Welcome Finnegan Burrows Thompson!

My darling, fuzzy nephew was born right before Sam and I got home from Maine.  And I'm so proud of my sister-in-law; she delivered Finn completely naturally at a birthing center in Holladay, UT.  Her first baby was born in a hospital and besides the beautiful baby at the end, the experience was pretty negative and not something she wanted to repeat.  This time around was hard and a lot of work, but according to her, absolutely amazing.  Finn was born at 6am and then all went home at 9am!  She didn't tear one bit thanks to the experienced, gentle coaching of the midwife.  Finn went straight to the breast and they were able to snuggle and nurse for two hours before they even weighed him or cleaned him or anything.  It is so important for moms and babies to have the chance to just be together and let those good hormones do their work. 

I asked Vanessa a few questions and here are her answers:

What was the biggest difference between your first birth at the hospital and Finn's birth at the birthing center?

I think the biggest difference was the amount of control I felt I had over my birth.  I was not strapped to any IVs or monitors and I was able to walk around the room freely.  My midwife checked Finn with a portable heart monitor about every 30 minutes to make sure everything was going well.  That was enough reassurance for me.  It was a lot easier to work and breathe through contractions and I felt a lot more focused.  I also liked the whole atmosphere of the birthing center.  The rooms were very spacious and each one had a bathroom with a huge tub, if you chose to have a water birth.  I felt as comfortable there as if I were in my own home. I was also the only one there giving birth at the time and I had the mid-wife's and nurse's full attention.  The whole experience was a lot more calm and relaxing compared to the experience I had in the hospital.

Were you nervous at all that something might go wrong that the midwives couldn't handle?

There is always the fear that something might go wrong.  You are really never immune to anything whether you are at the hospital, a birthing center or in your own home.  I did however feel confident that I was just as safe or safer in the midwive's care.  They are very trained, professional and confident in what they do, which made me feel confident in them.  They are so familiar with natural, out-of-hospital child birth, that they use different techniques to work through things that could be a potential problem at the hospital.  I felt that a lot of the problems I experienced in the hospital with my first birth were caused by carelessness and my doctor trying to speed up the process, rather than letting things take their natural course.  I think in normal, low risk pregnancies, there is usually no need to intervene.  Although the hospital serves a wonderful purpose when there truly is a problem, I think it can also cause a lot of unnecessary complications.

What was the best thing about your experience?

I think the best thing about my experience was how much I felt cared for.  My midwife was truly concerned about the well being of me and Finn.  I felt relaxed and confident that she would do all she could to make sure everything went well and that I had a say in what I wanted out of my birthing experience. 
I would have to say that the very best thing was having a natural child birth.  It was a lot tougher than my first birth, but also that much more rewarding.  I had such a feeling of empowerment once I made it through.  I keep reliving in over and over in my mind.  It really is one of the greatest things I have ever done.