We moved back to Wisconsin in February 2003, and that's about the same time the birth center opened. From the first time we walked in, it was clear that this would be the right place for us. The people were very friendly and helpful; even the color scheme is comforting. We felt like they actually took time to listen to us and to ask the right questions. I remember one meeting in which Aszani spent 1.5 hours with us; not only asking how things were physically, but "how are you guys doing emotionally, what are you doing to take care of yourself, and how are your preparing for this transition to parenthood?" This was wonderful to me; it was so good to have someone to talk this over with.
Everyone there was so warm, and with us new in town it was a way to meet people. In a very real sense, the birth center is more than a clinic, it's a community and I still feel that way. We've met so many people through the birth center. Some of our best friends are people we met in our birthing classes.
The birth center also appealed to me from another vantage point. I tend to have a more liberal, feminist mind-set and I wanted to reclaim this birth experience as my own. A hospital tends to view the doctor as the expert whereas the midwifery model views the woman as the expert and the one in control of her body and her own process of giving birth. I felt this was what I wanted to experience.
During prenatal care, Aszani identified an arrythmia in our son's heartbeat. We learned that this is not an uncommon thing, but we went through several tests and had an appointment with a specialist for a closer look.
A week before that scheduled exam, my water broke at 6 a.m., 28 days before our due date, and technically, 5 days before he was considered full term. So, Aiden was officially a premature baby by 5 days. Now, we had also been taking birthing classes at the birth center, and a complications class. One of the complications discussed was the premature rupture of membranes. We understood what was going on and knew what to do. We didn't panic at all and called our midwife.
We talked through our situation and because of the pre-term labor and the previously-discovered arrhythmia we went to St Marys Hospital Medical Center. Aszani met us there and she accompanied us through the entire birth, and acted as our doula at that point. It was a wonderful experience for us to have her there. Here's this woman we had been working with many months in prenatal care..basically a health care professional who is our advocate. She made sure that what we wanted happened, and that what we didn't want, didn't happen.
Even though, in our birth story, we did not get to do our dream birth, did not get to birth in those beautiful rooms at the birth center, we took the birth center with us to the hospital. Aszani helped J.J. be there for me. When I looked up it was his face I saw. Aszani was always behind me for back pressure and massage. She was a very powerful background presence that allowed J.J. to focus on my needs.
As it turned out, our baby was fine. Because of the arrhythmia, everyone was in a heightened state. Aiden was taken to the pediatric ICU where he stayed a little more than a day, but he was, and is, just fine. He was born April 24th.
Would we do the birth center route again? Absolutely. But I should also say that both models - hospital and birth center models - complement each other, and they did in our case. I had a hospital birth with those high-tech interventions at hand. What the birth center brings to it is a personalized approach in helping a woman trust her body and trust in the process of giving birth. This is a natural process; women have giving birth for centuries and most of the time without doctors. It used to be a very woman-centered approach and I believe that birth centers are helping women reclaim the process and experience.
Follow-up care by the birth center has been outstanding. When I stop in for a visit I feel like I am at home. I never felt rushed when there, never felt like any questions of mine were silly or too small.
From a father's perspective
I can't get over how wonderful it was to have Aszani there with us in the hospital. A big part of draw for me stems from day one. She made it clear that it isn't just about the mother and the birth and the baby. I, as the birthing partner have a big role to play. She was there to help me deal with the stress, and to learn how to help Jodi during the birth process.
In birthing class I learned about applying pressure in certain places to help elevate pain. Having Aszani there allowed me to let go of the concerns about dealing with the doctors, and nurses. She was there to take care of it; I was able to be there for Jodi. I could let go of everything except attending to Jodi's needs. It was powerful for me and wonderful to be in the moment, to work with Jodi through her contractions.
We would like to have another child and ideally would choose the birth center. We've been involved with the birth center and this started the day after Aiden's birth. We received invaluable help from Holly, a lactation consultant, and Aszani has visited us at home many times for follow-up visits to see how we are doing. These house calls are such a luxury and they are something that we as new parents greatly appreciate. You know, you probably have not slept soundly for an entire week, schedules and responsibilities are brand new and with a house call we don't have to make an arduous trip to a medical center somewhere and meet up with a physician who may or may not be the same doctor we worked with before, and certainly not at, the birth.
In addition, we've been involved in the New Parents Support Group and have been attending those sessions at the birth center every week. This is a wonderful service provided by the birth center. There is nothing better to calm your worries than to talk to someone going through exactly the same experiences. It's always so much fun to go over to birth center. When there is a birth, they hang a banner outside the door so we can tell immediately when there has been a birth.
The amount of love you feel, the amount of life that is there is really quite amazing.
We moved back to Wisconsin in February 2003, and that's about the same time the birth center opened. From the first time we walked in, it was clear that this would be the right place for us. The people were very friendly and helpful; even the color scheme is comforting. We felt like they actually took time to listen to us and to ask the right questions. I remember one meeting in which Aszani spent 1.5 hours with us; not only asking how things were physically, but "how are you guys doing emotionally, what are you doing to take care of yourself, and how are your preparing for this transition to parenthood?" This was wonderful to me; it was so good to have someone to talk this over with.
Everyone there was so warm, and with us new in town it was a way to meet people. In a very real sense, the birth center is more than a clinic, it's a community and I still feel that way. We've met so many people through the birth center. Some of our best friends are people we met in our birthing classes.
Even though, in our birth story, we did not get to do our dream birth, did not get to birth in those beautiful rooms at the birth center, we took the birth center with us to the hospital. Aszani helped J.J. be there for me. When I looked up it was his face I saw. Aszani was always behind me for back pressure and massage. She was a very powerful background presence that allowed J.J. to focus on my needs.
