By
Mary Rider
As far as I know, I hold the record for
number of babies born at Women's Birth and Wellness (although for some it was
Piedmont Women's Health Center). My husband and I have eight children and
the last five have been born downstairs at the center.The last time started just like all the rest. On May 2, 2005 I was 39 weeks pregnant and my water broke. I had been worried I wouldn't have time to get to Chapel Hill from Garner because as each baby has come, my labors have gotten shorter and shorter. But I noticed when I lay down, the contractions pretty much stopped. So as long as I didn't walk around, I wasn't in labor! The thing is I had some work to do and wanted to get it done before the baby came so I wouldn't have to be worrying about it with a newborn!
So I laid in bed and paid a few bills and
every time I got up to go to the bathroom or get a drink, the contractions
would return.
About lunchtime I told my husband I thought we'd better get ready to go. We're not too quick at getting out of the house, and I didn't want to wait too long or we'd be stuck in traffic on the way to Chapel Hill.
My dad, who lives at the beach, was in town. So he went and picked up the kids from school, and my friend Debbie Biesack picked up Bernadette from her high school.
About lunchtime I told my husband I thought we'd better get ready to go. We're not too quick at getting out of the house, and I didn't want to wait too long or we'd be stuck in traffic on the way to Chapel Hill.
My dad, who lives at the beach, was in town. So he went and picked up the kids from school, and my friend Debbie Biesack picked up Bernadette from her high school.
Once we got to the center things went
pretty quickly. I had given birth under water to the last four (an experience I
highly recommend. It's the most relaxing way of laboring I have found!) and so Sher
asked me if I wanted to get in the tub. The one drawback to the tub is that
it's so big it takes a long time to fill. I really did want to get in the tub,
but by then I knew there was no time for that!
So for the first time in a long time, I gave birth in the bed. My dad never likes to be in the room right at the moment, my mom made it a few minutes late, and Brianna, the oldest, was too far away to make it in time, but the rest of the family was all in attendance along with a few friends thrown in for good measure!
I remember it being a busy day at the birthing center, with two other births going on at the same time and someone calling in, just starting labor! (Was there a full moon? I don't remember.)
So for the first time in a long time, I gave birth in the bed. My dad never likes to be in the room right at the moment, my mom made it a few minutes late, and Brianna, the oldest, was too far away to make it in time, but the rest of the family was all in attendance along with a few friends thrown in for good measure!
I remember it being a busy day at the birthing center, with two other births going on at the same time and someone calling in, just starting labor! (Was there a full moon? I don't remember.)
As always, once our little one had made
her way out into the world, everyone got to hold her and get a good look at her
and admire her beautiful red hair. Then she went outside with her dad for a few
breaths of fresh air, and I sent someone to get me some food because birthing
is a lot of work, and I had built up quite an appetite.
But this time something was different. After a few hours, our little one started having some troubles. By then Maureen had come in too, and so she cleared everyone out and we talked about what was going on.
But this time something was different. After a few hours, our little one started having some troubles. By then Maureen had come in too, and so she cleared everyone out and we talked about what was going on.
As I had suspected for many months (but
hadn't confirmed with prenatal tests), our baby, Mary Evelyn, has Down
syndrome. The most devastating part of this discovery was that her heart wasn't
working correctly, and she had to go to UNC Hospitals. We told the older
children what was going on and sent everyone off with my mother to stay with
friends in Carrboro.
There is no way to express the fear and pain of the next few days. The ambulance came and took my newborn baby away to the hospital, and we really didn't know if we would ever see her again. I followed in another ambulance a little later, and my husband drove.
There is no way to express the fear and pain of the next few days. The ambulance came and took my newborn baby away to the hospital, and we really didn't know if we would ever see her again. I followed in another ambulance a little later, and my husband drove.
At UNC Hospitals, it was no time before we
had a better idea of what was going on. Although Mary Evelyn's condition
was serious, and she had to spend several days in the neonatal ICU, her heart
condition was treatable and eventually (in November 2005) corrected with
surgery. Today she is a healthy, happy little girl who greets everyone
with a smile and a wave and is currently crawling around the house, taking
books off the shelves, a seemingly favorite past time of most of my children at
that age!
Would I have done anything differently if
I had known that Mary Evelyn would be born with health problems? Most certainly
not. The loving and professional care we received from Sher and Maureen
was extraordinary and while the hospital folks were nice, concerned and
professional, the birthing center is home for us.
By
Patrick O'Neill
As a father of eight children, I probably have more stories to tell about the
birth experience (from the less-intense father-side) than most men. Five of our
children (Veronica, Timothy, Ann, Michael and Mary Evelyn) were born at the
birth center in Chapel Hill, and another daughter (Bernadette) was born in 1988
at the "original" birth center in Siler City. My oldest daughter,
Brianna, is also the business director, so we have an intimate connection with
the center -- both the offices upstairs (where our children have watched
countless birthing videos, and the "Arthur" animated video for years)
and of course the downstairs birthing rooms (I think we've been in all three!)
Although our last child was born May 2, 2005, it seems like we're there all the
time. (And I love reading the interesting bumper stickers in the parking lot.)
My wife, Mary, has had four of our babies in the water (in those big bathtubs
in the birthing rooms), and that's just one of the many amenities we have
appreciated in choosing to experience our family's most intimate moments in the
center as opposed to a hospital. For example, when our daughter, Moira, was
born in 1994 in a hospital (prior to WBWC), a nurse came into the room with
designs on leaving with our newborn daughter to take her somewhere else (I have
no idea where). We said, "No, thanks, we'd like to keep her with us,"
something you would never have to worry about at the birth center, where
contact between parents and newborn is sacred, and anything that has to be done
is handled bedside.
I especially appreciate the emphasis birth center founder Maureen Darcey places
on honoring the birth process as a natural, essentially non-medical experience.
Maureen's role, and that of the rest of the midwives, is to assist a mother in
a miraculous, natural event. When my children have been born, I've had total
confidence that Maureen and staff have matters under control (and since I have
been a major player in helping my wife throughout the delivery process, I
appreciate the way the midwives have integrated me into the process in a
meaningful way).
With such a large family, you can imagine the crowd accompanying us to Chapel
Hill on the days when Mary's water breaks and a new baby is on the way. When
we're there, we basically take over the entire downstairs as the time passes,
waiting for the birth of a new baby sister or brother. That's also a special
part of having a child at the birth center, where the birth experience is open
to all, and the entire family is welcome. At all five of our birth center births,
siblings have cut the umbilical cords of the newest member of the family (some
volunteered to do the cutting, but then backed out as the process unfolded, but
another kid has always stepped up to the plate).
The birth center has been a blessing to us. It is a place where the miracle of
childbirth is allowed to unfold in all of its natural wonder.
