Heart of Texas Midwives

My experience with Monika and Debra was simply amazing, start to finish. The care they provided throughout my pregnancy was so personal, so relational, and so non-​medicalized. They truly do «hold space» for you to have the birth that you want. They possess a vast knowledge base coupled with incredible instinct/​intuition. They also work exceptionally well as a team. I can’t recommend them highly enough!

My wife and I decided to do a home birth after delivering our first child at the Austin Area Birthing Center. We had a wonderful experience with them and were hoping for a similar experience in the comfort of our home. We meet with several midwife groups before meeting with Mary B. I immediately felt a connection with Mary and knew that her group would be perfect for our family. Mary is calm, confident, caring, humble, down to earth, and just so real. Along the way throughout my wife’s pregnancy we met and got to know Debra and Monika very well. For the most part we saw Debra and Monika at our prenatal visits as Mary prepares to leave the practice. Both of these women are wonderful and amazing midwives with different expertise, personalities, and styles. Debra was calm, professional, sweet, and easy to get along with. Monika was more cerebral, offered herbal and homeopathic advice, and has a more serious personality. The three them make a well-​balanced and efficient team that provide every bit of help to pregnant mom and motivated dad. Debra was selected as our lead midwife but Monika ended up being who served us most in the end. After multiple high blood pressure readings and some upper chest pains, my wife had to be transferred to the care of a doctor. My wife and I were both frustrated and disheartened that we could no longer have our home birth. We now had to work with people we would barely get to know and some we would meet the day of the birth. During this low time of our pregnancy, Mary came over to our house to fulfill one her many roles… counselor. Mary helped us accept our new situation and provided us with the information we would need to have «our» birth at a hospital. She recommended and connected us with Dr. Schmitz, who ended up being marvelous. We decided to keep the midwives on board for our birth as doulas as we could not imagine them not taking part in our birth. On March 20^th, my wife was induced at St. David’s North Austin at 39 weeks with Monika as our doula. Monika was amazing as our doula, fulfilling numerous roles throughout our stay in labor and delivery. At first, she was just a lovely conversationalist as they revved up the pitocin on my wife. After they broke my wife’s water, her role immediately changed to labor coach and advice giver. She was great at encouraging my wife and at the same time putting her at ease. She even made sure to activate several pressure points that are supposed to help with labor and pain management. Her help was always caring and thoughtful but never overbearing. Whenever necessary, Monika was ready to give me or my wife medical advice to guide us through the hospital BS that most go through. Without her I would have felt much less confident to challenge any unnecessary interventions that the hospital might have thrown at us. During postpartum, Monika made sure we were comfortable and happy before saying goodbye. We were also able to leave the hospital early since Heart of Texas was going to be providing my wife and newborn with postpartum care. We can’t say enough good things about Heart of Texas Midwives. What an amazing and special group of women. If we were planning another pregnancy and home birth we would not hesitate to use them again. We would highly recommend them to anyone with similar home birthing goals in a heartbeat!

I had my youngest (big!) boy at home with the help of Mary, Debra, and Monika. I, and my husband, have nothing but good things to say about all three of them! I tell my friends that they are like moms that know how to help you have a baby. From our first appointment to my last (sniff) postpartum visit, we felt cared for, informed, and loved.
My labor and delivery was long and difficult, but Mary and Debra never gave up on me. They had all kinds of techniques to get my baby to turn in the correct position (his back was just a little turned to the left). He finally turned, and thanks to their expertise and persistence, I birthed a healthy 10lb 1oz baby at home! They are amazing midwives and just great people!

My wife and I just had our baby on Aug 4^th, 2013. We knew from the beginning that we didn’t want to go the hospital route. We found Heart of Texas Midwives online, and after an initial phone interview, decided to come in and meet with them. The first night we went, we had an orientation during which we got to meet the 3 wonderful ladies who are the midwives for the group, Mary, Debra, and Monika. We got to spend a few hours getting to know them, after which it was an easy decision on our part to choose them to birth our baby. The care and attention they give is amazing. They spend at least an hour, if not more during each visit, and I ask, what regular doctor would ever do that? They treated us like they really cared, about us, our baby, and any questions or concerns that we may have had. They were always accessible, even late at night.
When my wife went in to labor, Debra was the on call, and came very quickly, followed by Brandye, who was to assist. Mary came a little later, as she was not the primary for our birth. We did a water birth, and the team was awesome. They seemed to be able to read my wife’s mind, and were always a step ahead of all her wants and needs. There was a time when she «hit the wall» and thought she couldn’t keep going, and was considering going to the hospital and getting the pain meds. All three of our team were able to talk her through it, and give her the strength to keep going. She will always be thankful, as the birth, in our birthing tub, in our own bedroom, was totally amazing. There is nothing like being able to give birth in the comfort of your own home, with whoever you chose to be present, and then getting right into your own bed with your new baby, and not having to worry about anything else.
For anyone considering a home birth, go and meet the team at Heart of Texas Midwives, I think you’ll love them just like we do!

I recently gave birth to my first child at home. I was under the care of all three midwives, Mary, Debra, and Monika, from the very beginning of my pregnancy. My experience with all three was and continues to be phenomenal. Mary is a Certified Nurse Midwife and is probably the most well known of the three. She is very friendly and sharp as a tack. Monica and Debra are both Certified Professional Midwives. Monika is the youngest and has experience as a nurse in Germany. Though she may be a bit brusk at times, she is incredibly caring. Debra may not have the official medical training that Monika and Mary have, as another reviewer pointed out, but she brings years and years of experience as a midwife and mother of seven (birthed every way they can come: home-​birth, hospital, and c-​section) to the table — something which no amount of official medical training can give you. In the words of Mary Barnett, «Debra is a baby whisperer.»
While I have come to love all three ladies dearly in my time under their care, Debra is perhaps my favorite. She has a very calm, no-​nonsense presence and exudes wisdom. I am very bothered by the negative review of her here as it is so contrary to my experience with her. She was the midwife on call when I went into labor, showing up at our house at 3 in morning, right when we needed her. My labor went very smoothly, in no small part due to her coaching. Debra was always very easy to reach when I needed advice (not that Mary, and Monika weren’t, I just typically called Debra first). Several times both before, during, and after my labor she helped me out with sound advice and calm reassurance.
One of the things I really like about Heart of Texas Midwives is that they always try to have two midwives at each birth. Monika was the other midwife to come to my birth. I had a small labial tear that she sewed up beautifully after my labor while I still lay in bed. Having a home birth was so incredibly wonderful and easy thanks to the skill and guidance of these midwives. I can’t think of anyone I’d rather have at my next birth, even if – especially if – my next one is not as easy as this first one.
I really think that the three of these ladies together make the perfect midwifery team. They offer an excellent mix of traditional and alternative medical approaches. They are all very professional and very competent. They also are a great source for many other birthing resources. We took a birthing class, a new baby class, a baby safety class, and a breastfeeding class all at their office taught by either one of the midwives or other area doulas. They also offered a birthing circle where patients with similar due dates could meet together after their normal check-​up and share thoughts and questions with each other and the midwives. We even had a reunion after we all had given birth so we could meet each others’ babies and tell our birth stories.
I plan to continue with them for my well-​woman check ups. Even when I don’t have an appointment, if it’s convenient, I will stop by with my baby occasionally just to say hi. I feel so loved and cared for by these women. As I told my husband today, I always leave their office feeling loved and uplifted.

Debra Day and Mary Barnett are exceptional midwives and extraordinary women. I welcomed my second and third child into the world, in the comforts of our home, with the loving support of these two experienced, highly knowledgeable midwives. Each birth was unique, intense and beautiful. Debra and Mary exuded confidence and compassion throughout the prenatal visits, the labor and deliver, and all post natal care. They provided a safe space during labor, giving the attention, reassurance, and support my family and I needed.
My daughter’s umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck and they quickly explained that I needed to turn over and push. They never lost their composure or reacted in a way that would cause panic. They simply gave clear direction, kept their cool and helped me deliver a perfectly healthy baby.
They have provided me with many useful, quality resources over the last 3 years. They care for the whole family… we discussed at great length nutrition, exercise, sibling and animal introductions to the new family member, emotional, spiritual, hormonal, marital, and parental issues…
I love the OB I had with my first child, and would recommend him to any woman who wasn’t willing to consider a midwife. However, the care I received from Heart of Texas Midwives was far superior in every way to the care I received from one of the top OBGYN’s in Austin. Summer, and Monika are also brilliant and helped make the birth of our third child safe, and magical.
Having been present now at the birth of 2 baby’s born in the last few months with the help of other highly qualified Austin midwives, I have learned that Debra and Mary are held in high regard by their peers in the industry. They have great reputations among other Midwives and I can certainly say with complete conviction that they are worthy of respect and admiration.

After 2 hospital births, I was hoping for a home birth with my 3^rd. The wonderful midwives at Heart of Texas Midwives helped my dream come true! Debra Day, Mary Barnett and Monica Stone were all wonderful, warm and they helped me to feel comfortable through the whole process! Even my mother, who was a skeptic and very uncomfortable with the idea of a home birth was very impressed and enjoyed the experience! I would recommend them to anyone seeking a home birth!

I have had 2 home births with These lovely ladies! Siobhan was there for both of my daughters and Mary and Monika were there for my most recent. My daughter’s births were both so very different but Mary and Siobhan were so with it! They knew what my body was doing and let me know what to expect. My husband and I love these women so much and trust them with something so intimate as birth. The care I received through the entire 9 months was so much more than I expected. I know that OBGyns are not that caring and patient!
* To the person referring to their training… both midwives have EXTENSIVE training in the Midwifery and nursing field, so maybe your research was flawed. Mary even has a Master’s degree in Nursing.
I am having my 3^rd child with them and would not go anywhere else. I have experienced the way I do not want to be treated in a hospital setting and KNOW I won’t experience that with these ladies.
*Update (2015) I did have my 3^rd homebirth with Mary and Monika and it was amazing! I even had to return to them a few months later when I developed mastitis and they helped me get the treatment I needed.
I love these ladies!

Absolutely not recommended based on personal experience. Before you engage these people check current and past licensing, medical training (one of the midwives has NO formal medical training whatsoever) and past and pending complaint records with the State. You will be unhappily surprised. If I had known the truth about them instead of the claims they use in their promotional materials, I would never under any circumstances used their services. I feel very fortunate that in the end, at our own insistence, sought proper medical care and found an outstanding OBGYN to complete the birth. Otherwise I fear that my wife or child could have been gravely harmed.

The world is a better place for Mary Barnett! She was my midwife when she was practicing at Seton Hospital in 1998 and 2001. The pregnancies were healthy and I felt extremely confident and supported in her care. She attended my second birth and was wonderful — a true professional and a very caring provider. With so many years of experience in both a hospital and out-​of-​hospital setting, she has no doubt seen every kind of pregnancy and birth. I have recommended her to friends who thanked me afterward!

Mary Barnett was my midwife for both my second and third babies, and I’ve referred many of my friends to her as well. I was referred to Mary by a hospital-​based nurse midwife in Houston, who felt she was the best qualified birth provider in Austin. I’m not qualified to make that assessment, but I *can* say that I had two beautiful pregnancies and births under her care. My third pregnancy was not exactly straightforward, but Mary was able to navigate all of the twists and turns and we had a safe, perfect homebirth and baby.
Appointments run on-​time and are never rushed. You’ll never be «just another patient.» Not unique to Mary, but having home visits after the birth is such a luxury– everybody should be so lucky!

I used Mary Barnett with the birth of my first baby. Things didn’t go as planned, and I had a very difficult delivery that ended in a c section. Mary and her lovely apprentice, Monika Stone (soon to be midwife) were with me every step of the way. I also met with Mary’s partner, Debra Day, for several appointments. They are both very knowledgeable and loving ladies. You will really be in great hands with either. Good Luck!