Jane Ramsey. A Mother's View.

Jane Ramsey was one of the first people I thought of after I created this blog. During my last pregnancy, both Jane and her co-worker Anne, gave me much valued support and very many helpful tips for a physiological birth. I met these wonderful women through the Fleet and Family Support Center on the Ingleside Navy Base. Both are professional childbirth educators and both provide fabulous resources for the mommys of the South Texas Area.

Jane is a mother herself and a grandmother! She had the special opportunity to attend her daughter-in-law's home birth. She shares with us a physiological birth story from her point of view as a mother and grandmother. I found this story to be very inspiring and I hope you do to.
Thank you Jane for sharing!
-Carrie


My name is Jane Ramsey. I am a mother of 5 and a grandmother of 7. I have worked with families and babies for almost 30 years. In the last two years I became a childbirth educator and provide education for families in a wonderful program of the Navy’s.

I was asked by my daughter-in-law to be present at her home birth. I was very excited about this opportunity and to be honest a little nervous. Being a grandmother, I have seen lots of births through the years and I know what can go wrong. I also had two births naturally but in a hospital setting and to be honest not by choice. I just did not know how this would work as far as emergencies or anything else.

I arrived at my son’s and daughter-in-law’s house the week the baby was due and since this was her second, we thought she may go at her due date but of course she didn’t!

We would go see the midwife once a week in an office, just like any other office but more child friendly, warm and inviting. One hour was devoted to my daughter-in-law for exams and questions with this mid-wife. Great! I was already impressed. There had also been sonograms and a doctor on call for emergencies. At first the baby was breach and the mid-wife would not deliver the baby at home if he didn’t turn but he did so everything was good to go!

After her due date, we tried every natural method we could think of to bring on the labor. I was going to have to leave and I did NOT want to miss the birth. We walked for miles throughout the days and no baby yet. (I lost 5 pounds though!) Anyway, finally the day before I was going to leave she went into labor and I thought here we go!!

The midwife, doula, and an assistant came immediately. They were wonderful! I was so impressed by their professionalism. Their attention to details, their knowledge of childbirth was amazing. They were so attentive to her and her needs. No hospital has ever given the care and attention as she was given that day. They brought sterile sheets and equipment to assist if needed in the birth. My daughter-in-law was allowed to stay where she felt the most comfortable and with the people she loved the most were there for her.

When the actually birth occurred, my grandson shoulders became lodged and they had to do a little maneuvering to get him out. The team really went to work then and I don’t think any one could have done a better job. The baby was born and he was perfect! He was gently placed on her stomach while the placenta was delivered. The team was quick to remain professional cleaning everything as the couple enjoyed their new baby. The baby was put to the breast and initially had an issue with the latch but again the Duala was right there to assist and soon everything was great.

As I am writing this story, tears are coming to my eyes as I remember what a wonderful and joyous experience this was for me and I one I will never forget.

Ever wonder how Dad might feel about a home birth?

Here is one Dad's experience with a hospital birth and a home birth. A great big thanks to Chalan Derry who wrote this post for us! He is currently living in the South Texas area.

-Carrie

"My name is Chalan Derry, and I am the father of 6 kids, 5 rowdy boys, and 1 precious little girl. The 2 oldest boys were part of the package deal when I married my wife (Liz). I will tell you about the birth experiences of the other four.

"Joey was born in February of 2001. He was born at the Hospital in Uvalde. This being my first birth experience I was rather nervous. The pregnancy was normal, so I will simply describe the birth. Joey was about 2 weeks over due, It was a long, stressful 2 weeks. The day he was born was the only of the entire month I had plans to do anything else. I had committed to decorating the church hall for a valentines day party. When Liz called me and told me it was time I dropped what I was doing and rushed her to the Hospital. Once there the nurses rushed us into a room, hooked Liz up to all sorts of machines and monitors and left. It was exciting, but also boring. For the next 3 or 4 hours I spent standing next to my wife trying to help her relax, and listening to all sorts of beeps and noises from the monitors. Periodically a nurse would come in and "check" liz and leave again. Eventually the doctor came in and assessed the situation. He informed Liz that he should break her water to help things move along. Liz said she would rather wait a little longer. The doctor returned 45 minutes to an hour later to see how things were moving along, and again informed us he should break the water. Liz still wanted to wait, at which point he said something along the lines of "well I am the doctor". So we consented. After he did things did begin to move rather rapidly. Within 90 minutes Joey was born! It was and still is one of the greatest moments of my life. But It was exhausting. I feel like a jerk saying I was exhausted after my wife gave birth, but I was. I had spent 6 hours mostly standing, no one telling me anything, and worried the entire time. After the birth I didn’t know what to do. I went to the lobby to call friends and relatives about the good news. The Hospital brought in a roll away bed for me to sleep on in my wife’s room. I did enjoy spending this time with my wife, and new son, but I felt very confined to this small hospital room, unfamiliar bed, and lousy hospital food.

"Fast forward about 18 months to the birth of our next son Benny birth. Liz had discussed the possibility of a home birth with me several times, but it wasn’t until she was pregnant without any insurance and the realization that we would be paying for this birth out of pocket, that I finally consented. The birth experience was a lot different. When Liz went into labor, we simply called our midwife (Holly). Liz would inform Holly every couple of hours to let her know how she was doing, and how things were progressing. During this time life kept going on as normal around our house. I fed and prepared our other children for their bedtime. I would of course check on Liz and spend a few moments talking with her. She was much more free to move about and labor in different positions. When the midwife and her assistant arrived and began checking Liz, I was able to slip out of the room, and call relatives and inform them of the situation. In fact I remember sitting at the kitchen table balancing the check book while Liz and the midwives were in the bedroom for much of the labor. When it was time I came in and assisted by holding Liz as she squatted at the foot of the bed to deliver the baby. After the delivery the midwives stayed and cleaned up, checked on Liz and Benny, and other such things. I was not nearly as "exhausted" as I was with Joey’s birth. I was able to sleep next to Liz and Benny in my own bed, and in the morning got up helped the other children get up and going.

"The experiences with our last two were very much the same, except that with our daughter (Reagan) both Liz’s and My mothers were in attendance. It was a very special time for both of them to be able to attend and participate in the birth of their granddaughter.

"After experiencing both a hospital and home birth, I would highly recommend to everyone that they consider a home birth. My experiences with home birth have been very good, and I believe it is a more peaceful, and happy experience overall. "


-Chalan Derry