Serving San Antonio, New Braunfels,
Bulverde, Boerne and Surrounding Areas
Galyn Lacewell, CPM, LM
I began my incredible journey into midwifery in 2007 with the birth of my first child, Noah.
When I found out that I was pregnant with my first, I had no idea that there was another way to go other than a hospital. When I was about three months pregnant I got to attend a friend’s birth at the same hospital that I planned to deliver my baby, I was so excited! Little did I know that I was going to walk away from that birth feeling a little sad, disappointed and a general feeling of wanting to keep my baby in my body for as long as possible. Instead of looking forward to my birth, I started feeling like it was just going to be a slightly traumatic event that I had to get through to be able to finally hold my baby. When I was six months pregnant another friend invited me to attend her birth at a birth center, I thought she was crazy but at least she was excited about her birth and I was really curious as to why. I watched her labor with caring midwives that respected the rite of passage that she was making into motherhood.
During her labor they talked barely above a whisper, they put cool cloths on her head and rubbed her back. The midwives played soothing music, dimmed the lights and had candles lit around her. As my friend pushed her baby out the midwife helped her reach down and pull her own baby up to her chest and that’s where the baby stayed. This was the moment that I realized that my birth mattered, it’s not a means to an end, it’s a way to start the beginning. I immediately transferred my records to the midwife and started my home birth journey.
Giving birth was one of the hardest things I've ever done but it was also the most rewarding experience of my life. That moment was the strongest I had ever felt in my life and I knew I had been changed.
My background in medicine was as a combat medic in the United States Army and EMT-B so the decision to become a midwife required a lot of thought and prayer. After my second home birth in 2010, I knew it was what God was calling me to do. I finished my Biology degree at the University of Texas at San Antonio and started my apprenticeship with the incredible Amber Riedel, CPM, LM at The Family Birth Center in New Braunfels. In August of 2013 I took the National American Registry of Midwives exam to obtain my Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) and subsequent licensing from the state of Texas (LM).
I am so thrilled to be where I am today. I thank God for writing my journey for me and guiding me every step of the way, even if I’m fighting it. I’m grateful for the children God has trusted to be in my care: Bryant, Noah, Emily, and Abby. They are the most precious gift I could have ever been given.
Stephanie Saunders,CPM, LM
Family Birth Center is honored to have Stephanie as Family Birth Centers Primary back-up Midwife!
Stephanie has her own midwifery practice, Meaningful Midwifery, and is a mom of 9!
Shelby Miller, CPM, LM
I have over 25 years of experience supporting women and families, throughout the childbearing years. I started my career as a heart of service, volunteering as a doula for woman whose partners were oversees serving in the military. Eventually, my career led me into postpartum doula work, teaching childbirth education, placenta encapsulation, and breastfeeding counseling. I am an educator by nature and have a passion for both supporting and empowering women and families on their own personal journey.
I am a mother of five, having had two natural childbirths in a hospital setting (during a time when midwifery was not as prolific of an option), and then three home births. Once my children were a bit older, I knew that my professional role would eventually transition away from doula work, and lead me into midwifery. I have a huge heart for teen mothers, and women who have experienced loss or trauma, in any capacity.
I began my training at Family Birth Center under Amber Riedel, CPM, LM, original owner of Family Birth Center, and went on to have a number of amazing preceptors and guides in my growth journey into midwifery. I finished my training at Family Birth Center alongside Galyn Lacewell, CPM, LM who provided me with a plethora of opportunities for learning, growth, and a multitude of foundational experiences which will stay with me for the rest of my life. I am abundantly grateful.
Today, I own my own midwifery practice, Moon Water Midwifery PLLC, which is partnered alongside Galyn Lacewell, CPM, LM, and Family Birth Center PLLC, serving the Family Birth Center clients as both midwife, administrative assistant, childbirth educator, doula mentor, and placenta encapsulation specialist. My doula practice, Blooming Water Lilies, is now a doula mentorship program which offers mentorship and opportunities for aspiring doulas to receive hands-on, in-depth training in their endeavors. My doula team supports families in the birth space in any birth environment, whether home, birth center, or hospital, and they are so blessed to have Family Birth Center as their home base!
In my personal life my children range from youngling into adulthood! I am also a grand-mama to one, whom I had the honor of helping my daughter deliver at Family Birth Center in 2022! I enjoy books and music, family game and movie nights, camping, local baseball games, spiritual enlightenment and connection events, yearly trips with my sister, and fall nights by the fire pit.
“I love God’s divine design of a woman’s body, and the wondrous ways in which her body is miraculously capable of bringing forth new life.” ~ Shelby Miller, CPM, LM
"There's no place like home, except Family Birth Center" ~ Amber Riedel, CPM, LM
Brittney Cole, Student Midwife
Brittney is our new junior student at Family Birth Center!
She is currently enrolled in the Association of Texas Midwives Midwifery Training Program (ATMMTP).
Her current areas of study also encompass the heart of doula support and she is receiving training through Blooming Water Lilies in natural childbirth education and placenta processing.
She has a passion for supporting mothers, especially during the postpartum period and is an active participant in The Village Rising, a new program which is in the works as a means of additional support for first time mothers during the postpartum period. One of her many future endeavors, after completing midwifery school, is furthering her education in the area of perinatal mental health.
In her personal life, she a mother to one, and an avid sports fan of both baseball and hockey.
STUDENT TRAINING PROGRAM AT FAMILY BIRTH CENTER
At Family Birth Center, it is our intention to have a positive and guiding hand in the future of midwifery.
Students are a vital and necessary part of the flow in the labor space, as in their first year of studentship they are learning not only about the rhythm of birth, but also how to assist us as midwives within the birth space.
In the early days of being a student, tasks such as charting, laundry, refilling water, preparing light snacks, cleaning, etc. ensure that your midwives are not multi-tasking and are able to remain steady at your side as your baby emerges earthside.
In the later days of being a student, tasks such as hands-on assisting, taking vitals, lab review, listening to fetal heart tones as well as learning to differentiate what is and is not within a normal and safe range prenatally, in labor, and during the postpartum period.
In the end days of being a student, tasks blossom into care management while being under the close supervision of their midwife preceptors. Two sets of eyes, hands, and knowledge base coming together for the best care possible.
We are extremely diligent in our student selection process, and we choose students with both the philosophy of our practice and the needs of our clients in mind. Students are present with us for initial consultations so that all potential clients have an opportunity to meet our student(s) right from the start. They shadow us in all we do, learning all of the intricate parts of the midwifery model of care that make it such a unique and special approach to maternity care.
Students are never expected to do tasks that we, as their midwife preceptors, do not feel they are ready, capable, and skilled to enter into to, and we are never far from their sides, always at the ready should hands of guidance be needed.
Please know that clients always have a final say as to whether a student participates in their care, as we certainly understand that not all clients and student will connect or mesh well. We simply ask that our student(s) be afforded genuine consideration in having the opportunity to learn from us during your care. We also appreciate having our chosen assists, whom we have trained, at our side as we care of you and your baby.
We abundantly appreciate your heart in our endeavor to ensure that midwifery remains available to all women in Texas, by helping us in training the midwives of the future!