m 36 and this is my first baby.  I was a little over 41.5 weeks. One breast pump got things rolling. No bloody show. No water breaking. I was in labor for 11 hours. The hard part was five hours. I pushed for half an hour. My water never broke. Gave birth to one 8 lb 8 oz boy completely inside his bag of waters. One teeny tear, but not in the SCARY TEAR area. No stitches. Zero pooping. We banked the cord blood.

Now, the longer version…

To all the lovely ladies at AABC,

Thank you so much for your care and support over the last 10 months.  We had an incredible experience.  Everyone is so friendly and helpful; it was a joy to come to our pre/postnatal appointments. 

Our birthing experience was beautiful, we could not have asked for better.  We felt so cared for and being in the tub was so helpful.  Our son Bodhi, came into the world so peacefully and it was all because of the Austin Area Birthing Center and our amazing midwife, Lauren. 

Lara, Nils and Bodhi

Haley Kate, Cecily and Willis

Dear Joan and all of our friends at Austin ABC,

All 3 of our “birthing center babies” are doing well and bring so much joy into our lives each and every day.  Okay, so it’s joy with a lot of noise, messes, “boo-hoos” and kisses, but oh the joy of the holidays!

Thank you for all of the care and service these pas 6 years and especially for giving me the births I always imagined I could have with my children.  May 2009 be prosperous for everyone.

Brooks and Tracy Nettleship

Lauren, Roswitha, Jenny , Joan Angela, Tamara and Erin,

We can’t thank you enough for the wonderful care you provided to us for the birth of our daughter Aideen on Nov 22, 2008.  Our birthing experience was everything we had hoped for and ever more.  Lauren, who delivered Aideen, was absolutely fantastic, as was Angela who provided lots of encouragement and support.  Roswitha, Jenny and Joan were all so caring for both prenatal and postnatal care.  Aideen was born healthy and bright as a button and continues to grow like a weed.  We feel very lucky to have attended AABC and would like to thank you all for from the bottom of our hearts for such wonderful care!!!

Angela, Wayne and Aideen  

Eileen Collins and her 3 daughters, all born at the Austin Area Birthing Clinic. They love the new Prenatal Clinic and especially the new sofa!

The excitement of a new baby and the prospect of being an older sibling brings smiles to even the youngest members of the family. Families are welcomed and can participate in every phase of the birthing experience.

AABC's services include routine checkups, physicals and classes. Jenny Liana, a certified nurse midwife enjoys interacting with families during pre and post natal checkups. Jennifer says "I love seeing a smile on a mother's face after experiencing childbirth, seeing her and knowing I helped make everything turn out just fine."

Postpartum checkups at AABC are more frequent the the hospital, as you and your baby are seen at three days, two weeks and six weeks. AABC also offers annual checkups and pap smears for all woman in every phase of their lifespan, from puberty to menopause.

July 21, 2008

The Austin Area Birthing Center celebrated the grand opening of its Prenatal Clinic on July 21, 2008.  With this expansion, AABC has grown from 2,600 to 4,264 square feet and now occupies the entire 1st floor of Building 2 at The Arbors at Creeks Edge.

The new Prenatal Clinic has its own entrance, and offers an attractive, comfortable waiting area where children can watch movies on the flat screen/Blue Ray while their moms are being seen.  The new facility also has larger examination rooms, more private midwife offices, a kitchen for the staff and a laundry area.

As a college senior, Lauren Guehl spent a week shadowing an obstetrician to get a feel for what she suspected might be her career of choice - caring for pregnant women and delivering babies.  Her father, who is a doctor, set up the professional test drive at his hospital.  But the experience didn't have quite the intended effect.

"I found out that I loved prenatal care and I loved birth, but I didn't like the medical approach to birth," Guehl said. "My dad set it up to convince me to be a doctor, but all it did was confirm I wanted to be a midwife."

That was six years ago. Today, she is closing out her first year as a certified nurse midwife at the Austin Area birthing Center, where she meets with expecting mothers for prenatal exams and helps them through labor and delivery.

One of the main principles of midwifery is that pregnancy and birth are "natural until proven otherwise," Guehl said. "I think a big misconception is that midwives are anti-hospital, but the biggest thing with midwifery is we want the patient to have the birth they want to have. For low-risk moms, its' just as safe to have an out-of-hospital birth as it is to be in the hospital."

Guehl said she finds satisfaction in helping women through natural childbirth because it is such a significant experience for the patients themselves.Read the entire article...

In January 2008, Lauren Guehl, CNM attended a class at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia to expand her knowledge of Obstetrical Ultrasound.  The program was designed to teach the basic concepts of ultrasound applications in Obstetrics to nurse-midwives, nurse practitioners, or physician assistants, with limited or no formal training in diagnostic ultrasound.

The course focused on GYN evaluation of pelvic anatomy, first trimester pregnancy, basic fetal anatomy, and the basics of third trimester ultrasound, including Fetal Biophysical Profile testing and Amniotic Fluid Index.  The course provided two days of lecture and demonstrations, and one day of hands-on experience with volunteer models. 

Liana has earned both a B.S. and a M.S degree in Nursing and Nursing Midwifery, she holds Registered Nurse (RN) and Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM) certifications, and has worked at a medical hospital prior to joining AABC. Beyond her education and professional experience, she shares a story about a commitment and passion to create a better birthing experience for women. Read more about Lauren Guehl.