It all started when…

My name is Kristine Tawater. I have been married since 1998 to the guy who puts up with the midwifery lifestyle and mother to five beautiful children; three of which were born at home into the hands of midwives!

I never had any intention to become a midwife, which explains my late start! When I found myself pregnant with my third child, I chose a midwife due to financial considerations, namely, midwifery was much less expensive! What I discovered during that pregnancy was a whole new world of personalized, face to face, thorough care I had not experienced with my hospital births. My midwife listened to me, gave me time and attention and helped to cultivate a relationship of trust.

During that labor, my sister gifted me a doula. I had no idea what a doula was but accepted the gift and WOW! I thought “WHY would anyone EVER birth without a doula!” I felt like I had found a calling that had been pursing me and I was very interested in what exactly “doula” meant. Shortly after the birth of my daughter in 2003 I began researching into what doulas were and how to become one. I attended a DONA approved doula training in 2004 and began my journey in birthwork.

My midwife for babies four and five became a dear and close friend who encouraged me over those years to pursue midwifery. SHe had wathced my path, seen me grow as a birth workers and had come to the conclusion that I needed to attend midwifery school. After a couple of years of her hounding me, haha, I enrolled in the Association of Texas Midwives - Midwifery Training Program in 2009, took a deep breath, with 5 children, a full time job and a 3 monnth old baby and took the leap. I graduated in 2011 and sat for my licensing exam in Feb 2012.

I worked as an assisting then primary midwife in the birth center I apprenticed in then went into private homebirth practice in 2014. In 2015 circumstances demanded change and again, I lept and opened Dallas Birth Center. The birth center, while a huge success was a bit overwhelming in administrative duties and workload so after much counsel and prayer I made the decision to close the facility and enter back into a private homebirth practice which I did by opening Urban Family Co-op in April 2019.

In 2017 I began a deep dive study into the physiology of normal vaginal breech birth. I have since delivered around 50 breech babies and regularly schedule community trainings to further this knowledge in the DFW midwives as well as acting as a supervising midwife to those interested in learning the art of breech birth. I also have extensive experience in twin and VBAC births.

In 2021, I was blessed with the absolute honor of delivering my first grandbaby Freya-Bella. It was the most incredible experience of my life and she is an absolute joy to our family.

I look forward to meeting with you and exploring all of your options for pregnancy, birth and beyond!