Natural Beginning Birth Center Blog

Our bodies need folic acid all the time, but never more so than during the early weeks of pregnancy. Taking a daily prenatal vitamin with the recommended 400 micrograms (mcg) of folic acid before and during pregnancy can help prevent birth defects in your baby's brain and spinal cord.  Folic acid, which is also called folate, is a B vitamin. Folic acid plays an important role in the production of red blood cells and helps your baby's neural tube develop into her brain and spinal cord. Birth defects occur early in pregnancy, within the first 3-4 weeks, so it's important to have folic acid in your system during those early stages when your baby's brain and spinal cord are developing. The CDC recommends that you start taking folic acid every day for at least a month before you become pregnant, and every day while you are pregnant. However, the CDC also recommends that women of a childbearing age take folic acid every day, so you'd be fine to start taking it ev

November is National Prematurity Awareness Month and we wanted to provide a little more information about premature birth, as well as offer support for women facing certain risk factors. A premature birth refers to a baby that is born at least three weeks before their due date. Important growth and development milestones occur throughout pregnancy, but even more so in the final months and weeks. Our hope is that through proper care and education, our patients can see their due dates and go home with healthy, full-term babies. Although babies born very preterm are a small percentage of all births, these very preterm infants account for a large proportion of infant mortality rates. More infants die from preterm-related problems than from any other cause. Some premature babies require special care and spend weeks or months hospitalized in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Those who survive are at risk of facing lifelong problems such as intellectual disabilities, cerebral palsy,

On Friday, October 25, Dr. Sebestyen received the award for best OB/GYN (patient’s choice) at the Austin Birth Awards. This is the third year in a row she has received this honor and we’re so proud to share the news! A big thank you to all of our patients for supporting her nomination and voting for Dr. Sebestyen. This type of recognition is true confirmation that our efforts are appreciated and valued in our community. The Austin Birth Awards feature a list of qualified professionals in many service areas related to birth and parenting. All finalists were nominated by those in the community who have personally experienced great service and outcomes from birth related service providers. This year nominations were accepted from June 1, 2013 through July 15, 2013 and final voting on the top four finalists ended on October 15, 2013 at midnight. The 3rd Annual Awards Ceremony & Gala took place on October 25, 2013 at the Carver Museum Theater & Reception Area at 7p.m. The Aus

As many of you know, on September 2 we opened our new birth center, Natural Beginning. We’ve been busy with births and getting settled into our new space, but we wanted to take the opportunity to share this incredible new option with our current and future patients.  On Friday, November 8th, we are opening our doors from 4p.m.-7p.m. and inviting the community into the birth center to see our new space and celebrate alongside our team of midwives as well as the physicians from OBGYN North.  Please feel free to share this open invitation with your friends, we’ve been looking forward to opening our doors to the public and sharing Austin’s newest birthing option with the community!  Thank you for your support and we’ll look forward to seeing you soon! 

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and National Mammography Day is October 22. Our goal, as a practice, is to raise awareness through educating women and helping them by providing excellent preventative care.  Protecting women against the dangers of late stage cancer begins with preventative measures that include regular screenings. Maintaining optimal health and choosing to make preventative care a priority can save a women’s life. The best way to do that is to do a monthly self exam and to schedule mammograms every one to two years  beginning at age 40, or earlier if there‘s a family history of breast cancer under 50 years old. Breast cancer is a disease in which malignant (cancer) cells form in the tissues of the breast. The mutated cells can invade surrounding tissue, but with early detection and treatment, most people can continue a normal life. Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women, with one in eight women diagnosed in their lifetime

On Sunday, September 15, less than two weeks after we opened our doors, Stacy Smalley and Siobhan Kubesh delivered Baby Ivy, the first baby in our new birth center.  We recently had a chance to chat with the mother about her experience and we wanted to share the Q&A session with our current and future patients.  -Was labor and delivery what you expected based on the knowledge you had ahead of time?  This being my second child, I was hoping that, like most anecdotes I’d heard, it would be an easier and faster birth than my first.  Indeed it was!  Labor was shorter, and delivery was much more straightforward.  I also got to deliver in the tub, which was just as marvelous as I’d built it up to be. -What was your favorite part about birthing at NBBC?  The tub was glorious!  Also, I had the utmost confidence in my two midwives, Siobhan & Stacy.  They directed me perfectly throughout the labor and delivery, and explained things to a high level as I like my health car