Austin Area Birthing Center is adding a new Prenatal Clinic to its current facility.  AABC will grow from 2,600 to 4,264 square feet and occupy the entire 1st floor of Building 2 at The Arbors at Creeks Edge. The Prenatal Clinic will have its own entrance, a comfortable waiting room with large windows overlooking the woods, larger examination rooms, more private midwife offices, and its own reception, kitchen and laundry area.

This expansion will offer completely separate areas for prenatal checkups and birthing. Our Birthing area will have its own private waiting area and our birthing moms will have more privacy and comfort.   AABC expects to open it's new Prenatal Clinic in mid-July this year. 

Click on the drawings to view a larger image.

Parents Kristie and Albert Ellison with Nathaniel, Albert, James, Aligayle and Vivienne.

To all the beautiful women at the Austin Area Birthing Center....

Our greatest heartfelt thank you to all who helped us welcome our beautiful baby girl, Doris Ann Resor into this world!

What a marathon... 20 hours, 5 midwives, and a little bit of a push! We will never forget our time with all of you and the loving support you gave to our new family! each one of you had something to give us. And all with the warmth and love of a giving mother.

Jenny...you urged us into the night. Lauren...laughter and endurance, caring and delivery! Roswitha...strength, grace and believing in in us! Charlotte...a kind welcome to the new family.

We will miss you all and yet you will always be in our thoughts as a great part of our birth story!

Much love and happy babies to all!

Lowell
12-1-07

To everyone at AABC,

Thank you immensely for your loving, gentle, and thorough prenatal , birth, and postpartum care. My extended family was blown away by the obvious love that was lavished on Lowell at his birth and by the gentleness with which I was treated as well.

I am SO blessed to have been able to birth at the Austin Area Birthing Center. Thank you for this life-changing opportunity and for your love and excellent care.

Sincerely,
Jennifer Barnes

Dear Birthing Center Staff,

Thank you so much for a safe and wonderful birthing experience. My mommy wanted me to be as comfortable as possible as I came into this world and this was the perfect place to do that. A special thanks to Joan Smith, CNM who birthed me. SHe was gentle and exactly who I needed to make the transition peacefully.

I appreciate all of you,
Trinity 4-8-07

The Birth Story of Scarlett Snow O’Brien

It’s hard to put into words the rapturous arrival of our baby girl, Scarlett. I am in awe of my body and in awe of this tiny little girl who has come into my life.

We didn’t know the sex of the baby until birth and we had planned a natural birth with no drugs.

At about 2:20am on October 29, 2007 I started feeling "funny" in my lower belly. It was a mild tightening of the uterus, which mainly felt uncomfortable, like I had eaten a bad burrito or needed to take a really good "poo". I was pretty sure I was on the "train to Labor" I woke Owen up at 5am and told him I needed him to start timing contractions. Sure enough, they were as regular as clockwork about 1 minute long and about 4-5 minutes apart. Pacing really helped with the pain. I called AABC and Roswitha told him to come in and see what was what. We stopped to get Owen an iced mocha, and I would writhe around in the passenger seat. It sucked to be sitting. Movement was very comforting.

We arrived at the birthing center around 7am. Roswitha took me into the exam room and checked me. "Oh, Michelle", Roswitha said, "You are eight centimeters. You are going to have this baby today, yeah?" (Note: Roswitha is German and the most incredible midwife EVER. She must excrete some sort of hormone or something. I don�t know what it is, but it is magic, and hearing her voice makes me turn to Jell-O.)

I was chatty and pretty calm when I arrived at the center, and Roswitha was apparently stunned to discover that I was at 8 centimeters. Anyway, we choose the Windsor Room (so named for its lovely chandelier and Victorian type d’cor) as our birthing room. I took off my skirt and just started pacing the room during contractions. I made to my parents and soon afterwards, things got a bit crazy.

I trust everything that comes out of Roswitha’s mouth, .if she said, "We’re going to perform a frontal lobotomy" I would have agreed, "Okay, yes , sounds good!"

After my bag of waters broke, things got out of control. She brought in an exercise ball and set it on the bed. She had me get on all fours and slump my torso over the ball. I bellowed out like a farm animal. Owen would try to put counter-pressure on my lower back to alleviate the pain. As I was lying there slumped over the ball, Joan leaned down and asked me if I needed to push. Joan was the midwife on call for my birth and arrived about this time. Mainly, I felt like I needed to be shot with a tranquilizer dart. I could only mumble and drool, so I was glad I was in competent hands.

Joan got me off the ball and checked me to see if I had made progress. Apparently my animal noises had done some good. She maneuvered me onto my side, bent in one leg and curled my head into my chest and urged me to push with every contraction. As each contraction would crash over me like a wave, I would push with everything I had, then collapse into what can only be described as a comatose state. Owen asked Joan if the head were in the proper position and if so, could I start squatting.

I knew squatting was getting us somewhere fast because I could feel the pressure of the baby’s head with each push. "Oh my gosh", said Joan "Look at all that hair" Now, ladies, that is quite a sight that I will NEVER forget: The top of my baby’s head emerging from my vagina. It was both surreal and incredibly rewarding.

Giving birth in the tub was the dream birth I had been planning, so they filled up the tub with warm water and moved me into the deliciously, heavenly soothing bath. The water was so soothing that the pain was dulled. Joan needed more leverage to actually get the baby out, so she asked me to get on all fours. So, I moved to all fours, my ass in the air, ready to hear the baby. The baby slid out into the water! Joan pulled the baby up and from the water and Owen saw the baby face to face,upside down. I heard the baby crying, but I didn’t know if we had a boy or girl, yet.

All during labor, Joan had used the pronoun, "he" so it was funny to hear her say, "Oh, it’s a SHE!" They put a little cap on her and set her directly into my arms. We both sat in the tub staring at each other. She reached up and touched my face. I was in a blissful, cracked out state. I was holding MY baby! It was magnificent and overwhelming.

I would have paid someone not to have to push anymore, but the placenta came right out. They showed it to us. The cord was a brilliant white and deep purple- blue, and the placenta was just a mish-mash of knobby reds, crimsons and blues. Within a matter of minutes, they maneuvered me to the bed and put my baby next to me. We all watched in amazement as she latched on to my breast and began sucking like a champion! I was again blown away by this sublime event. She weighed in at 7lbs. 7oz., 20.5 inches. Now, two weeks after the birth, she is 8lbs. 3oz. which doesn’t surprise me because she eats ALL the time. I mean ALL the time.

Love to you all,
Michelle

Dear Jean,

WOW, where do I start? First, I thank God He led me to your place...His heaven on earth. Everything about the Birthing Center is so special to Troy and me. Your angels (staff) are wonderful. You folks are so special that I will forever speak great things of you. Thanks for making us feel like we were the only people having a baby. You meant so much to us and always will.

Love,
Angel, Troy, and baby Cabella

Twenty-six years ago, Roswitha Elisabeth Dowell was certified to be a midwife in Germany – where she was born and grew up –and she began assisting women in giving birth.  Today, Roswitha's background and experience provide a rich and welcome addition to the Austin Area Birthing Center as she begins her tenure as a full time midwife. 

            Roswitha is a familiar face at AABC – having assisted hundreds of families as a post partum caregiver for the past nine years.  Because her German midwifery license didn't transfer to America, she completed midwifery schooling here as well and is now certified in both countries. 

            "Midwifery is something I have always loved," she says.  "I always think that pregnancy and birth are miracles.  And, it's wonderful to believe in and work around miracles."

            After completing her midwifery certification in Germany, Roswitha studied voice and music, and received an additional degree in music.  A single mother with two young children at that time, she performed as an opera singer and taught voice lessons.  But, her life would completely change through a very long distance blind date.

            "A friend of mine in Germany told me he wanted me to meet a friend of his who was a Texan," she recalls.  "He thought we would hit it off because we both were opera singers and loved music.  I joked that we should meet."

            Meeting Joe Dowell proved to be no joke in Roswitha's life – he visited in Germany and by the time his six-month stay was over, the two were in love.  They married in Austin in 1996, but Roswitha had to return to Germany almost immediately.  It took a year for paperwork to be completed in order for her to join her husband in Austin.  She and Joe were reunited and were able to begin their lives together in November 1997.

            But performing opera and teaching voice were not really options anymore for Roswitha, as she spoke no English.

            "It is very hard to teach voice in a different language if you can not speak it," Roswitha explains.  "With singing it is all about pronouncing - and I could do that in German, but not in English."

            She found that because many medical terms are in Latin, she was able to understand birthing and midwifery writing and conversations and so she looked for work as a care provider until she could become more familiar with the language and certified in America.

            She started working as a post partum caregiver at AABC in June 1998 and began helping women in Austin following their births.  She began learning English very quickly and enjoyed her new life.  Her children – son Marian and daughter Clara – settled into life in Texas.  The couple had a child of their own – daughter Emma – in 2001.  She was delivered at home, attended by a midwife.

            Tragedy struck the Dowell home the next year when Roswitha's 15-year-old daughter Clara was diagnosed with leukemia and died.

            "She was the healthiest person you can imagine," she says.  "All of a sudden, she got a cold and it didn't go away.  It was terrible."

            Heartbroken, Roswitha still continued studying to complete her midwifery certification and working to provide support to mothers and babies after labor.  None of her hours of work as a midwife in Germany transferred, so she had essentially had to start all over again in the training process.  Faced with the devastating loss of her daughter and having to start from scratch in her certification, she continued to put in the hours required.

            She was happy to find out she was pregnant again and gave birth to another daughter – Lydia – in 2005.  Lydia was born at home – before the attending midwife could arrive.

            "I caught her myself in my own hands," Roswitha says.  "Joe was a little panicked, but it worked out fine and the midwife arrived soon afterward."

            Now, she and her husband and two young daughters live in Round Rock.  She visits her family in Germany – she was the attending midwife at her sister's birth – and her family often comes to the Austin area to visit. 

            Roswitha says she is looking forward to her full time midwifery work at AABC.

            "No birth is ever the same," she says.  "I personally love to work with each woman and look at her individual needs and help figure out what will best fit for her.  I want to help each mother have a birth that is memorable and is the birth they would like. The experience should be tailored to that woman and her family."

            The beautiful facility at AABC offers a great deal of options for the laboring mother, she says.

            "It is relaxing and beautiful," she says.  "And the tubs in each room are nice.  Water is such a helpful tool in birthing."

            On a recent Saturday, Roswitha assisted three mothers who were birthing at the same time.  Water was helping and soothing to them all, she says.

            "I stay in tune with what every mother is needing, giving them the freedom to labor," she says.  "I want them to choose how they labor and support them every way I can."

            When Roswitha isn't supporting birthing mothers or mothering her own young daughters, she enjoys reading – especially mystery novels.

            "Our house looks like a library with books everywhere," she laughs.  "I love getting lost in a good book."

            Still, it is motherhood and working with mothers that brings her complete satisfaction.

            "You chose the profession you want and if you are lucky, you can have it," she says.  "I am lucky."

"If I had to share the most vital feeling regarding my experience, it would be this: the outstanding professional, competent, consistent, and loving care given to me. Midwives are God's gift to the laboring woman."

Joanne Walcrez

"I have such a sense of accomplishment?totally unlike the depression and lack of self-approval I felt after my first two children's births. Thank you!"

Ann Davis

"You were all so encouraging...like having our own little cheering team. I know you work with a lot of people, but thank you for making us feel like we were your only clients and the first couple on Earth to have a baby."

Patricia Smith

"I regret having to say that I was transported from the center to the hospital where my child was born of a C-section. The reason I regret it is because the midwives at AABC were the most caring, wonderful people anyone could ever have around in time of need. From the prenatal visits to staying with me through the night in the hospital, I know I was in the best of care with my midwife by my side. I love you ladies...Thanks for caring about me and my baby."

Toni Bayless

"The day Chloe was born was the most miraculous day of my life. The birthing center was the best place to have her. They made the experience seem so natural, like an everyday thing, part of life."

Sylvia Vaught

"They treated us with gentleness and care. It's a whole other world than what goes on in the hospital."

Debbie DeLuna

"Thanks again for helping to make another beautiful pregnancy and birth possible! I'll never forget you! God bless!"

Sharon Fifield, after her third birth with AABC

We are proud to announce!

Voted "Best Birthing Center" in the Reader's Choice Annual Survey by Austin Family Magazine, 1998