I feel so honored to write another glowing review (first one is on Google), this time for my second…read morebirth at Geneva Woods Birth Center. I received attentive, professional, respectful care throughout my pregnancy and always appreciated the friendliness of the entire staff when I would come in for visits. My toddler daughter loved to come to appointments with me to play with the great toys, visit with everyone, and learn about things like blood pressure and heart beats. It really is a very family-friendly experience throughout. When I went past my due date, I really appreciated the explanation of the process for making sure everything is okay, and of course the patient, non-pushy approach to due dates. This all put me at ease about being overdue. Four days after my due date, I went into labor in the morning and had a weird pattern of contractions accelerating and then slowing down, depending on what I was doing. I really appreciated how the midwives carefully assessed, based on my pain and the pattern of my contractions, etc. whether there was a physical cause for this, such as baby in a funny position, and then helped me think through options. Ultimately, they suggested something that turned out to be just what I needed -- attempting to rest, changing the environment so as to get out of my head. They understand that the brain is the most important organ in birthing.
I had a very quick active labor after that. They trusted me to know when I needed to push, and gave me choices but offered really helpful suggestions to make pushing more effective. I felt so at peace with their help, which was neither too hands off nor too pushy. Baby came out crying, big, and healthy and they took good care of me and him in the hours afterwards. We had come up with a plan during my pregnancy to prevent hemorrhage and it was a relief to have that all put in place right away.
Because I was able to talk through my concerns during prenatal visits and have my questions answered, and because I was encouraged to access high-quality birth support services, such as my doula, Jen Allison (who teaches classes at Geneva Woods Birth Center), and because of the well-earned reputation for evidence-based, safe, and compassionate care, I was able to labor and birth without fear, trusting that I would get the care I needed. And I did. Even though the labor had gotten off to my difficult start, I felt so powerful at the end. I'm truly grateful for this kind of quality of care. I am especially grateful not only have a healthy baby but also very straightforward recovery with no tears or episiotomies or forceps or anything else -- this prevention of tears I credit to Barbara telling me to wait and let baby's head stretch my perineum when I just wanted to push him out, and to all of the other experiential wisdom they employed on how to reduce the risk of tearing.
I really do wish this kind of care for every pregnant and versing person.