Disclaimer: out of hospital birth isn’t for everyone, and birth often doesn’t go as planned. This is my story and perspective. Lately, because of Covid-19, I’ve received questions about my birth center experience. I encourage all low-risk mamas-to-be to seriously consider birthing out of hospital. I am not a doctor, and only your health care provider can offer the best counsel. For those who are curious about learning more, I encourage looking up evidence based birth.
I’ve been reflecting so much on Priscilla’s birth lately, I think in preparation for this baby that arrives in two months. I am so excited to give birth again. When I am having a challenging day physically I think about birth and it truly gives me something to look forward to. I am excited to have this baby boy.
Much of my perspective, I believe, is due to the positive experience I had birthing Priscilla. I’ve shared my birth story with her here, but I wanted to write another post about what I specifically appreciated and loved about my out of hospital birth at Roots Community Birth Center in North Minneapolis.
You don’t go in right away
I probably waited a little longer than I should have to get to Roots, but I kept waiting for contractions to wrap around my entire body. Never the less, when we arrived our time at the birth center was brief because Cilla came so quickly. I liked that the majority of my labor was done at home– a place that I knew, felt peace in, and just my normal environment. I was able to wear what I wanted, walk around as I saw fit, eat whatever sounded good, and have the privacy I craved.
Hands off
Jahan, our attending midwife, was very much hands off. She was a safe, encouraging presence in the room Cilla was born in, but I never once felt like things were happening or being done to me. Seth was able to catch Priscilla and now tells all dads-to-be to do the same. I love that! I felt total autonomy over my body and birthing experience because I was respected and the culture of consent is highly valued at Roots.
Peaceful, relaxing environment
We had Cilla in the morning, so the sun was already up, but I love that there aren’t florescent, jarring lights at Roots. In so many ways, our birth center reminded me of the home of a friend. I was always so relaxed whenever I went in for prenatal appointments. Nothing about Roots felt clinical or scary, but always safe and sterile.
Confident, yet laid back staff
I always felt at ease with the midwives, assistants, and doulas who supported my birth. They were all people I trusted, and because of the small number of midwives at Roots, I had an opportunity to meet and get to know each one. There wasn’t one stranger in the room I gave birth in.
Commitment to well baby and mama
While we did write a birth plan, I truly feel like we could have gone without one because our philosophies, desires, and hopes for Cilla’s birth were right in line with the standard of care at our birth center. Our choices were respected, and I never once felt forced into anything happening to Priscilla that I didn’t want. Right after she was born, she stayed snuggled up to me for a very long time, we weren’t rushed into anything.
Going home early!
This may be Seth’s favorite part. We loved that we didn’t need to stay overnight, eat food we didn’t like, or be woken up several times. Four hours after birth, because Cilla and I were healthy and well enough, we left and went home. We spent the afternoon in our environment, getting to know our new family, and resting in our bedroom. I don’t have many memories of that time, but I loved that I was in my space. While we loved Roots and could have stayed a few more hours because it is a happy place, it felt great to get settled into our new normal at home.
While we aren’t birthing at a birth center this time, I truly look back on my memories at Roots as some of the fondest of my life. I loved our birth center birth, and cannot wait to have a home birth this time.
