Why I Chose a Midwife: Part 3

Really this post is why I was so grateful that I chose a midwife, particularly Sherri Price, for my prenatal care and labor and delivery.

Here are just some reasons:

• Sherri met with me, unscheduled, at 9pm at night, after I was done with work, to check something I was concerned about that day 
• Sherri answers phone calls (or text messages) day or night 
• Sherri holds monthly forums to help her moms be educated as well as have support from other moms/moms-to-be
• Sherri has an intuition and connectivity with her moms that couldn't be bought! (She'll have sleepless nights and know when her moms are laboring even before the mom notifies her.)
• Sherri honors and trusts the father as the patriarch of the family. If dad isn't feeling good about something, she'll take her ques from him. 

If you read my birth story, you know that I did not deliver Luke at home as hoped for, but wanted to be induced immediately after discovering he was no longer living. Sherri's level of midwifery licensure does not enable her to perform inductions. We needed to go to the hospital and be under the care of a doctor for this to take place. 

Sherri also does not have "delivering rights" in the hospital and could not be my "midwife" there. Once we arrived at the hospital her role shifted to more of a doula*. This means that she wasn't allowed to check my dilatation or vitals, but she was still able to offer assistance and support to me.

I was also blessed with incredible and attentive nurses during my labor. If I ever needed anything either Sherri or one of the nurses or nurses' aids would tend to it immediately.

I was grateful that I had selected Sherri because she was a good fit for me and grateful that she was the one that was with me throughout my entire labor. She was there to consult with about decisions (like breaking my water or not). She was there to suggest using the tub for relief. She was there to apply pressure on pressure points to relieve the contractions. She was there to help me stay relaxed and help me breath through transition. This was everything I wanted in my care. This was the help and training that I knew I needed by my side to get me through labor. 

In contrast, the care of the doctor was just as I had imagined it would be -distant and uncomfortable. So distant that during the early stages of my labor (mind you my labor was only 6 hrs from start to finish) he left the hospital to tend to another patient elsewhere. Which was really okay with me, because I didn't like having this old man (though a nice enough man) around while I was laboring. I was a lot more comfortable laboring with just Trevor, the nurses, and Sherri present.

Not only did having Sherri as my midwife for Luke's birth provide me with the support that I needed during labor but also the support I needed after. The day after Luke's birth, she came to our home to check in on me to see how I was doing - both physically and emotionally. We sat and talked and she shared some miraculous spiritual experiences surrounding her own eternal family.  We sat on my couch, together, like real people that had shared an emotional and miraculous experience together. She was a real part of Luke's birth. She was a real part of my life. This was the friendship and care that I wanted to accompany my baby's birth.

Four days after the birth was Luke's funeral. Sherri was in attendance. At this point I was feeling more pain (physically) instead of less. Sherri, without hesitation, drove the 45 minutes from her house to ours to check on me regardless of the facts that she'd already been down here once that day and that it was really late in the evening. That's the type of care and attention I couldn't have gotten from a doctors office.

I know it wasn't easy for Sherri to have me as her patient, because no other babies have died under her care. I feel bad that had to happen. I know it was not an easy experience for her. But I am so grateful that she was my midwife for Luke's birth. I needed her. I needed her training, her skill and expertise, and mostly her love.

Sherri and me the evening of Luke's funeral, Aug.10.2011

Thank you, Sherri, for being a part of Luke's birth. Thank you for your care, love, and support during this time in our life. I feel so blessed to have had you through it all. 

*A Doula is someone who provides non-medical support to women and their families during labour and childbirth, Wikipedia. 

*****
The cause of Luke's death was in no way related to my choice of prenatal care. You can read about it in my post No One To Blame or my birth story.