Birth is different for every woman, every time. It can be a beautiful, life-changing experience. It can also be a vulnerable and challenging time. Dr. Erica Hernandez, Alyxandriah Bermea-Ramos, and Jenna Hernandez are making it their life’s work to guide women with education, caring, and love.
All these women were inspired to work in the birth community because of their own experiences or the experiences of those they cared for. Dr. Erica Hernandez at Empowered Chiropractic + Massage told me that she has always been drawn to birth work. Her own health struggles as a teenager sparked an interest in other types of healthcare. This led her to apply to chiropractic school, which opened her eyes to a completely different side of birth work. “Women were being supported by midwives and giving birth in birth centers and at home. They were finding power and strength in their motherhood.” Towards the end of chiropractic school, her planned home birth ended with transfer to the hospital and a cesarean section. “I was devastated.” Soon after graduation, she moved back to San Antonio and started connecting with the birth community. In 2015, she gave birth at home, and “A fire was lit in me.” She was inspired to create opportunities for women wanting the same and became a doula. “I couldn’t wait to get back in it and support other moms on their pregnancy, birth, and motherhood journeys.”
Alyxandriah Bermea-Ramos, a doula, midwife apprentice, and founder of With Joy Birth & Wellness, was also influenced by her own birth experiences to pursue this line of work. While her first hospital birth was positive, she felt there should be more options for women. Her research introduced her to natural birth, and after her second child was born at home with midwife and doula care, she knew she wanted to support families in the same way she was supported.
Jenna Hernandez, Certified Nurse Midwife, has been drawn to nursing and birth work since childhood. She volunteered at a hospital as a kid, and after attending her brother’s birth, she knew that was her path. She began pursuing a career in nursing, and after working in labor and delivery for a while, she earned a master’s degree in nursing and became a certified nurse midwife. Her seven years in a hospital-based practice were rewarding and enriched her knowledge, but she often felt limited, watched, and restricted. Jenna knew she wanted things to be different, so with her sister’s encouragement, she opened The Mobile Midwife, an in-home nurse-midwifery practice.
Each of their careers has changed over the years to better serve the community. In 2017, Dr. Hernandez opened Empowered Chiropractic + Massage in a suite of an office building that her parents owned. She wanted to have a family practice focusing on perinatal and pediatric care. Because she was a mom caring for other moms and their children, it worked well for Erica’s children to be in the office with her. Erica said those were tiring but exciting days as she built her business and had her third child. Six months later, Erica’s schedule was full, and they moved into a bigger office. After navigating their way through the pandemic and having a fourth child, she felt ready to move into an even bigger space and hire another doctor. They now have three locations serving San Antonio.
Alyxandriah’s birth work began as a doula, providing support and education to women and their partners during pregnancy, and personal care during labor, delivery, and the postpartum period. She also provides a variety of placenta encapsulation options. These days, she is a mother of three and works less as a doula as she focuses on becoming a midwife and working as an apprentice at a birth center in the South Texas Medical Center.
When Jenna decided to open her own practice, she knew she wanted to create something special for the women of San Antonio. She focuses her mobile midwifery practice on in-home gynecologic, sexual, reproductive, fertility, hormonal replacement, and home birth care. Jenna centers the family, bodily autonomy, education, and informed decision-making so that women’s daily lives, sexual health, and birth outcomes are better. Jenna travels all around San Antonio, and sometimes as far as Fredericksburg or Beeville, so that women may receive care in their homes. “I can practice in a way that feels aligned with who I am as a person, a mother, and as a provider, while also leaning into what the people in our community want and need.”
While each of these women is caring for their patients in different ways, what matters to all of them is helping women feel informed and empowered about their healthcare. Dr. Hernandez, who recently gave birth to her sixth child, feels like birth work is sacred for her. She told me, “Informed and empowered birth is how we heal the world; it starts by taking care of families, especially the moms.” Alyxandriah told me that women want to be heard and respected. “True empowerment comes when knowledge, support, and faith all come together to help women confidently navigate their birth and parenting journey.” Jenna feels privileged to work with many diverse family structures. Jenna told me the people in these communities are underserved in healthcare, with some of the worst maternal and neonatal outcomes in hospital-based settings. She works hard to ensure that every client has equal access to education, understands how their body works, and feels empowered to make their own healthcare decisions. “It is important to me to create safety within a healthcare space where people can feel like equals while also receiving equitable care and feel empowered at the end of it.”
Collaboration among the birth community is common because their goals are the same: to serve women during their childbearing years. Understanding one another’s roles and building trust means women receive better care, and everyone’s jobs are done at a higher level. Alyxandriah said, “Collaboration isn’t just about medical logistics; it’s about creating a culture where everyone on the team works together to support the family.” Because Jenna worked in hospital settings previously, she brings a unique ability to collaborate with both the home birthing community and the medical system. Many of her patients sought her out because of previous medical trauma, so Jenna knows, “It is crucial to develop trust with the families that I care for to fully utilize the integration of other modes of medicine and care options within the community.”
As Jenna prepares for the birth of her third child, she feels “continually in awe of the physical abilities of the female body and the depths in which we can feel and experience major life seasons and challenges.” Dr. Hernandez, Alyxandriah, and Jenna all shared incredible stories of their patient’s strength and resilience. While every story was different, they all shared common themes. Women are often told that something is out of reach or impossible. Then women find other women to support them, and they accomplish the impossible.
“Informed and empowered birth is how we heal the world; it starts by taking care of families, especially the moms.”
Walking with women through birth, loss, healing, and everything between Dr. Hernandez, Alyxandriah, and Jenna support women and their families in ways that extend far beyond labor and delivery. Their work is rooted in a deep passion for caring for women through every stage of life. They help women navigate health in many ways, including chiropractic care, massage, acupuncture, and nutritional guidance. They also coordinate with other medical professionals on behalf of their patients, ensuring each woman receives well-rounded, thoughtful care. Their support continues into breastfeeding, postpartum education, and recovery, connecting families with trusted resources when needed. They also walk alongside women facing infertility, miscarriage, and pregnancy loss, offering trauma-informed care through some of life’s most difficult moments.