Baby!

Birth Story: Cast of Characters - Greene Midwifery Care

I can't say enough good things about my midwives. They were incredible before my pregnancy, throughout my pregnancy, and definitely through my childbirth experience. If you are thinking about having a baby, and are within a five hour drive, I'd recommend having them with you! I can't imagine a better team of people to support someone through pregnancy, labor, and childbirth.

Cat was with me from the moment we stepped into the Women's Center at Greene Memorial Hospital, and was soothing when I needed to be soothed, encouraging when I needed to be encouraged, and quiet when she knew I was doing fine all by myself. Cindy stopped by to check on me early on at the hospital, and told me that Pitocin wouldn't make the labor worse, which I chose to believe. I was touched that she stopped by to see me! She also stopped by the next day, to see the baby and check on me. She and I had been in email contact, as well, as she had answered several of my concerns via email, which eased my mind and kept me calm during the last few weeks of pregnancy. Molly was at the hospital for quite a while, as well, and was always calm and upbeat, telling me everything would be fine.

Seeing all three of the midwives that day really made me feel like the entire practice was there for me, which I had never doubted, but to see them all on that day was so nice!

I'm sure that any of the three midwives would have been excellent labor coaches, but I can only speak about my experience with Cat. She was perfect!

When my water broke and I didn't go into labor, she did research and made some phone calls and found that it was all right for us to wait several days before inducing, because she knew how much I didn't want to do that. She let us set the pace for coming in to the hospital, and gave us the option of having twice daily stress tests for the baby until I went into labor, even though that would mean that she would have to go to the hospital (a 30 minute drive) twice a day to meet us.

When we got the 'worrisome' test results, Cat rubbed my legs and reassured me. She repeatedly told me that the baby would be all right, and she assured me that the feelings I was experiencing, fear and concern, were normal, but that everything would be fine. She was as happy as we were when Alexander got the hiccups after the ultrasound.

She knew I was afraid of the Pitocin, so she started it incredibly slowly, so that my body could gradually adjust, rather than being thrown into hard labor. She was encouraging about my progress throughout, and especially when she checked me and found that I was 7 or 8 centimeters dilated. She always made me feel like I was always doing the right thing, even if she had never seen anything like it before!

Whenever something wasn't exactly how I wanted it, she did whatever she could to change the situation. Some things, like being induced and requiring constant monitoring, she couldn't help, but she did her best to make those situations as comfortable as possible for me. Like getting the wireless monitors so I could walk around, and getting the automatic blood pressure cuff off so it wasn't distracting me every fifteen minutes.

After the baby was born, she listened to me rave about my labor for far longer than most people probably do. She told me I was great, and that I had done a wonderful job. I knew that, because I was there, but I loved hearing her say it, too. I was just so happy with the entire experience! Thank you, Cat!