Midwife Bios

Midwife Bios

Helen Jolly Nelson, LM, CPM
Amy Allred, LM, CPM
Lisa Thomas, LM, CPM
Sorani Muñoz, LM, CPM
Brittany Cronin, STUDENT MIDWIFE
Betty Beasley, Office Manager
April L. Pierce, LM, CPM

Helen Jolly Nelson, LM, CPM

~ Helen, owner and director of Family Birth Services, is a pioneer in midwifery in the North Texas area. In the early 70's, when midwives were scarce, she was asked by families to share her experience as a home birth mother. She began attending births in 1972 in order to serve families who desired a home birth. She soon realized that she had a calling to midwifery and in 1976 she served in a formal apprenticeship with a labor and delivery nurse who taught her practical skills. Helen attended any workshops available and read everything she could find to further her knowledge. She also received individual instruction from a family practice physician who was available as needed to see her clients. In 1980 she attended the American Academy of Midwifery.

Helen is a founding member of the North Texas Midwives Association, the Association of Texas Midwives, and the Midwives Alliance of North America. She previous served as a La Leche League leader and state officer and as a board member of NAPSAC, National Association of Parents and Professionals for Safe Alternatives in Childbirth.

Helen has been actively training midwives since the beginning of her practice and women have come from all over North America to study and apprentice with her. Many midwives currently practicing in North Texas served apprenticeships or internships with Helen. She has many "daughters" and "granddaughters" in midwifery. In 1995 her FBS midwifery course was approved by the Texas Department of Health as an approved avenue for becoming a documented midwife in Texas.

Since 1976, Helen has been the primary midwife at over 2,600 births and has assisted and/or supervised approximately 700 additional births.

In October, 2004, Helen retired from actively delivering babies but she still oversees the day-to-day operations of the birth center. Helen is a wife, mother and grandmother. She and husband, Mike Nelson, have an adopted daughter, Ashley, who keeps them active.

Amy Allred, LM, CPM

~ Amy originally contacted Family Birth Services in 1988 with the desire of training to become a midwife. She learned, however, that the waiting list to begin training was a year and a half long at that time.

Believing that another opportunity would come in God's timing, she did some midwifery study on her own and moved on to other things. She attended Youth with a Mission in Hawaii and became a youth leader through her church.

Amy began working at the Duncanville Pregnancy Crisis Pregnancy Center in 1997 and is now on staff there. Through Amy's connections with young women in unplanned, crisis, pregnancies she attended births as labor support which rekindled her interest. In 1999, Amy was accepted into the apprenticeship program at Family Birth Services. She graduated in December, 2000, and shortly thereafter received her Texas documentation and became a CPM, Certified Professional Midwife.

With her compassionate nature, she strives to see that each of her clients has a warm, comforting and memorable birth.

Lisa Thomas, LM, CPM

~ Lisa came on staff at Family Birth Services in 2006. Raised in Southwest Missouri, Lisa began her journey to midwifery in 1999 and moved to Texas in 2004 to complete her studies and begin her practice. Greatly enjoying the academic as well as clinical aspects of midwifery, Lisa also takes an active role in teaching the students at Family Birth Services.

Lisa's calm, friendly personality combined with her confident and professional style easily gains women's trust. Offering competent and personal care, she especially excels in nurturing women who are eagerly expecting their first baby or their first out-of-hospital birth. She enjoys answering questions and calming their fears as they experience this miraculous time in their lives. She is blessed by watching the hand of God in her clients’ lives through the miracle of birth. One of her greatest delights in midwifery has been delivering her nephews and niece.

When not involved in midwifery, Lisa enjoys the outdoors, cooking, spending time with her family, and especially spoiling her nephews and niece!

Sorani Muñoz, LM, CPM

~ Sorani believes that God created the woman's body to give birth and that it is a natural process not to be feared. One of her favorite aspects as a midwife is cultivating relationships with her clients and their families. Being fluent in Spanish, as well as Dutch and Papiamento, enables her to serve a diverse clientele. Some of her areas of specialty include twin deliveries and working with those desiring a Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC).

Her interest in midwifery began when she was twelve years old. As a teen she enjoyed spending time with pregnant moms, quizzing midwives about their experiences, and serving as a doula for friends. After attending her first birth in 2002, she knew that midwifery was what God was calling her to do. She started her academics in the year 2000 and graduated from midwifery school and an internship at Family Birth Services in 2005. She was invited to come back on staff in the spring of 2006 to work as a Certified Professional Midwife.

Sorani passionately desires to give her clients a warm and beautiful experience. She is dedicated and adaptable, able to give her clients special attention, massage, and encouragement. Many appreciate her compassion, personal care, soothing touch during labor, peaceful presence, and her calm, gentle spirit. She has a true heart for midwifery and enjoys serving and reaching out to her clients.

Brittany Cronin, STUDENT MIDWIFE

~ Brittany’s interest in midwifery started early, when her mother used midwives with each of her four younger siblings—having four successful VBAC's. She loved the way each midwife took the time to involve her and her brothers in the visits—helping them feel the baby, listen to the heartbeat, and taking the time to answer questions they had. At eleven, she started reading basic midwifery books, and decided to become a midwife when she was old enough. Several years later, she began to seriously think about midwifery again, but it wasn’t until a friend invited her to come to two of her home births that she decided this was definitely what she wanted to do, and began formal training through the ATM Midwifery Training Program, and an internship at Family Birth Services.

Brittany loves many aspects of midwifery, especially building a relationship with each client and their family during pregnancy, providing labor support, and, of course, catching babies. She also greatly enjoys assisting other midwives at births. Her future interests include having a small midwifery practice in the North Texas area where her family lives, and possibly using midwifery as a ministry in combination with missions work.

-- "Therefore God dealt well with the midwives, because they feared Him." Exodus 1:17

Betty Beasley, Office Manager

~ I first heard of Family Birth Services when my sister-in-law had two of her babies here and was very pleased with the care she received from the midwives. Let me share my story with you. My first child, Joshua, was born in 1986 in a hospital because that’s the way it was done back then. It was not the experience I had hoped for. When I discovered that I was expecting my second child in 1988 I contacted FBS and made an appointment to meet with Helen Jolly Nelson who I later learned is a legend in the midwifery community. Jeremy was born at the birth center and it was such a beautiful experience that I couldn’t stop talking about it. I just could not believe that more people didn’t know about this wonderful, loving way to have a baby.

During my pregnancy with Jeremy I usually went for my checkups after work and I was often Helen’s last appointment of the day so we were able to spend time talking and became friends. One day I received a call from Helen and she offered me a job! I began work there on November 17, 1989, one of the happiest days of my life (no, really!). At the time I didn’t know that I was already expecting my 3rd child. In June of 1990 I gave birth to my daughter, Jennifer, and it was another wonderful experience. Helen did fuss at me a bit when she came in the next morning and found me typing up Jennifer’s birth certificate! Jennifer accompanied me to work while she was nursing and the apprentices at that time spoiled her with lots of hugs and walking and rocking if I needed to work and she wanted attention.

My last child, Jonathan, was born in 1994 and I used an intern for my delivery. Helen was babysitting at my mother-in-law’s in home day care so that my mother-in-law could attend the birth as she had never been with me before. Helen’s adopted daughter attended that day care when Helen was working so it worked out O.K. It turned out to be my hardest delivery and Helen and I missed each other but Mrs. Beasley was thrilled to be a part of the experience and was a wonderful support. To me no pain medication can compare to having the people you want and need around you for support and loving reassurance. I enjoyed the jacuzzi tub and being able to move around and change positions. Like his older sister had done Jonathan spent his days with me at the birth center while he was nursing.

Working here has always been special to me. I have enjoyed watching families grow from the birth of their first child to taking home the third, fourth or even tenth child. We now are in to the second generation as we deliver babies for men and women who were born here themselves. We feel as if we are a part of these wonderful families and it is a joy and a privilege to watch these families grow.

As for my actual job, I do everything from answering the phone, scheduling appointments, billing insurance companies, working out payment schedules with clients, explaining paternity forms, inventorying and ordering supplies and keeping the midwives in line.

April L. Pierce, LM, CPM

~ April first became interested in midwifery when her mother had four VBAC’s (vaginal birth after cesarean) at home following six cesarean sections. She was able to assist the midwife at all four of those homebirths, which sparked a compelling interest in the childbearing process that inspired her journey into midwifery.

After completing a full apprenticeship and passing the NARM exam in August of 2002, she joined Family Birth Services as a staff midwife. She has been the director of the apprenticeship program for four years. Teaching and developing close relationships with each one of her students is something she thoroughly enjoys. She also takes great pride in walking them through their training and seeing them to graduation.

She is passionate about her calling as a midwife and considers it a fulfilling ministry. Her selfless dedication to her clients has earned her a reputation for providing exceptional care. She finds great satisfaction in giving her clients personalized care and building friendships with them. Her clients feel safe and appreciate her friendliness, skill and confidence.

April has attended hundreds of births. She especially enjoys caring for women who have special considerations such as those with emotional needs, VBAC’s, and twins. She is very reassuring, nurturing, and dedicated to her clients and delights in serving them in any capacity.