Hadley's Birth

Birth Report

Parent’s Name: Chad & Rachel Staudacher
Baby’s Name & Birthday: Hadley Elise 10/12/2014 This Baby was our 3rd baby, and our 3rd home birth. Address: 1926 Summerset Dr, Muskegon MI 49442

Why did you choose to have your baby at home?
Home birth was an obvious choice for our family. It meshed incredibly well with our own personal beliefs about health and wellness, and allowed us the freedom to make our own educated decisions about the care that we would ultimately receive. The approach was focused on our family as a whole, and not just on momma and baby.

Describe your labor and birth.
This was my third baby, and I thought I knew what to expect. My first birth was like a marathon and my second like a sprint. I was two weeks past my “due date”, and had been having contractions for several weeks that felt like “real” labor. They would progress to a certain point and then just stop. I even called the midwives at one point and they came to our home because I thought I was in labor. But still no baby. On October 12th I was awakened by contractions at around 3am. They were intense and I just knew I was in active labor. I waited about 30 minutes and called my husband who was working, to tell him that he needed to come home. I started texting with Dorothy to let her know how I was doing and about my progress. About 4am we decided that the midwives should come. We were FINALLY going to have this baby. My contractions just kept getting stronger and longer. Everything was progressing really quickly. I was excited thinking that this birth would be like my last one. Nice and easy :). My husband arrived around 4:45am and sat with me and applied counter pressure to my back during contractions. The midwives all arrived shortly after 5am. Right before they got there I was starting to get the urge to push when I would have a contraction. I went into the bedroom and labored on the bed for awhile. They checked me at 5:30 and I was 9cms. I went into the bathroom at 5:50am and that’s when my water broke. I then went back into the bedroom and layed on the bed and started pushing for awhile. After awhile I could feel that when I was pushing the baby wasn’t moving downward. So Dorothy and I decided that I should try to stand or kneel. So I changed positions and pushed more. At 6:10am we discovered fresh meconium and so they checked me again and realized the baby was frank breech. We all were in total shock. The baby had been in what we thought was a head down position at all of my appointments, and we really had had no indications that this baby was breech, let alone frank breech. So all of the midwives had a very short discussion, and then we started talking about the options and risks associated with a breech birth. In spite of everything that was going on, everyone in the room was very calm the whole time, and I never felt like I couldn’t do it. I felt so supported and safe. I felt like I had all the info I needed to make a sound and informed decision even in the heat of the moment. I was unsure of what to do. I did not want a c- section, but I also didn’t want to entertain the possibility I could loose my baby. So we started just taking it one contraction at a time. I was mentally and emotionally prepared to push my baby out, but now I had to listen to Patrice and she said the safest thing to do was not to push. So I had to switch gears and refocus all of my energy. I would have a contraction and Patrice would tell me what was happening. This part went on for what seemed at the time, like FOREVER. The baby kept slowly and steadily moving down, and at 7:01am her butt was born. After several more really strong pushes she was born at 7:04am. She was very responsive and cried almost instantly. It was the most stressful and wonderful situation I have ever experienced.

What was your favorite part of your birth?
Finding out it was a girl! After having two beautiful little boys this was the most awesome surprise.

What would you have done differently if you had another baby?
Not a thing! Everyone always says “everything happens for a reason”, and this could not be more true.

How can we improve our services?
We have had absolutely no complaints with all three of our births. You all do such an amazing job and it has been a privilege getting to know each and everyone of you wonderful ladies. You truly helped change our lives! 🙂