The care I received while expecting was exactly what I was looking for. Everyone at the Birth Center was so kind and explained everything very well.
Throughout my pregnancy I knew that I was going to let my baby take as much time as they safely needed. After hitting 40 weeks though I was getting anxious about her arrival. I had initially started my prenatal care at a hospital and transferred to New Birth after finding them.
I knew that I did not want to have my child at a hospital, and was scared that she would take too long to come. The midwives reassured me that going that late doesn’t happen often, and that there were things we could do to encourage labor. I was also relieved that they had alternative options we could start with, rather than jumping straight to the typical induction methods that the hospital I worked with before referred to as their standard of care. Not only were there more natural things we could try first, but there was no pressure to even encourage labor until after 40 weeks.
I finally went into labor at 40 weeks + 6. I was woken up by discomfort early in the morning on October 18th, and labored at home for a few hours before I ever even realized that what I was experiencing were contractions. I was definitely in denial that it was baby day. My husband was actually the one who insisted that we call the midwife to see about coming in. The midwife reassured us but said that it wasn’t time to come yet. A few hours passed and my husband insisted on calling again, this time the midwife said that we could come but that she didn’t know if I would be progressed enough to stay. I ultimately decided to stay home, because even though I was absolutely having contractions, I still wasn’t really convinced that I was going to be having a baby that day.
As things started to progress even more, there was no denying that I was absolutely having our baby that day. We called for a third time and the midwife agreed that we needed to come in.
My husband rushed us out the door. And I still had the long drive to get there. I was so upset with myself because now that I was in active labor I knew I had waited too long to go in. I was so worried about having the baby in the car!
My husband got us to the Birth Center much quicker than we anticipated being there, so we arrived before any of the midwives did. It was a Saturday so there was no one there yet. I was genuinely concerned that I would have to have my child on the front lawn.
Thankfully the midwives arrived only a few minutes after we got there and we were able to get in quickly and I was able to lay down. When the midwife checked me, I was nearly fully dilated, and I realized that I had been resisting my body’s urge to push while in the car. The midwives assured me that my body was doing what it needed to do and that I could let my body push.
My daughter was born shortly after we got there. It was quite a whirlwind!
I wish we had left sooner to get there, but other than cutting it down to the wire, my daughter’s birth was an amazing and wonderful experience. I am so thankful that I found New Birth and their team of midwives. They offered me the kind of care that I wanted for both the birth and my prenatal care, and I wish it was available to every woman who prefers this kind of experience.