A Surprise Gender and Water Birth Story with Midwives at The Addice Birth Center
The Birth Story of Hudson
It is a rare thing for me to be able to recommend a client to a birth venue of their choice. When I sat down for a client consult with Mom, she and her family had just moved to Houston from Denver. She was over halfway through her pregnancy and didn’t think she had many options as far as providers went. She had already had a visit with an OB in The Woodlands area, but she was not at peace with sticking with them.
I mentioned that it was not too late to change providers and gave her several options on OBs, Midwives, Hospitals and Birthing Centers to tour and interview. I was beyond ecstatic to find out that she spent time with the midwives at The Addice Birth Center and decided to birth with them. Although I had worked with and met the midwives before, I had yet to step foot in their birth center.
Near the end of her pregnancy, I asked to join her on one of her appointments, which gave us all the opportunity to go over her birth plan and wishes as well as tour the birth center and choose the room she preferred to be in. Her last baby had come around 38 weeks, so we knew we would be meeting this one soon as well.
Sure enough, not too long after, I got the call around midnight that her water had broken. She made plans to meet the midwives at the birth center around 1:30 am to see how things were progressing and if labor was starting. Once at the birth center, she was checked and we found that she was 5 cm and 75% effaced. Contractions were mild and infrequent, so the midwives advised to wait for me to head that way. By 2:30 am, Mom called and asked for me to join them. I arrived and watched as she worked tirelessly to bring contractions into a more regular pattern and for the intensity to increase. She walked the halls and bounced on the birth ball. However, as she stopped, her contractions would space out a great deal. We encouraged her to either lay down and rest or walk and squat at each contraction. The midwives brought out a ballet bar to help her get into deeper squats. Again, the contractions increased, but as she stopped, they spaced out.
She decided to lay down and rest. After a short time, they decided to go get breakfast hoping that the change of scenery would bring on labor. They left and the midwives and I laid down to nap. Once they returned, contractions had all but stopped even after walking numerous laps around the parking lot. Mom and Dad decided to head home and return once they were in a regular pattern.
Around 12:45 pm Mom texted me that things were intense and they were headed back to the birth center. She arrived feeling the need to use the bathroom and as she did they quickly filled the tub and moved her over. Within minutes of arriving to the birth center, Mom gently pushed out their second son and brought him to her chest. Such a beautiful moment of patience and trust that her body would do what it needed to.
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