I interviewed a woman, Cindy, who told me about her experience about giving birth to her 2nd child at a birthing center rather than the hospital like she did with her first child.
With her first child she didn't want an epidural and she said that upset the nurses. Cindy wanted the birth to be natural. When Cindy had contractions she moved around but never screamed. The nurses put an internal monitor on the baby's head. She didn't understand why they did this since she wasn't at high risk for delivery. When she moved during the contractions the monitor would come off and that would upset the nurses because they would have to come back in and put the monitor back on. When it came time to deliver, Cindy said she didn't want an episiotomy if the perinium tore. She wanted a natural tear. The doctor did an episiotomy anyway. He said it was because the baby was so big. The baby weighed 9 lbs 7 oz. Cindy still has nerve damage from the episiotomy.
Cindy didn't want to go through all the same stuff again with her second child. Her and her husband decided to go with a midwife. Cindy had done research and talked with a friend that had used a midwife. The midwife had the same philosophy that childbirth should be natural. So, they used the same midwife that her friend had used.
She said the experience at the birthing center was very calm. They used breathing techniques and massage as pain control. Cindy said when she had pain in her tailbone, the midwife suggested laying over a big exercise ball to relieve the pressure. They also used hot washcloths for pain relief.
Another benefit was she could have her family and friends in the birthing center including her 4 year old daughter. Even though she was upstairs, she had the comfort of knowing she had support with her. If she wanted anyone in the room she had the option.
When it came time for the delivery they paged her husband and student midwives to the room. Her husband actually got to deliver his son and cut the cord. Cindy's mother and friend were at the bottom of the stairs and heard the actual birth and the baby's first cry. Then they had her daughter come to the room to see her brother. Her daughter ran down stairs and announced, "It's a brother!" Cindy was able to hear the cheers from family and friends whereas, if she were in the hospital, that wouldn't have happened.
After everyone met the baby and visited, the midwife took Cindy for a herbal bath. Close to the end of the bath they brought her son to her. They both had a relaxing bath. Her son weighed 8 lbs 8 oz. She said even with her son being a big baby, she healed more quickly after his birth than with her daughter.
Amy Morrow
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Amy,
ReplyDeleteWow! This was an interesting interview that you conducted about birthing centers. It is so unfortunate that Cindy was not able to to have her wishes while having her daughter at the hospital. I feel that every doctor and nurse should respect the wishes of the patient because this is a very important event in people's life. I feel that her choice to have her son at the birthing center was right for her. Many people enjoy the intimate setting of birthing centers because it relaxes them like they were at home. I commend Cindy for her strength to have a child in a very natural way with her family there to witness it!