Our Midwifery Services in Austin
The Birthing Experience
At Austin Area Birthing Center, birth is care built on relationship. Over your pregnancy, you will get to know our midwives, and because we practice as a team, whoever is with you at your birth knows your history, your preferences, and your plan. You’ll labor in a home-like suite, free to move and find your rhythm, with interventions used only when they truly serve you and your baby.
Your Labor, Your Way
When labor begins, you will call the on-call midwife at your location and come in when you are ready. You will settle into your choice of birth suites based on availability, and from there, the experience is yours to shape. Eat, drink, walk, sway, rest, labor in the water, in the shower, on a birth stool or ball, or curled in bed with your partner’s hands on your back.
Your midwife stays close throughout your labor, monitoring your baby’s heart rate with a handheld doppler, and checks your vital signs. The relationship you build with your midwives throughout your care is one built on trust and informed consent. You are not a patient being managed here. You are a mother doing the work of bringing your baby earthside, with skilled hands nearby in case you need them.
Safe, Skilled, and Close By
Comfort and safety are important at AABC. Your midwife is trained to recognize the rare moment when labor needs more support or intervention, and every birth suite is equipped with emergency equipment for both you and your baby in the event we need it. For the birth itself, your midwife is joined by your birth team, which includes trained birth assistants and student midwives, so you are never without experienced, attentive hands at the moment it matters most.
Our midwives support birth in whatever position helps your body do its work, whether you are upright, in hands-and-knees, side-lying, or in the water, with the goal of easing your baby’s arrival and honoring your body as you deliver.
The First Moments
When your baby is born, they are immediately brought to your chest for skin-to-skin and there is no rush to cut the cord. As long as you and baby are stable, we will continue to monitor you both while you get to bond with your baby with limited interruption. All of your baby’s care happens in the room, right next to you.
This is the part we never get tired of. After tens of thousands of births, we still consider it a privilege to witness.
The best way to understand what birth here feels like is to see it for yourself.
Centering Pregnancy: Group Prenatal care
Centering Pregnancy is prenatal care reimagined. Instead of a quick, solo appointment in an exam room, you receive your prenatal care alongside a small group of women due around the same time as you, combining your prenatal checkups with learning, connection, and real conversation. Groups begin after the first trimester and meet throughout your pregnancy. Each session runs about two hours, guided by your midwife.
How Centering Pregnancy Works
You take an active role in your own care. At each visit, you will check your own weight and blood pressure and record them, then have a quick one-on-one assessment with your midwife. From there, the group comes together for guided discussion, which covers everything from labor and birth to breastfeeding, newborn care, and the early weeks of parenthood.
In addition to guided discussions, there is time and space for group-led conversations. Each participant has space to ask questions, share what they are experiencing, and hear from those walking the same path. Research consistently shows we learn best through discussion with others, and that is exactly what Centering is built around.
Each week a different family gets to bring a snack to share with the group.
Why families choose Centering Pregnancy
- Families in Centering groups are less likely to have a preterm birth
- Centering mothers have higher breastfeeding rates, which is healthier for both mother and baby
- You leave each session feeling more confident and informed about your choices
- You build genuine friendships with other mothers and build a community that often lasts well beyond birth
- Partners and support people are welcome, and frequently say they felt more included in the pregnancy
Water Birth in austin
For nearly 40 years, AABC has offered water birth to families in Austin, which is longer than most other provider in the area. It’s a part of our practice we’ve spent decades refining, and it remains one of the most-requested options at both of our centers.
Every birth suite at AABC is built around a deep, permanent water tub, not the inflatable tubs used by some providers. The water is warm, the depth is generous, and the tub can be quickly sanitized and refilled at any point during labor.
What Water Birth Feels Like
For many mothers, the moment of stepping into the warm water is the first true relief of labor. The buoyancy takes the weight off your back and hips. Contractions, while still strong, often feel less sharp. Your body relaxes in different ways in the water than it does on dry land or in bed.
The tub also gives you something hospitals rarely can, room to move. You can kneel, float, lean over the edge, change positions easily, or simply rest. For many clients, this freedom is what makes laboring and birthing in the water so different.
Laboring vs. Birthing in the Water
Up to a third of our clients actually give birth in the water (yes, you can do that here!). Most of the rest still spend significant time in the tub during labor and find it offers meaningful relief, even if the birth itself happens out of the water.
Either way, the choice is yours. Some mothers know going in that they want a water birth, while others decide in the moment, based on how labor unfolds and what feels right. Your midwife will support you in whichever direction you go.
Experienced Care, Every Time
Our midwives have supported water births at AABC across nearly four decades. That depth of experience matters. We have refined our practices, our equipment, and our protocols over thousands of births and water birth at AABC is something we know how to do safely and well.
The best way to understand water birth is to see the tubs and meet the midwives who attend them. Schedule a free tour.
Following your Birth: Postpartum Care
The hours and days after your baby’s birth are some of the most important of your transition into parenthood. At AABC, postpartum care begins the moment your baby arrives and continues well into your family’s first weeks at home.
Your First Hours at AABC
After the birth, you will rest in your birth suite with your baby. The majority of our clients return home within 6 to 8 hours of delivery, when you and your baby are stable, well-fed, and ready to head home.
Before you go home, your birth team will go over postpartum care instructions and help you get started with breastfeeding. You will know what to expect, what to watch for, and how to reach us.
Care Continues After You Leave
Your first in-office visit for both you and baby happens within the first 24-48 hours after birth with a midwife. You will have additional postpartum visits for you both at two weeks and six weeks, where we will check on you and your baby’s recovery, support feeding, and talk through anything that comes up. We will also complete your newborn’s hearing screen, and can provide feeding support with our in-house Lactation Consultant.
Community Through the Postpartum Season
The early weeks with a new baby can feel both joyful and isolating. AABC offers ongoing support to help families stay connected, including our Lactation Circle, Baby Love Massage, and seasonal community gatherings.
Want to learn more about the full arc of care at AABC? Schedule a tour to meet our team and see our space
Wellness Care
AABC isn’t only for pregnancy. We provide comprehensive well-woman care for every stage of life, from your first reproductive health visit through your transition into menopause. Whether you are not yet thinking about pregnancy, building your family, or well past your childbearing years, you are welcome here.
Our Certified Nurse-Midwives provide annual exams, contraception, preconception counseling, lab work, and care for problem-focused concerns, all with the same client-centered approach we bring to birth.
Family Planning/Contraception
We offer complete contraceptive counseling and care, helping you find the option that fits your body, your life, and your plans. Available methods include:
- Birth control pills
- Nuva Ring
- Patch
- Intrauterine device (IUD), including Paragard, Mirena, Skyla, and Kyleena – insertion and removal
- Nexplanon – insertion and removal
- Counseling on barrier methods such as condoms and diaphragm
- Natural family planning and fertility awareness, with referrals to specialized teachers in our area
Annual Wellness Exams
Our midwives offer annual well-woman exams from puberty through menopause, with a focus on whole-person wellness and individualized care. Visits include routine physical exams, pap tests, and lab work as needed.
Many of our clients see us for years before they ever consider pregnancy, and many continue with us long after their last baby is born.
Preconception Counseling
If you are thinking about a future pregnancy, whether soon, someday, or actively trying to conceive, preconception counseling helps you prepare your body and your life for the pregnancy you want.
Our midwives will talk through your cycle, your overall health, nutrition, lifestyle, and any specific considerations for your situation.
Many of our pregnancy clients start with preconception care, so we know you long before you are expecting.
Affordable Care, Most Insurance Accepted
Austin Area Birthing Center is in-network with most major health insurance providers. We also offer affordable self-pay options for clients without insurance coverage. Reach out to our front office to ask about your specific plan or to talk through self-pay.
Ready to schedule your first visit? Get started with AABC.