Here is a guest post by Chico mother Michelle Burdette
In
Praise of Midwives: A joyful HBAC experience
Avery Marie Burdette was
born on November 16th
in the comfort of her own home. Her father lovingly supported me
through labor and was able to see his daughter’s first breath.
Dena Moes and her assistant Amber guided me along the journey and
delivered Avery on their knees on my bedroom floor. I feel so
blessed to have had this experience and were it not for Dena and the
option of home birth, I would have had to undergo a repeat cesarean
section.
I distinctly remember
sitting in the doctor’s office after viewing my first ultrasound
and discussing my birthing options. The doctor stated that I could
not have a VBAC in the hospital due to regulations. He then stated
that there was one OB/GYN in town that would sometimes “let” his
patients labor until it was too late for a C-section, but he would
generally end up doing a C-section in most cases.
I did not like any of
these options! I felt trapped, like I had no choice but to go ahead
with a scheduled C-section. I saw this doctor a few more times and
was very depressed about the actual birth my child was going to have.
You see, I did not get to experience my first daughter’s birth at
all. I had an emergency C-section for footling breech presentation.
I did not get to see her until an hour after her birth. Her father
was able to hold her soon after she was born, but it pains me to know
that no one familiar to her was there when she was born. I wanted
this birth to be different, and now I was being told that due to a
policy, I could not have the birth I wanted.
During a family
get-together, I was discussing this situation with my cousin’s
wife. She told me that they were planning on having a home birth and
gave me reading material. I told her that I did not think home
birthing was for me, but thanked her for the information. One of the
articles she gave me was written by Dena Moes, CNM. The article was
all about VBAC’s at home and I was inspired by the strength of her
experience and her conviction. I was overjoyed to learn that she was
a midwife in Chico and that there was another way for me to give
birth.
I read everything I could
get my hands on and discovered so much information that I wish I had
known before giving birth to my first child. Who knew that Pitocin
could be so problematic? I had no idea that I could have any say in
my birth outside a “birth plan”. My husband and I met with Dena
and were given the great news that I would be a good candidate for a
home birth after C-section (HBAC). We were very nervous because this
was outside the norm of what all of our friends and relatives had
chosen. My family was nervous about birthing at home and worried
that something catastrophic might occur. My husband and I looked at
all of the statistics and were far more worried about birthing in a
hospital setting. When we told people that we had decided to have
our baby at home, people said things like: “you are so brave”,
and “Aren’t you worried?”. Only a few people voiced their
support.
We met with Dena
throughout our pregnancy and with each meeting felt so blessed to be
getting a home experience. We would meet in Dena’s office and
there was a flannel sheet on a comfy table with a real pillow! There
were no metal stirrups for your feet, no hospital gowns and no one
pushed me to get testing done due to my advanced age of 37. I felt
comfortable and like pregnancy and birth were natural, not fraught
with peril. It was a gentle and holistic experience. We also
attended a child birth class taught by Serra Wells that supported
home birth as a viable choice. It was so helpful to meet others who
had chosen home birth.
The day before my daughter
was born I went to my regularly scheduled appointment with Dena and
she informed me that the contractions I was feeling were the real
deal and that we would be having our baby soon. There was no sense
of emergency, just warmth and excitement radiating from Dena and
Amber. This was so reassuring that I was able to enter labor with
joy and confidence. Dena and Amber were very supportive throughout
labor and the birth of our daughter. They helped guide me through
the final stages of labor and calmly helped our baby into the world.
Avery took a little bit to breathe, but Dena cleared her lungs and
gave her a little puff and she cried her first little cry. With a
home birth, the umbilical cord remains attached to the baby and the
placenta until all of the blood has returned to the baby. This
allowed Avery to remain at my feet receiving oxygenated blood rather
than whisked off to a table in a delivery room. I was able to hold
my baby right away and experience all of her first moments. This was
so incredible for me as I did not get to be with my first daughter
until she was an hour old.
Dena and Amber remained
with us for several hours after Avery was born, unobtrusively
checking us to make sure we were both doing fine. A defining moment
occurred when Dena was helping me after I took a shower. I was still
a bit unsteady and she actually dried my legs off for me. I can’t
imagine a hospital setting where a doctor would deliver your baby,
fix you breakfast and then dry your legs after a shower! I was so
pleased that Dena and Amber would be back to visit us several more
times in the week following Avery’s birth. I did not feel alone or
abandoned as I had after the birth of my first child. I owe a great
deal of thanks to Dena for allowing me to trust my body and the
process of birth despite a prior C-Section. Our home birth was a
beautiful and powerful experience. My husband and I are very
grateful to Dena for providing women the opportunity to birth at home
and to have a natural birth after a C-Section.
Thanks Dena and Amber!
Michelle Burdette and Family
