We just love it when clients let us share their stories- though we recommend grabbing a box of tissues before reading any further. We can’t make it through this one without crying tears of joy for this mama and her beautiful family!
It’s been a week since I birthed my son, Isaac, at the BBC, and I wanted to let the staff know how much I appreciated the superlative care I received with them.
I did not begin my pregnancy in a great state. My son was developing beautifully and my husband and I were thrilled for the pregnancy, but I was visiting an OB whose highly interventionist practice made me uncomfortable, and whose administrative staff struggled to navigate the complicated ins and outs of the Affordable Care Act health insurance plans, adding a huge amount of stress to an already unsettled time.
I’d done some reading on midwifery in this country, and I knew I was interested in working and birthing with midwives. When I finally made the switch from the OB to the BBC, about 7 months on, I felt like I’d come home. Each friendly, reassuring prenatal visit felt tailored to me and to my needs (physical and emotional), and I felt like the midwives and administrative staff at the BBC were invested and interested in my care. (Side note: I have yet to have health insurance admin issues since switching to the BBC – what a relief! Well done, BBC) On the advice of the BBC staff, my husband and I enrolled in the excellent Childbirth Preparation, Breastfeeding and Newborn Care classes offered at the BBC, and we found this helpful, insightful information empowering as my son’s due date approached.
When I finally did go into labor, the excellent midwife Denine was easy to contact and very clear and reassuring over the phone. After I had labored at home for about 12 hours with my husband, sister, and doula, Denine advised me to come to the Center, and admitted me about an hour after our arrival, pending another centimeter’s dilation – to assist this, I needed to walk to the end of the block and back, and though I was convinced we’d only been gone 10 minutes, it actually took me 6 times that time…
Once they’d admitted me, Denine and birth assistant Angie were careful to keep an eye on me and make me feel safe, while essentially leaving me to continue laboring with my little birth team. I labored in the tub (hydrotherapy is amazing!!), over a birthing ball, on the toilet, standing, and probably other ways that I don’t remember. In addition to working with me, Denine and Angie worked beautifully with my team, suggesting ways my team could help me and reassuring my sister and husband.
When pushing time came, Denine and Angie jumped into action. They were focused, efficient and encouraging – I’d been laboring for nearly 20 hours and was getting very tired. They gave my son and me some oxygen toward the end, but thankfully, that was the only ‘intervention’ I needed. They never let me doubt that my body was up to this monumental task.
After what seemed like an eternity, I pushed out my son, with my doula and husband at my head, Denine eye to eye with me down front, and my sister and Angie supporting my legs. The moments after the birth were a blur; mostly I remember a howling, thrashing purple body on my chest and looking up and seeing my exhausted sister quietly crying in the corner. Just to add to the surreal intensity of the moment, a thunderstorm began outside.
Denine stitched me up, Angie got my husband, baby Isaac and me comfortable, and my parents came in to meet their grand-baby – they’d arrived around the time I started pushing. Eventually, Angie swapped shifts with another birth assistant, Shalawn, and my little mini family settled down to sleep, with my parents sleeping in the family room next door. My husband slept some, and I tried, but mostly I just watched Isaac sleep.
I’m writing all of this down because I want to remember these details, and I am so grateful to have had a birth experience where I was able to be mentally present the whole time, even in a sort of surreal way. My son’s birth was intensely challenging and hugely rewarding, and I cannot fully express in words how grateful I am to the BBC for helping me have this incredible experience.
10 days later, Isaac is growing and feeding like a demon, with a deliciously weird little personality and a rocket-launcher metabolism. He is unimaginably perfect and my husband and I are wholly besotted with our little guy.
Thanks so much for all that you do. Y’all are getting a good Yelp shout-out from me!
Best regards and thanks from Barbara, John and Isaac
