Burning Questions: Part Two

Here is a link to the first "Burning Questions"
Here are some of the top things I have been asked over the last week. Not in any real order... Just a warning... I am very passionate about birth. Please know that these are all actual questions I have been asked and I am answering them very honestly from my point of view. My purpose for this is to answer everything at once and hopefully educate women and help them to reclaim their birth experience.

Were you surprised that it was a boy? No! Remember I voted that it was a boy. I will admit that I did think it was a girl but everything logically told me it was a boy. I couldn't be happier with our three boys. God showed me during my last week of pregnancy how much I enjoy having boys. He is so good!

Is it what Ben thought it would be? Yes! He knew it was a boy at 22 weeks along and kept it a secret the whole time.

How did you decide on the name Brooks? We still did not have a name for him when I went in labor. We finally decided on one that night sometime around 10 or 11pm. We wanted a family name so we knew that his middle name would be Frederick after my dad- Robert Frederick and Ben's paternal grandpa- Charles Frederick. I thought Brooks sounded nice with Charlie and Sawyer and we liked the meaning. Brooks means "brooke or stream" and Frederick means "Peaceful leader" We needed a laid back kid and Ben liked the idea of something to do with the outdoors so this seemed to fit. :)

- Where were your other boys born if not at Goshen Birth Center? Both boys were born at Goshen General Hospital with a midwife from Fairhaven Obstetrics. Rachel delivered Charlie and Julia delivered Sawyer. The Birth Center opened shortly after Sawyer was born. We were birth #70 there.

- If you didn't have any drugs why do you have a band-aid on your arm and hand? I got the H1N1 vaccine that morning in my arm (while in labor and holding two monkeys. Tons of fun!) The one in my hand is the Strep B antibiotics. I had this with all three of our boys.

- Are you done having kids? ummm... According to Ben- YES! POSITIVELY YES! Me on the other hand is already having a hard time grasping this. :(

- What was the girl's name? We actually had three that we couldn't decide between. We were just going to wait to see what she looked like. I won't tell you the exact names but they all had a family name in them. Either Charlotte (after me) or Mae (after Grandma Anne).

- Didn't Brooks swallow water when he was born? How long was he under water? My sense of time with the birth is very skewed so I don't know how long he was actually underwater but it wasn't for any longer than 1 minute. Babies are already in water when in-utero so this is no different for them. So no he didn't swallow any.

- Jill commented that the Birth Center looked like a Spa. It really was a lot like that! I had my own suite with large whirlpool tub. After the birth Brooks and I stayed in the water for probably about an hour. We then lounged in the huge bed with Ben and the boys. Later before we left I took an herbal bath in the tub with the lights off and a candle lit. The midwife then gave Brooks his first bath in the tub with me. It was so sweet to see him get cleaned up this way. Also very relaxing and healing! Our boys watched oodles of cartoons in the living room and played with toys. Ben and Kathy ordered pizza and ate while I was in labor and I then chowed down on all the leftovers about midnight. :) The midwives also make you a fresh loaf of bread while you are in labor to enjoy later. Yum!

When did you start having contractions, and when did you know when to go to the birth center (how painful, how often, etc. were the contractions?)- I started labor at 3:20 am that day. He was born at 7:23pm. Very different from the other two boys! I was expecting a short/frantic labor and instead got a long roller coaster labor. I went shopping during the day with the boys, dropped cupcakes off at Ben's school, went to see the midwife and then treated us to Panera Bread for lunch. Ben came home early from school about 2pm.
Usually the midwives tell you to come to the hospital/b.c. when contractions are 3 minutes apart and lasting about 1 minute. Since I had Strep B they wanted me to come when they were 7 minutes apart so that I could hopefully get two doses of the antibiotic. I got to the B.C. at about 4:20pm. I never got the second dose with any of the boys. I was at the hospital with Charlie for only 4 hours, 2 hours with Sawyer and 3 hours with Brooks.

Did you know when you went through the "transition" phase? And were you in the water by this point or was this when you knew you wanted to get in the water? I was in denial at this point. :) Rachel kept trying to check me but I didn't want her to. She knew by my demeanor that I was farther than I thought I was. She also kept encouraging me to get in the water but I was stubborn. I was trying to pace myself and I was expecting a longer end to the labor. Once I finally did get checked I was 9 cent. and I then got in the water. With the other two boys I labored in the water for longer.

Did you need an episiotomy? No. The midwives do not routinely do these.

After Brooks was born, did they let you hold him for a long time and did they do any APGAR testing or any other sort of testing on him at the birthing center or is that primarily only done at the hospital? Usually with a water birth the mother or father delivers their baby but since I sort of panicked and just stared at him Rachel handed him to me. I didn't let go of him for at least an hour. Brooks was never away from me for the entire 6 hours except when I took my bath. They gave him an APGAR score of 8 and 9. (loss of points for color) They don't cut the cord until you have delivered the placenta. He also was not weighed or measured until probably 11pm or so that night. No really need to hurry on that. He received the Vitamin K shot and Eye Medicine shortly before we left around 1am.

Were you encouraged to breast feed right away (like in the tub) to help your uterus contract and prevent bleeding? He nursed about 3 minutes after he was born. I nursed him pretty much non-stop the whole time we were there. This was when Sawyer made the funny comment about him getting big and strong! Side note... I chugged Red Raspberry Leaf tea the last week or so of my pregnancy and it really helped with post-delivery contractions. They didn't hurt near as bad as they did with Sawyer. Highly recommend this! I also took the Herbal supplement "5W".

Did they have to get any blood from you or Brooks a couple days later for any reason? They did the metabolic screening on Brooks at our house 3 days after he was born. (The midwives came to see me about 15 hours after having him and then again at 3 days to check both of us.)

My burning question is...where's the blow by? :) Just a little NICU nurse humor! Nope. No oxygen needed. (They did have it ready for both he and I just in case.) I felt bad because I had pictured his birth just like the videos I had watched where he would just slide out and look at me and breathe normally without screaming. Instead he came shooting out, I screamed, scared the poor thing and then he started screaming like crazy!

Were the big bro's with you all the time or in and out? I labored in the living room with them until I needed some alone time. Again my sense of time is skewed but I would say from the time I left it wasn't more than an hour before he was born. Kathy stayed with the boys and then came in just a few minutes after Brooks was born.

Did you ever wish for drugs? No. I did with Charlie but was determined not to get them no matter what. It never was honestly even an option in my mind.

Where was this birthing center? Goshen, In on Hwy 119 right off of Hwy 15. About 25 minutes from our house.

Was it covered by insurance? Yes. Insurance companies are starting to cover birth centers more because they are so much cheaper than a hospital.

Weren't you worried about not being in a hospital? No. Actually this was never a big deal to me. In fact, with the way illness is spreading rapidly right now, I was thankful I wasn't in a hospital! Hospitals are for the sick. I wasn't sick!

I did a lot of reading and researching on the safety of our Birth Center. Every time a concern was brought up I looked into it. Most of the issues that were a concern were the result of an intervention. Since I would be at the center there would be no interventions. Our center is also accredited by the state. (There are only 3 in Indiana.) and we attended a class on precautionary measures they take and emergency situations. There are a LOT of precautionary measures that are taken. They don't handle a birth lightly. They routinely do emergency practice drills and have the EMT's practice coming to the center. They built the center just a few miles from the hospital. It is about a 4 minute drive and only right hand turns on the way there.

On a serious note a Birth Center birth is not for everyone. However it was perfect for us. Ben was very skeptical at the beginning but by the time we left that night he was a firm believer in it. The midwives actually thanked him for putting his trust in them. They had been grilled by him with a lot of questions and in the end he believed in them 100%. He and I both agree that it was beyond wonderful and we couldn't imagine going back to a hospital again. Just today he commented that I have really opened his eyes to how our culture views birth. Woman are taught in today's society that they don't know how to give birth. This is so untrue! God created us for this!

After this birthing experience, IF you had another, Would Ben be comfortable with a home birth now? Nope. (His answer.) :)

Would you still be interested in a home birth? I mean, it sounds like you had an ideal experience for you. Do you think the home would be different/better? Not that I wouldn't want a home birth but I wouldn't pursue it after using the B.C. I did have the ideal situation and it is so convenient for me that I would just love to have more babies there. I am very fortunate to live in a community that has a hospital and B.C. that are very baby/mommy friendly. The epidural rate at Goshen is right around 30%! This is much lower than other hospitals. It isn't because they don't offer them. It is just because woman don't want them as much in our area. If I was in an area that did not have the same views as myself I would consider it more.

What made you want to have a midwife and not a doctor? I have always been skeptical of epidurals so I knew I would have a natural birth. Side note #2... Midwives can issue drugs/narcotics in labor (at the hospital) I just chose not to use any. When I called Fairhaven to schedule my first appt. with Charlie the nurse asked if I wanted a midwife or a doctor. I had no clue what the difference was so she asked me, "Do you view birth as just a way to get your baby and want a doctor to treat you or do you see it as a natural process where you would like someone to help you?" I said the that the second one described me best. So... she set me up with the midwives. The doctors and midwives work very closely together at this combined practice and I couldn't be happier with the care they gave me.

I am interested in having a birth like this. What books and other educational materials would you suggest? Read anything you can get your hands on. Here are a few authors that had good material- Suzanne Arms, Frederick LeBoyer, Peggy Vincent, Penny Armstrong and the book Birthing From Within. A great movie to watch is "The Business of Being Born." This will really make you think. And Cry!! I also am a faithful reader of "Mothering" magazine. I was introduced to this magazine by Courtney and Dianne when I was pregant with Charlie. I don't agree with everything the magazine supports but it is a great resource for factual information on birthing and mothering.
Search your area for CNM's and/or a Birth Center. If there are none in your area consider hiring a Doula. (I would love to be one of these someday!) Speak candidly with your doctor about their practices and hospital procedures so you know what to expect. Also, make a birth plan with your doctor.

I hope by answering these questions it lets other women know that it is possible to have a natural birth the way you want it to happen. Don't get me wrong I am thankful for technology and doctors. When they are needed they can do wonderful things. When they are not needed YOU can do wonderful things. God created women to do this and we need to reclaim childbirth in our country.

Ok, I am off my soapbox now.
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