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Making Midwifery Care Accessible to All

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Every woman deserves a midwife, yet for many, the cost of care is a significant barrier. The Center for Birth, led by a mother-daughter midwifery team who have worked together for over a decade, is committed to removing financial obstacles so that no one is denied compassionate, skilled midwifery.

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This commitment began in Owner + Director Darlene’s previous practice in Washington, where she accepted Medicaid and provided one free birth each year to a family in need. Although Medicaid reimbursement rates were low, they still helped cover some basic costs, making it possible to serve underserved communities. When Midwife Bri later took over that practice, she went even further by offering one free birth every month, demonstrating a profound dedication to ensuring that all women have access to the care they desire.

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Today, The Center for Birth continues this tradition in Texas by offering two free births each month. Unfortunately, the Medicaid reimbursement rate in Texas covers only a fraction of the actual expenses involved in prenatal and birth services, making it unsustainable to continue at this level without additional community support. Moreover, statistics show that limited access to midwifery care disproportionately affects women of color and refugees, and The Center for Birth remains determined to address these inequities.

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To further this mission, the midwives donate a portion of their time, and a dedicated donation page is now available for anyone who feels called to help. Whether it’s purchasing prenatal vitamins, funding childbirth classes, or covering part of a mother’s prenatal care, every contribution directly increases access for Fort Worth families. Each quarter, The Center for Birth will spotlight a specific family in need, allowing donors to either contribute directly to that family or make a general donation that supports the broader community.

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Stay tuned for details about the Annual Fundraising Gala, where friends and supporters of The Center for Birth can connect further with this vital cause. By working together, it is possible to ensure that every woman—regardless of her financial circumstances—receives the midwifery care she deserves.

A December to Remember

Dec 18, 2024

Brianna was eleven the first time she told me she wanted to be a midwife. Of course, I was thrilled, but not for the reason you may think. As a mama and a midwife there were too many occasions to count where I had to choose my laboring mamas over my children. Birthdays, holidays, special events were cut short or missed completely by me because I was a solo practicing midwife and had a very busy practice.


While I loved so much of it and felt like I was living my life with purpose, a familiar pang of mommy guilt would rise and make me question my calling.  Was it detrimental to my children’s mental health at worst? At best, the days that I went to a birth, or multiple births were they proud on some level? So, when Bri came to me and said she thought she wanted to be a midwife, my heart soared, and I cried tears of relief. At least one of my children wasn’t resentful of my calling. She knew what life looked like as a midwife and she too was willing to live a life of service. A life where often we feel the pull to be with our family and yet a laboring woman needs us during one of the most profound moments in her life. Duty calls and we happily answer the call. No matter what. Clearly, it couldn’t be that bad if my child, too wanted to live this life. In that moment I was filled with peace and calm. Maybe I didn’t ruin them because of my undying love to support and serve women as they found their power in the birth room with me at their side with every contraction and as they roared their baby to Earthside. I believe it is safe to say, we don’t pick this line of work, it chooses us.


My children are all adults now and most of them with their own children still look back on their childhood with fond memories of me running off to a birth, but not without attempting to celebrate even a moment of Christmas together or whatever holiday it may be. My favorite Christmas memory was when I got paged at 3 am by a first time mama. She was 16 years old and had decided to relinquish her baby. The adoptive parents planned to be in the birth room, too. I knew she was still early, so I gave her some much needed support and guidance, gave her doula some pointers on helping with optimal positioning,  and when to call me back when labor seemed to be progressing.


I laid there, wide awake trying to decide what to do. It was early in my career and was my first Christmas being called to a birth and while I was excited to welcome a new life on this beautiful Christmas day, I was sad to miss seeing the looks of delight and squeals coming from my kids as they opened their gifts. Christmas was always “my special” holiday and it continues to be even today. In the darkness my husband whispered, “should we wake up the kids? Or do you think you will have time to do our normal Christmas morning?”


I paused, surprised he was awake, that man could sleep through anything and I knew he had been up until midnight or later, setting up Santa gifts! I told him that I was pretty sure, the client would be paging me again within a few hours and since she was a first time mom, who knew when I would be home. He jumped out of bed and started brushing his teeth and told me to go wake up the kids, “Christmas was coming early!”


I felt myself grinning from ear to ear, I didn’t have to miss it after all. I jumped up, brushed my teeth, started the coffee, and put the bacon on the stove. Then, Rick and I went upstairs to wake up the kids for Christmas morning at 3am. That Christmas felt simply perfect and was so funny seeing the kids’ faces full of sleepy confusion at first, then lighting up with excitement when they realized they got to open presents so early!


The kids had opened their gifts, and we had just finished our breakfast all before 6am when I was paged to leave for this young mama’s birth. And as luck would have it, she had the baby by early afternoon and I even managed to make it home for a lovely dinner cooked by Rick and the girls and I even got to have my favorite desert, a pumpkin roll.


It’s fitting that our first Newsletter and blog post will be in December, my all time favorite time of year. My wish for all of you is that you and your sweet families get to enjoy the true meaning of Christmas and cherish the memories and time y’all get to spend together. My how swiftly time flies.


xo,

Darlene



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