Our Team- midwives committed to  empowering women and homebirth in Austin, Round Rock

Sandra Tallbear, ARNP/CNM

Advanced Registered Nurse Practicioner, Certified Nurse Midwife (ARNP-CNM) Georgetown, TX

Direct clinical care

Our goal is to be a blessing to you and your family. We work in partnership with you to have a peaceful, calm, safe homebirth. Your ideas, desires and dreams related to your birth are our goals.  We protect the space for your birth.  Sandra has 23 years experience in water birth. 

Professional History 

1986-        Bachelors of Science in Nursing (BSN), Harding University, Searcy, AR.  Minor in Spanish, Bible. 

1987-1989   Artemis Speaks College, with VBAC expert Nan Koehler, Tradiditional Birth Attendant.  Sebastopol California

1988-1991   Labor & Delivery.  Deaconess Medical Center, Spokane, WA.

1993-         Graduated Cum Laude Masters of Science in Nurse-Midwifery (MSN), University of California San Francisco, and San Diego campuses.

1993-1996   Certified Nurse Midwife, Nacogdoches Memorial Hospital,  Adjunct faculty UTMB Galveston.      

1997-2003   Healing Heart Midwifery, Nacogdoches, TX.  Home birth midwife & water births.

2002-2004  Travel Nursing Labor & Delivery,  several California Hospitals. 

2004-2005  Austin Area Birthing Center. Certified Nurse Midwife.

2004-2007   Labor & Delivery, North Ausin Medical Center, Austin, TX.

2007-2015   Angels Singing Over Me Midwifery, Administrator, CNM,  home births and water births.  

2007-2010   Scott & White Hospital, Round Rock, TX.  Registered Nurse L&D. Charge Nurse.

2011- 2013   Central Texas Birth Center, Gerogetown, TX.  Assisted in opening CTBC.  Certified Nurse Midwife.

                 Home Birth  and waterbirth specialist.

2013-          The Natural Birthing Center, Salado, opened 2013.  Clinical Director. Home Birth and Waterbirth specialities. 

                 Clinical Director and Certified Nurse Midwife, Natural Birthing Center, Salado, TX.    

2017 -         Natural Birthing Center in the Round Rock. Administrator. Clinical midwife.  CEO.

NRP  expires 11/21   CPR expires August 2021.  ACMB certification expires 2023. Certified in Acumassasge December 2018.  Vaginal Breech workshop Oct 9 & 10 2019. 

Anita Hernandez, LM , CPM

On call midwife. 

* Owner / Founder of Dulce Birthing Services, Killeen, Texas

* Birth Doula for 20 years
* Lactation Counselor 
* Placenta Encapsulation Specialist
* Certified Professional Midwife since September 2019. Licensed Midwife January 2020.

 

Anita is a wife, and mother of 4 handsome boys. She fell in love with birth 15+ years ago. Before even knowing that being a Doula was a profession, she was naturally supporting friends, loved ones, and even a few friends of friends in the role of a doula. She became the go-to gal when women were pregnant back in her hometown. It was later, after relocating to Killeen, she realized that she could formally train. She received her Birth Doula training through Childbirth International, and gained even more knowledge to assist mothers. She has served mothers that have birthed 18 babies (not a typo); to first-time moms. She is currently pursuing her studies to become a midwife through Ancient Arts Midwifery Institute, and is currently completing her apprenticeship under Sandra Tallbear. Anita also provides lactation support and education alongside her doula services. She has real life experience, having nursed all 4 of her boys, along with lactation counselor training through Childbirth International to help her with assisting mothers. Whether they need a little or a lot of assistance figuring things out. Last, but not least, she believes in both the power of prayer and chocolate….tons of each!

 

Credentials & Qualifications:
*Bi-lingual, Spanish & English
*Mercy In Action – Midwifery Assistant Skills Workshop, 2016
*BLS (Basic Life Saving Skills) – Completed 2021
*NRP  expires Nov 2021

Other Experience:
Founder & President of Grace for Mothers (a local non-profit providing support, resources, and tools for mothers with children of all ages). Grace for mothers meets the needs of many birthing, and post partum mothers in Bell County.

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Raichal Reed, Student Midwife. 

ATM student of midwifery for the past 3 years.  She has taken 6 of the 8 modules offered by ATM and well on her way to graduation as a proficient midwife.  She is now in the NARM program.

Raichal is a birth, bereavement, and adoption doula originally from southern Mississippi where she fell in love with the natural ways of giving birth. After coming to Texas she decided to wade in the waters of the birthing world by certifying as a labor companion in 2015. Since then, she has been working for low income families in the central Austin area and became the volunteer director for GALS (Giving Austin Labor Support) in 2017.  She actively volunteers for the Travis county Sheriff's office to provide doula services for incarcerated mothers.  She has been in the ATM midwifery program since 2016.  She has apprenticed with Mary Michael Potter for two years and has been serving women with the Natural Birthing Center as a student since August of 2018. 

She has a sweet and gentle spirit.  Eager to learn and serve.

NRP expires 2021,  BLS expires 2021.  Trained in placental encapsulation and baby wearing.

Ashlee Larsen CPM, Texas Licensed Midwife

Ashley is currently in Ecuador. 

*Certified Doula- 2010

*Owner/ Operator of Support the Mama Professional Birth Services- 2010 to present

*Midwifey  Student 2011-2017

*Midwife Assitant 2011- present HBMS, WHBC, AABC

*Medical Assistant Sub 2017- AABC

*Graduate Midwife Intern May 2018-December2018

*Contract CPM for The Natural Birthing Center, Round Rock    

Credentials and qualifications:

*Certfied Doula,  ToLabor

*B.E.S.T. Trained (Birth Emergency Skills Training)

*CPR/BLS expire 2021

Ashley States: "I believe in birth.  I believe in a woman's intuition and ability to bring her baby earth side as peacefully as possible.  I believe that babies speak to us during labor.  Sometimes they take the reins and call the shots differently than we planned.  I blieve a  'plan' is something that shouldn't be had, rather, having a vision and desires of what you'd like your birth to look like with the knowledge that it can bend and change and still be a beautiful and peaceful experience.  I consider it an honor and a privilege to hold two lives in my hands.  I have the utmost respect for that.  I am not a risk taker.  I am not a rogue midwife who hates doctors and medicine.  I hope that we can eventually bridge the gap and work collectively to offer individiualized care to these families".

"Being a midwife is what I truly believe I have been called to do.  I have been given the gift to walk alongside women on their path to motherhood.  It is the most humbling yet rewarding thing I think there is. The relationships that are forged are like that of no other.  Having a family trust me to care for them and usher their newborn into the word.   their really is no greater gift."

Ashley is blessed to serve our clients in Leander, Cedar Park, Burnet, Liberty Hill, Austin and Round Rock.