Midwife Supports Home Birth Bill(only a portion of the story is available online) was the headline in the Hastings Tribune calling attention to LB712. Four perspectives on the home birth option were summarized: -The Nebraska Medical Association (NMA): "In Nebraska, we have an adequate number and distribution of physicians and certified nurse midwives to provide for deliveries in hospital settings."
-Dr. Todd Pankratz of Hasting, Nebraska: "Hospitals are spending millions and millions and millions of dollars to make labor units feel like home,..Nobody requires you to do all the intervention that happens...We have resources available to make it the same experience as home but less risk," and, "When you're out in rural Nebraska and relying on a volunteer rescue unit you could be 30 or 40 minutes from the nearest hospital that could do a Caesarian section, plus the time it takes to get people into the hospital to do Caesarian sections."
-Barbara Devine-Peckham, CNM, of Hastings, Nebraska: "My thoughts are that women are going to birth at home, or want to birth at home, and I think a qualified person should be available for them."
-The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG): Recommends that women choosing home birth should adhere to strict criteria, including having a Certified Nurse Midwife or other medical professional in attendance. ACOG also stresses the importance of both respecting the rights of women to make informed decisions about their deliveries and ensuring they are informed of possible risks.
Now consider this: 48 states, Puerto Rico, and Canada do not have statutes that criminalize CNM attended home birth, and there are plenty of studies which point to the safety of home birth.
100 women gave birth at home in Nebraska in 2011. At least 66 of those were planned. Why "at least"? 66 is just the number of families that felt comfortable sharing the planned nature of their births with the Nebraska Department of Vital Statistics. For several years preceding this, Nebraska's home birth population has hovered around that number, actually increasing by about 30% over the course of five years. Most likely, there will be more planned home births in 2012. And ACOG recommends that those who choose to give birth at home have a medical professional in attendance.
It makes no safety-sense that the NMA would continue to oppose access to this recommended safety measure that Nebraska consumers have requested for years.
It is time, Nebraska! Time to allow consumers the option of CNM-attended home birth. Nebraskans deserve access to, not protection from Certified Nurse Midwives.
Our friends and members have been rather busy here at NFoM headquarters in preparation for Thursday, May 5th. Not only is this special day the International Day of the Midwife, but we're also hosting our annual Legislative Day at the Capitol.
Here's a rundown of a few statewide events (let us know if we miss anything):
2:00 - 4:00 p.m.
Legislative Day at the Capitol in Lincoln begins at 2pm and will go to approximately 4pm. We'll be meeting in room 1023 as senators come in to meet and chat with our members. There will be refreshments, speakers, and door prizes for those in attendance. To RSVP or share this event with your friends, please visit our Facebook event page.
6:30 p.m.
Midwifery is the main topic of the Science Café at red9, Ninth and M streets in Lincoln. Karen McGivney-Liechti, certified nurse-midwife with Heart and Hands Womancare at the People's Health Center, and Barbara Sittner, Ph.D., assistant professor in the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Nursing, will give a presentation titled "Delivering -- CenteringPregnancy® to Nebraska."
4:30 - 7:00 p.m.
The Nebraska Friends of Midwives Panhandle Chapter will be holding a meeting and hosting a FREE movie screening at Chadron State College. The meeting will begin at 4:30 p.m. followed by a 6:00 p.m. showing of "Laboring Under an Illusion." For more information, visit the Facebook event page. To see the trailer of this documentary, check out the short video clip, below:
We hope to see you at one of our events this week!! (And please let us know if we've missed anything so we can update this post).
As many of you know, April Segura, Vice Chair of Nebraska Friends of Midwives, is one of our members who makes regular visits to the Capitol. Though she often attends in relation to midwifery bills, she also goes for other issues in which she's become interested in over the years. Recently, as LB 68 made its way to the legislative agenda, she made it a point to go for all of the important days. She's been taking her children along and has learned a great deal through this experience. We asked April if she would be up to answering a few questions about all that she's learned. Here is a brief Q & A that we're happy to share with you all:
Is it difficult to hear what's going on with children in tow?
By having kids there with me, it was a bit harder to listen in on the floor debate. But a cool thing is you can stand right outside of the floor and still hear everything that's going on. Outside the floor, kids don't have to be super quiet and they can talk quietly and giggle.
What do your children think about the floor debate?
As we went upstairs to watch the floor debate and see the bills get voted on, kids get very interested in the noises involved with voting. The loud "ding" comes up and they know that the senators are voting. My kids especially liked it because they love our senator. I like to show them where her name is on the sign and they can always look to see if she has voted on each bill, or not.
April's children with Senator McGill
Do you get to interact much with senators or staff during floor debates?
Waiting outside of the chamber is almost better than going upstairs, because you run into more senators and lobbyists as they come in and out. Most of them probably don't know that I, too, am a registered lobbyist (only an unpaid one...that's why I have my kids with me!). Also, if you want to call a senator off of the floor, most of the time they will come out to speak with you. We were able to call our senator off of the floor once just because my daughter had pictures to give to her.
If I were to take my children to the Capitol, are there any learning materials? If so, where can you get them?
Yes! They have these Unicam for Kids books that you can pick up either in a senator's office, or right outside of the chamber. If you ask someone with a red jacket, they will help you get one. The books are nice because they talk about the legislative process in easier to understand words (so we ALL can learn from them!). These are more geared towards school-aged children, but my kids loved the books just the same. They had received these same books a few years ago, too, but at that point were not interested in them, yet. In the beginning, it was nice to have something for them, even if it only kept their attention for a little bit. You can also visit the Nebraska Legislature Unicam Kids website to read up on the process with your children before-hand and then pick up the book when you get there for a good review.
How else can I prepare my children for a visit?
Well, in addition to the website, you might also let them watch a committee hearing or floor debate through NET Nebraska. We also talk about the senators at home and we have a picture of all 49 senators in our room so we can learn their faces.
Because of the frequency of your visits, I imagine you're no longer a stranger up there. Do staff and legislators know you?
That's a good question. Yes! Now when we go with another group for another issue, senators or aides that know me will see us and start talking about our midwifery bills or something closely related. Then they realize I am there on another issue and almost looked bummed. It is as though they really DID want those M&M cookies! I assure them that no matter what issue I am there for that day, I will ALWAYS be happy to talk about midwifery stuff with them.
What about tours? If I can only make it a couple times a year, do you know if we could align a tour along with visiting for a hearing or an M&Ms day?
There are GREAT staff that work at the Capitol that love giving tours. I would highly recommend a tour because the building has so much history in it. It is really awesome learning about the significance of each little detail that was involved while making the building. You can contact the State Capitol Tours Office at (402) 471-0448 to plan a tour in advance.
Do you know what rules they have on eating or drinking at the Capitol? Can we bring baggies of snack foods or sippy cups?
When we are at the Capitol we always have some sort of snack. We, of course, try to be respectful and bring things that don't make a mess. If a mess is made, we clean it up right away. I would recommend bringing your own water because not many of the drinking fountains work and the water that you bring will taste way better than the fountain water anyway. Capitol rules state that drinks are not allowed in the balcony, so make sure any kiddie drinks are in a sealed container that will not spill.
What can you tell me about parking? Do I need to pay for parking? And will there be any issues with a stroller?
Parking is fairly easy at the capitol. I mostly park in a spot that is a two hour (NOT a one hour spot). I usually have the best luck on the south side of the Capitol. If there are no direct parking spots you can usually find some just south of the Capitol on the street. Strollers can be a little tricky because there are steps on 3 of the 4 sides to get in. Whenever I bring a stroller, I usually just carry it up the steps, even though it is a bit annoying. Once inside the Capitol, there are small elevators for getting upstairs with a stroller.
For those with babies, is there a changing station we'll have access to?
Since my kids are older and I don't need a changing table, I haven't actually noticed whether or not they are available. I do know that in the woman's restroom on the south side of the building, there is a big bench that would be perfect for changing a baby.
Are there any hard rules that I might want to know about before visiting?
When visiting the legislature, they provide just a few hard rules. For example, no one can lean on or place any items on the banister. Drinks are not allowed in the balcony. You can take photographs, but you may not use a flash. And applause or other demonstrations are not allowed.
What final things can you share with those of us who've not yet been to the Capitol to meet our senator or see a floor debate?
In short, the Capitol is not a scary place. The senators are normal people, just like us. It is a neat place to watch the legislative process, whether it be going to a committee hearing, watching a floor debate, or just visiting your senator. I think it would be great for senators and staff to be able to recognize a lot more faces than the normal ones that go to the Capitol. So I hope to encourage our friends and members to come on out whenever you can, meet your senator face-to-face, deliver cookies with Nebraska Friends of Midwives, or maybe even attend a floor debate or hearing!
Photo taken by Rachel Howell
Many thanks to April for the interview and thank you to ALL of our friends and members who have taken time out of their busy schedules to visit the Capitol and meet with our senators.
I didn’t even know that this film existed, and there it was, instantly available on Netflix. As soon as the kids were in bed I watched it, excitedly anticipating something amazing. I don’t know why I have such high hopes for birth films, but I do, and I am never satisfied. I wanted more from this film - although in general it is a positive, if one-sided, effort addressing the issues that pregnant women in the United States commonly find themselves facing.
Created by Steve Buonaugurio, this film explores and examines maternity care in the United States from the unique combined angle of film-maker/expectant father, chronicling pieces of Buonaugurio wife’s pregnancy and labor, and documenting both of their perspectives at different points along the way. Basically informative, but not revolutionary, the usual topics of a (now over) 30% cesarean section rate, induction, midwifery care, and homebirth are covered. Buonaugurio and his wife Mandy travel to Holland and Germany for a comparative look at cultural perspectives and norms regarding maternity care.
Basic definitions are given for “birth words” such as labor, doula, epidural, induction, cesarean section, oxytocin, and “Mcdonaldization”. Dr. Marsden Wagner, Ina May Gaskin, and other familiar natural birth advocates make appearances, along with a dozen-or-so average Joes and Janes. The candid street interviews are really pretty good - it is fascinating and at times distressing to watch and listen to individuals as they share their stories. Throughout the film Buonaugurio constructs a relatively understandable picture of the untidy business/insurance/defensive medicine hodgepodge that tends to dictate the maternity care our nation is routinely offering to women.
The websites noted at the end of this article provide ample overviews of the work in its entirety, which leaves me free to highlight a couple of the more unique sub-stories:
Buonaugurio follows the story of his sister’s CPD (cephalopelvic disproportion) diagnosis. What makes this storyline interesting is the manner in which the sister handles her doctor’s opinion and Buonaugurio’s misadventures in his attempt to follow-up on what becomes an apparent misdiagnosis. There is also a rather confused threat of a HIPAA violation thrown into the mix.
I had read about it online, but I had not seen the story of Tatia Oden French addressed in a film. It is moving to watch Tatia’s mother’s uphill struggle to bring to light the dangers of the off-label use of Misoprostol/Cytotec to induce labor. Amniotic fluid embolism is a rare, catastrophic labor event, the incidence of which has been rising. I would really like to see a film about that. And I would have liked to see some numbers about the risks of this drug included in this story - and less of the dramatic music. I really don’t like emotionally leading music in documentaries. And Pregnant in America has a lot of it.
I wanted Buonaugurio to explain why a physician is more likely to find him/herself the subject of a lawsuit when there is a bad vaginal outcome as opposed to a bad cesarean section outcome. I also wanted him to explain why hospitals would frequently choose to use Misoprostol/Cytotec instead of using a more expensive ripening agent (approved for labor by the FDA) and simply pass along the cost to consumers.
I would have liked to see some numbers scrolled alongside the risks listed for epidural anesthesia and cesarean section.
Like Abby Epstein’s transfer in The Business of Being Born, Mandy Buonaugurio’s birth in Pregnant in America unfolds in surprising fashion. As a scarce amount of medical information is provided, viewers are left to wonder and speculate about the unexpected turn, as, it seems, are Baby Buonaugurio’s parents.
Trailer
Talking Points
I do think that this film could provide a great springboard for discussion- if I were still teaching childbirth classes I would definitely host a Pregnant in America film discussion. Maybe I’ll do it anyway. Some potential talking points might be:
Consider Maddy Oden’s effort with the FDA, and Steve Buonaugurio’s efforts following the birth of his nephew. Why is it so difficult for the average citizen to know where to go to express dissatisfaction or to improve birth-related situations?
Why do hospitals frequently choose to use Misoprostol/Cytotec instead of using a more expensive ripening agent (approved for labor by the FDA) and simply passing along the cost to consumers?
Would you want to be the subject of your husband’s birth documentary? How do you think the filming could affect your ability to make choices, to relax, to be present together in the important moments?
Should hospitals and staff have a right not to be photographed or digitally recorded? Should they be able to prevent parents, or a person acting on behalf of the parents, from recording the labor and birth? Should they be able to prevent parents from posting such recordings online?
What is HIPAA - to whom does it apply and what does it cover?
What is safer in healthy moms and healthy babies- cesarean birth or vaginal birth? How do you know?
What is safer about hospital birth? What is safer about planned home birth attended by a licensed midwife?
What would be difficult about changing care providers in the eighth month of pregnancy?-Why do you think the components of Mcdonaldization are being applied to maternity care? What is good about this? What is bad?
*SPOILER ALERT* Why does Baby Buonaugurio end up being hospitalized for several days?
Most everyone has heard us talk about Terracycle, but perhaps you still are unaware of what it is. From the Terracycle website :
Terracycle's purpose is to eliminate the idea of waste. We do this by creating national recycling systems for the previously non-recyclable. The process starts by offering collection programs (many of them free) to collect your waste and then convert the collected waste into a wide range of products and materials. With over 14 million people collecting waste in 11countries together we have diverted billions of pieces of waste that are either upcycled or recycled into over 1,500 various products available at major retailers ranging from Walmart to Whole Foods Market. Our hope is to eliminate the idea of waste by creating collection and solution systems for anything that today ends up in our trash.
Nebraska Friends of Midwives (NFoM) is one of their collection sites. We collect things such as cheese packaging, chip bags, granola bar packaging, to old laptop computers, digital cameras, cell phones, and even ink cartridges. If you live in Lincoln, you can easily get your Terracycle trash to April Segura or you can drop it off at Healthy Start Chiropractic in south Lincoln. And if you are in Omaha you can either drop it off on Rachel Howell's porch, or get it to Theresa Hospodka.
NFoM gets paid on average 2 cents per trash item (electronics are more). That means for every cheese wrapper, chip bag, juice pouch, or whichever item you have, NFoM could be making some money! It might not seem like a lot, but we have already earned over $200 from this trash. As we get more people collecting, this number could double or triple in no time!
In other Fundraising news, the Lincoln Area NFoM group will be collecting gently used baby and children items for a local consignment sale coming up this spring. Check out the details at our Event Page on Facebook. If you have any donations, you can get them to either April Segura or Megan Jenkins.
Also be watching for our next online auction. It will be coming up fairly soon so stay tuned! If you have a desire to help with any of the fundraising efforts, please contact April Segura, NFoM Vice Chair.
Despite oversleeping, cancelled babysitters, and stuck garage doors, today was another fabulous m&m (m&m cookies for Mothers and Midwives) day at the capitol for Nebraska Friends of Midwives! Those in attendance broke into three groups, each led by a registered lobbyist. The groups walked the corridors of the capitol -- one group upstairs and two groups downstairs -- delivering cookies and extending a warm welcome, or more often, a welcome back to each senator's office. Our accompanying children were frequently and warmly greeted with exclamations over their growth, and appreciation for their exposure to the state's political system. Several offices were glad to hear about LB 68, the privileging bill- there will likely be a few more co-sponsors. One legislative aide graciously shared ideas for lobbying techniques, and encouraged, along with many others, the continued efforts of Nebraska Friends of Midwives.
Lunch at Pepe's Veggie Bistro followed our work at the capitol- a delicious recommendation by April Segura, NFoM's Vice Chair. Sweet potato quesadillas, cactus enchiladas, and avocado cheesecake were among the fare enjoyed amidst the chaos of children and interesting conversation.
Many thanks to those who were able to fit this event into their schedules. Due to the warm response from so many offices, a decision was tentatively made to hold seasonal m&m days rather than just doing two this year. Fortunately, today constituted our winter obligation -- the next day should present us with warmer weather!
The m&m spring event will be announced on the Nebraska Friends of Midwives Facebook page as soon as possible to allow even more midwifery supporters to attend. No legislative or birth expertise necessary, no baby-sitters or public speaking required. =O)
Okay, this is kinda funny. But the winner of this month's book giveaway is none other than (imaginary drum roll, please)...
VANESSA PRUITT!
(who needs to update her profile picture :wink:)
Vanessa says:
And no, we didn't rig this giveaway so the actual reviewer would win. But it seems fitting, doesn't it? Vanessa's review was first published at BellaOnline: The Voice of Women HERE where she says:
"I was not paid or compensated in any way for writing this review. The Birth House, a novel, was lent out to me by a friend. I did not pay for this book (though I do plan to buy a copy!)"
We're glad to save you the hassle, Vanessa! Just forward your snail mail address to nfom.pr@gmail.com and we'll get The Birth House mailed off to you right away.
Thanks for playing along, everyone! We especially want to thank everyone who "liked" this article via Facbook (66 of you!!). Keep your eyes and ears open for our next giveaway. Oh, and while you're here, be sure to check out our Amazon widget (to the right on this page) or visit our Amazon Store (and feel free to make more suggestions on books and DVDs to add to our store...we're updating it daily).
The Birth House follows the life of Dora Rare, who lives in a small and slightly isolated village off the coast of Nova Scotia, around the time of World War I. Dora, a young adolescent, is the first girl to be born in many generations of the Rare family genealogy. This alone gives the town enough rumors to spread about her and her family. But when family circumstances force her to choose between staying with her “proper” aunt Fran or the local midwife Miss Babineau for the winter, she chooses to stay with the midwife. Rumors and stories abound. Many of the local townspeople view Miss Babineau, and now Dora, as witches or something of the like, and most keep their distance from the both of them; that is until a child is sick, a woman has gynecological concerns, or a baby is being born into the world. In all of those instances the townspeople come running to Miss Babineau for help, and soon to Dora as well. The Art of Midwifery The Birth House gives an enchanting example of how the practices of traditional midwifery were passed on from generation to generation. Being a midwife, which means “with woman”, was not and is not just about catching babies. In this story, traditional midwifery takes on a role for women that meets their needs and far exceeds the medical model of care. Miss Babineau does much more for the community than attend labors. Her wisdom abounds in many areas such as mixing up syrups and herbs for the sick that bring down fevers and soothe sore throats and coughs. Politics and Society Through this story we also see a political attack against midwifery and a societal misunderstanding of this traditional art. Gilbert Thomas, a medical doctor from a nearby town, continually threatens Dora and Miss Babineau with prosecution. He feels it is a crime to give birth at home when he has established a “superior facility” that is “safe” for women to give birth in. I couldn't help but feel connected to this story as it presented a belief that is still present in the United States healthcare system today. Tough Issues In the beginning, The Birth House may seem to be only about birth and midwifery in general, but the author of this novel, Ami McKay, does an amazing job of challenging her readers to confront many other tough issues through this story as well. Emotional and political topics such as abortion, contraception, war, pre-marital intimacy, and maternal and infant death are broached through an extremely personal point of view. Overall, The Birth House is a story about controversies of humanity that are not unlike those we face today, midwifery being the central theme. The Birth house carries over the reality of discrimination that midwifery has faced for centuries. Traditional midwives today receive much of the same treatment toward their profession. They are attacked by the medical community, misunderstood by the public, and made out to be useless and old fashioned. The Birth House also shows us the holistic approach that is traditional midwifery and it's impact upon the community as a whole. I couldn't help but be drawn into the personal life and journey of Dora Rare. She probably couldn't have ran from her “calling” to be a midwife if she tried. The suspense only grew as I hung onto every word; I couldn't wait to turn the page and find out what was going to happen to Dora next, wishing and hoping that her freedom to practice the art of midwifery would be spared and all would end well. I hope that the inspiring story of The Birth House will strengthen your heart for midwifery, past and present, as it did me. (be sure to check out our book giveaway details, below, and we'd love it if you would click our Facebook "like" button, as well)
Vanessa Pruitt, Reviewer
GIVEAWAY DETAILS
Nebraska Friends of Midwives would like to begin hosting monthly giveaways. This month we will be giving away a copy of The Birth House. Any of our readers could be the lucky winner by simply posting a comment, below. You may have extra entries by doing any or all of the following:
Become a public follower (to the right)
Post a direct link to this giveaway on your Facebook page
Post a direct link to this giveaway on Twitter
Blogging about this giveaway on your own blog will get you TWO extra entries
This means there can be a total of six (6) entries per person if you choose to do all of the above. Please leave a separate comment for each entry. This giveaway is open to residents of the USA, only. It will end Wednesday, December 15th at 8pm CST and we plan to draw and announce the winner the following morning. If the winner does not respond within 24 hours, we will draw another name. THANK YOU for playing along and keep an eye out for our next book or DVD giveaway!
Those of you who know me know that I have been devouring books about birth for years. I am always reading something about how the American maternal healthcare system is broken or how safe homebirth is or why you should avoid certain procedures and drugs during labor and delivery. But, until now, I’ve never been able to pick just one book to recommend to other women when they are pregnant, especially as they may not have as much time to read or be as interested in all the gory details as I am. Well, no more! I have found my one book that every pregnant woman should read and it is Your Best Birth: Know All Your Options, Discover the Natural Choices, and Take Back the Birth Experience by Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein.
Ricki and Abby have done an admirable job gathering all the bits of information that I feel every pregnant woman should know into one place. The book is written in a conversational tone and peppered with lots of real birth stories. They have included many side boxes with good information as well. Their recommended reading list is a fantastic list of books and movies that I have read, seen, and also recommend for those who want to explore these topics in more depth. They also have lists of organizations to contact and an extensive list of questions to consider when developing a Birth Plan.
After an introduction that describes Ricki’s and Abby’s different paths through birth, they then state “Your best birth is one where you feel empowered because you know all your options and are confident in the decisions you have made about the birth.” Next, they split the book into four sections that explore the various aspects of birth, the choices women have (or should have), and the implications of various choices. The first section details the basics of a birth plan and discusses where a birth should be: hospital, birth center, or home. In the next section, they introduce the various people who could be at your birth: Obstetrician, midwife, doula, and the guests whom you decide to include. They also explain why you might not want to include certain people at your birth.
Next is a big section broken into very concise but informative chapters on the pros and cons of all the interventions that are so common in hospital births. These interventions include epidurals, pitocin, inductions, electronic fetal monitoring, episiotomies, vacuum, forceps, cesarean sections, and VBACs (vaginal birth after cesarean). This was the section of the book that impressed me the most as I had to read at least ten other books to find all the information that they summarize so succinctly here.
Finally, they close the book with a section on labor and how to embrace it, and then how to bond with the baby afterwards. I did become a little annoyed with this section as the boxes of side information were distracting me from the story they were telling. However there is so much good information in those side boxes (including references to Orgasmic Birth and HypnoBirthing, among others) that it is hard to stay mad at the authors for long!
I highly recommend this book for anyone who is or has a friend who is pregnant or even considering getting pregnant. All women should know more about their birth options before they are forced into the standard hospital care so typical of most births in America. All women should know their rights and the reasons for those rights. Your Best Birth helps women explore what they need to know about birth before they arrive in the delivery room. Very highly recommended!
I recently toured the Labor and Delivery Unit at the new Bellevue Medical Center. Shortly thereafter, I worked as a labor support doula at a birth there and wanted to share a few things about one of Omaha-Area’s newest Maternity Services Providers. The first thing I noticed upon walking into the unit was the size. It is smaller than most other area units. This gives it a much less clinical, big business feel. In contrast, it felt very warm and inviting with a real ‘birth center’ rather than ‘hospital’ feel. There are eleven rooms, nine of which have heated-whirlpool style bathtubs for pain management during the labor process. Most rooms have large windows allowing you to take in the lovely view. The rooms are complete LDRP meaning you will labor, deliver, recover, and spend your entire postpartum stay all within the same room.
Upon admittance you do have the ‘mandatory’ consult with an anesthesiologist who, in my client’s case, went over what the couple’s options were and told them to call if they wanted her services. This felt a bit like a sales pitch rather than a gathering of medical information. This was the only time that pain medication was ever talked about.
The nursing staff has a ton of collective experience in labor and delivery, and while they are still finding their groove, as one would expect with a new hospital, they were really great. They were very respectful of my client’s desire for a natural childbirth. Not one of the nurses ever suggested pain medication or any interventions along the way. They were very complimentary of how amazing she was doing and were very respectful of the family unit both during the entire labor, delivery, and moments after the birth.
A few details that I just loved: They have a real ‘Have it your way” vibe. Anything that the parents requested, they were quick to find a way to accommodate. Walking around the hospital, on the stairwells, working the baby out while in active labor was not an issue. Sitting on the birthing stool and intermittent monitoring with a handheld Doppler during the pushing stage was not a problem. Internal checks done only at mother’s request was, once again, not a problem. Really anything we threw at them they would either agree to or consult the healthcare provider about (and always came back with a yes). I this particular situation, it was a long labor, but the staff made it easy and seamless.
Their goal is 100% breastfeeding, and they do not provide ‘formula bags’ to moms unless requested. Their maternity care coordinator is also the lactation consultant and feels very passionately about supporting breastfeeding. They work very hard on encouraging rooming-in and respecting the new family’s bonding time. They have a level two NICU, so if your baby needs more intensive care, they will be transported to the ‘Mothership’ as one nurse joking called the Nebraska Medical Center.
If a cesarean is necessary, parents have the option to show newborn procedures via a closed circuit television to awaiting family and friends. Every effort is made to not separate mom and baby. If there is a need to, they are reunited as quickly as possible. One mom I know was able to breastfeed her daughter within the first hour of her cesarean.
The biggest flaw of the Bellevue Medical Center, at this point, is that they are unable to accomodate vaginal birth after cesarean (VBACs). There are no plans to change this in the immediate future and there would need to be a drastic shift in physician support in order for this to change. Of course, if a mother arrived in late active first stage it would be outright dangerous to turn her away or try to transport her, but the general policy is no VBACs.
I’ve since had a few of my Bradley Method couples also deliver at the Bellevue Medical Center and their experiences have been top notch. This facility is certainly capable of filling a real niche in our community. Additionally, there is talk of a water birth policy down the road. From the cozy ‘birth center’ size, to the extremely helpful dispositions by the staff, to the medical providers who are currently working with patients, it was easy to quickly fall in love. If you are looking for a hospital birth in the Omaha-Area you would be hard-pressed to find a better experience.
