Happy New Year

From Our Family To Yours!

Community Prenatal Care

First session for June due dates will be January 11. Reserve your spot in your group now! 

Call 919-933-3301, x207 or email nurses@ncbirthcenter.org 

Community Prenatal Care (CPC) at WBWC is a unique program designed to meet the needs of families delivering at our birth center. It is an an alternative to traditional prenatal care. After your first two prenatal visits in the clinic, you can choose CPC: monthly group visits alternating with individual clinic visits until your baby is born.

Inspired by an evidence-based model of offering prenatal care to women in a group setting and research that indicates a higher level of satisfaction, increased knowledge of pregnancy, and fewer preterm births for women in group prenatal care.

CPC consists of six 90-minute group sessions that include health checks for you and baby, time to ask questions and share advice and support with other moms/families with due dates close to yours, information from the midwife and nurse facilitators.  

 The group setting is focused on you and your family. This type of prenatal care enhances your ability to make decisions about your own care, and builds your confidence in your ability to birth, feed, and parent your baby.

You can read FAQ about CPC at www.ncbirthcenter.org.

Everett Wes Leonard's Birth

By Jen Leonard

Friday, November 4th (almost 41 weeks), I woke up around 3:30 AM with contractions every ten minutes. I had already had this kind of “false” or “early labor” a few days earlier, so I didn’t get too excited. I tried to lay there, relax, and doze between them. By 6:00 AM, they were slightly more painful, and varying between 8-10 minutes apart. I still wasn’t letting myself get too excited. I haven’t had spontaneous labor since Emma, our oldest. All the others were either Pitocin-induced (water broke, but labor didn’t start), or castor oil induced.

I went downstairs, opened our back door, and breathed in the cool morning air. It was especially crisp that morning. My parents were up; they came to stay with us to help watch our other 9 kiddos when we went to have the baby, but I didn’t tell them I was having contractions yet. I think I finally mentioned it just before going to wake hubby up around 7:00, but I said it in a “no big deal” kind of way. I was sure it was false labor, and it would fizzle out momentarily.

Hubby and I sat and had a cup of coffee, chatting and enjoying the quiet of the house.

Once I started to bring kids downstairs, my contractions started picking up. I had to stop while I had them, breathe through them, and even change positions. It was then that I knew, these weren’t stopping, I was in labor! Around 8:00, I paged the on-call midwife, and quickly got a call back. I let her know that I felt I was in real labor, and we agreed that I should head in. My parents took charge of the kiddos, and my four oldest (15, 12, 10, and 10) all pitched in to help hold down the fort.

We got to the birth center around 9:20, but we didn’t rush in. We drove slowly, and enjoyed the fall colors that seemed to pop overnight. Once at the birth center, the midwife checked me out, and we discovered I was already a good 5 cm, with bulging waters, and a baby deep in my pelvis. “Wow! This is happening fast!” I said a quick prayer of thanks, and we all discussed my laboring goals. I told them that I would love to walk around outside the center, and they were very encouraging. I just needed to pop in often to listen to baby and get checked out. No problem!

Hubby and I strolled outside, and God blessed us with *THE* most amazing fall morning to labor. Words just don’t do it justice. The wind blew loose leaves from the trees, and they rained down on us. The birds and squirrels scurried around collecting food as I breathed through each contraction. Friendly people came and went and smiled at us, as they witnessed us laboring outside. I saw a midwife friend and nurse, who wished me luck and said they were so happy that I was laboring that day.

Contractions started picking up around 11:00. I stopped my waddle, grabbed my belly, bent my knees, and started my momma-cow lowing. My hubby clung to me, rubbing my back, kissing my cheek, and reminded me how much he loved me. The support from that man always leaves me speechless. The way he is always the perfect balance of “there for me”, but never doing the “wrong thing” during labor…. it’s as though he can read my mind. Which, after 13 (almost 14) years of marriage, and 10 kids, I’ll bet he can! He prays for me, he whispers in my ear that I’m amazing, he rubs my aching back, wraps his arms around me to support me when my knees get weak. He’s amazing. I could not do this without him. His voice is my soothing “labor music”, and his touch is my “pain relief”.

We headed back to our room, as I was starting to feel the urge to push. The nurse quickly

filled the tub, and I collapsed into the warm water. My hubby stroked my head, and we were pushing in no time. That warm water, though. Oh my, how it relaxes me and takes so much of the pain away! When pushing began, I can honestly say that was the FIRST real pain I had. I had labored all that time with little to no pain. It was amazing.   I think I pushed maybe 6-8 times and he was born, in the CAUL, just like our eighth child (and second son). This was supposed to be a rare thing, but it’s happened to us now, twice! Crazy! Everette “Wes” was born, and gurgled a bit, so we were all anxiously trying to get him cleared, and then the most beautiful sound…his cry. My eyes welled with tears, and I soaked up my biggest, beautiful 10th baby. He was 8 lbs., 13.5 oz, 22 inches long! He nursed right away, and is my most peaceful baby yet!

I can’t describe how full and happy my heart is, having this beautiful labor, and birth… and this beautiful little boy to add to our “little” family! We are all so thankful for him! He's our *5th* WBWC baby, and I'm so glad that we've had these 5 amazing birth experiences! Women's Birth and Wellness Center is just *the* best group of midwives I've ever been blessed to know! 

Birth Announcements

Welcome, Sweet Babies!

*Peter Henry Souroullas – October 31 – 9 lbs.

Escher Mayes Prince – November 1 – 8 lbs., 8 oz.

Ava Leigh Coggins – November 3 – 6 lbs., 15 oz.

*Jackson Reed Howes – November 3 – 6 lbs., 2.5 oz.

Benjamin James Mills – November 3 - 8 lbs., 8 oz.

*Everett Wes Leonard – November 4 – 8 lbs., 13 oz.

*Ismael Saif Mohamed – November 6 - 8 lbs., 5.5 oz.

Daniel Warren Plating – November 9 – 8 lbs., 11 oz.

Bert Durham – November 9 - 8 lbs., 4 oz.

Adeline Isabella Brattoli – November 11 – 8 lbs., 2.5 oz.

Samuel Thomas Robertson – November 12 – 8 lbs., 15.5 oz.

Judah Bear Coburn – November 15 – 7 lbs., 14 oz.

Evangeline Hope DeAssis – November 16 – 8 lbs., 4 oz.

Ian Matthias Cromwell – November 18 - 5 lbs., 10 oz.

Immanuel Benito Luciano – November 22 – 9 lbs., 2 oz.

Lydia Mae Strickling – November 24 – 8 lbs., 9 oz.

Amelia Grace Engelhart – November 24 – 6 lbs., 4 oz.

November stats:

Total babies born: 32

Biggest baby: 11 lbs., 4 oz.

Smallest baby: 5 lbs., 10.5 oz.

To be included in this celebratory list, please email Missy at missy@ncbirthcenter.org 

with your baby's birth announcement information that includes 

their name, date of birth, and birth weight as well as a photo, if available.

If you would like to send us your birth story along with photos,

we are happy to include that in a future newsletter!

Spotlight: Tianna Dean, RN

WBWC’s nursing staff is expanding! Tianna Dean, RN moved to NC from Texas to join us as a full-time nurse. Since September, she’s been providing labor, delivery, and postpartum care, as well as doing home visits.  Her warm, comforting bedside manner, thorough knowledge of women’s health, and dedication to the midwifery model of care have made her an excellent addition to our team.

Tianna graduated from Southern Union State in Alabama and has been working as a nurse since 2013. Her husband’s career as a US Army Ranger has given her the opportunity to provide nursing care across the country. She has worked at large Level I trauma centers in Columbus, GA and El Paso, TX, and has served our military women and spouses at Martin Army Medical Center.

She gained invaluable experience as a labor and delivery nurse in a high-risk setting. However, her strong desire to provide nursing care in an out-of-hospital setting inspired her to make the big move when an opportunity to work at WBWC arose.   She is passionate about supporting women through empowered birthing choices, education, and excellent quality care. Tianna is continuing her commitment to women’s health care by pursuing her Master’s at Frontier Nursing University and plans to become a midwife.

Outside of work, Tianna stays busy raising her 5 amazing children, ages 7 months to 17 years, entertaining, and decorating her home.

“I am blessed to be able to serve women every day, and I gain a wealth of wisdom from the amazing midwives and nurse practitioners I work with!”

We Love Referrals!

The best compliment we can receive is a referral from you. We hope that you enjoyed your time with us so much you'll tell your friends. You'll receive a $25 gift card after their visit!

Recipe: Mulled Apple Cider

Fill your house with the wonderful smell of apples and spice, and warm up with this delicious drink!

4 whole cinnamon sticks

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

8 whole allspice berries

Peel from 1 orange

Peel from 1 lemon

1/2 cup maple syrup

6 cups unfiltered apple juice or cider

Place cinnamon sticks, ground cloves, allspice berries, orange peel, and lemon peel in a medium saucepan. Pour in maple syrup and apple juice, then bring to almost a boil. Reduce the heat to its lowest setting and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and serve in mugs.

from http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/mulled-apple-cider/

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