Dara’s (first) Birth Story
Why I Chose A Birth Center Birth for My First Birth
I was 8 months pregnant with our first child when we moved across the country to start grad school. We had received news of my husband’s full-ride scholarship early on in the pregnancy and being young and adventurous, we looked at each other and said, “Well, a baby can't change things too much, right? Let's go!".
Once we moved and I had found myself in this new foreign land (DC can feel intense) and ENLARGED with a child, the thought of having our baby in the hospital felt uncomfortable to me. I knew nothing about the hospitals there and since I was healthy and strong, I knew I just needed a safe place to have our son.
I had been watching some family and friends from afar who had chosen midwifery care, and they all had awesome, safe births and recovered well and had great prenatal and postpartum education and support. I wanted that! As I had always loved and respected the work of the midwife - to provide holistic care prenatally, during and after birth - I started doing some research on midwifery care in the local area.
I had never had a baby before and I didn't know what my body could do, and yet I knew that I needed to reduce the noise to feel most safe when giving birth. A hospital was a place where people went when they were sick. It was noisy and bright. I was not sick. I was going to have a baby. Homebirth in our one-bedroom DC apartment never felt like the right choice either and so the birth center run by practicing midwives was a perfect middle ground.
I soon found a birth center that was in Bethesda, Maryland, just 30 minutes from where we lived. It was run by local midwives and staffed with midwives-in-training that were studying at Georgetown University. The birth center was in a Victorian home and I loved that the rooms were beautifully decorated in Victorian décor, each one uniquely charming and inviting. I also appreciated that all three birth rooms were equipped with all the necessary items for birth, including oxygen tanks, medicines, baby warmers, and of course jacuzzi tubs! The birth center was also across the street from a local hospital that would serve the families from the birth center, should there was a reason for a transfer of care or transport during labor.
The educational component of this midwifery practice was important to me, as well as the community-building found each week as we were invited to join other families to learn about health, nutrition, birth, babies, breastfeeding and so much more. The entire time I was under their comprehensive care, I felt empowered, educated, and strong! I knew I could have our baby safely and had no fear about it! Not once did I fret when people would ask me when I was due. Even as I went to 41 and ultimately to 42 weeks and 1 day.
By the time Thanksgiving had come and gone, I knew it was time to get things moving. I had a morning appointment with the midwives and they ran all the normal checks for both me and baby; vitals, palpitations, fluids, and weight. There was no fear, no concern, no fret. They asked me if they could strip my membranes, which I agreed to, and then I over-hydrated and went to have an ultrasound to check the amniotic fluids level. Clearly, my little Turkey was running out of space, but my fluids were still considered safe.
Determined, I told my husband we were not going back home until I had a baby in my arms. We went out for lunch though I didn't eat much as I wasn't feeling super hungry. Then we headed over to see a double feature… Alien Resurrection and Mr. Bean were playing, ooof, the choices where terrible. So I power walked up and down the aisles (of course making my husband join me). I don’t remember if we were the only people in the theater or not, but clearly I did not care. I squated and lunged and even though I was feeling surges I paid no attention to them, as I knew that if it was the REAL DEAL, I would know and not doubt it. So far, I was still doubtful.
At the point of Mr. Bean running around with a turkey on his head, I remember feeling like I needed to go to the bathroom. I also felt that I couldn't sit still any longer. Something was happening and it was happening repeatedly and not stopping. Of course this was the contractions coming more rhythmically but I didn't yet fully understand this at the time. After using the restroom and noticing a significant change in my body and a need to not move anymore, I realized I was in labor.
I walked and squatted my way out of the theater as I was starting active labor. The drive to the birth center was intense; I felt every bump and turn. By the time we arrived, the midwives confirmed that I was in labor and began to draw my bath in the jacuzzi tub. By now, no one in the world mattered. I was totally focused on the task at hand and spent the rest of my labor in the jacuzzi tub, with my husband by my side. I asked him not to touch me or speak, but to just stay nearby. He obliged without offense. The midwives would come in periodically and take heart tones with a waterproof doppler and check my temperature and vitals, then leave. I labored entirely the way that I wanted to, with no IV, no meds and no intervention. When I was doubting myself and had a wave of emotion and blurted out "I am done! I can't do this anymore!" the midwife looked at me compassionately in the eye, calmed me with her voice and walked me through some deep breathes. She then checked me and said, "You can push. It's time. " Had I wanted to labor in the tub longer and let my baby move down through my breathing, the midwife would have allowed it, but with great relief I got out of the tub and moved to the bed. I pushed for two hours (an appropriate amount of time considering this was my first birth), and then brought my baby to my chest.
The midwives had to use some oxygen to help him a little but considering up to 10 percent of babies need a little extra breath support while transitioning from being compressed through the birth canal to entering the air of the outside, I had no fear and intuitively knew all was well. Very quickly a midwife helped me latch him and I was feeding our son and had not even delivered the placenta! The undisturbed skin to skin and immediate bonding was priceless.
After all was done, I was eating a homemade quiche that we had brought, sipping orange juice mimosas and celebrating the victorious birth and life of our newborn! I felt strong and powerful!