At San Antonio Super Moms, we love introducing our community to the women behind local businesses—their stories, their passions, and the experiences that inspired them to create something meaningful for San Antonio families.
This month, we’re excited to introduce Shamika Saint Pierre , better known as Midwife Mika , founder of Nouvelle Midwifery & Wellness .
Shamika is a Certified Nurse Midwife, former NICU nurse, wife, and mother of three girls whose journey into midwifery began with a desire to experience healthcare differently herself. Today, she brings that philosophy into her own practice, providing mobile midwifery, women’s health, and wellness care centered around education, informed decision-making, and personal connection.
What makes Nouvelle especially unique is that much of the care comes directly to the client. Rather than asking women and families to always rearrange their lives around healthcare, Shamika brings care into the comfort of their homes.
But as we quickly discovered during our time with her, there’s much more to Shamika than the title “Midwife Mika.” She’s warm, funny, deeply passionate about women’s health, and refreshingly open about the realities of balancing motherhood, marriage, continuing education, and entrepreneurship.
We sat down with Shamika to learn more about the woman behind Nouvelle, her unconventional journey from research and NICU nursing to midwifery, and why she believes every woman deserves to be an active participant in her own healthcare.
Meet Shamika “Midwife Mika” Saint Pierre
Who is Shamika outside of being “Midwife Mika”? Outside of being Midwife Mika, I’m Shamika. I’m a wife, a mom of three girls, and someone who genuinely loves being with my family and my people. My life is a mix of motherhood, marriage, running a business, continuing my education, and trying to remember to actually enjoy all of it while I’m in it.
I’m definitely a nurturer by nature, but I also have a pretty big personality. I love to laugh, I love community, and I don’t take myself too seriously. I think social media probably gives people a pretty good glimpse of that. One minute I’m talking about birth or women’s health, and the next I’m sharing something funny my kids did or talking about how life has been “lifing.”
My family is a huge part of everything I do. Nouvelle may have my name attached to it, but it is truly a family-supported business. My husband and my girls have been along for this entire journey, and I don’t think I could do what I do without them.
Before becoming a Certified Nurse Midwife, you worked as a NICU nurse. How did that experience shape you? My path to midwifery was actually a little unconventional. Before nursing, I spent a lot of time in research and clinical laboratory work. It was while looking for my own healthcare provider that I really started learning more about midwifery and the midwifery model of care. The more I learned, the more I realized that this was the kind of provider I wanted to become. That realization is ultimately what led me to change careers, go into nursing, and pursue becoming a midwife.
The NICU was actually a very unintentional stop along that journey, but it ended up being one of the most valuable ones.
I worked in high-acuity Level III and Level IV NICUs, and that experience gave me an incredible foundation in newborn assessment, neonatal care, emergency preparedness, and staying calm when things change quickly. It also gave me such a deep respect for the transition babies make at birth and for the importance of supporting families during incredibly vulnerable moments.
People are often surprised when they learn that I went from being a NICU nurse to becoming a home birth midwife, and honestly, I love that combination. On the surface, those worlds can seem like complete opposites, but to me they complement each other beautifully. My NICU background helps me respect physiology while also understanding pathology. I know what a normal newborn transition looks like, but I also know what it looks like when a baby needs more support.
I did not plan the NICU portion of my journey, but I am incredibly grateful it happened. It absolutely helped shape the provider I am today.
What inspired you to create Nouvelle Midwifery & Wellness? Nouvelle really grew out of my belief that women deserve more from healthcare.
There are amazing providers working within traditional healthcare systems, but the system itself can be rushed. Appointments are short. Women may feel like they have just enough time to answer a few questions before the next patient is waiting. And especially in pregnancy and women’s health, there are so many conversations that simply cannot be done well in ten or fifteen minutes.
I wanted to create something different.
Nouvelle was built around the idea that care can be both evidence-based and deeply personal. Women can receive excellent clinical care while still having time to ask questions, understand their options, participate in decision-making, and feel like an actual person rather than the next appointment on a schedule.
And one of my favorite things about the practice is that we come to you. Our care is mobile and provided in the comfort of our clients’ homes. There’s no sitting in a waiting room, no rushing everyone out of the house, and no trying to figure out childcare just so you can go to an appointment.
I wanted healthcare to fit into women’s lives a little more instead of always expecting women to rearrange their lives around healthcare.
Your approach to care feels very personal and intentional. What does that mean to you? Intentional care means that I want women to feel seen, heard, safe, and respected.
And because my practice is mobile, there really aren’t “doors” for women to walk through. I walk through theirs.
There is something very different about caring for someone in their own space. They are comfortable. Their children may be running around. We may be sitting at the kitchen table or on the couch talking about something incredibly important. It changes the dynamic.
I want women to feel like they have a provider who listens before making assumptions.
I talk a lot about informed consent rather than informed compliance. My job is not to make decisions for women. My job is to provide the information, explain the benefits and risks, share my professional recommendation, answer questions, and then support women in making informed decisions about their bodies and their healthcare.
At the end of a visit, I want someone to feel more informed, more confident, and more supported than they did before I arrived.
There can still be a lot of confusion about what a Certified Nurse Midwife actually does. What do you wish more women knew? I wish more women knew that midwives do so much more than catch babies!
Pregnancy and birth are certainly a big part of what I do and something I absolutely love, but Certified Nurse Midwives are advanced practice registered nurses who provide healthcare throughout the lifespan.
Depending on the practice and the provider, that can include annual wellness visits, contraception, reproductive and sexual health, pregnancy care, postpartum care, breastfeeding support, basic primary care, health screenings, medications, labs, referrals, and more.
Sometimes women think they can only call me once they are pregnant. I would love for women to start thinking, “Could my midwife take care of this?” because oftentimes, the answer is yes.
What services do you currently offer through Nouvelle Midwifery & Wellness? Nouvelle has grown into a pretty comprehensive women’s health and wellness practice.
Our primary focus is home birth midwifery care, including prenatal care, labor and birth, postpartum care, and newborn care. All of that care is provided in the client’s home.
We also offer primary care and women’s health services, lactation education and support, mobile IV hydration and vitamin therapy, injectable vitamins, medical weight-management options including GLP-1 medications when appropriate, peptide-based wellness services, and other individualized wellness care.
One of the things I love about Nouvelle is that women don’t necessarily stop being my patients once they have their baby. The goal is to build long-term relationships.
A good fit for my practice is someone who wants individualized care, values education and shared decision-making, asks questions, and appreciates having a provider who is willing to take the time to actually have the conversation.
What do you think women—especially mothers—tend to put off when it comes to their own health and wellness? Everything.
And I say that as a mother too.
Moms are really good at noticing when everybody else needs something. We schedule the pediatrician appointments. We remember the dentist. We notice when our partner hasn’t been feeling well. We make sure everyone has what they need.
Meanwhile, we have had the same symptom for six months saying, “I’ll make an appointment eventually.”
I always remind women that taking care of yourself is not something you have to earn after everyone else is taken care of.
That may mean getting your labs checked. Addressing fatigue instead of just assuming motherhood is supposed to feel exhausting. Going to therapy. Moving your body. Getting enough sleep when life allows it. Scheduling your annual exam. Or simply admitting that something doesn’t feel right.
You are a member of the family you are working so hard to take care of.
San Antonio Super Moms: What is one misconception about pregnancy, postpartum, or women’s health that you find yourself correcting often? One thing Midwife Mika wants every woman to know is that common does not automatically mean normal.
Women are frequently told that symptoms are “just part of being a woman,” “just pregnancy,” “just postpartum,” or “just motherhood.”
Sometimes something may be common, but that does not mean it should automatically be dismissed or ignored.
Heavy bleeding, severe pain, extreme fatigue, persistent sadness or anxiety, pelvic floor symptoms, painful sex, significant changes in your cycle, or simply feeling like something is not right all deserve a conversation.
And another thing I say all the time is: you are allowed to ask questions. In fact, I become concerned when people don’t!
You should understand what is being recommended, why it is being recommended, what the benefits and risks are, what your alternatives are, and what happens if you choose to wait or decline.
I never want someone to agree with me simply because I am the provider in the room. I want you to understand the recommendation well enough to participate in the decision.
That is what informed consent is supposed to look like.
Running a business while caring for other women requires a lot of heart and energy. What has entrepreneurship taught you about yourself? Entrepreneurship has taught me that I can do hard things, but it has also taught me that doing everything myself is not always the goal.
When you own a healthcare practice, you quickly learn that being a good clinician is only part of the job. Suddenly you’re also thinking about marketing, bookkeeping, policies, supplies, websites, scheduling, compliance, contracts, inventory, social media, and about 900 other things that definitely were not covered in midwifery school.
One of the most rewarding parts has been watching something that started as an idea become a real practice that families trust with some of the most important moments of their lives.
There is nothing quite like having a family invite you into their home, trust you during pregnancy and birth, and then hand you that same baby months later when they come back to see you at a community event.
The challenging part is learning boundaries. Birth work is unpredictable. Motherhood is unpredictable. Entrepreneurship is unpredictable. Apparently I decided I needed all three at the same time!
So I’m constantly learning how to protect time for myself and my family while still giving my clients the level of care they deserve.
What does community mean to you? Community is everything to me.
Healthcare can become very siloed, but none of us can meet every need for every family. Having relationships with other midwives, physicians, doulas, lactation professionals, therapists, birth workers, community organizations, and other women-owned businesses ultimately makes all of us stronger.
I also believe collaboration matters.
One of the narratives we sometimes hear is that different models of maternity care have to compete with one another. I don’t believe that. Home birth, birth centers, and hospitals all have a place. What matters is having qualified providers, appropriate screening, informed families, clear plans, and respectful collaboration when someone needs a different level of care.
San Antonio has such a beautiful community of families and professionals doing this work, and I want Nouvelle to be part of strengthening those connections.
What’s next for Midwife Mika and Nouvelle Midwifery & Wellness? Growth, but very intentional growth.
I don’t want Nouvelle to become so big that we lose the thing that makes it special. The personal relationship is the whole point.
I’m continuing my education and expanding my ability to provide more comprehensive primary care, and I’m excited about continuing to grow the wellness side of the practice as well.
Education is also becoming a bigger part of what I do. I’m an NRP instructor, and I’m passionate about increasing access to high-quality neonatal resuscitation education for community birth professionals and student midwives.
Long-term, I see Nouvelle becoming a place where women and their families can receive care through many different seasons of life, not just pregnancy. I want families to be able to build a relationship with a provider they already know and trust and continue that relationship as their healthcare needs change.
I have a lot of ideas. Probably too many ideas. My husband would definitely tell you I have too many ideas! But the vision is always the same: thoughtful, evidence-based, accessible care that makes people feel cared for as whole human beings.
Finish this sentence: “I want every woman to know that…” I want every woman to know that you deserve to be an active participant in your healthcare. You deserve to ask questions, understand your options, feel heard, and receive care that respects both your autonomy and your humanity.
And I would probably add one more thing:
You do not have to wait until something is wrong to start taking care of yourself.
Meet the Woman Behind the Business What stands out about Shamika isn’t only the range of care she provides. It’s the philosophy underneath it: women deserve time, information, respect, and a voice in their healthcare.
From an unexpected chapter in the NICU to building a mobile midwifery and wellness practice of her own, Shamika’s journey reflects the same intentionality she hopes her clients experience in their care.
And somewhere between being Midwife Mika, a business owner, a wife, a mother of three, and a woman with—as she admits—probably too many ideas, she’s building something deeply rooted in the San Antonio community.
We’re proud to introduce Shamika Saint Pierre and Nouvelle Midwifery & Wellness as a San Antonio Super Moms Spotlight Feature.
Connect with Shamika Saint Pierre & Nouvelle Midwifery & Wellness Women’s healthcare is deeply personal, and every woman deserves to feel heard, informed, and respected when making decisions about her body and her health. At Nouvelle Midwifery & Wellness , Shamika Saint Pierre—better known as Midwife Mika —provides personalized, evidence-based care designed to support women and families through many different seasons of life.
From home birth midwifery and prenatal care to postpartum support, women’s health, lactation education, and wellness services, Shamika’s approach is centered on education, shared decision-making, and building relationships with the women she serves.
One message from Shamika especially stayed with us throughout our conversation:
“You are a member of the family you are working so hard to take care of.”
For every mom who continually puts herself at the bottom of the list, it’s a beautiful reminder that caring for yourself matters, too.
If you would like to learn more about home birth midwifery, prenatal and postpartum care, women’s health, lactation support, or wellness services in San Antonio , connect with Shamika and Nouvelle Midwifery & Wellness below:
Connect with Nouvelle Midwifery & Wellness Website: https://www.nouvellemidwiferyandwellness.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/midwifemika/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MidwifeMika
Photography Credit: Veronika Gant Photography
If you’re a local San Antonio business owner or mom looking to share your story, connect with other women, and grow your visibility, we invite you to become part of the San Antonio Super Moms community on Facebook and Instagram.
Follow, engage, and apply for an opportunity to be featured on SanAntonioSuperMoms.com, or contact us at info@sanantoniosupermoms.com to learn more about our promotional features and advertising opportunities.
