Dawn Cockrell, LM, CPM, was the first NARM Certified Professional Midwife in the Midland / Odessa Texas (TX) area. Since the founding of West Texas Birth Services in 1994, we have been the preferred choice for all medically normal Midwife Attended Natural Births in Midland and Odessa, as well as all of West Texas and Eastern New Mexico. One of our objectives is to provide information clearly demonstrating the value and safety of low risk women giving birth at home, under the careful monitoring of a Licensed Midwife.

About our former licensed birthing center...
At West Texas Birth Services our core service has always been a Midwife Attended Birth at Home, commonly referred to as a Homebirth. With the addition of our former licensed birthing center (2006 - 2008), we continued to introduce many women to the idea of an out-of-hospital birth experience. The purpose of offering a licensed birthing center option was to introduce women to the concept of an out-of-hospital birth by giving them the opportunity to give birth in a free standing birthing center, which in turn, for future pregnancies, would hopefully lead to the optimal choice of a Homebirth.

Even though studies show that birth is safe at home, we are constantly inundated with technology and all of it’s ‘glory’. Since technology is such a big part of our lives, it is difficult for some of us to trust nature over technology and machines.

As a result, some may at first not feel comfortable with the concept of a homebirth, often thinking that a birthing center or hospital has more access to technology and machines, and therefore must be safer. However, this is not the case.

An example of this is with free standing birthing centers (those not affiliated with a hospital). A birthing center has equipment and technology that the midwife brings to your birth– to the birth center. This equipment and technology is the exact same equipment and technology that is brought to your birth, by the midwife– for a homebirth. And of course, it is certainly ironic that the routine overuse of technology and machines, as frequently seen in hospitals and hospital based birthing centers, actually increases the risks to pregnant and birthing women, as well as newborns.

Additionally, even though free standing birth centers are mostly run by Licensed Midwives, they are regulated by the same licensing division of Texas Department of State Heath Services (TDSHS) who also regulates hospitals. This regulation is in place to protect consumers, and of course, it is certainly effective in some areas. However, some may think that more regulations should increase safety and facilitate the natural birthing process, but when the obstetrical medical model is applied to healthy pregnant and laboring women, it does not.

One example of this is the fact that TDSHS regulations require that birthing centers only allow a maximum of 24 hours stay for labor prior to birth. This means that if you arive in labor at a non-medical birthing center, your labor is "on the clock" just as it is in a hospital or medical birthing center. However, it is quite normal for a healthy labor to last much longer than 24 hours. Nevertheless, with this state regulation in place, pressure may be put on the birth center owner to "speed things up" solely to remain in compliance with the facility regulations, and not necessarily in the best interests of mother and baby. Even when labor is progressing naturally with all it’s variations, this regulatory pressure may lead to unnecessary and potentially harmful interventions, or transfer to a hospital, solely to avoid regulatory deficiencies, which ironically leads to more legal complaints against birthing centers. And of course, despite facility regulations, any time you choose to give birth in a facility that cares for multiple women, there is always an increased risk of the contraction of infectious germs. This is especially an important point for your newborn who’s immune system is not yet mature. However, with a homebirth, you and your newborn are already immune to the bacteria found in your own home (for more on this topic, see our Facts and Myths page, and our Frequently Asked Questions page).

Nevertheless, as you will learn from our website, the safest and most natural location for a healthy woman to give birth has been, and continues to be, the Midwife Attended Birth at Home.

Over time, both through education and preparation, we have successfully encouraged numerous families to seek the Homebirth experience, which has been embraced by many with wonderful results. The demand for Homebirth continues to increase each year, as more and more consumers realize the superiority of the Homebirth experience, so much so, that we have elected to no longer offer the inferior birthing center option for our practice. With our full focus on the Homebirth experience, we continue to consistently uphold the highest midwife standards of care to provide primary comprehensive maternity healthcare and midwife attended pregnancy and birthing services, for all of Midland, Odessa, and surrounding communities of west Texas and southeastern New Mexico.

Your prenatal care during pregnancy, and your postpartum care after your private Homebirth, both take place either in our maternity care office, or in the convenience of your home. Of course, you may choose any out-of-hospital residence for your birth place location, but there are many advantages to choosing to give birth in your own home (for more information on the benefits of a Homebirth Delivery Vs. a Hospital Delivery, visit our Home Court Advantage page). Nevertheless, keeping Midwife Services completely separate from a hospital, birthing center, or any medical or institutional setting allows the mother to enjoy total privacy and control over her surroundings, while encouraging a sense of comfort, safety and love.