Juneau Family Health and Birth Center

I had every intention of having a natural birth at the birth center in Juneau. Unfortunately...my baby didn't have the same plan.

I did all of my prenatal work at the birth center and was so excited to work with the midwives. They were great and really listened to my concerns and took their time with me.

When it came to the birth portion...that was a different story. It was a difficult labor, complete with vomiting throughout. My poor husband was the target of most of my vomiting sessions because, no matter how many times I told the midwives I was going to throw-up, they never seemed to get that receptacle to me in time. After long hours and trying different position while pushing, I became exhausted. It was then suggested to me that I should try the "birth bar". I ponied up to that "birth bar" with everything I had left in me and started to feel weak and light-headed (could it
have been from the dehydration?). I informed the midwives that I felt as though I may pass out, but they told me to "power through it". Just then, I fell backwards...head toward the birth tub. I woke up and looked into my husband's furious eyes. I could tell he was upset.

I ended up being in labor for 24 hours and pushed for nearly 7 of those hours. That's right...SEVEN!!I was so into getting my baby out that I had no idea how long it had been. From what I know now...no women should ever have to go through that. After these 24 hours of labor, one of the more experience midwives suggested it was time to go to the hospital. This meant that I had to walk out of the birth center while having back to back contractions with barely a breath in between. That's right! Their facility did not have a wheel chair. I had to walk out. I thought I was going to have my baby in the hallway on the way out of the Center. Once to the hospital, they made sure I was pushing hard enough (which was soon very obvious). They then rushed me into the OR for a a C-section and out came our beautiful and perfect baby. I was so relieved!

Later on, one of the midwives suggested to me that I didn't push hard enough during my labor and that was why I had so much difficulty (even though the doctor at the hospital told me my pelvis was too narrow for the baby to pass). The blame was put on me and I was furious. To put more salt on the wound, our insurance, payment and refund was a nightmare. I paid for the birth a month before I went into labor and didn't get reimbursed until 5 MONTHS LATER. I should also add that they went through 3 different billing people while I was associated with the Center. Each time they hired a new person, they had no idea who I was or what I had paid. Very frustrating.

Now I do want to add that many people I know had perfect births at the Center and loved it there. I was not one of those people and felt that I needed to share my story. I am completely for a natural birth and it should be done whenever possible. Sometimes you have to know when to give up (before 7 hours of pushing).