If one, at least for myself, is invited to write a "birth story", having never done so before, it is not as easy as I thought it could be. This invitation was in my discharge instructions, but at that time I felt (probably due to emotional changes due to hormones) still a little embarrassed that during my transition phase of labor I did not stay as strong as I had hoped I would, this being my third baby. And, as this passed, and I realized compared to my first two childbirth experiences, I actually was much stronger really. As each day has gone by since my son's birth , as I have cared and nursed for him, the details or feelings about childbirth fade in my memory. I am filled with experience and joy of motherhood instead. However, even with this, I can offer a few notes that made a difference and were important to me about the birth of this baby.

First, my labor was very fast, my son being born only about four hours after my admission to the hospital, but unlike my former fast labors, this time the professional caring for me, my midwife, spoke directly to me about my progress and the condition of me and my baby. Former to this, I had experienced the opposite, the professional always speaking about me, not to me, but to other doctors and nurses, instead. This let me feel like a person, woman and mother also, not simply and only a patient.

Second, when Gretchen felt she needed to monitor the baby's heartbeat better than the belly monitors would allow. While using an internal lead is a scientific intervention with the baby's scalp, it just did not feel like a majorly invasive procedure at the time. It felt like the health care professional caring for me was simply concerned enough to do this monitoring, and she presented and handled this in such a way that I didn't panic about neither myself nor my baby.

Third, there had been meconium in my amniotic fluid. I remember the second assisting nurse telling me "Gretchen will make sure she suctions him very well." Now my husband tells me that as soon as his head presented, Gretchen immediately suctioned him even before any further pushing on my part or his care by the nurses after his complete birth. But again, something that could have caused me panic, worry and fear handled some other way did not on this day.

Yes, I used the birth ball during my active phase that Gretchen brought to me and yes it helped a lot. Yes, my husband and I were allowed privacy when it was medically wise and practical to give it to us. And yes, it was a first time experience for me to have the person who gave me prenatal care actually also be the person there to deliver my baby, something else I had never experienced before and something that had originally influenced my decision to see a midwife this pregnancy. But, MY birth story is really about how the midwives are prepared and competent to handle any unexpected eventuality of childbirth and able to do so in such a way as to nurture and protect the trust involved in the patient-practitioner relationship. At the end, one of the assisting nurses reported my son's Apgar score to Gretchen, and she looked directly at me to say "that's perfect"......

Desiree Marziale, Greensburg, Pa