Sisters Midwifery

I’ve given birth to 4 children and my last with Genevieve was by far the best! I am so happy she brought my baby into this world! She was always there for me and my family! She was so reassuring and caring from the beginning to the end. She is such a comforting person and will become a member of your family! She is one of the greatest humans I know :)

Our daughter was born Nov. 12^th, 2014. We chose to work with Genevieve because I felt so comfortable and relaxed around her. Her confident, consistent, and calm demeanor allowed me to follow my intuition about my pregnancy and birth and feel like I was in safe hands. Visiting her at her practice felt so cozy and relaxed. We also absolutely loved the classes she provided us about birthing and lactation. We highly recommend birthing with Genevieve!

Fantastic in every way! I’ll write more later but wanted to post a quick review because I saw Sisters only had 2 reviews. They are GREAT.
Feel free to message me here if you are considering them and I can tell you more.

In 2008, we had a great birth experience with Illysa. We chose to use a midwife fairly late in the pregnancy. We had been going to a regular OB for the first 30 weeks or so, and although it wasn’t a bad experience, it was clear to us that we didn’t need «medical care» after the first few visits. Once we decided to use a midwife, we were recommended to Illysa by a fellow midwife. I had met two people who had a combined 7 births at home using a midwife (now retired), and that sparked us to research midwifery and home birth.
From the first meeting with Illysa, it was obvious that this was going to be a very different experience from using an OB. She asked us questions like «how are you feeling», «how is your relationship» and lots of rather personal questions. I wasn’t sure at first how I felt about that, but discovered pretty fast that it was very effective and helpful. She got us thinking about the pregnancy and birth from a more natural perspective, and recommended a couple of books (Birthing from Within, and The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding). We also watched the documentary The Business of Being Born, and based on our research, chose to have a home birth.
Illysa also provided pregnancy classes. I’m not the most touchy-​feely guy, and I appreciated that the class was not over the top. One reservation I had about the process early on was that it might be «spiritual» or something like that, which we are not really into. It wasn’t a problem, and the sort of ‘back to nature’ theme really sunk in as we did more research on childbirth, water birth, home birth, etc.
We also explored using a doula, but it was not a good fit for us. We looked at using a birthing center, which seemed fine; but we could not see any real advantage over having our son at home. We lived close to St. David’s Hospital, where Illysa could use if there was an emergency. So, we decided on the home birth, and even got a birthing tub to use for laboring.
Without getting into the personal details of our birth, it was an amazing experience. It wasn’t easy, but we have a healthy baby, born at home, without major complications. Illysa brought a second midwife for the birth, which is standard, and she had even more experience than Illysa at the time. My only complaint/​regret is that we did not meet the second midwife before our birth night. It would have been nice to get to know her ahead of time.
The one thing about home birth that did not go according to plan was paying for it. My insurance company (I worked for Dell at the time) told me that home birth with a certified midwife would be covered, even at home. We met Illysa and signed up, committed to the process, then Dell’s benefit company Premera denied the claim. So we paid for the full process out of pocket. This had nothing to do with Illysa, and she was great about making arrangements for payment. Just be sure to do your research and know what you’ll be out of pocket for. If we did not have good insurance, it would have saved thousands over a traditional hospital birth. In our case it cost us more — but even if we had known from the beginning, we still would have chose midwife and home birth.
I would definitely recommend Illysa’s services, and would use her again if we had another birth.

I hardly knew a thing about midwives or home births when I found Sisters Midwifery. In my attempt to find a more meaningful experience, I found Illysa and Christy by doing searches online. My family thought I was crazy and didn’t understand my decision to leave my OB at 20 weeks pregnant. However, as soon as I met Illysa and Christy I felt like I had known them forever. I’m not going to sugar coat this — I did not love being pregnant. I struggled with the changes in my life and body. Illysa and Christy brought me peace, answers, knowledge, care, insight and encouragement through the entire process. I sincerely looked forward to each appointment I had with them because even if I didn’t have any questions, I’d leave feeling empowered and powerful. I never had any doubts about how much they cared about me and my baby. Unfortunately, Christy got sick during my birth and couldn’t make it. However, a wonderful midwife in training accompanied Illysa to my house. I really can’t say enough about the incredible job they did during labor and delivery. It was beyond what I was expecting. Since it was my first child I had no idea what it was going to be like, but I really can’t imagine feeling more supported having given birth any other way. They are professional, caring, sisterly, knowledgeable, committed, encouraging and wonderful at what they do! I’m truly sad to go to my daughter’s 6-​week appointment with them because I know it will be the last one. I wish they were pediatricians, too!

I have 3 children now and I have had 3 different births: first at a hospital, then at a birthing center and finally with a midwife with Sisters Midwifery. By far and hands down my last birth with Sisters Midwifery was the best prenatal, birthing and post natal experience I have had.
I felt totally taken care of by Illysa and Christy and when it was time for the birth, I was totally confident that Illysa, my midwife attending the birth, was completely prepared and focused and there for me. She was super supportive and allowed everything to happen at a very natural pace — she also was very professional and really had my best medical interests in mind as well. She was so attentive and in tune with the birthing process.
I felt so well attended to in my post partum time. I never had that type of attention given at my previous birthing experiences to my post-​partum care. I was checked on and cared for both physically and emotionally.
Thank you so much, Illysa, for such an amazing and wonderful experience.

I had a great pregnancy and birth and could not be happier! Illysa & Christy are wonderful. I recommend anyone I can about these ladies and home birth. I got instantly comfortable with them as they helped me, much more natural and closer than any doctor. They knew answers to EVERY question I had throughout my pregnancy. My pregnancy and birth went exactly the way I planned. They made sure I got what I wanted. I learned everything I could about pregnancy, being healthy, birth, labor, and babies… I really am thankful for having them help me through the best time of my life! And the birth in my home was wonderful… surrounded by people who I knew and wanted to be there. No overcrowding or bright lights or scary surroundings. Just beautiful!

Illysa and Christy make a great duo! My homebirth was everything I could have hoped for and was really beautiful. Illysa’s knowledge and Midwife Model of care offered a conservative yet intuitive approach that coupled with the parners’ collective experience left me fully confident in their abilities. When it came time to finally deliver my baby, they provided just the guidance I needed during the one time I started to doubt my ability. The community building activities they offer can’t be beat. I will use them for my next birth and cannot say enough great things about their personable and professional service.

If your looking for a midwife that is down to earth and full of knowledge to help you deliver your baby safely at home you came to the right place. Illysa is kind, caring and listens with full attention. She has created a loving community of pregnant women and mothers that help support each other during and after pregnancy. She has contacts all over the Austin community including herbalists, acupuncturists, massage therapists, doulas and chiropractors. She is an amazing midwife and I highly recommend her.