Supported. Empowered. Unforgettable.
Now in-network with BCBS and United healthcare!
Setting the standard for midwifery care in DFW since 2003.
About us
Established as Allen Birthing Center in 2003, and located in a fully- renovated, 100+ year-old historic home, Allen Midwifery & Family Wellness provides an intimate, unique setting where families are supported throughout pregnancy, birth, postpartum, and beyond. Our facility provides the perfect balance of modern luxury and the comforts of home. Our holistic providers also offer a wide-range of wellness services for both men and women, and attend births in both birth center and hospital settings.
All of our providers are advanced practice, and we have both Certified Nurse Midwives (CNMs) and Family Nurse-Practitioners (FNPs) on staff. Our CNMs all have a background in obstetric and neonatal nursing, have achieved either Master’s or Doctorate degrees, are board-certified, and have decades of combined experience in both hospital and birth center settings.
Services
Prenatal, Labor, Birth, & Postpartum
Let us help you decide which birth setting is right for you, and guide you through a healthy pregnancy, empowering birth, and supported postpartum.
Breastfeeding & Newborn Care
Our providers and RNs are champions for breastfeeding! Besides lactation support, we offer newborn care for the first few weeks of life.
Fertility & IUI
For some families, getting pregnant doesn’t come easily. Our providers offer fertility counseling and evaluations, as well as assisted conception through IUI.
Women’s health & Gynecology
Midwives aren’t just for pregnancy! Are you happy with your birth control? Want an IUD? Need a pap? Come see us for your annual exam and more.
Wellness & Hormones
Our advanced practice providers can help you optimize your hormones and achieve the healthiest YOU yet.
Men’s Health
That’s right, we take care of men, too! Whether you’ve been putting off that blood pressure check, or think you might have low T, our FNPs can you help you reach your health goals
Prenatal Care
Early, regular, and consistent prenatal care is one of the best things you can do to promote a healthy pregnancy. Prenatal care with midwives takes that one step further! We take pride in offering our clients individualized, exceptional care throughout pregnancy. Whether you’re planning a birth center or hospital birth, our clients are seen by all of our providers, with appointments held at the birth center. As a group practice, your prenatal visit appointments are rotated among all the midwives. By the time you reach labor, you and your family will know each of our CNMs personally, have built relationships with the staff, and may see the birth center as your second home.
Schedule of Care
Each pregnancy is unique, and the schedule/frequency of visits may change depending on your needs and risk profile. However, appointments are generally scheduled at intervals of increasing frequency as pregnancy progresses.
- Confirmation of pregnancy visit
- First routine prenatal visit at 10-12 weeks (earlier as needed)
- Every 4 weeks from 1st trimester-28 weeks
- Every 2 weeks from 28 weeks-36 weeks
- Weekly from 36 weeks-41 weeks
- Every 2 days from 41-42 weeks
Labor & Birth
At AMFW, we offer both birth center and hospital birth. Midwives view pregnancy as a state of wellness until proven otherwise, and the majority of clients are starting out low-risk at the beginning of pregnancy. Research tells us that for these low-risk people, the birth center setting leads to the best possible outcomes! However, not everyone will be a great fit for an out-of-hospital setting. If you have preexisting medical conditions or high-risk factors, or would just simply prefer the hospital setting, we can still offer the same, high-quality care that CNMs have to offer.
We believe that birth is a normal life event–not a medical one. Midwives are experts at balancing “sitting on our hands”, and intervening when something is no longer normal. Supporting physiologic birth and judiciously using interventions is how we keep mom and baby safe and promote the best outcomes. We partner with you and your family to envision your ideal birth experience, supporting your choice to birth how and where you desire.
“Experiences have clearly shown that an approach which ‘de-medicalizes’ birth, restores dignity and humanity to the process of childbirth, and returns control to the mother is also the safest approach.”
MICHEL ODENT, MD
Birth Center Birth
Our birth center is the heart of our practice, and has supported thousands of families through their pregnancies and births. The warm, inviting birth suites offer the comfort of a non-medical, home-like environment, with access to a wide variety of tools to support unmedicated birth.
Many clients utilize numerous birth tools available to them throughout labor.
- Birth tubs and shower
- Nitrous oxide
- Birth balls and peanut balls
- TENS unit
- Rebozo
- Aromatherapy
- Speakers for ambient music
- And more!
We want you to have your birth, your way. That means having whoever you’d like with you during appointments and birth. Having a great support team, like a partner, family, and doula, along with childbirth classes geared towards unmedicated birth, strongly increases your chances of having the birth center birth you desire.
Hospital Birth
Believe it or not, it is possible to have an empowering, decreased-intervention birth in the hospital setting with a midwife! Wireless and intermittent fetal monitoring, freedom of movement, along with nursing staff supporting the in-hospital midwifery model, all contribute to an empowering experience. Our midwives maintain hospital privileges, which means that we are continuously your provider, from office, to catching your baby in-hospital. We also partner with supportive, talented physicians and anesthesia staff available in-house 24/7, if circumstances change. While we’re proud to have an extremely low Cesarean rate of 3-5% on average every year, regardless of how your baby enters the world, our midwives are with you every step of the way.
Currently, our providers attend births at nearby Medical City McKinney.
VBAC
For women who’ve previously given birth by cesarean, subsequent pregnancies take a little more planning. We support an evidence-based approach to counseling families on options surrounding birth after prior cesarean. There are many factors we consider when evaluating VBAC candidates. Each person’s history is unique, and we offer consults for those interested in pregnancy care and potential in-hospital VBAC with our practice. Contact our office for more information, and to schedule a consult.
Postpartum
Whether it’s your first baby, or your 6th, adding to your family is a big transition. We believe that planning for postpartum care is just as important as planning for labor and birth…but it’s often overlooked. At AMFW, we provide close, frequent follow up in the postpartum period for both mom and baby.
After birth at the birth center, average recovery stay in the immediate postpartum is about 4-6 hours, on the condition that mom and baby are both doing well and have met all the recovery criteria to be discharged home. After discharge, our midwives and nurses are in close contact with you and your family, and as always, the CNM on-call is available for emergencies.
Typical postpartum follow-up schedule after birth in the birth center setting:
- 24hr phone call from CNM/RN
- 2-day home visit from RN (for both mom and baby)
- 2-week birth center appointment (for both mom and baby)
- 6-week birth center appointment (for mom only)
In those first few postpartum weeks, we coordinate with other practitioners, like your pediatrician and lactation consultant, to make sure mom and baby get all the support needed.
Breastfeeding Support
Breastfeeding has countless benefits for both mom and baby, and we aim to provide the support needed to help you achieve your breastfeeding goals. All of our CNMs and RNs are skilled in providing breastfeeding support, and assess the mother-baby dyad at each postpartum visit. Additionally, we work closely with several local lactation consultants, who can offer in-person and virtual expertise for those who need a little extra support.
Newborn Care
Certified Nurse-Midwives are able to care for well babies up to 28 days of life. At our practice, we see newborns at 2-3 weeks of age, after which we transition baby’s care to the pediatric provider of your choosing. We’re happy to offer all of baby’s recommended screenings, including:
- Comprehensive newborn exam at birth
- Newborn screen for metabolic disorders
- Hearing screen
- Congenital heart defect screen
- Weight check
- Evaluation for lip and tongue ties
- Jaundice assessment
- Breastfeeding support
Fertility & IUI
For some, growing their family isn’t an easy journey. Whether you want to be proactive with your fertility, you’re struggling with conceiving, or you’re ready to talk about next steps, we offer support and guidance for your pregnancy hopes and goals. We also work closely with your REI physician, to provide a seamless transition if you plan on continuing prenatal care with our practice
- Fertility evaluations
- Initial fertility workups and bloodwork
- Medical management and ovulation support
- Intrauterine insemination procedures.
Women’s Health & Gynecology
From paps to contraception, breast exams to blood pressure checks, our CNMs have got you covered. We know that women want caring providers who listen to their concerns, and adapt the plan of care to fit their unique needs.
We also strongly believe that all women deserve trauma-informed care, and it’s important to us that your exams be a comfortable and empowering experience. If you have a personal history of trauma, this is your first GYN exam, or pelvic exams are just intimidating in general, we promise this will be a stree-free experience.
Certified Nurse-Midwives provide a vast array of services; there’s bound to be something in your life we can help make even better!
- Pap tests and HPV screening
- Breast exams and referrals for mammograms
- Contraception counseling and prescriptions
- IUD and Nexplanon contraception insertions and removals
- Natural family planning education
- Sexual health counseling
- STD testing
- Heavy periods and abnormal bleeding management
- Wellness labs and tests (blood pressure assessment, screening for diabetes and cholesterol, etc)
- Fertility assessment
- Mental health assessment
- Pelvic floor assessment (urinary incontinence, painful intercourse, etc)
- And MUCH MORE!
Wellness & Hormones
Perimenopause or not, everyone deserves to feel their absolute best. Don’t settle for less! All of our advanced practice providers are certified bioTE providers, and offer hormone counseling, optimization and a range of options for hormone replacement therapy for both women and men.
Some symptoms of hormone imbalance might include:
- Low energy
- Low libido
- Brain fog
- Trouble sleeping
- Trouble losing weight
- Hot flashes or night sweats
- Vaginal dryness
- …and more
To learn more about bioTE, call us to schedule a consultation.
Men’s Health
Family Nurse-Practiitioners (FNPs) are primary care providers whose scope of practice includes both men and women. Our FNPs can provide wellness care for men, as well as management of many common health concerns.
- Low testosterone
- Low libido
- Weight loss
- Hypertension
- High cholesterol
- Thyroid dysfunction
- …and more
Meet the Providers
Providers who join our practice all have similar philosophies in their approach to practice: they believe in evidence-based, shared decision-making, and support holistic care of the whole person. Because all AMFW providers are rigorously vetted and passionate about what they do, you can be sure that no matter who you schedule an appointment with, you’re getting individualized, exceptional healthcare.
Dr. Amy Giles, DNP, CNM
Co-owner & Midwife
Dr. Amy served as Clinical Director of Allen Midwifery & Family Wellness (initially Allen Birthing Center) from 2007-2020, and has owned and cared for the birthing center since 2010.
She holds a bachelor’s degree from Baylor University, a master’s degree from Texas Woman’s University in Women’s Health, and a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree from Touro University. She began her advanced practice career as a Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner, moving on to complete a Post-Graduate Certificate in Midwifery from the Parkland School of Nurse-Midwifery/UT Southwestern. Amy worked as a Nurse-Midwife at Parkland Hospital for 3 years following graduation.
Her love for midwifery and out-of-hospital birth grew during her time teaching undergraduate and graduate classes at Texas Woman’s University. She eventually obtained her dream job as a CNM at Allen Birthing Center in 2004. Her passion continued as she gave birth to her baby girl at home with the CNMs from Allen Birthing Center.
“I could not have imagined a more perfect birth than at home with my husband and midwife in our bedroom. Everything I had ever desired for my birth experience came true. I modeled our care at Allen Birthing Center after this wonderful experience.”
After she became owner and clinical director of the birthing center practice, Dr. Amy worked tirelessly with her consulting physician, becoming the first out-of-hospital CNM to obtain hospital privileges in North Texas. She is also humbled to be have been voted DFW Child Magazine’s “Best Midwife” in Collin County for ten consecutive years.
Dr. Amy is committed to reducing maternal morbidity and mortality in Texas, serving on the Texas Maternal Morbidity and Mortality Task Force. The task force examines causes of maternal deaths during pregnancy, delivery, and postpartum periods, in hopes of improving maternal outcomes in our state. She strongly believes that midwifery care can reduce morbidity and mortality and can provide women the care they deserve.
As the number of families that called the birthing center “home” grew, so did the demand for comprehensive wellness services. Dr. Amy believed that by transitioning the practice from Allen Birthing Center, to Allen Midwifery & Family Wellness, in late 2020, she could provide a “wellness home” where entire families could receive exceptional, individualized care across the lifespan.
Dr. Lauren Olvera DNP, CNM
Clinical Director & Midwife
Dr. Lauren Olvera, DNP, CNM joined the Allen Birthing Center practice in early 2018, and now serves as Clinical Director of the expanded Allen Midwifery & Family Wellness.
“I discovered my love of caring for women while working as a labor & delivery nurse. Being a ‘doctor midwife’ is the culmination of my life’s work, and I enjoy holistically caring for women during pregnancy and across the lifespan.”
Dr. Lauren is a Dallas native and received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree from Baylor University. She practiced as a labor and delivery nurse for many years before returning to Baylor to complete her Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree in Nurse-Midwifery. After completing her midwifery education, she practiced as a CNM in the hospital environment with a large, high-volume OB/GYN group. In addition to clinical practice, she has served as DNP nurse-midwifery faculty at Baylor University, and on various national committees of the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM). She has also served as an expert consultant for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, and as a freelance medical content writer for a leading, international reproductive and sexual health app.
“Oftentimes, a provider’s most challenging task is knowing when not to intervene, but to simply be patient and hold space for normal birth.”
As a component of her DNP degree completion, Lauren designed and implemented a quality improvement project aimed at improving communication and collaboration among birth center, EMS, and hospital staff during emergent birth center transfers.
While Dr. Lauren dreams of seeing complete integration across birth settings within the maternity care system, above all, she wants women to realize that they have choices in birth.
“For far too long women have been forced to settle with simply ‘surviving’ labor and birth. A ‘healthy mom and baby’ should be the expected minimum, not the end-all. Midwives know that women deserve more than that. Women are strong and capable, and midwives help women discover this for themselves.”
Courtney Watson, MSN, CNM
Midwife
Courtney Watson, MSN, CNM joined the Allen Midwifery & Family Wellness practice in 2021, and is excited to be practicing in the birth center setting.
Courtney went to nursing school with the goal of supporting wellness and improving the health of the DFW community where she grew up. During her undergraduate program, she met a midwife and discovered that when it comes to the health of a family, the very beginning is the ideal place to start. After graduating from nursing school, Courtney shadowed a midwife to learn firsthand what really happens in the #midwifelife. While working as an RN, she returned to graduate school at Georgetown University. After graduating from the midwifery program, she worked as a midwife for several years at a busy hospital-based practice working to bring the midwifery model of care to the families there.
In birth, Courtney finds joy in empowering women to find the deep strength needed to bring forth their children into this world, however that looks for each parent. For some, birth comes without the need of any interruptions and others need constant support to know you can do this, you are doing this, and look– you did it! Finding that individual need can make the difference between a birth that feels like it may just overpower you or one that feels like the ultimate act of power in your life.
Her heart pulled her to do more and devote even greater time getting to know the families of our community to provide comprehensive care before, during, and after pregnancy.
“My passion is in supporting shared decision-making that’s rooted in evidence-based care.”
Through shared decision-making, families can choose what is best for them, using the power of knowledge behind those crucial choices. Courtney hopes with this care she can help improve the outcomes of families in Texas while empowering families to have positive birth experiences. She is excited to join Allen Midwifery and Family Wellness to do just that.
When not working with families Courtney loves spending time with her own four kiddos, high school sweetheart Nate, 3 dogs, a cat, aquarium full of fish, and live-in grandparents in their multigenerational home. Beautiful chaos is the white noise of their lives. The entire family especially loves the water and escapes to the lake anytime they can.
Dr. Katie Youngblood, DNP, CNM
Midwife
Dr. Katie Youngblood, DNP, CNM, is a north Texas native who grew up in Sherman and returned to the area in 2016 . The daughter of an OB/GYN and a labor and delivery nurse, Katie has been surrounded by birth for as long as she can remember. With the birth of her second child, Katie experienced first-hand the impact of the midwifery model of care. It was then that she was inspired to begin her journey to become a nurse midwife.
Dr. Katie received her BSN from Baylor University and went to work in a busy, high-risk labor and delivery unit. While working as a nurse, she quickly reinforced her appreciation for physiologic natural birth. While enrolled in Baylor’s nurse-midwifery program, Katie was a student with AMFW. Here, she developed a love for holistic midwifery care and developing rich relationships with clients.
As part of her doctoral program, she developed a unique curriculum designed to improve communication techniques and teamwork on labor and delivery units in order to drive improvements in patient outcomes.
“The transformative power of birth never ceases to create awe for me. Each and every time, I am transfixed as I witness the arrival of a new life.”
After graduating with her DNP from Baylor University in 2022, Dr. Katie was thrilled to join AMFW and continue working with our families to provide compassionate evidence-based care across the lifespan.
Alexis Sifuentes, MSN, CNM
Midwife
Alexis Sifuentes, MSN, CNM, is originally from Corpus Christi, Texas where she graduated as a Registered Nurse in 2013. In 2014, Alexis moved to Dallas to begin a nursing residency to pursue her dream of working in Labor and Delivery. While in residency, Alexis worked alongside Certified Nurse-Midwives and quickly fell in love with the midwifery model of care and holistic approach of caring for women. With the encouragement of the midwives that she worked with, and a family legacy of midwives to lead her, Alexis decided to pursue her dream of becoming a midwife.
“There is no force more powerful than a woman, determined to rise.”
Alexis graduated in August of 2023 from Texas Tech University Health Science Center with her Master of Science in Nursing in Nurse-Midwifery. While in school, she was the student liaison of ACNM government Affairs and Political Action Committee, a member of the nursing honor society Sigma Theta Tau, and received the MSN Excellence of Nursing Award.
As a Latina woman herself, Alexis is passionate about strengthening the presence of Latina women in midwifery. She is dedicated to decreasing health disparities amongst women of color and actively participates in Midwives of Color committee events and is active in Texas Techs BIPOC mentorship program.
“You treat a disease, you win, you lose. You treat a person, I guarantee you, you’ll win, no matter what the outcome.” – Patch Adams
Alexis loves supportive birth and empowering women in their most vulnerable time. She feels that witnessing birth depicts the true intensity of a mother’s love. She is so excited to grow and learn through AMFW’s fellowship and is eager to care for women in all walks of life.
“She is clothed in strength and dignity and she laughs without fear of the future.” – Proverbs 31:25
Jessica King, MSN, FNP-C
Family Nurse-Practitioner
Jessica King, MSN, APRN, FNP-C, joined Allen Midwifery & Family Wellness as a provider in 2022, after completing her Master’s degree from The University of Texas at Arlington, and obtaining her nurse practitioner certification.
Jessica started her career as an ER nurse and spent nearly 15 years serving all ages and populations in different trauma hospitals, urgent cares, and freestanding ERs. She spent the first part of her career working on mastering emergency care – obtaining certifications in emergency nursing and pediatric emergency nursing. However, during her time in ER, she became increasingly aware of the need to help patients understand the importance of preventative health.
“I realized that so many of the patients I saw didn’t understand their medical conditions, or how to manage them.”
After spending years at the bedside, she went back to school to complete her Master’s degree with a focus in Family Practice. As a repeat client and former RN and birth assistant, Jessica has always held a special place in her heart for Allen Birthing Center (now AMFW). She is excited to be working in a capacity to offer more family wellness services to AMFW clients.
Jessica is a Texas native and grew up in Plano. She now lives in Murphy with her husband, four kids, and their rescue dog Chuck. She believes that all patients should be educated on healthcare options and that there is no “one size fits all” approach to healthcare. She hopes to help her clients understand the importance of preventative health, educated decision-making, and a healthy lifestyle.
Jeff Giles
Co-owner & General Manager
Jeff has the honor of being married to Dr. Amy Giles and managing all the behind-the-scenes operations that make AMFW run smoothly. From supplies, to maintenance, and sometimes even gardening, Jeff has us covered.
Josephine Merkle
Office Manager
Josephine joined our team in December 2016 as our office manager. She is a native Dallasite and graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a degree in Social Work. She currently lives in McKinney with her husband. She has two married sons and a daughter who graduated from UT and lives in Austin.
Janice Iriarte
Accounts Manager
Janice has been with the practice since 2004 and quickly became an irreplaceable asset to the team. She is our insurance guru and an expert with finances. She makes up our entire financial management department, which means you always talk to the same person and don’t have to worry with jumping through hoops to find out information on your account. Janice also has the unique perspective of being an employee and client. Her third child was welcomed at home with the love and support of our birth center CNMs.
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Business Hours
Monday-Thursday: 9:00am - 4:30pm
Friday: 9:00am - 12:00pm
Saturday & Sunday: CLOSED
Copyright Allen Midwifery & Family Wellness, 2024
Insurance & Billing
We are in-network with PPO Blue Cross Blue Shield. While we are out-of-network with other insurance providers, we are happy to still file services with insurance on your behalf. However, many of our clients find that our services are affordable even without insurance.
The cost for services will vary depending on your individual insurance and situation. Contact our office to be put in touch with our accounts manager and to receive your individualized quote.
To make payments on your bill, please contact the office.
