Linda,Thank you again, so much! Ellison and I adore telling our birth story – especially when our expecting friend want to hear something besides a horror story! One of our friends is even taking a Bradley class now! We can’t wait to do it again in a few years.:) We will see you in the future when we stop by Mary’s shop.Stephenie B.
After 2 highly “invasive” pregnancies, I decided if I ever became pregnant again I would seek out a place where I could birth my baby naturally. Upon finding out the news that I indeed was pregnant again I sought out a nurse midwife in the hospital where I had given birth before. Upon explaining my desires for a natural unmedicated birth she smiled and told me that once a woman has an induction she is usually unable to handle anything else. She was very pushy about all prenatal testing because I am in my early 30s. She also kept referring to my option to terminate the pregnancy should there be a problem which was very offensive to me as we believe that each child is a special gift from God and is therefore meant to be!
Finally through a series of events we decided that I would travel from our midwestern home to South Carolina and stay with my parents throughout the final months of my pregnancy and use a birthing center which are unheard of in our hometown area. Upon arrival and checking out the different options we “fell in love” with Linda and Amy and even though they were a good hour and a half away decided they were the ones we would use. I had always dreamed of a water birth and their center had the perfect setup! Because of my previous experiences with birth which had included preterm labor, steroids for the babies etc. we made 4 (yes 4!) trips to the center which ended up being false alarms. I was always treated with the utmost care and respect and never felt stupid at each “event”. When the real thing came along we almost did not make it in time, but God indeed is good! Our beautiful precious perfect baby girl arrived a mere 17 minutes after we arrived in the water as I had hoped. We spent a few hours there adjusting and making sure everything was ok then were back in our own comfortable home setting right at 6 hours after we left and before our older children awakened. I will always treasure this event as a dream come true and will continue highly recommending these two wonderful midwives who help it all happen!
If some one had told me 5 years ago that I would give birth without medications, outside of a hospital, and in water, I would have told them they were insane. That is why I don’t even know where to start to thank you for the care provided for me during my pregnancy, labor and delivery. When I began investigating using a midwife for my delivery, my motivation was purely selfish, but the more I learned about the effects of medication on not only me, but my baby, the more seriously I took the decision that I had made. You and Amy guided me down that road- which was very scary at times since I knew no one else who had gone down the same path- with such kindness and gentleness and I know now that I could never give birth differently.
I know that all the compliments I receive on Lilah’s alertness and interactiveness are due to the instruction from you, Amy, and Mary. I wish that all women who have babies could have my experience, because I know no one who has had such an easy pregnancy or delivery. I owe a lot of that to you three.
I hope you enjoy this little gift- it certainly isn’t what I owe you for all you’ve given me, but I hope you like it. It came with a quote from St Augustine that said, “Every visible thing in this world is put in the charge of an angel.” Surely, you and Amy are angels of pregnant women and their babies. God bless you for your service to us and Him.
After 2 years and 10 months of marriage, my husband and I found out we were expecting. I always new that I wanted a Midwife to deliver my baby. At the time, I was going to a regular Ob-gyn office and was seeing a Midwife there, but when I was told that she would only be able to do my prenatal and not deliver my baby, I was very disappointed. I immediately discussed things with my husband and started searching elsewhere. In the meantime, we knew that if we were going to have a Natural Childbirth that we need to take some sort of Childbirth class.
We took the Bradley Childbirth Class at the Labor of love Birth Center. Our instructor was the one who told us about the Birth Center and the Midwives Linda and Amy. After talking with her I immediately contacted them and they began seeing me when I was 5 months along. I appreciated both of them so much for all the information that they gave, anywhere from my nutrition to exercise. Since I was a first time mom I needed to know these things. They were always there anytime I needed them, and on November 29th 2008, I had a healthy baby boy! I appreciate everything about the Birth Center and am so thankful to Linda and Amy for being the wonderful Midwives that they are. We will definitely use them again in the future and recommend them for any couples wishing to have Natural Childbirth.
When my husband and I found out that we were expecting three months after our wedding, we were in shock! That was something we had not planned for and had been trying to prevent. Since we were new to everything- marriage, pregnancy, children- we simply went with what we knew, and that was the obstetrician. We decided to learn more about pregnancy and childbirth, so we took a childbirth education class for twelve weeks, and after that, we knew that we wanted to have a normal, unmedicated birth experience. We took our birth plan to our doctors and they basically told us that our goals and expectations were unreasonable. After some discussion, a hard look at the available options, and a referral from a good friend, we decided to interview Linda Weaver. I only had a few weeks before my estimated due date, so we acted quickly and Linda agreed to accept us into hers and Amy’s practice. Four weeks later, we called to let them know that I was in labor.
They arrived at our home shortly thereafter and I embarked on the hardest, most exciting, empowering experience of my life. With my husband by my side, and our midwives at his, I worked harder and longer than I ever had before. Linda and Amy just knew what to do when we were at a loss for ideas- they had comfort techniques, massage ideas, soothing words, and essential oils to ease my discomfort. After I pushed out my beautiful 7lb 2oz baby girl, they were there almost imperceptibly, in the background allowing us to savor this accomplishment and enjoy the first moments of our daughter’s life. After she was established as an excellent nurser, they asked my permission to take her to the foot of the bed to do her newborn exam. I couldn’t believe they asked permission! They weighed and measured her efficiently so that I could have her back in my arms. As I looked around, Linda and Amy were cleaning up, doing the laundry, and answering my many questions. They stayed at our home for several hours just to make sure we were okay. About ten months later, I called Linda to let her know that we were expecting again! After the congratulations were out of the way, the reality set in. I was going to do this a second time!!! I had my first prenatal appointment around 10 weeks gestation. My appointment was at 10:00am and I was seen at 10:00am! My time with Linda lasted for an entire hour. We spent half of that time discussing my shock at being pregnant again, my concerns about being a mom to two children, and how sick I had been for several weeks. Then we listened for the baby’s heartbeat, checked for glucose and protein, and measured my blood pressure. We followed the same format for the next six months- during each visit time was taken to assess how I was doing emotionally as well as physically. The experience was so different from the OB’s office, where I waited for two hours each month to be seen by a hurried doctor for five minutes. I felt like I was cared for, loved, supported, and nurtured for the entirety of my pregnancy by my midwives. They gave me exactly what I needed to make it through many long weeks of morning sickness, backpain, and emotional issues. When they said that they were only a phone call away, I tested it, and they were! At 39 weeks and 4 days, I called Linda and Amy to let them know that I was in labor. They arrived at my home at 11:40pm and my second daughter arrived at 12:22am- and my husband caught her! Because that was important to him, Linda and Amy made that a priority… as my daughter was crowning, Linda scooted over and told Todd to come closer. He said, “I’m scared,” and she said, “we’ll do this together.” So, with her hands guiding his, Todd was the first to touch our baby, and he brought her to my breast. It was precious. I have to say that even though it is incredibly hard work, there is nothing like having the freedom to do as you choose during the most rewarding experience of your life. There is a choice now to have a birth experience that is free from tubes, needles, and machines, belts, scalpels, and gurneys; where you are free to labor how you choose, in whatever place or position you choose; where your choices and your time are respected, your needs are met, and your expectations are exceeded. My choice was Labors of Love!