Giving birth in a birth center: they testify.

They gave birth in a birth center

What is a birth center?

It is a structure run by midwives and in the immediate vicinity of a partner maternity hospital. Only women with non-pathological pregnancy can give birth there. The mother should not be expecting twins, or have had a cesarean section for a previous birth, the pregnancy should be at term, and the baby should come through the head. Once the baby is delivered, the mother can go home 6 to 12 hours later, and will be medically followed at home. Find the list of the 9 birth centers opened on an experimental basis on the website of the Haute Autorité de Santé. 

Hélène: “On the scale of fear of giving birth, I went from 10 to 1!”

“My own birth went wrong. Mom panicked, and felt assaulted by the medical profession. So the hospital scared us a bit. Nicolas sought an alternative on the web, and he found Calm. Here, the strong point is that our midwife, Marjolaine, focuses on our questioning. I was afraid of the induction, afraid of having a cesarean section under general anesthesia. With my tattoo on the lower back, the epidural was not guaranteed. I didn’t know anything, I learned everything here. In a few months, on the scale of fear of giving birth, I went from 10 to 1! Nicolas was very invested; he came to almost every consultation. Marjolaine helped us to find self-confidence: she explained to us how the companion can relieve contractions with the massages in the lower back and the positions on the ball. I passed the term, with the fear of being triggered. Marjolaine detailed the natural ways to start work: walking, climbing the stairs, making love, eating spicy food, massaging the stomach with essential oils. I did everything, even an osteopathy session.

Three days after the scheduled term, I had an ultrasound at the Bluets. During the examination, the doctor lost the image. It was my first strong contraction. It was noon. I went home to do the start of labor. Installed on my bed in the dark, I was well, I welcomed the contractions. Marjolaine called me every hour. Listening to me breathe, she knew where I was. At 18 p.m., she asked me to come to Calm. I sat in the bathtub, to stay there from 20:30 p.m. to 23:30 p.m. I got out to try postures on the bed, sitting, standing, moving, sideways… Nicolas accompanied me constantly, massaging my lower back. The next day, he was exhausted! Every hour, I had the monitoring. The midwife was not always next to me, but I felt her very present. She guided me through the sensations.

Today, I have great memories of the birth

At around 3 a.m., she checked me out and my work was stagnant. My collar was blocked, to the point that Marjolaine, with my consent, began the transfer process. I went up to the maternity ward (which is just above), and it all started. So I was able to stay with my midwives at Calm. Garance got out quickly, in 30 minutes, at 4:30 a.m. on April 9. When I felt her coming, I was bathed in joy. We went down to Calm to lie down, with Garance between us. We slept until 9:30 am and had a good breakfast. Mom came to pick us up at 12:30 pm Marjolaine visited us the next day. She explained a lot to me for breastfeeding. I had little concern, except a pain in the coccyx for 10 days. Today, I have great memories of the birth of Garance. Contractions, it’s less painful than one would imagine. It’s like a powerful wave in which to dive. Before arriving here, when I was planning to give birth, I thought about the pain, the fear of dying! ” the

Interview by Christine Cointe

Julia: “I gave birth in the water and almost without assistance…” 

“I gave birth at Calm on April 27th. I wanted a very natural childbirth. I had confidence in my body. Generally speaking, I don’t like the medicalization of the body. I had the project to have a very physiological childbirth and the future dad too. It was my sister who told me about this birthplace. We made inquiries on the Internet, then we went to the information meetings. And we were reassured, we found that it was a great place to give life. You are no longer in control of your body or your project from the moment you set foot in a hospital… I wanted to give birth in the most natural way possible. My mother also had this desire to give birth in water, but never succeeded in making it happen. I believe there was a generational transmission of this desire. Water is an element that attracts me. I had no apprehension about giving birth without an epidural. I had read a lot of things that reassured me… I had a hyper positive view of contractions, I was very optimistic. I think even now that I didn’t have enough apprehension.

In the end, it was more painful than I thought. I had two full days of pre-work, two sleepless nights with repeated contractions. I arrived at the birth center a little dilated. The midwife told me I wasn’t in real labor yet and advised me to go for a two hour ‘hike’ to make things easier. I went for a walk. The outward journey went well, but on the way back, it was awful, I screamed at my death. Back at the birthing center, the midwife put me in the tub to relax. She gave me a vaginal examination, the only one during the whole delivery. My cervix was 2 cm dilated. “Either you go home and come back when you’re no longer at work, or you stay there and we see how it goes,” she told me. I got back in the car, but the pain was too much: I cried constantly. And finally, the work was done quickly, because the pre-work had been very long. I was not made to push, I was told to do it when I felt I wanted to. On the last phase, as I felt my baby advancing, I asked to go to the tub. And at 1:55 a.m., I gave birth to a baby girl, in the water and almost unassisted.

If I could redo it, I would !

The wise woman did not intervene at any time, she just measured my baby’s heartbeat every hour. My partner was very close to me, he massaged and comforted me. What’s great about the birth center is that once you’ve chosen your project, you can’t change your mind, except in an emergency. By the way, at one point I said I wanted an epidural, but the midwife reassured me, because she saw that I still had a lot of resources. I gave birth around 2 a.m. the three of us spent the night in the room, we ate at noon and at 15 pm we left. I found this release early… But I’m happy to have given birth like this. And if I had to do it again, I would do it again. ” the

Interview by Hélène Bour

Marie-Laure: “Right after birth, I felt invincible.”

 “I gave birth at 2:45 in the morning, squatting in the tub, Monday May 16, surrounded by Marjolaine, my midwife and my husband. Elvia, 3,7 kg at birth, did not scream. It only took four contractions to get her out. And by noon, we were home. It turned out as I imagined. At the time of expulsion, the strength of the body is impressive! I have read a lot about the adrenaline rush when the baby pushes; in fact, it mostly burns. Right after the birth I felt invincible, like a warrior. I’m so happy to have lived it, it made sense. The pain is bearable when you are prepared.

I wanted a less medicalized childbirth

I have bad memories of my first childbirth… This time, I acted not to relive a medicalized trigger. As the term approaches, I walked quite a bit and did acupuncture for cervical ripening. Results ? Elvia was born the day before the theoretical term. I didn’t know anyone who had given birth here. I inquired on the web. In 2011, I attended an information meeting at Calm (1). That day, I said to myself: the dream place exists! Here there is a real relationship of trust. Marjolaine asked me straight away if I was in agreement or not for having a vaginal examination, for example. Here, we learn that childbirth is a physiological process, that it is possible to be active at this time. Except for the ultrasounds, taken in a private practice, I did not see a doctor during my pregnancy. With the midwives of Calm, the consultations are not closer but longer, 1 hour 30 to 2 hours! I appreciated this personalization. At each consultation, we feel welcomed, in a family atmosphere. During the birth, Marjolaine was very present. She was listening regular heartbeat, she massaged me just above the pelvis, she adapted all the time. The more the work went on, the more I felt I needed her. I helped myself by taking out the sounds to relax the pelvis area. By vocalizing, I went up too much in the treble and she brought me back to the bass sounds. I was in awe of his composure, as I was overwhelmed by the force of contractions uterine. When each arrived, my husband grabbed my hand! I was talking to Elvia, encouraging her to come down. At the time, we do not think, we are in a bubble, it is very animal. If we are thirsty, we can drink, if we want to get out of the water, we do it. At one point, I couldn’t take the water anymore! I went out to do suspensions. I have alternated with several positions. During labor, I did not ask about dilation. Marjolaine looked once. During a postnatal visit, she told me that three quarters of an hour before the birth, I was only at 6. The day after the birth, I had a visit from Marjolaine, then Thursday and Saturday. I feel less tired than for the first childbirth. We recover much better without chemicals in the body! ” the

Interview by Christine Cointe

(1) For more information: http://www.mdncalm.org