Bryant Cassidy LM, CPM

Bryant Cassidy, a Certified Professional Midwife licensed in the state of Texas. I am a homebirth midwife offering midwifery care and home birth services near North Austin, Round Rock, Hutto, Pflugerville, Georgetown, Jarrell, Thorndale, Granger, Rockdale, Manor, and surrounding areas.

Over the past 12 years, I’ve worked as a birth professional in homes, birth centers, and hospitals across six states in the USA including Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa, Florida, Texas, and the Philippines. I began attending births as an apprentice midwife in the beginning of 2012. In early 2014 I spent several months working at a missions-based birth center in the Philippines. While there, I attended many births and conducted hundreds of prenatal, postpartum, and well woman appointments. When I returned to the United States in May of 2014 I started my own homebirth practice in northeast Kansas.

Certifications and Licenses

I have taught midwifery courses to student midwives in several states, and I continue to create resources and tools to help midwives provide safe, dignified, compassionate healthcare to mamas and babies in countries around the world. For more information on some of the resources I offer, please click here.

I love to continue to expand my knowledge of all topics related to pregnancy, birth, postpartum, women’s health, herbs, and beyond through yearly continuing education workshops and conferences. I participate in community peer review with other local midwives and work in collaboration with other healthcare practitioners in the area.

I am a passionate supporter of peaceful birth. I’ve experienced first-hand in my own pregnancies and births what a difference excellent, dignified, loving, nurturing maternal health care makes, and that is what I want for every single mother and baby! My focus is for each client and family to get the one-on-one, intentional, personal care they deserve so that mama and baby can have the healthiest and happiest pregnancy and childbirth possible.

I have been married to my husband Sean since 2016; we have four children ages 6 and under, and 2 angel babies in heaven. My first two children were born in hospitals due to health concerns and second two were born at home.

Other Training Includes:

  • ReTeach Breech with Dr. Stuart Fischbein, MD
  • CAPPA Doula training
  • HypnoBirthing
  • Basic Disaster Birth Support
  • Newborn Congenital Heart Defect Screening
  • Newborn Metabolic Screening
  • Suturing
  • Evidence-Based Midwifery Practice and Global Midwifery
  • Human Trafficking for Health Care Practitioners
  • Breastfeeding and Tongue Tie
  • Cultural Competency and Respect in the Provision of Maternity Care

Holistic Prenatal Care

I believe God created pregnancy and birth as sacred, fundamentally normal, physiological processes. Essential components of holistic care include attentive, skilled, and evidence-based support, establishing a caring atmosphere, limiting unnecessary interventions, education and empowerment of the mother to make her own decisions about her care, encouraging her self-expression, and respecting her privacy. 

Midwives view childbirth as a normal part of a woman’s life that is best supported with good nutrition, personal responsibility of the mother for the pregnancy, and attentive clinical management throughout the childbearing cycle. It is our philosophy that the health and safety of mother and infant can best be promoted when preparation for birth is regarded as a mutual responsibility of client and midwife. We make every effort to consult with the client on clinical care decisions as this allows for truly educated informed choice on the client’s part. An essential component of midwifery care is education and empowerment of the client. The mother and her health practitioner(s) should discuss any health issues that may arise. Together they should decide on the best plan for her care and for the birth of a healthy baby. Discussing and understanding the risks and benefits of each course of action is crucial so the client and midwife can make the best decision about her plan of care. 

I am committed to compassionate, woman-centered care in which both midwife and mother are actively engaged in the decision-making process. As a midwife I offer my skills, experience, and loving attention, and I feel it is an honor and responsibility to nurture and create a safe space for the women I serve during their journey to motherhood. It is my intention and privilege to support women and families in this time of transformation. It is my responsibility to provide evidence-based information, education, clinical expertise, recommendations, and when appropriate, consultation or referral to other providers to aid the client in the decision making process.

My prenatal care schedule plans for appointments every 4 weeks from start of care until 28 weeks, every 2 weeks from 28-36 weeks, and weekly thereafter until birth. Prenatal care includes monitoring baby’s growth, listening to baby’s heart beat, maternal vital signs, any indicated lab work, ongoing nutritional and herbal counseling, mother’s overall physical and emotional well-being, resources and discussion on how to prepare for a natural labor and birth, and collaboration or referral to other healthcare providers if needed. We will discuss evidence-based research and information on current prenatal and newborn procedures with the client given the opportunity to make an informed choice on those tests.

Prenatal appointments last 30-60 minutes and allow plenty of time for questions and answers and meaningful discussions to explore and help resolve fears and concerns the client or her family may have. Caring attention will develop a trusting and nurturing relationship between us that will go a long way to assisting her to labor and give birth naturally, safely, and confidently.

Peaceful Home Birth Care

“And when her labor was at its hardest, the midwife said to her, “Don’t be afraid!”

Genesis 35:17

I keep in touch with the mother and/or her support person during early labor, and we decide together when is the best time for me to come to their home once the mother is in active labor. Once I arrive, I help maintain a sense of calm to the birth environment. Throughout labor, I ask permission to perform and explain any procedure to the mother. I maintain a non-interventive, hands-off style, while remaining attentive and available should she need support or encouragement. I unobtrusively monitor the labor, watching for complications or signs of distress in either mom or baby. The birthing process is allowed to take its own course and set its own pace. I may suggest different activities and positions as needed to help facilitate labor progress, such as a walk outside or kneeling. In the safety and security of her own home, the mother is likely to be less inhibited about trying different labor positions and locations. I encourage her to eat or drink as she is able during labor to keep up her energy and strength. When it’s time to deliver, she can birth in whatever position feels most natural and comfortable to her.

During labor and birth, I assist to protect and maintain her autonomy, freedom of movement and choice of position, freedom to eat and drink in labor; practice no forced exams or interventions, no time limits on normal labor and birth, empowering and encouraging support and suggestions, trust in the mother and her body’s ability to birth naturally; and facilitate a physiologically intact atmosphere that promotes early mother-baby bonding and involvement of the whole family, establishment of a healthy breastfeeding relationship, and a peaceful, private and familiar environment that is free of disruptions and distractions. Comfort techniques include massage, hydrotherapy, relaxation, breathing, visualization, position changes or suggestions, heat/ice, acupressure, herbs, essential oils, and homeopathics.

After the birth, I assess newborn APGAR score and complete a full newborn examination which includes weight, length, reflexes, make sure breastfeeding is established, perform continued assessment of maternal vitals, check for tears and perform suturing if needed, assist the mother to take a shower if she desires, and prepare something nourishing for her to eat and drink. Before myself and my assistant leave about 2-3 hours after birth, we make sure mommy and baby are happy, healthy, stable. We’ll give few last minute instructions, tuck the new family in bed for a much deserved rest, clean up any messes, start the laundry, and quietly see ourselves out the door.

Empowering Postpartum Care

I provide postpartum maternal and newborn care up to 6 weeks after birth. My focus during the postpartum season is to continue to support and encourage the whole family as they adjust to life with a new member, and to provide guidance and resources to set them up for a happy, healthy fourth trimester. Postpartum care includes:

  • Availability via phone for questions or concerns up to 6 weeks postpartum
  • In home postpartum care up to 2 weeks after birth; appointments include monitoring maternal vital signs, overall physical and emotional well-being of the mother, maternal healing, newborn assessment, weight gain, oxygen stats, ongoing breastfeeding support, referral to other care providers in the community if necessary for further support
  • Newborn congenital heart defect and metabolic screenings, referral for hearing screen
  • Birth certificate completion and filing
  • 4 and 6 week in office postpartum checkups

What is the Midwives Model of Care?

The Midwives Model of Care is a fundamentally different approach to pregnancy and childbirth than contemporary obstetrics. Midwifery care is uniquely nurturing, hands-on care before, during, and after birth. Midwives are health care professionals specializing in pregnancy and childbirth who develop a trusting relationship with their clients, which results in confident, supported labor and birth. Midwives are trained to provide comprehensive prenatal care and education, guide labor and birth, address complications, and care for newborns. The Midwives Model of Care is based on the fact that pregnancy and birth are normal life events. The application of this woman-centered model has been proven to reduce to incidence of birth injury, trauma, and cesarean section. The Midwives Model of Care includes:

  • monitoring the physical, psychological and social well-being of the mother throughout the childbearing cycle
  • providing the mother with individualized education, counseling, and prenatal care, continuous hands-on assistance during labor and delivery, and postpartum support
  • minimizing technological interventions
  • identifying and referring women who require obstetrical attention.