Responsive Care for a Natural Birth Plan [Madison Gordon]

Hello. So, I'm Madison Gordon. I'm from Brookings, South Dakota, and I am a dental hygienist here in town at Knutzen Family Dentistry. My husband and I welcomed our first child. Her name is Shiloh Gordon, and she was born on January 7th. She's almost three months old, and she's growing so fast, and it's just so fun to kind of watch her learn and start talking, and all that fun stuff, so.

Why Were You Nervous About Delivering in a Hospital?

I knew I wanted to deliver in a hospital just because I wanted to have that feeling of having medical things next to me, and just in case something was to go wrong. So, I did want to have that in the hospital, but I also wanted to have an unmedicated birth as well and to just be supported in that decision. I know that in hospitals, inductions, and epidurals are very common in that setting, and that was just something that I wanted to kind of stand clear of, and have more of a natural delivery.

Why Was a Natural Birth Important to You?

So, a natural birth was important to me just because during the time of pregnancy I had taken the time to educate and prepare my body in order to give birth. And the women in my life that I look up to have also given birth naturally, and I kind of wanted to follow in their footsteps.

How Was Your Experience with Dr. Bennis?

So, Dr. Bennis is my OB. She was very supportive and knowledgeable about all of my wishes and questions during my pregnancy, and she was just a really great help to have along the way.

How Was Your Labor?

So, I mostly labored at home, just more of... because I didn't really know what was happening. I wasn't really prepared about how it felt or all that stuff. And so, actually that morning I kind of woke up feeling a little off, so I just kind of went back to that class that I took, and I just looked up the calming techniques, and I took a bath, and I just prepared myself, and my husband and I just kind of went about the day. We had lunch, and then at about 1:00 we actually called up to the desk here, and my husband explained that he thought my wife was going into labor. This is kind of how she's feeling.

And so, we kind of started timing my contractions, and then when it kind of happened every five minutes, so I was like, okay, we're kind of getting closer. Let's just kind of wait and see how long this is. And kind of right at the half-hour, 40-minute mark, they just kind of, like, switched right to like two minutes. And I was like, oh gosh, that wasn't an hour long. I was, like, just trying to stick to a plan. And pretty much the two-minute mark I was, like, okay, well we better get in the car and get going. Me thinking I wasn't gonna be that far along. I mean, contractions they were pretty painful, but just kind of the technique that I learned, I was just kind of swaying with my husband. He was just kind of counting out my breaths and breathing technique just played a huge role in my birth.

What Happened When You Arrived at the Hospital?

And so, when we got to the hospital, that's kind of when everything kind of went into play, and they checked me and I was 9 centimeters, and so, we just didn't really have much time. They got me to a room right away, and they were just really good at just kind of working at a fast pace too. So, that was very helpful.

How Was Your Experience with Your Delivering Physician, Dr. Abele?

So, Dr. Abele was on call doctor when I went into labor that weekend, and Dr. Abele was just very calming and caring, and she just made me feel very comfortable during the whole delivery process. She was very supportive, and just acted on every step of the birth plan appropriately, and she just helped me along the way.

How Did the Staff Respect Your Birth Plan?

Right when I came in the door, they were very quick and responsive. I remember them bringing me to a room. The first question they kind of asked was, what kind of pain management would you like to receive? And when I explained I wanted a natural birth, they were very supportive in my decision, and the nurse took those actions on herself right away to just make sure I had a healthy delivery. So, that was something I really appreciated.

How Did the Staff Comfort You?

Just Dr. Abele, just her personality being that calm and caring demeanor that she had that made me really feel comfortable. And then just as I came in, the nurse was kind of just on her feet, and she was just ready to take the next steps in order to make sure I felt comfortable, and my decision about a natural birth, and just ways to make sure that labor still went in a healthy way.

How Was Your Postpartum Recovery?

So, my postpartum recovery went very well just because I was able to start it immediately after birth. Sometimes having that epidural, you kind of have that recovery time of just kind of getting yourself back in order to kind of take that next step in the recovery. And I think it was just really nice for me to kind of just have that right away, and just immediately be able to start recovering.

How Did the Staff Support Your Decision to Breastfeed?

Both the nurses and my OB throughout the whole process supported my decision and the nurses, after Shiloh was born, even took those steps to teach me different techniques and ways that would be best for both Shiloh and I. So, that was very helpful.

How Did New Beginnings Baby Cafe Support Your Choice to Breastfeed?

I pretty much go every Tuesday. There's kind of some Tuesdays here and there due to weather that I didn't make it to, but I go there every week, and it's just nice to have that lactation consultant to talk to and just kind of talk about how things are going. So, that is very helpful to have.

Why Is It Important to Have Care Close to Home?

Contractions, like I said, I didn't know exactly how they felt, so I was kind of laboring at home just using kind of my techniques. And knowing that I had that hospital close to home, I think that's maybe kind of why I just took my time to really make sure I was actually in labor knowing that I could get to a hospital if something was to happen pretty quickly. So, once it did, we got in the car, and we live across town, and even just then, just coming across from town, it was a pretty quick commute, and they were just very quick and responsive the second I walked in the door. So, it was nice to have that close to home.

What Would You Tell Someone Considering Delivery at Brookings Health System?

So, I would tell people considering Brookings Health System that they would be accommodated of their decisions as well as having great around-the-clock care in the hospital after delivery, kind of having that one-on-one time with the nurses, and their ability to kind of walk you through everything that first time is really helpful. So, all the care that leading throughout the process of pregnancy and delivery, just the care that I received the whole time made me have a very positive birth experience. So, I would recommend Brookings Health System to future moms.

What Advice Do You Give First-Time Mothers?

Labor can kind of be perceived as a scary situation, and just the hard work that goes into it is just so worth it, and it doesn't have to be a scary situation. I think that helped me to remain calm, and just with also the staff help too. They really helped me and made sure I had a healthy delivery.