Pampered Pregnancy – Blissful Birth

Congratulations to the winners of the 2011 Austin Mother-Friendly Birth Awards!  The field was tight, and more than 4000 Austinites made their voices heard in choosing the best birth professionals this year.  Please take the time to read the bios of all of our finalists, as it was surely an honor just to be nominated.
 
The 2011 Austin Area Mother-Friendly Birth Professionals Awards are a project of the Central Texas Doula Association.  CTDA wants to recognize the Austin birth professionals that are going out of their way to provide quality care for the women of Austin.  It’s the job of a doula to provide educational support to women throughout their childbearing years.  A result of the yearly poll is a list of the best referrals for pregnancy care in Austin, selected and voted on by real people to determine the best and brightest mother-friendly birth professionals the city has to offer.
 

Special thanks to our sponsors Theo Chocolate, JP’s Java, Austin Wine Merchant, and Live Oak Brewing Company who donated food and drink to the celebration of our professionals.  Please be sure to remember these great sponsors in the upcoming season for all of your holiday party and gathering needs.  Special thanks as well to our donors who furnished prizes to our winners.  Please bring your business to these special community members this year to thank them for their continued support of the Austin birth community.

Best Midwife (tie)

Mary Barnett is a certified nurse-midwife and registered nurse with 30 years experience. My work has been in homes, hospitals and birth centers. I have personally delivered over a thousand babies and have participated in the care of thousands more.

Brielle Epstein worked as a doula for over 7 years before becoming a Certified Professional Midwife and Texas Licensed Midwife. In addition to training with some of Austin’s most experienced midwives, she received additional training in birth support and midwifery from ALACE, the Farm Midwifery Center in Summertown, TN, and Casa de Nacimiento in El Paso, TX. She is also certified in Adult and Infant CPR and Neonatal Resuscitation.

Best OBGYN

Christina Sebestyen, MD, FACOG has championed the cause of women’s choice in birth options in Austin since arriving here in 2006. A mother of Garrett – 3 years old, she chose to birth naturally with a Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM) in a New Hampshire hospital, using hypnobirthing for strength and focus. She moved to Texas with her husband James who was stationed at Lackland Air Force Base, and quickly fell in love with Austin. As a long-standing advocate for women both in clinical practice and on Capitol Hill, she was surprised by the lack of hospital-based midwifery and alarming c/section rates here. She completed her residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Harvard Medical School’s Brigham & Women’s / Massachusetts General Hospitals combined program, where CNMs practiced side-by-side with physicians. She worked intensively with North Austin Medical Center to allow CNMs to be credentialed and successfully accomplished this in August 2008.

Best Hospital Maternity Care

North Austin Medical Center The St. David’s Women’s Center of Texas at North Austin Medical Center is not all things to all people. It’s all things for women. A place where their services, their needs, and their treatments aren’t simply the most important things. They’re the only things. And that makes it unlike anywhere else in Central Texas.

Best Birth Center

Austin Area Birthing Center was one of the first out of hospital freestanding centers in the United States, and will celebrate it’s 25th year of operation in a few months. The centers two facilities, one North and one South feature highly upscale environments and a quality midwifery staff.” We were quite possibly the first mixed practice of CNMs and CPMs in Texas and love the diversity each midwife brings to our AABC family.” says founder Jean Stokes. Both centers feature a full schedule of classes to enrich our pregnant mothers lives, all at no additional cost, an ultrasound program in house to compliment prenatal care, and of course, well woman care for the entire female lifespan. Last year both centers were able to acquire national accreditation through the CABC as an additional assurance to our families of excellence and quality.

Best Birth Doula (tie)

Shelley Scotka is a certified birth doula, childbirth educator, and trained postpartum doula who has been supporting families in the perinatal period since 1995. She believes parents have the right and responsibility to seek out information in order to feel confident in their choices surrounding pregnancy, birth, and parenting. She sees her role as a doula is to provide loving support, information, and encouragement to help create positive, empowering life experiences. She lives in Round Rock with her amazingly supportive husband and their two great teenagers.

Emily Bessey In 2004, I received my Masters in Education in Counseling from the University of New Hampshire. After moving to Austin, I began practicing yoga regularly and in 2008 became a Registered Yoga Teacher with a specialization in prenatal yoga. I received my doula certification through DONA. I draw upon my experience as a counselor and yoga instructor to bring compassion, empathy and strong listening skills to meet the individual needs of each family I work with. I believe strongly that all women deserve to feel empowered, informed and supported before, during and after their births. I work together with the mother and her partner to prepare both the mind and the body for labor.

Best Postpartum Doula

Allison Coleman, CD (CBI) is a mother of four children, who have been her strongest supporters and best teachers. She began working as a labor Doula more than twelve years ago. She has received training from many sources including Childbirth International, Maternity Wise, Texas Department of Health, and the American Heart Association. Allison is a midwife’s assistant, and a student working on her degree in nursing. She has been providing postpartum Doula services for six years now, and realized she has a talent for night-time Doula work. Allison loves to help new moms learn how to night-time parent their newborn baby.

Best Childbirth Prep Class

Lanell Coultas, Conscious Birthing In her work with parents-to-be as well as with new mothers, Lanell mentors with heart, encouraging parents to embrace the intensely fertile and powerful body-knowing of pregnancy, labor, birth, and beyond. Passionately resourceful, Lanell freely shares books, websites, local practitioners, and more to support her clients’ journey. Lanell loves Austin, Tex-Mex food, digging in the dirt, crafting with fabric and paper, her beloved partner Lucy, their delicious preschool-age son Hugh, and the principles of mindfulness awareness.

Best Infant Care Class

Carrie Contey, PhD is a nationally recognized early parenting coach, consultant, speaker, author and educator. She received her doctorate from Santa Barbara Graduate Institute in clinical psychology with a specialty in prenatal and perinatal psychology. A co-founder of the Slow Family Movement and the co-author of CALMS: A Guide to Soothing Your Baby, she lives, works and plays in Austin, TX.

Best Breastfeeding Class

Amy Nyland offers birth and postpartum services and breastfeeding classes to families in the Austin area, and is experienced in hospital, birthing center, and homebirth settings. Amy strives to help her clients create a peaceful, loving, and supported journey into parenthood.

Best Lactation Consultant

Dawn Martin My background includes extensive experience helping mothers with breastfeeding issues, three gently birthed children of my own and a career in counseling. My knowledge and history allow me to provide physical comfort and emotional support for your preferences.

Best Chiropractor

Dr. Ron Burnett, D.C. owner of Inner Sun Chiropractic, has been serving the Austin community since 1999. His mission is to love, honor and serve the fullest expression of life. He is well known for his dedication to helping all people, his compassion and his work in pediatrics and pregnancy, and is often noted as one of the premier chiropractors for pregnancy in Austin. ??In addition to his work in Austin, Texas, Dr. Ron has traveled to Brazil on several occasions to give chiropractic adjustments to men, women and children seeking a better way of life. Dr. Ron has helped hundreds of individuals from Fortaleza, Brazil experience more ease, comfort, peace and joy in their day-to-day lives. ??Dr. Burnett is a competitive rower and triathlete. He has pushed, trained for and endured an Ironman, marathons and countless other competitions. He understands training and athletes. He strives for people to be at their best.??When Dr. Ron is in his office, you can tell he is in his element. He loves what he does. He can be a bit light-hearted at times, but he is serious when it comes to your health and serving people.

Best Chiropractic Clinic

Austin Chiropractic Health Center enjoy our state of the art facility in which you will discover the true wellness lifestyle through chiropractic adjustments and supportive therapies.  Our chiropractors will show you the natural way to better health.

Best Acupuncturist

Melissa B. Light is the chief practitioner and founder of Light Family Acupuncture, a thriving private practice in central Austin. Light Family Acupuncture focuses on treating the entire family from preconception through pregnancy and parenthood. Melissa specializes in pregnancy, labor, and pediatric care and is currently working on a book. Melissa B. Light holds her Master of Science in Oriental Medicine from the acclaimed AOMA Graduate School of Integrative Medicine in Austin, TX where she was honored for her research in treating Bi-Polar Disorder with Traditional Chinese Medicine. She holds her acupuncture license with the State of Texas Board of Medical Examiners as well as national certifications in Asian Bodywork, Chinese Herbology, and Oriental Medicine.

Best Acupuncture Clinic

Central Family Practice Sadie Minkoff L.Ac. (Fellow American Board of Oriental Reproductive Medicine) and Michelle Schreiber L.Ac.are the Fertility and Women’s Health Acupuncturists at Central Family Practice, Austin’s oldest integrated health center. They are uniquely qualified to help women conceive, carry, and deliver healthy babies, including many who had previously been diagnosed as infertile. Their program improves the overall health needed to strengthen fertility and increase the effectiveness of assisted reproductive technologies (IUI or IVF), as well as minimize the difficulties of pregnancy and ease childbirth.

Best Massage Therapist

Summer Greenlees began studying and practicing Prenatal and Postnatal Yoga during her first pregnancy 16 years ago under the guidance of Shannon Potts. She apprenticed Shannon for 2 years and was certified to teach hatha, prenatal, and postnatal yoga in 1997.Summer’s dedication to nurturing Moms led her to continue her studies through the massage therapy program at A New Beginning School of Massage therapy and she became a licensed Massage Therapist in 1998. Summer has continued her study and practice of Yoga and Massage Therapy as hand and hand practices specifically beneficial for childbearing women and has completed the following certifications; Shiatsu and acupressure, Reiki III,myofascial release and neuromuscular therapy, Bodywork for the Childbearing Year with Kate Jordan, Advanced Yoga Studies with Donna Farhi, Watsu 1 (Aquatic Bodywork), and the 300 hr Star Institute Massage Doula Certification. Summer was born and raised in Austin and lives in Wells Branch with her husband and their 3 children. Summer is very grateful to have found her life’s work and passion at an early age and to have been offering this practice as her full time work for over 10years now in such a great community. Summer and her husband are opening a Massage and Yoga center in their Wells Branch neighborhood in August and Summer will be offering her “Bella Mommie” Maternity Yoga& Massage services there throughout the week as well as at Soma Vida in Downtown/east Austin once a week.

 

Best Massage Studio

 

Milk + Honey We’re doing something different at milk + honey. And we know that, as a fellow Spa Partisan, you’ll want to experience our difference. At milk + honey, all of our massages include “the works.” Included in our prices are all the upgrades that many other spas charge extra for.

 

 

 

 

Best Maternity Clothing Store

Special Addition Offering moms and moms-to-be the latest in chic fashions, comfort items, and essentials! Family owned and operated since 1994, Special Addition is dedicated to providing the best products and services to our local and internet customers. Whether you are just beginning to build your maternity wardrobe, looking for comfortable bras or support garments, searching for the latest breastfeeding apparel and accessories or looking for that special gift, you will find it here.

Best Maternity Consignment

Pumpkin Patch Children’s Resale at its very best… WHAT DO WE CARRY? Everything you need for growing kids!

Best Baby Registry

BabyEarth While only a portion of their products are eco-friendly, BabyEarth boasts one of the largest selections of eco-friendly baby products in the market today.

Best Yoga Instructor

Meg Elkjer O’Connell is one of the founders of Austin Kula Yoga. She has been teaching Prenatal Yoga and working withother mothers for over 10 years. She opened Austin Kula Yoga in February 2007 to provide a spacewhere mothers and their families would have a studio that catered to their needs. Meg saw through her own experience how hard it is/was to take time for herself and maintain her yoga practice withchildren and felt that there had to be away to make the journey back to the mat after pregnancy easier!With the help of other wonderful teachers, Kula now offers a space for Prenatal, Postnatal and yogafor infants/children in an adjacent room to a class that a parent can enjoy including Iyengar, Ashtanga,Hatha and Vinyasa Flow.

Best Yoga Studio

Yoga Yoga Founded in Austin by a husband and wife duo out of the extra room in their house, Yoga Yoga opened its first studio doors in 1998 and has since grown to encompass five studios around town. The goal at Yoga Yoga has always been to serve students in the spirit of seva, the Sanskrit word meaning selfless service, or to give back. We are proud to have several distinct and commited communities within our Yoga Yoga Family, including our yoga mommies in our pre- and post-natal classes. We couldn’t be where we are today without the support and love of our students, teachers and friends.

Best Infant Consignment

Once Upon a Child We know you want the best for your family: quality, value, and kids stuff that is safe. Once Upon A Child buys and sells gently used kids clothing, toys and baby gear offering you the opportunity to recycle your children’s nearly new items and get paid on the spot.

Best Prenatal Photographer

Teri Mason owns and operates a residential studio in Georgetown, Texas. Located on ten beautiful acres just outside of town, Teri specializes in photographing people. With a philosophy of wanting to be your “photographer for life,” Teri photographs newborns through high school seniors, extended families, the occasional wedding, even pets. She has been photographing families in Central Texas for over ten years, and was one of the first in Austin to specialize in capturing the beauty of pregnancy through photographs. Teri Mason’s work has been seen in the Bump magazine, Austin Pregnancy Magazine and the Oprah Winfrey show.

Best Birth Photographer

Jackie Willome is not the business of just “taking pictures”. I am far more interested in capturing the moments that make up life’s most precious memories, i.e. weddings, family portraits and motherhood; the latter being my passion. As a parent who has been on both sides of the camera during labor, I can relate to my birth clients and understand exactly what kind of photos you want to take away from such an important event. Whether it’s taking “baby bump” pictures to follow the progress of both mother and child through the pregnancy or producing an artistic portrayal of the culmination of life’s first journey, from the womb to the world, clients can rest assured that every effort will be taken to keep the celebration as fluid and seamless as possible which allows everyone to experience the birth without any distractions that may be presented by sharing the room with a stranger. That’s another thing… by the time the big day arrives, I will be less of an outsider and more of a friend after getting to know you during a session or pre-birth consultation. Jackie Willome Photography will fabricate, not only a superior product, but, also a profoundly unforgettable experience. Serving Austin, San Antonio, New Braunfels – Available for Birth Photography throughout Central Texas.

Best Infant Photographer

Mollie Kendall I am a mom raising two short, crazy, fruit-loopy kiddos. I’m a wife, married to a guy named Critter. I’m an ice hockey player who enjoys messing around with her garden. Very importantly, I’m a photographer! I guess over the years I’ve specialized in capturing the moments in life that seem to be the biggest milestones. I love to photograph births, newborns as well as seniors and weddings! It’s become a part of me forever, as easy as breathing. In the end, it’s become an amazing career that I am so thankful for. Not many people can say they truly love their jobs. I can.

Best New Moms Group

AustinMamas the austinmama listserv offers a protected, open-minded email environment for respectful communication and connection, plus a wealth of information, helpful databases and of course support and commiseration.

Best Nutritionist

Rosalind Haney provides fertility guidance through her knowledge as a Registered Nurse, clinical nutritionist, childbirth educator and infertility nurse. She teaches the biology of reproductive health and helps individuals and couples identify the simple diet and lifestyle choices they need to enable fertility and a healthy pregnancy.

Best Pediatrician

Elliot Trester Some of you may know Elliot Trester, MD from his first solo practice in Montopolis about twenty years ago, back in the days when he was delivering babies and he and his wife were having a baby. He met Connie, then as a colleague, and as she followed his wife through her delivery. The next ten years, Dr. Trester’s medical practice somewhat changed direction as he moved to Central Austin and worked with the people of Jefferson Street Family Practice. Dr. Trester has been with Central Family Practice since 2006.

Best Fertility Expert

Liz Belile RYT, LMT I am a happily married, 47-year old first time mama who gave birth to her bundle of joy at the ripe age of 43.  I have practiced yoga for over 20 years, have been teaching for over ten. I am an Anusara Inspired ™ instructor, a licensed massage therapist and bodyworker.  I am also a performer and a writing and performance teacher. I am Prenatal and Postnatal certified. I created and have been leading the “Enhancing Your Fertility with Hatha Yoga” series in Austin for two years, with great success and joy! I’ve presented at the Texas Yoga Conference and to the Texas Fertility Center support group; I have collaborated with several complementary medicine practitioners to provide the best support and resources for anyone who having difficulty conceiving or may be undergoing fertility treatments of any kind.

Best Infant Therapist

Nina Davis Nina Davis is an adult and pediatric Craniosacral Therapist and Lymph Drainage Therapist in Austin, Texas where she specializes in work with newborn babies. Nina received her Masters degree from the University of North Texas in 1986. Since Spring of 2006, Nina has served as Treasurer on the Board of Directors for the Ponheary Ly Foundation. She began traveling to Cambodia in the Fall of 2006 to participate in the uniform and school supply distributions and to cook meals for the 2,000 + students and their family members.

Best Local Parenting Magazine

Parent:Wise Parent:Wise Austin is a free, monthly magazine for parents. We seek to create a community of informed, thoughtful parents who appreciate intelligent discussion about matters pertaining to parenthood.Grab a copy.

Best Pregnancy Blog

Get Babied Doula Collective Blog At Get Babied! it is our mission to help you have a pampered pregnancy, blissful birth and balanced recovery. We believe you deserve the best birth and postpartum experience even well before your due date. We want you to have all the services you desire, so we have collected them in one convenient spot. One of our primary goals is to ensure you have a well-rested doula on hand when you need her — no matter what. We guarantee this with our rotational 24/7 on-call service. We ALWAYS have an experienced doula available. Our blog is an extension of our doula care, current birth research, birth stories, and other delightful nuggets.

Best Cloth Diapering Resource

Tiny Birds Organics is a locally owned (Austin, Tx), we donate our profits to organizations such as Half the Sky Foundation. Huge selection of cloth diapers, Waldorf dolls, BlaBla Dolls, non-toxic teethers, infant carriers + more.

Best Hand-Made Baby Gift

Rootin’ Ridge Toymakers: In 1975, Paul was a carpenter and Georgean was a data processor. We had been married for five years, were handbuilding our own house in the hills northwest of Austin, Texas and were looking for a way to start “Living the Good Life” we had read about in the columns written by Scott and Helen Nearing in the Mother Earth News. We rented an 8′ x 20′ space in a craft mall, quit our “real jobs” and started making wooden toys. Our opening day was appropriately April Fool’s Day, 1975. By the end of the month, we had sold $150 worth of our original hand-crafted designs. No one was impressed but us — but that was all that mattered. In 1976 we made our one and only expansion when we moved to our current “expansive” location of 442 square feet. Now in the 21st century, we are still hand-making the same simple, safe and sturdy wooden toys that have delighted preschoolers for more than three decades. Children who grew up with our toys now have children of their own that they bring to our shop. We have been honored by two generations of Rootin’ Ridge customers, and we are looking forward to making toys for a third!

Best Local Toy Store

Terra Toys Play with toys; buy them from Terra Toys!

Best Belly Caster/Belly Artist

Liane (Miller) MacPherson, RN, CNM has been supporting women’s health for over 24 years as an RN, an educator, and a midwife. Her training and experience in Canada, England, Ireland, Haiti, and the US have developed her appreciation for variations and expectations when taking care of women and families where they are. Her heart continues to be captured by knowing the families that she cares for, and she considers it a privilege to be involved with women during growth, transitions, challenges, and celebrations.

Best Placenta Encapsulator/Placenta Artist

Lindsey Roberts With the birth of our first child, I discovered the miraculous healing benefits of the placenta. Our daughter was born naturally at a birthing center and the midwife offered me the placenta. It was such a powerful experience for me that I felt compelled to study the benefits of placentophagia, and so began my passion for placenta! I learned that through encapsulating placenta, the benefits could extend well into the postpartum period when women need it most. I continued researching the healing powers of the placenta and am now certified as a Placenta Encapsulation Specialist. I completed my training from Placenta Benefits.info (PBi), the leading resource in placenta encapsulation. The PBi method of preparation has been used for centuries in Traditional Chinese Medicine to prepare placenta medicinally.