The Austin ABC Difference

Austin ABC is the only birthing center in Central Texas that is accredited by the Commission for the Accreditation of Birth Centers.

The American Association of Birth Centers established the CABC in 1985 as an independent authority after more than a decade of evaluating the quality of birth center services, promoting the development of national guidelines for licensure, reviewing state regulations for birth centers and exploring and evaluating the programs of other accrediting agencies. Austin ABC worked for nearly a year to prepare for the CABC’s three-day inspection.

We have a team approach to midwifery care so that our professional staff can benefit from their colleagues’ experience and insights. That means better and safer care.

Austin ABC’s team of nurse-midwives and certified professional midwives routinely consult each other during care giving and conduct biweekly team reviews of non-routine client experiences. Every midwife has seen a unique set of prenatal and birthing circumstances during her career. By sharing their collective knowledge and experiences, we believe our birthing professionals make better decisions and provide a higher level of care. Austin ABC’s midwives have together attended thousands of births during their careers, and having that depth of knowledge and experience available to our caregivers is a unique and valuable resource.

Austin ABC bridges the gap between hospital deliveries and home births.

While we offer many traditional herbal and homeopathic treatments common to midwifery practice, our certified nurse/midwives and registered nurses can also provide IVs, antibiotics, pain medication, and other prescribed medications and therapies as needed at our two birthing centers. Austin ABC's nurse/midwives are trained to use prenatal fetal monitors and we have our own on-staff ultrasound technician and ultrasound scanners onsite at both locations, allowing us to better evaluate the health of mother and child and take the proper course of treatment if the client wants us to use these tools.

We’re in-network with most health insurance providers in Central Texas and have a professional insurance and billing manager on staff to help you with the financial details of our services.

Whether you’re covered by health insurance or are a self-paying client, we have plans and resources available to make your natural child birthing experience affordable. Our billing professional will help you learn what your coverages are and what if any out-of-pocket costs you might face. Come talk to us about your unique circumstances and we'll do our best to make Austin ABC your partner in bringing your baby into the world.

We pioneered the practice of water birth in Central Texas.

Austin ABC has given mothers the option of water birth for twenty years, giving us more experience in this field than any other provider in the area. Over those two decades we've honed our water birth techniques to ensure the best experience for both mother and child. Each of Austin ABC's six birthing suites have a deep water tub available for laboring and birthing at the mom’s request. These birthing tubs can be quickly sanitized and refilled during labor and delivery, unlike the blow-up tubs used by some other birthing centers and home birth midwives. While about a third of our mothers actually give birth in the water, most all of our clients find that the tubs offer natural relief during labor. For more information about water birth, go here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_birth

Our Austin ABC-owned facilities were designed by birthing professionals and architects to provide the best care and comfort for our clients and their families.

Having your baby at Austin ABC is like staying in a luxury spa staffed by a team of experienced, compassionate birthing professionals. Each of our six birthing rooms (three at each location) expresses a unique style with a large, comfortable bed, deep water tub for laboring and delivery (at the mom’s request) and private bath facilities; both centers have a fully stocked kitchen for the convenience of our clients and their families, and the South center has additional private kitchenettes in each birthing suite.

Our commitment to educating our clients is demonstrated by the range and number of free classes we offer.

* early pregnancy classes offered monthly at each location, open to our current and potential clients

* prenatal yoga Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday at our William Cannon location for all our Austin ABC mothers.

 * monthly and bi-monthly group prenatal classes "Centering Model of Care" that combine your prenatal exam, pregnancy support group, and birthing classes

* "New Trends" childbirth classes, four two-hour sessions for mothers who aren't participating in our group prenatal program

* "Birth In A Nutshell", a four hour intensive refresher course taught monthly at both Austin ABC locations by a local Bradley Method childbirth teacher

* monthly breastfeeding classes at both locations for clients in their last trimester or new mothers and infants with breastfeeding challenges

* "Baby Love" infant massage and new moms support group offered every Tuesday night

Visit our events calendar for more details on each of these valuable learning and sharing opportunities.