Meet Alisa 

In the beginning...

In the summer of 1986, my mother accepted an invitation for us to attend the home birth of a family friend.  I was twelve years old.  There were two midwives at this birth, along with many family members and friends, and I did not know at the time what an honor it was to be one of the few invited in to the birth room.  On this hot Texas summer night I sat for the first time with a woman in labor.  Amazed that I was allowed to stay up past my bed time, I was in awe at the wonder and beauty of birth as the baby emerged in the wee hours of the morning.  I knew that day that I would be a midwife when I grew up.

Being home educated allowed me to begin a formal academic midwifery program, and simultaneously a clinical apprenticeship, while I was still in my teens (1990-1993).  I grew from student to primary midwife (passing the Texas State Midwifery Exam in 1991) and have never lost my love for learning.  

Over the past 19 years I have worked in many capacities as a doula, childbirth educator, and midwife - owning my own practices, as a partner in a group practice, and as a staff midwife at a busy birth center, and most recently the administrator of the San Antonio Birth Center - and I stay deeply connected to the roots from which I came.   

I am a licensed midwife (LM) with the State of Texas and nationally certified as a CPM through the North American Registry of Midwives.  In compliance with these credentialing agencies I take advantage of many continuing education opportunities, am Health Care Provider CPR Certified, Neonatal Resuscitation Certified, and attend local Peer Reviews.  In addition to my work as a midwife, I am passionately dedicated to mentoring parents through the unique and soulful classes as a Birthing From Within^® Mentor.

Why the Birthing From Within philosophy?

After I had been a midwife for a few years it was very clear to me that something was consistently missing in the way our culture – even the home birth sub culture – viewed pregnancy, birth and motherhood/parenting.  In my work as a doula I continued to see women dishonored in their birth plans, struggling with the reality of the birth they "ended up with" and even traumatized by the way their birth unfolded.  Then I read Birthing From Within by Pam England.

From the moment I read the introduction I began to transform as a professional and as a person.  I began to change the way I interacted with my clients and began to use new words when communicating with pregnant women.  My belief is that truth transforms.  We all have our own opinions, yet when in the presence of universal truth, we have the opportunity for growth.  As I finished Pam's book I knew I wanted more.

I attended my first Birthing From Within training in 2001, and for the past 9 years I have mentored childbirth classes, growing with parents as they explore birthing from this unique perspective.  In April 2007 I entered the Mentor Certification Program to continue this personal and professional journey.  (read more about the Birthing From Within philosophy)