Natural childbirth – with backup

I recently gave birth to my first child, and I had a wonderful labor and delivery experience that I would like to share.When I became

pregnant last October, I knew next to nothing

about giving birth, and I had no idea where to begin learning. I quickly responded to the idea of natural childbirth (and by natural I generally mean without medication or any other non-necessary medical interventions), because I knew in my heart that I wanted to experience every sensation that would bring my baby into the world. However, my desire for natural childbirth made it even more challenging to find the local resources I needed to have a healthy and successful birth experience.

Now that I have been through pregnancy, labor, and childbirth, I would like to sing the praises of Dr. Scott Schultz and the entire Labor and Delivery team here at the Virginia Regional Medical Center. The birth of my daughter, Maisy, was a beautiful experience, thanks largely to the staff at VRMC. My hope is that by relating my recent experience, other mothers who want to explore natural childbirth will be encouraged to learn more and will be inspired by the idea that natural childbirth is possible here on the Range.

Many people (including some doctors) responded to my desire with a mixture of confusion and condescension. Among the many questions on people’s minds was why I would want to experience all that pain, but I knew it was important for me to feel like I was an integral, connected part of the birthing process, not just a semi-conscious observer. I also wanted to feel the kinship of mothers all over the world who have been birthing their babies naturally for thousands of years. I knew my body was designed for this amazing task, and I did not want to suppress or hinder any part of it.

Early on in my pregnancy, my husband and I decided that it would be best to give birth in a hospital, with the support of a doula. This was a compromise between me, who initially wanted a homebirth with a midwife, and my husband, who wanted the safety and security of a hospital birth. We found an incredible doula in Duluth, Jesse Dykhuis, whom we met with several times before birth. I always felt completely empowered and prepared for birth after our meetings, which were very informative. Another wonderful doula from Hibbing, Angela Schweiberger, was also present for part of our labor to lend her support while Jesse was attending another birth. I believe that having the support of a doula throughout my pregnancy, labor, and delivery was an integral part of having a successful natural birth experience. And even for women who have different wishes for their own birth, the support of a doula is wonderful. There is an organization called Birthing Ways in Duluth (birthingways.org), which helps match women in Northeastern Minnesota with local doulas, which is how we found Jesse.

For our doctor, we chose to work with Dr. Scott Schultz, who was rather new to the VRMC obstetrical staff last fall. After meeting with several local OBs, we felt that we connected best with Dr. Schultz, and we appreciated how much time and attention he was willing and able to give us. I cannot stress enough how important it is to hold out hope for a doctor who shares your hopes and desires for pregnancy, labor, and childbirth. Every pregnant woman knows what she wants and needs, and if her doctor, for whatever reasons, does not share those hopes and desires, it’s okay to seek out another doctor who does.

Our entire prenatal experience with Dr. Schultz was wonderful. He is one of the most knowledgeable, kind, and respectful doctors I have ever known. We began talking to him early on about our wishes for natural childbirth, and he was very supportive. Knowing that OBs are trained surgeons and that they often like to heavily manage labor, we were pleasantly surprised that he was so supportive of our rather unconventional ideals. We respectfully discussed all the aspects of natural childbirth with him, always appreciating his knowledge as well as his willingness to let us make the final decision. He said that he saw his role in our birth experience as standing by, ready to take action in case of emergency, but happy to allow my labor to unfold naturally as long as there were no serious complications. His incredibly liberating attitude made us feel at ease – safe and supported for when the big day came. (And after working with him, I feel confident that he would be respectful and supportive of all his patients’ choices, regardless of whether or not they were similar to ours.)

We were thrilled that when I did go into labor on June 19, Dr. Schultz was the oncall obstetrician at VRMC. It was wonderful to see his familiar face and hear his comforting voice. We were also delighted by how wonderful every single nurse at VRMC was during our entire stay. Kris was the first nurse who cared for us, and she immediately read our birth plan and did everything she could to help honor it. She was comforting and encouraging during every moment of my labor. For some reason, I had expected hospital nurses to be cold and matter-of-fact, but they all operated from a place of genuine love and care. At shift change, which coincided with my getting ready to push, Sara and Chandra took over for Kris. They were also wonderful. I pushed my daughter out with my husband and my doula on either side of me for physical and emotional support, Dr. Schultz gently encouraging and directing me from the foot of the bed, and the nurses behind him, shouting their kind words of support.

The pain felt overwhelming at times, especially because my labor moved incredibly quickly – just five hours from the first contraction to the birth. It often felt like I wasn’t able to get my head above water because the contractions came so hard and fast. But the supportive team I had made it absolutely possible for me to stay grounded and keep going, and the result was that my baby and I were completely aware and alert from the first moment of her life, and we had worked together to bring her into the world. It was the most incredible feeling imaginable to let my body do what it was made to do and to feel every sensation as it came.

I realize that I am very lucky to have had no complications in my labor so that I was able to safely have this experience. But I attribute just as much to having a genuinely supportive team that did everything they could to honor and respect my and my husband’s wishes for how we wanted to bring our daughter into the world. I really feel like I had all the loving comfort of a homebirth at the Virginia Regional Medical Center. And the recovery was just as lovely; every single nurse we encountered – Mindy, Denise, Joni, Cindy, Connie, Kayla - was stunningly caring and knowledgeable.

I am incredibly grateful to all of these wonderful people who helped me have the greatest experience of my entire life. Whatever any woman might wish for her own birth experience, I feel confident that Dr. Schultz and the incredible Labor and Delivery team at VRMC, as well as the doulas at Birthing Ways, would do everything they could to help her achieve that.

Mae Gibson Wall has lived in Virginia for four years, hailing originally from central Florida and most recently from New York City. She is currently studying for her Master of Divinity degree through Meadville Lombard Theological School. She thinks that having Maisy is the best thing that has ever happened to her.