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Chisty's Biography
When I started nursing school at the University of Texas in 1990, I had no idea what a midwife was. Since then, I’ve been told that one of my favorite childhood books, Jacob Have I Loved, had a midwife in it. I must have known on some level what midwives were about, but I did not know the true meaning of midwife, with women, until much later. I “discovered” midwifery my 3rd year at UT and have not looked back. I spent my last year in nursing school observing prenatals once a week with a local Austin midwife and as soon as I graduated from nursing school in May of 1994, I started apprenticing with her practice. I apprenticed for 3 years, 1994 to 1997, with 2-3 different midwives, while working as a home health nurse visiting moms and babies once they returned home from the hospital and in a low income City of Austin Women’s Health clinic. In May 1998, within a week of each other, I received my Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) certification in the mail and gave birth to my son Jonah.
Jonah’s birth, although empowering in it’s own way, was very challenging for me. He was supposed to be born at home, of course, but due to several inconveniences in my labor, such as ruptured membranes with no labor and his little head not perfectly presenting, we transferred to St. David’s hospital. After many hours and many interventions, Jonah was finally born by c/section. I was both devastated by the labor and birth method, and filled with joy and in love with my new baby! It was confusing having so many different feelings at once. I threw myself into full motherhood and put my CPM card in the desk drawer.
Three years later, I was delightedly pregnant again. This time I was even more determined to have my baby at home. I spent much of my second pregnancy in self-reflection, counseling, and emotional ups and downs. Laurel’s labor, in November of 2001, was quite different. In fact, I denied I was in labor for the first 3-4 hours as I sat on the toilet in the middle of the night thinking, “What is wrong with me?” and, “Why do I feel so weird?” I finally realized what was going on. My labor with her was fairly short, but I pushed for 4 ½ hours. It was so hard! I will never be able to fully explain the amazement and glorified happiness I felt when she came out! I am sure many mothers can relate to this indescribable feeling. I then threw myself into parenting two children.
In the spring of 2002, a friend asked me help her have her baby, and then another friend asked me to do the same, and then someone I didn’t know asked me, and then another, and suddenly I had started my own little midwifery practice. Since 2002, I have been honored and humbled to help many families welcome their little ones into this world. My experience has allowed me to change and mold my practice style into what I believe truly being “with women” is all about.
I think part of being a midwife is not only helping women and families birth their babies, but also continuing to educate one’s self and being involved in the development of the profession. I enrolled in a women’s health nurse practitioner program in the fall of 2008, with a projected graduation date in fall of 2011. My plan is to expand my practice to include the full spectrum of holistic women’s health care from the teen years through menopause. I have also become certified in The Arvigo Technique of Mayan Abdominal Massage, which greatly enhances prenatal and birth care.
In regards to professional development, I became involved with the Midwives Alliance of North America (MANA), the professional organization for all midwives in the US, in 2003 as a committee member. In April of 2009, I became the 2nd Vice President on the MANA board, responsible for the MANA annual conferences. Since then I have become more involved with midwifery at the national level, working towards national midwifery legislation by serving on the steering committee of the Midwives and Mothers in Action Campaign, and traveling to many maternal/child health conferences around North America.
I live with my two children, Jonah and Laurel, on a small farmette in southwest Austin. We have chickens, goats, and a llama who respectively provide eggs, milk and cheese, and lovely wool for spinning! I like to read, hear live music, knit, and sew and recently I have taken up barefoot running.
Illysa's Biography
llysa Foster is a holistic midwife practicing in central Texas. Her rich educational background and diverse training experiences inform her unique approach to care of women, newborns and their families.
A native Texan, Illysa grew up moving around the state with her family. She became interested in working with people from an early age, and began teaching children at age sixteen. She pursued studies in psychology and earned an Associates degree in 1990 from Del Mar College in Corpus Christi. She completed her undergraduate education at Texas A&M Corpus Christi with a BA with highest honors in 1992, after the blessed birth of her first daughter. Further pursuit of her education took her to the University of Texas in Austin where she pursued graduate work in Human Development and Education.
In 1997, after the amazing birth of her second daughter at home, she earned her Masters degree. She continued to teach both children and adults, working as an adjunct professor of psychology and human development for ten years and also operated an early childhood program for two years. This solid foundation in human development, parenting, education, and individual psychology informs her understanding of her clients, their lives, families and adaptations to parenting.
In 2005, Illysa received the calling to become a midwife, and by grace and the love from her family and mentors, she was able to retire from teaching to pursue midwifery training and education full time. Her training began with an apprenticeship with a seasoned Austin homebirth midwife, and then took her to birth centers in Killeen and the Texas-Mexico border, then back to Austin to complete her training with a holistic homebirth midwife. Her varied experiences influence her philosophy of practice. She pursued formal education in midwifery with the Association of Texas Midwives (ATM). This academic program enriched her understanding of her clinical training and provided opportunities to learn from numerous experienced midwives. She completed her clinical training in December of 2006 and graduated from the ATM program in May of 2007.
Illysa lives with her loving family and pets in central Austin, serving women and their families throughout the central Texas area. She enjoys gardening, beekeeping, swimming, and attending live music performance and theater with her husband, children and puppy. She also enjoys crafts. Cooking healthy vegetarian cuisine and ethnic foods is another passion, although her kids prefer baking cookies. She practices yoga and dance.
Illysa is an active member in the midwifery community. She is a current member of the Midwives Alliance of North America, Central Texas Birth Network, the National Association of Certified Professional Midwives, and the Association of Texas Midwives. She is assisting NARM and MANA as they update their formal ethical guidelines. She has contributed to the rewriting of the midwifery training course for ATM. She attends and assists in the organization of local, state, and national professional meetings, trainings, and peer reviews.
Illysa co-authored a book on ethics for midwifery that was published by Jones and Bartlett in November of 2009. This book deals with applied ethics in the field of midwifery, and is intended for use by both students and practicing midwives. Through her work in this area, Illysa hopes to assist midwives in developing strong ethical guidelines and training programs to improve maternity care for women and their families and support midwifery as an independent health profession. |
