My Birth Story

by Ana Talukder Simpson

It was never my intention to deliver outside of a hospital.  I knew the formula: Labor + Pitocin + Epidural = Baby and that was what I was planning on doing.  Then I caught a glimpse of a water birth on that incredibly addictive show called, “A Baby Story” and knew that I wanted to try my luck at that.  Once the hospital told us it was too much of a liability to birth in the tub, my husband Joel and I went searching elsewhere.

We knew from the moment we walked in the door of the PSBC, met Valerie, and took a look at those wonderful suites that this was the place our baby was to be born. The level of prenatal care we received from Valerie and Heather was so tremendous that I felt nothing but safe in my most vulnerable moment and all the ideas I had about birth being a medical procedure were, thankfully, abolished from my mind.

It is hard to predict how you will behave and react once labor ensues.  Mine started on March 9th, 2003 at 3 AM, which was my exact due date.  On March 10th, I was 7 cm dilated at my prenatal visit, but shockingly I was not in active labor.  Sensing my frustration after several hours of trying to get labor started in a more continuous fashion, Heather offered herbal remedies and just her encouragement made me feel that everything was just as it should be.

When my contractions did start to come regularly, my husband, doula, and midwives took turns conducting counterpressure, cheering me on, and fulfilling my every demand.  The safety I felt in the birth center among all the familiar sights and faces made me feel secure and allowed me to let my body do its job.

It took until 1 AM, March 11th for the contractions to come on rapidly and once my water broke I was actively pushing.  Heather had to ask me to get out of the tub because she felt that the change in position would get the baby out faster.  I was delirious with exhaustion and disappointed by the request, but once I got out of the tub and onto the bed, the baby started to crown.

The excited voices around me telling me that they could see the baby urged me to muster the energy and intense strength needed to push out a 9lb 14.5 oz, 22.5 inch long baby.  Fifty-five hours after labor began, with a cork-screw turn, my son entered into the world in a fashion all his own.

I turned to look at my husband who had been at my side the entire time and he had tears running down his face.  That moment is laminated in perfection for me. 

I never understood my strength as an individual until I had given birth.  I never understood the pure magic of being a woman until then either.  It is not enough to say that it is a gift to be able to carry life inside you and bring that beautiful being into the world.  It is just magic.

Heather placed Aidan into my arms within seconds of delivery. My exhaustion dissolved and as I stared back into those attentive eyes, I reached out and held my husband's hand and we all fell in love.

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[Editor's Note] Ana's birth story segues rather poignantly into the following announcement from Lake Washington Midwives' Heather Chorley:

A Message from Heather Chorley

Wow, has it really been 4˝ years?  What a wonderful experience I have had to work here in this lovely environment.  I came initially with Wendy Rowe to work for Lake Washington Midwives while Valerie Sasson and Leeanne Shelley both left on maternity leave.  It was an honor to be asked to work in their practice and I am grateful for the opportunities it has offered me.  I have met many wonderful women and families and witnessed the miracle of birth and the creation of family again and again.  Another great gift both personally and professionally has been the fabulous working relationship that I have had with Valerie.  I will miss working with her more than I care to think about.

So, where to now?  For those who don’t know, during the time I have been working at PSBC I have also continued the practice I started with Wendy Rowe in Seattle—Welcome Home Midwifery Service.  I will now focus on my work in Seattle and have more time for teaching at Seattle Midwifery School and (best of all) for my family.  My other news is that this time with my family will very soon include maternity leave!  Isla, Fred and I are expecting a baby in our family this summer.  I will be taking 6 months off and plan to return to practice in January 2005.

Thank you Valerie for the wonderful years I have had working with you.  Thank you to all the women, babies and families who taught me so much and made my time here so meaningful.  I hope to see many of you at the annual fall picnic in September!

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About the Resident Midwifery Practice

So in light of Heather's announcement, who is Valerie Sasson partnering with now?

As you may already know, there are two resident midwifery practices at the Puget Sound Birth Center: Lake Washington Midwives and Eastside Midwives. After an exhaustive search for a replacement midwife who meets our rigorous standards for professional and loving care, we realized that the best way to serve our clients is to restructure the existing practices rather than recruit someone new.

Ali Toperosky, LM, of Eastside Midwives, has joined Valerie Sasson, LM of Lake Washington Midwives as a full partner. In addition to being a licensed midwife, Ali is a co-owner of the Puget Sound Birth Center and President of the Midwives Association of Washington.

Heike Doyle, LM, and Traci Palagi, LM, who have been a successful team for over three years, will continue to practice in residence as Eastside Midwives. We all feel confident that this new structure will allow us to best serve our clients and the greater community.

You can find complete information on our resident midwives here.

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Why Does the Birth Center Need Help?

by Liz Chalmers

I am the mother of four children, two born in hospital and the younger two at Puget Sound Birth Center and at home. Those experiences led me to become an aspiring midwife, but those plans are on hold until my children are older. In the meantime, I'm fulfilling the call to be involved in the birth world by managing the accounting aspects of the birth center. This letter is a summary of what I have learned about this business.

You may be wondering why the birth center, now and in the past, has asked for help from clients. The answer lies in the harsh realities of insurance reimbursement and malpractice insurance.

You have probably heard of the malpractice crisis and its particular impact on obstetricians. Throughout the country, doctors are finding it less and less worthwhile to attend deliveries. Instead they are increasingly turning toward their gynecological practice, which is more lucrative and carries less risk. Hospitals also find the maternity business hard, hence the closings of many maternity services in the region, including Group Health Eastside, Providence, and Virginia Mason. The remaining hospitals see the maternity business as a loss-leader. The place where a woman delivers her babies is likely to be where she and her family will return for more lucrative surgeries later.

Midwives and birth centers are also being hit hard by malpractice premium increases, but they don't have a second line of business to turn to. Midwives specialize purely in pregnancy and birth, and particularly in normal pregnancy and birth, where few procedures are administered. In general, insurance reimburses for procedures. For example, a single amniocentesis may cost more than a mom's entire normal prenatal care. Each time an IV is administered or a medication is given, there is another chance to bill insurance. Those things are routine in a hospital setting, but exceptional in a birth center birth. Midwives also focus on taking care of a family's emotional and informational needs, which takes time. Hence a midwife sees one client in the time a doctor may see five or more.

All of this adds up to a business that is driven more by love than money. The bottom line always feels tenuous and there is always more to do than there are hours in the day. Don't worryPuget Sound Midwives and Birth Center isn't going away. There are far too many committed owners and volunteers who have kept it going and will continue to do so. But the more help we can get, the more assured the future of normal birth becomes.

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Ways to Help the Birth Center

So how can you help? Please visit our new "How Can I Help?" . You'll find wish lists of volunteer needs, regular supplies, and specific one-off items. The page also includes links to Amazon and iGive shopping services that donate a portion of sales to us. Those links are also included below:

Amazon for Puget Sound Midwives and Birth Center

iGive for Puget Sound Midwives and Birth Center

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Help for Parents with Kids of All Ages

by Kyndal May

It's not a secret that babies don't come with instructions. We all know this and yet we forge ahead--trusting that parenting, like childbirth, is something we will navigate instinctively...we hope. And then our bundle arrives and some of us have been known to search for that illusive instruction book in the middle of the night, or after our partners have gone back to work and we are there with our newborn...alone.

This is when you wish you knew someone like Mary Hill. A postpartum doula and infant massage instructor, Mary may be your answer to the missing instruction book.

As an infant massage instructor, Mary helps new parents learn this ancient art that supports attachment and bonding and gives parents a way to interact with their baby. On the very practical side, the benefits of infant massage include: promoting deeper, longer sleep, decreasing symptoms of colic, increasing immunity and regulating the circulatory, digestive and respiratory systems.

You might be thinking, "Forget massage, I'm not even sure about diapering!" A postpartum doula, like Mary, helps ease the transition of welcoming your new baby into your home and family. Doula means "to mother the mother" and postpartum doulas nurture and support new parents, and assist in the learning curve of parenthood.

According to NAPS, the Northwest Association of Postpartum Support, which offers a free referral service to parents looking for a postpartum support, postpartum doulas provide both emotional and physical support to new parents such as:

• listening patiently, recognizing that this is a time of emotional vulnerability for the whole family, but particularly for the mother
  
• helping you process your birth
  
• making suggestions to improve your comfort/recovery after birth
  
• helping you learn to care for your new baby
  
• doing light housekeeping/meal preparation
  
• coordinating family and friends to support you
  
• supporting your parenting style.

But what if you don't know what your parenting style really is? You may work your way through that first year more or less in an awe/survival/awe state, but somewhere around 14 months you may be wondering why there aren't toddler doulas.

Enter Karol Swenson, a parenting coach and educator, who has devoted her life to the study of children and families and the education and support of parents. Like a doula, a parent coach works with a family one on one to provide individualized support, information, inspiration and practical ideas to ease and enrich the job of child rearing. Wonder if you might benefit from a parent coach? Have you ever asked these questions?

• How do we get our little girl to go to sleep - to stay?
  
• My kids do not listen to me!! What can I do?
  
• Our daughter whines when she wants attention. How can we get her to stop?
  
• My boy is extremely shy. Should I be worried?
  
• Our son seems unusually jealous of his new sister. Is this normal?
  
• How much TV is OK?

Parent coaching is a relatively new field. With a goal of providing convenience and flexibility to parents, some coaches provide services only by phone or email. Others, like Karol Swenson, prefer meeting face to face with parents and offer both office and home visits. We may meet just once or many times over a period of weeks or months, as you prefer. The point is to work one-on-one with your family to provide individualized information, guidance and support around the issues that are important to you in raising healthy and happy children.

Aware of the continuing needs of today's parents, Karol Swenson and Mary Hill, created Northwest Parent Concepts to provide compassionate and informed support, both practical and inspirational, to families at all stages of the parenting journey.

SuperNanny comes to mind, without the cameras, thankfully.

For more information about postpartum doula services or parent coaching visit www.nwparentconcepts.org or www.birthandbodywork.com or call 206-579-5889

For information about postpartum doulas visit www.naps-doulas.org

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Community Submissions

IThis section includes information about parenting resources in the community. This information was submitted to Puget Sound Midwives and Birth Center for inclusion in the newsletter. For more information about these resources, please see the contact information in each article.

Transition to Parenting Class

Presented by the Midwives Association of Washington State

Saturday February 19, 2005 from 5:30pm to 7:00pm at the Talaris Conference Center

Dr. Allyson Shapiro from the Gottman Institute discusses how to prepare for and cope with the effects of parenthood on the couple relationship.

Registration fees:
MAWS members $15/$25 couples
Non-members $20/$35 couples

For information about MAWS membership, to join MAWS or to register for the events, please visit the MAWS website or contact Melissa Jonas at 206-706-0740 or via email at mjonas@seanet.com

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Village Parents: Becoming the Parent You Want to Be

Nadine MacLane writes: The Village Parents meet weekly at the Puget Sound Birth Center on Wednesdays from 6:30-8:30. We are a support group for parents, a play group for our kids, and a babysitting coop to give ourselves some time off.

Over the next few weeks, we are going to look at advice from "Becoming the Parent You Want to Be: A Sourcebook for the First Five Years" by Laura Davis and Janis Keyser. This book was highly recommended by two of our moms.

Informative, inspiring, and enlightening, "Becoming the Parent You Want to Be" provides parents with the building blocks they need to discover their own parenting philosophy and develop effective parenting strategies. Through in-depth information, practical suggestions, and many lively first-person stories, the authors address the many dilemmas and joys that the parent of young children encounter and demonstrate a range of solutions to the major issues that arise in the raising of babies, toddlers and preschoolers. Full of warmth, clarity, humor, and respect, "Becoming the Parent You Want to Be" gives parents permission to be human: to question, to learn, to make mistakes, to struggle and to grow, and, most of all, to have fun with their children.

So, here's our discussion schedule:

February 3 - Chapters 1-4 "A Framework for the Parenting Journey" - part 1
February 10 - Chapters 5-9 "A Framework for the Parenting Journey" - part 2 ( At this point we'll vote on whether to continue in order or skip the next 2 parts.)
February 17 - Chapters 10-13 "Children's Feelings"
February 24 - Chapters 14-17 "Children's Bodies"
March 3 - Chapters 18-21 "Dealing with Difficult Behavior"
March 10 - Chapters 22-26 "Social Learning and Play"
March 17 - Chapters 27-28 "Family Relationships"

Any questions can be directed to Nadine MacLane at nadinem@pobox.com or (360) 668-2665

Editor's note: If you would like to purchase a copy of Becoming the Parent You Want to Be and help PSBC at the same time, please click here:

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