Julia Bower
Laurie Fremgen
I have been serving the birthing women in the Austin and surrounding communities since 1996 both as a midwife and occasionally as a doula. Each woman, each family, each birth and each baby teaches me more and more about the strength, courage, challenges, vulnerability and beauty of being human. Laboring breaks down the walls and defenses that we have all built up over our lifetime. Then when a woman gives birth, she and her baby bond very deeply. It is a beautiful gift to see time and time again.
I have given birth to 2 children, one at home and one in the hospital. My hospital birth led me to the path of midwifery and my homebirth led me to be a midwife. With each of my births, I learned some very important and fundamental things that birthing women need; respect, privacy and faith. When a woman is simply given respect, privacy and faith, she is left feeling glorious, fulfilled and peaceful.
Why are respect, privacy and faith so important? When a woman is truly respected, she can walk the birth path with her head held high, a natural leader in the work of birthing. When a woman is given privacy, she will find her way in the surrender to birth with less effort. And when a woman is shown faith, she is given a life gift. Faith is unconditional trust and knowing. When these things are allowed to unfold, the mother is better prepared for the journey of motherhood.
In the my years as a midwife, I have spent many hours lobbying our legislators, both in Texas and Illinois, about the many benefits of midwifery care. While our laws in Texas allow women to have the birth of their choice, Illinois women are not so lucky. Midwifery is illegal in Illinois and comes with possible felony charges for the midwife. I feel very passionate about changing the laws in Illinois.
I have also served on the Texas Midwifery Board for the last 9 years. The Midwifery Board governs the practice of licensed midwives in Texas and it is an honor to serve in this capacity. I believe it is important to participate in the creating and implementing of the laws and rules we practice under, bringing a loving spirit and reminding our politicians about the very basic human right of giving birth.
I love homebirth and I love midwifery. Peaceful birthing to you all...
Few life events are as powerful and important as being pregnant, giving birth and welcoming your newborn baby into your family. I am honored to be part of this life event and I will work to help you develop the knowledge, confidence and support you need to approach birth with peace and a powerful surrender. The surrender of birth is not a passive, victim-like surrender, but a surrender of the need to control. The surrender of birth involves a deep faith in the wisdom of our bodies and creation. When a woman feels informed, respected, loved and supported, she can soften and open to the power of birth, wherever her journey may take her.
I started learning about maternal and child health as an undergraduate in Human Biology at Stanford University in the early 1980s, but it wasn’t until I worked with a midwife at a community clinic in California in 1990 that I realized I wanted to be a midwife. I went back to school to become a Registered Nurse, worked a couple years as a Labor and Delivery nurse, then completed my graduate degree in nursing, specializing in Nurse Midwifery, in 1997. Since I became certified, I worked several years at a local birthing center, then opened my own homebirth practice in 1999. Laurie and I merged our private practices into Honeydue Homebirth in 2012, which created a sense of community for our clients. However, we missed the intimate care of seeing our clients for every prenatal. So now we have returned to our solo practices, while continuing to support each other and foster community in other ways.
I have two sons, Micah born in 1999 and Nicholas born in 2003. The path of motherhood has taught me so much about surrender and faith. Our children are our best teachers and I feel so grateful to have them. My husband, Andrew, and I have been together since 1989. Being husband to a midwife is not always easy, but he is exceptional in many ways. I love being a midwife and I love my family for making it possible.
