A Shared Calling

Taylor Houser, D.N.P. ’18, B.S.N. ’12, CNM, and her mother Carla Morrow, D.N.P. ’10, always dreamed about practicing together as nurse-midwives. That dream became a reality in 2013, and today the mother-daughter duo operates a thriving hospital-based midwifery practice in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex that supports close to 1,800 births annually.

“We had a shared vision of creating a different kind of care model, one that centered on continuity, accessibility and physiologic birth,” Houser said. “There is growing recognition of the value that midwives bring in improving outcomes, reducing intervention rates and enhancing patient satisfaction while also maintaining excellent statistics, including low cesarean delivery rates and low NICU admission rates.”

Midwifery has evolved significantly over the years, particularly in its integration into the broader healthcare system. Houser said what has remained constant is the core of midwifery: presence, trust in the birth process and advocacy for women and families.

The mother-daughter duo both obtained their Doctor of Nursing Practice (D.N.P.) in Nurse-Midwifery from Baylor’s Louise Herrington School of Nursing. Houser credits the program with preparing her not only for clinical practice, but also for the leadership required to build and grow their practice.

“My education from Baylor’s Louise Herrington School of Nursing provided a strong clinical foundation and emphasized evidence-based practice,” Houser said. “Beyond clinical skills, the program fostered critical thinking, professional accountability and leadership development. Those elements have been just as important as I’ve moved into practice ownership and organizational leadership. The combination of rigorous academic preparation and real-world clinical exposure helped me develop the confidence to manage complex situations while still prioritizing patient-centered care. It also laid the groundwork for my involvement in advocacy and advancing the role of midwives within the healthcare system.”

Baylor Nursing’s nationally ranked D.N.P. program is one of a growing number of graduate programs offered at Baylor that rank nationally, with the nurse-midwifery specialization moving six places into the U.S. News Top 20 at No. 16 earlier this year.