Birth Stories

After the traumatic birth of my first daughter, I desired a birth where I was in control of my care, with the support of people who believe that pregnancy and labor are not medical conditions that need to be dealt with. The birth of my second daughter was better and made me see it was possible, but I hadn’t fully achieved it. When I found out I was pregnant with my third daughter, I knew immediately that I wanted to have her at the new Birth Center of Baton Rouge. I went to every informational meeting, open house, and class they offered. Daniel and I met with the midwives and the rest of the staff, and we knew that...

I'm a researcher and planner by nature. I genuinely enjoy it! I like being prepared and informed and knowing as much as I can before something comes my way. So of course when I found I was pregnant, it was ON. I consumed every article and blog post I could get my hands on like a crazy person. "How to Survive Your First Trimester" turned into "Breastfeeding Basics" and then to "What to Pack in Your Hospital Bag" and "What You Need to Know About Labor & Delivery". I was ready and waiting for labor. I knew that there were things I couldn't prepare for, but I honestly felt like there wasn't much that was going to be able...

Each year around Labor Day, approximately 115 cities around the country hold the Rally to Improve Birth sponsored by ImprovingBirth.org. This year, Baton Rouge held it's 3rd annual rally, and I was lucky to be invited to participate as a co-coordinator along with Hannah Birchman (mother of 6 and Coordinator of the Baton Rouge Chapter of the International Cesarean Awareness Network) and Amy Shamburger (mother of 3 and Administrator of the Louisiana Natural Birth group). More than 135 men, women, and children fought the heat and came together to "stand in support of evidence based maternity care and the right of women to make their own informed decisions about how to give birth". 2014 Rally Coordinators and speakers Photo courtesy of...

It's that time again! That time when your ovaries start aching and you stay up all night looking through pictures of squishy newborns while secretly pulling out old baby clothes from the attic (just me? wow, that's embarrassing, moving on...) In case you haven't noticed, there are a lot of pregnant mommas up in the Red Stick! So, while I stare at pictures of my old baby bellies and stuff my face with coffee flavored ice cream, I'm going to try, for a brief minute, to get a hold of myself and focus on all the awesome things about being not pregnant (because let's face it, there are lots of really awesome things!) #1. Drink up! Yeah, the inevitable act of...

Our birth stories don’t all begin the moment we bring our children into the world. For me, it began in high school with a moment imprinted on my heart forever: staring at my doctor’s face as she said, “You have endometriosis. Having children will be very, very difficult for you.” From that moment on, I had resolved in my heart that I would never be the one thing I always wanted to be...a mother. Fast-forward five years later after only two months of marriage and seeing those two pink lines, it was instant amazement, awe, wonder, and excitement. With my first pregnancy, I suffered from hyperemesis gravidarum, sporadic bleeding, gestational diabetes, preterm labor at 28 weeks, and prodromal labor that...