I had a name. I had a personal reference. Then I hit my boards and the same name kept coming up. Well, several names came up, but my personal reference kept showing up, and we all like to go with someone we know someone else has used.
Ann Crowell
Gentle Beginnings Birth Center
So I google and find a website. Wait, she doesn't look like what I expected. (Sorry, Ann, you just look so friendly!) Then I read Ann's philosophy. First, she believes and loves my Lord and Creator. Second, she believes in the female body and that God created me to do this.
Then I read about the birth center she owns. You see, I'm not a huge fan of my house, therefore I'd never want to birth here. I love that its my home, but its old and I know that the things that drive me crazy now would multiply in labor. So, a birth center was a new concept to me. After looking at the pictures I decide, okay, it isn't a dungeon.. In fact, its kinda light and airy and welcoming.
Chad has been raised on natural things. So, I knew getting him on board for even exploring this wouldn't be hard. But, I didn't want to tell anyone else. I wanted to make a completely unswayed decision. What I still laugh at is Chad's face when we were sitting on the couch that night and I said, "I'm looking at a midwife and birthing center, how do you feel about it?" He said, "are you serious?" and we both knew it wasn't because he disapproved it was 100% "are you my wife?" So, like the great husband he is, he encourages me to pray and seek God about it and that he'd support any decision I made...but it was MY decision to make. (I LOVE HIM!)
I wake up the next morning, drop Kai off at preschool and start my errands, which just so happen to be in the area of the birth center. I called to set-up an appointment with Ann thinking it would be a week or two, but she had an appointment open in an hour. Oh. I didn't even have a list of questions ready!!
My initial interview changed me forever regarding midwives and their practice. Ann must have thought I was crazy. I just came in and threw up all about my past c-section, what was driving me to look into midwifery....I asked questions about fatalities and transfers and babies with problems and do you miss births and and and.......and all the while she sat there calmly answering my questions with a smile. I started to feel really comfortable. She started telling me about how God created me to do this, about how I'm low risk, about how long she'd been doing this.... and God just covered me in peace. I'm not sure it was just one thing that changed me, but suddenly all I wanted to do was have that woman deliver my baby!! We stood up after an hour and she hugged me and said, "good luck in your decision." I replied my decision had been made. :)
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2 comments:
Thanks for sharing all of this. My wife really wants a doula in the delivery room, but I was kind of against it. After reading this, I am starting to reconsider. Good luck with your birth as if I remember correctly, it should be coming up pretty soon.
That's so cool. A friend of mine gave birth at a birthing center last summer. A month later they went back with their son and took some pictures with him there. Just a really neat experience. So glad you did it this way.
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