
I have been a midwife since 1993. I started my journey toward midwifery when I was told, at the ripe old age of 19, that I would likely never be able to bear my own children due to a severe case of endometriosis. I had numerous surgeries, medication regimes, and heartbreaking disappointments month after month, then year after year. During this time, I read everything I could get my hands on about birth, pregnancy, options in labor and delivery. Finally, I started learning about midwives! Prior to this, I had never known a midwife nor had I ever talked to anyone who had used a midwife. Yet, I was completely enamored with the idea of “with woman”. This was before the time of the internet and my only sources of information were bookstores or the library. I bought the original issue of “Our Bodies, Ourselves” in 1973 and felt a call to something bigger and more life-changing than I could have ever imagined. The only method of becoming a midwife that I was aware of, was to first go to nursing school to get a BSN and then go to a midwifery school for a Masters in Midwifery. At that time there were no midwifery schools in Texas; the nearest one to us was in Mississippi! I had already started taking my prerequisites for a BS and by 1977 I was accepted into the clinical program for UT Nursing. By this time, my late husband Gary and I had been actively, yet unsuccessfully, trying to conceive for six long years.
The crushing disappointment was more than I could deal with any longer. I decided to give up that dream and focus on becoming a midwife to help other women have their sweet babies. Two months later, I discovered that I was pregnant! Over the next 17 years, God blessed us with five more beautiful babies; one for each long year of infertility. However, this also delayed my dream of becoming a midwife. So, when I had an opportunity to take a course offered by the Texas Dept of Health to become a documented midwife, I jumped at it. I began this program in 1993. Later the same year, I started a 3 yr apprenticeship with a midwife friend who had recently moved to Texas. I also took a course through the Association of Texas Midwives and later passed one of the first NARM exams offered to become a CPM (Certified Professional Midwife).
I was the first and only midwife in Katy and had a thriving home birth practice for many years. In 2003, I accepted a new apprentice as well as a new birth assistant. This was the beginning of a great collaboration with Natalie and Connie. I’ve been blessed on a daily basis by both of them, and am so grateful for their wisdom, love and support since we came together in 2010, to open Katy Birth Center. This endeavor has truly been a labor of love.
My late husband Gary and I had been married since 1971 and enjoyed the years raising our three girls and three boys. Gary graduated to Heaven in June 2023. All of our children are now married. I have seven beautiful grandchildren so far, four of whom I was honored to midwife into the world. In January 2025, the Lord blessed me with a new husband, Charles Edward Westbrook, Jr (Chuck). We know the Lord brought us together and look forward to the path that the Lord has for us.
I also feel a connection to my sister midwives and have been very involved in both local and statewide midwifery organizations over the years. I’ve served on the local level in our Houston area midwifery group as President, Vice-President, and Secretary. I’ve also served on the statewide ATM organization as an Area Representative, Secretary, and Vice President. Working with these committed midwives to further midwifery and protect our profession has been such an honor, albeit, a huge commitment of time and invested effort. I am excited in this next season to mentor and support the next generation of midwives.
I love mothers and their babies, and I am so very grateful for the path God led me on all those years ago to be able to encourage, minister, educate and support women, and their innate ability to birth their babies safely in the ways they desire.
We are so glad you are considering a birth with us here at Katy Birth Center! Welcome!
Learn more about Cathy Rude by watching the video below
Cathy Rude, Midwife