It’s National Midwifery Week. To highlight the work of a midwife, we talked with our moms who recently gave birth. Here, they share their experience in their own words.
Jaime Pellegrene, 37, recently gave birth to her third child, Isabelle, who is 6 weeks old. She worked with Debra Stealey, CNM.
Was this your first time working with a midwife? I had met with Deb several times throughout all of my pregnancies but delivered with my primary doctor for my first two births. Deb was very involved in the birth of our daughter in August, and she and my doctor delivered her.
How did you settle on a midwife? Although my husband and I decided to keep our doctor as our primary care provider, I liked the idea of having a midwife involved on a personal level. Deb said that she tried to deliver all of her patient’s babies, unlike the doctors in the practice that delivered under an on-call schedule. Building a trusting relationship with the person who you see for prenatal care, and that will also be there for the birth of the baby was important to me.
I was hoping for a water birth this time, and I felt confident in Deb’s skills and experience. My doctor had never done a water birth, so Deb had agreed to come to our birth and be there to help us all.
How’d the delivery go? The delivery went very well. Both my doctor and Deb were there to support me with guiding patience. Deb was confident in her own skills, took charge, and allowed my baby and me to work together to bring her into the world, without intervention.
Is there anything else you’d like to share about your experience? I made a vision board a few months ago that I looked at on a daily basis to help prepare me mentally for the birth and also use as a focal point during the birth. I think it really helped!
