When I was a child I found out about a woman giving birth in a tub and thought that was the coolest thing I had ever heard and right then and there decided, 'If I ever have a baby (because then, the thought of having a baby was a pretty foreign and downright scary idea) I will birth it in water." My thinking even as a child was that the water would make things better, make it hurt a little less. Also, I knew that the baby lived in a liquid bubble inside the mother, so it made sense that it's first impression of the outside world would be a watery one.
In November 2008 at 26 years old when I found out I was pregnant with my first child, I didn't know anything about labor or delivery except that I wanted to birth the baby in water and totally natural. Because I was basically clueless about the labor process, I began researching. I read, watched, and listened to everything I could find about women's experiences with medicated births vs. non-medicated births, hospital births vs. birth center births.
I concluded that hospitals have a beneficial role for complicated pregnancies or in the unseen event that labor becomes dangerous to the mother or baby, but for most situations, hospitals are not necessary for birthing. Over time, our culture has medicalized the act of birthing to the point that many women experience routine medical procedures, such as episiotomies, that outside of a hospital environment would not have been needed or performed. Hospitals also tend to limit the birthing mom's position to laying on her back due to the nature of being hooked up to various machines, monitors, and IV's. Restriction from getting up and moving around tends to enhance the uncomfortableness of labor. The medicalization of labor is a big enough discussion topic to warrant it's own post but for now, if you're interested in learning more about this idea, a good place to start is to watch Ricki Lake's compelling documentary, The Business of Birthing.
After researching the safety and naturalness of birthing outside of a hospital environment and realizing the fact that women for thousands of years have been birthing babies in caves, fields, and in total wilderness, I felt a growing confidence in my own body's strength and inherent ability to birth the child within me. This insight solidified my opinion that when the little soul growing inside decided to emerge, I wanted to be totally present and felt strongly about birthing the baby with no medical interventions including not having an epidural. Whatever happened at the time of delivery I wanted to feel the experience.
In my mind the likelihood of successfully meeting my goal of birthing the baby without any drugs meant delivering in water (to help my muscles and mind relax and to ease the discomfort) and also meant NOT delivering at a hospital; therefore, I had to find a facility, hopefully a birth center, where I would feel comfortable and safe, that was supportive of my decision to avoid medical intervention (unless absolutely necessary) and that provided the option of water births (birthing in our household bath tub was out of the question since, at the time, my husband was adamantly against a home birth).
So as the universe would have it, before I was even 8 weeks pregnant, a friend told me about a new and only birthing center in Charleston, SC located just 15 minutes from my house. "They do water births there," she said, "as long as you're not high risk or having a complicated pregnancy." Delighted to hear this exciting news, I looked it up on line that very night, read everything on their website (www.charlestonbirthplace.com) and scheduled an appointment to attend the next open house where I would have the opportunity to meet the midwives, tour the facility, and learn more about the benefits of water births.
Here I must add, although I had been doing my own research on the benefits of birthing centers compared to hospitals for non-complicated pregnancies, my husband was slightly reluctant about the idea of not birthing our first child at a hospital with teams of nurses and doctors on hand. He agreed to attend the birth center open house but was full of questions and made it clear that just because he was attending the open house did not mean he was signing on for a delivery there. That was fine with me, I felt confident we would not be disappointed by our visit.
Thankfully, I was right. Our visit to the birth center open house was just what we needed. The birth center was set up with two separate but connected sections, one for birthing and one for all the prenatal and postnatal care. Our tour began on the prenatal/postnatal care side. Immediately upon entering there was a feeling of peacefulness. The atmosphere was totally opposite of that of a doctor's office or hospital facility. The reception area and waiting room was more like a welcoming living room of a familiar family friend, the examining rooms more like a spa message room. There was a special room set up just for nursing moms, a cozy room lined with prenatal and parenting educational books and DVD's for lending, relaxing music in the background and beautiful photographs of birthing moms and brand new babies lined the walls.
We were greeted by the owner and head midwife who led the open house educational session. She was personable and provided a wealth of information with handouts to take home and plenty of time for questions. Please visit http://charlestonbirthplace.com/FAQ.aspx for a list of frequently asked questions regarding birth centers and water births.
Visiting the birth center made us feel completely comfortable and we knew we would be taken care of by caring, knowledgeable, and competent midwives. I had made up my mind that this was where I wanted to come for my prenatal care and ultimately experience the birthing process of our first child before the open house session was finished but I don't think my husband was on board until we were shown the actual birthing rooms.
Because a birth center offers a more personal and intimate experience by limiting the amount of births per month, the Charleston Birth Place has only two birthing rooms. Large, comfortable, and equipped with a bathroom, couch, king size bed, and full size hot tub, the birthing rooms are as comfortable as one would imagine a cozy bed and breakfast to be. Dim lighting, soft candles, aromatherapy, and your choice of music are all options for helping to create a peaceful, relaxing environment at the time of delivery. Spacious enough to move around, get on the floor into yoga positions, or utilize the birthing ball or bench, these rooms do not limit the birthing mom to the bed or tub. And for the convenience of visiting family and/or friends, outside of the private birthing rooms, there is a living/gathering room, guest bathroom and small size kitchen.
Walking out of the birthing room, we knew that no hospital could offer this level of personal, intimate care while supporting our decision to birth natural and to allow us to birth in a tub. That night my husband and I agreed that in 9 months, if all went well, we would be birthing our child at the Charleston Birth Place.
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