I cannot say enough good things about my natural birth experience at The Natural BirthHouse! The midwives truly supported, educated and empowered my husband and me throughout pregnancy, labor and postpartum.

When it comes to natural birth, I knew I was physically capable because I had a natural birth at the hospital just three years ago. But, this time, I wanted a more comfortable experience. I didn’t quite know what that meant, but I just knew there had to be a better way. Here how The Natural BirthHouse provided that to me:

– Personalized Care: Every appointment was exclusively with my midwife (I had two, Midwife Jamie & Midwife Tesa) who focused on me and my baby. No waiting 15 minutes to see an OB for a rushed 5-minute visit that felt impersonal and frankly, kind of a waste of time. Instead, each visit was 30-45 minutes of time well spent! They would take measurement and ask questions and go on to provide helpful information. I got to know each midwife well and I learned a lot of new things even though I did this only 3 years ago!

– If/when I needed it, a referral to Acadiana ObGyn was made and their staff was also just fabulous.

– My husband came along to the appointments and also felt well informed prior to the delivery. He also got to catch our son!!

Throughout labor and delivery, the midwives struck the perfect balance of giving us space and offering support. I wasn’t attached to a single machine. I could walk around. I could snack. I was able to rest. In fact, I was relaxed and laughing with my husband up until it was time to push. It was definitely the more comfortable experience I was looking for.

When my baby arrived, my husband caught him, announced we had a son, and the midwives where there helping him hand him to me. Shortly after the birth, the midwives had to closely monitor our son’s breathing due to an unusually high respiratory rate. They did everything they could to help him regulate, which allowed us the opportunity to stay skin to skin and bond while they worked with him. We were able to keep him close while we ate, laughed and rested in the early postpartum hours under their care. The team was with me with the perfect amount of space of being diligent about his care but also stepping back and letting us bond as a family. Ultimately, we needed to transfer to the hospital and spent a week in the NICU- a circumstance that would have occurred in either birth setting and was actually diagnosed as a common respiratory issue seen in newborn boys. 

Regardless, I appreciated the time we spent together as The BirthHouse that we likely would not have had together so early on with a planned hospital birth. I am so grateful to not only my midwives but also the incredible NICU team who worked to provide valuable information and support for us to continue to make the right decisions for my son. Even while in NICU, my midwives checked on us every since day and now that we are home together, they continue to check on us. It’s been so wonderful.

To Midwives Tesa, Jamie, Kira & to Lani, one of the student midwives who participated in our experience, I cannot say thank you enough for all of your support throughout our journey. Ya’ll helped make this whole experience extra special and I’m so grateful to have made the switch to The BirthHouse and have you with us every step of the way!

To future moms out there who are considering a natural birth, I’m happy to answer your questions. If you’re lucky enough to be local to consider delivering at The BirthHouse, I’d be happy to discuss my experience with you from both the hospital and birth center perspective. Feel free to reach out!