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BIRTH DAZE: (Left to right) Leigh Fransen, Christine Strothers, Damaris Pittman and Lisa Johnson
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"I know that if I had been in a hospital, things would've gone very, very differently intervention-wise," said Salina.
Founding midwife Strothers, who is a former labor and delivery registered nurse, agreed: "In a hospital, there's really not support for having a drug-free birth. It's kinda laughed at. It's like, 'Oh that person's a hippy. She's not gonna do it and wait until she starts having real labor.'
"I heard that all the time, and a lot of times the nurses didn't know how to handle it," she continued. "I can remember being asked to stay and work overtime because the nurses that were coming on had never worked with someone who hadn't had an epidural, even though they had worked in the hospital for years."
In Salina's case, intervention did go differently but in a natural way. The actively laboring mother walked, squatted, leaned against the wall and put one foot on a stool. She and her husband moved around the birth room quite a bit in an effort to encourage their daughter to drop into the birth canal. Salina says she kept eyeing Fransen to see if she was in danger, but she recalls that the midwife was not at all alarmed. That gave her comfort, and she and her husband kept up their breathing exercises and movement. Labor continued.
Just after 11:30 a.m., more than 25 hours into labor, Fransen suggested a reprieve.
"Salina, why don't you just lay down and try to get some sleep, if you can. Your body is completely exhausted."
Salina looked at the midwife quizzically but obeyed. She walked over to the bed and climbed in with her husband. By now, she was contracting every three to four minutes. But, within minutes of lying down, her water broke. Fifteen minutes later, standing in the birthing tub, Salina caught 9-pound, 4-ounce baby Amelia as she said hello for the very first time to the world.
"It was the greatest feeling of relief and reward," said Salina. "Just that moment made it worth it."
To learn more about the Carolina Community Maternity Center visit www.carolinabirth.org. And to connect with Salina, check out her blog that celebrates marriage, motherhood and the arts at www.ladylullabuy.wordpress.com.
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