Carly's Story

Carly lives in downtown St. Paul, so St. Joseph’s Hospital was an obvious choice for its convenient location. But for Carly, there was definitely more to the decision. She had been born by Cesarean section 27 years ago in southwestern Minnesota, and afterwards her mother worked hard to combat the lack of VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean) support at the time. She raised Carly’s awareness of midwife-assisted delivery, and when it came time for Carly herself to deliver her first baby in 2007, avoiding a C-section if at all possible was high on her priority list.

Carly knew that St. Joseph’s Hospital has the lowest rate of C-section delivery of any  metro area hospital (11.3 percent compared with a  national average of 30.2 percent*) and that mattered to her. “I chose a hospital that was known for its low Cesarean rate. That was the main consideration for me. Then we chose our midwife based on where we wanted to have the baby.”

Carly and her husband Matt took time to familiarize themselves with the maternity care center before the big day. “We took our birth classes at St. Joseph’s and also did the birth open house,” she recalls. “We really got comfortable with the staff. Everyone was so terrific. They really believed in the ability of a woman’s body to do this naturally, without intervention in most cases.”

Two weeks past her due date, labor started around midnight. By the time Carly got to the hospital at 2:00 am she was already six centimeters dilated and she labored in the waterbirthing tub for about an hour. “That was incredible,” she remembers. “I didn’t want an epidural, and the water was just incredibly comforting.”

She would have liked to deliver in the tub, but as the labor grew more prolonged and difficult she had to consider other options. “I pushed for five or six hours,” says Carly. “It was difficult but everyone was incredible, helping me to try different positions, letting me stick with it as long as I could. It was a great team. The nurse, the midwife and my doula all worked together really well and never left my side.”

Her son Calder is living proof that sometimes babies just do what they’re going to do, no matter what our plans are. In the end, Carly did have a C-section. But she felt so supported throughout the whole process that she wasn’t upset with that outcome.

“Even though that wasn’t how I wanted it to happen, it felt okay,” she says. “They really supported my choice for as long as possible. Knowing I had such good care at St. Joseph’s, I was at peace with how it turned out.”

* Source: Centers for Disease Control National Center for Health Statistics report Vol. 54, No. 4 and Nov. 2006 CDC Release

Jennifer's Story

“The choice of where to give birth was a very important decision for my husband and me,” says Jennifer of Saint Paul. “We knew we could choose the midwife to attend the birth, but that person might not be on call when it came time to deliver. “But the hospital where I’d deliver would be a given, so we really wanted to pick a place that we could trust with the vision of the birth that we wanted to have,” she says. “We didn’t take that decision lightly.”

Living on the East Side of Saint Paul, they were conveniently close to St. Joseph’s Hospital. “But even if it hadn’t been our local hospital, we would have gone out of our way to choose St. Joseph’s,” says Jennifer. “There was just no place else that fit as well for us.”

Jennifer and her husband chose the Maternity Care Center at St. Joseph’s Hospital because of its reputation for being very friendly for the natural birth process. “They have the lowest c-section rate in the metro by far, and that was a huge thing for me,” she says. “That just told me that their staff is very experienced and very open to letting things happen as naturally as possible.”

She was drawn to St. Joseph’s because of its waterbirth facility, and the staff’s experience with a technique known as hypnobirthing. “It’s a series of classes that HealthEast offers,” Jennifer explains. “They help you learn how to bring yourself into a state of deep relaxation to allow your body to do what it does naturally.”

You can hear the smile in Jennifer’s voice when she recalls the night her daughter came into the world. “It was wonderful. We had a beautiful birth. I had a very brief labor – the whole thing was only about six hours long. I went into labor about 9:30 at night, and just stayed home with my husband using the hypnobirthing techniques, which included deep breathing and some visualization. We stayed home until about 12:30 in the morning, and then went to the hospital.”

When she arrived at the hospital, things were moving along: she was already eight centimeters dilated. “They were trying to hurry up and fill up the waterbirth tub because they didn’t expect me to be that far along! But the staff was very calm and friendly and happy, very warm,” she remembers. “They did whatever my husband and I needed to be comfortable.”

HealthEast certified nurse midwives have embraced waterbirthing as a calming, natural option for many. Jennifer describes her experience. “We moved into the waterbirth room, and it was so nice and relaxing. It was very comforting for my body to be in the warm water.” The midwife arrived and a few hours later Jennifer’s daughter was born at 2:59.

Thanks to the support she received at St. Joseph’s Hospital, Jennifer says she was able to enjoy the whole labor experience. “I really felt like I could do anything and everything I needed to be comfortable. Having that freedom and that trust was essential to having the birth that I did, because had I not felt safe in the environment of the Maternity Care Center, there’s no way I could have relaxed and given birth so naturally and quickly."

Lia and her husband had all three of their babies at St. Joseph’s Hospital. “I’m kind of a city girl, so I figured I’d go to a city hospital. I asked my physician for his recommendation. Even though he’s not a HealthEast employee he told me that St. Joseph’s is hands down the best place to have your baby. He said it was a smaller unit, but the experience there was so wonderful that I’d get the best care there imaginable.
And I did.”

With her first child, labor came on in the middle of the night. “The night nurse wrapped me in a heated blanket, and gave one to my husband as well,” remembers Lia. “She made every effort to alleviate my concerns and make us comfortable.”

The personal commitment and attention of the nurses at St. Joseph’s stands out in Lia’s mind. “The baby was born during the shift change, but my day nurse stayed because she wanted to see me through. I really felt that they cared about my outcome.”

For her second child, Lia was induced a little early because she had a leak in the amniotic fluid. “They were very kind when I came in as an unexpected delivery,” she says. With her third, she remembers the kindness of the nurse overseeing her release. “When I was getting wheeled out, my other two kids wanted to ride in the wheelchair. The nurse went and got this really big one that we could all fit into. I thanked her for being so kind and going out of her way, but she said it was the least she could do to help create that special memory for them.”

Lia really felt the staff cared about her, from the labor and delivery nurses who supported her throughout the childbirth process, to the post-partum nurses who helped acclimate her to new motherhood. “I felt like there was a genuine compassion and interest to my story,” she says. "They see thousands of patients, but they somehow manage to make you feel like an individual, like you are important and completely in the spotlight during your time there.”

Being in the spotlight didn't diminish how soothing she found St. Joseph’s environment. “The atmosphere there is really calm and relaxing,” she describes. “The décor of the rooms is nicely done. You stay in the same room the whole time, and it’s sort of like your own cozy little alcove. They treated my husband so well, too. The would bring him bedding and water, really wanted to make sure he was comfortable as well. The whole place is just very peaceful, with soft voices and a really welcoming atmosphere.”

She appreciated the one-on-one care of the nurses. “The physician is important, of course. But the nurses are with you the whole time. They give you ideas for what can make your labor more comfortable, how you can move things along. They’ve seen hundreds of deliveries, so there’s pretty much nothing they haven’t seen and no question is new to them. They’re just there to make it better for you.”

Brenda's Story

Brenda worked in health care during the years her children were born, so she knew a lot about the choices of hospitals available to her. “The reason I chose St. Joseph’s was because I just felt really comfortable with their nursing staff,” she says. “I had a lot of confidence that I wasn’t getting rookies. They seemed like they knew what they were doing and they’d seen everything.”

It also seemed to Brenda that the HealthEast maternity staff loved their profession and were in it for a reason. “After my babies were born, each time a nurse came into the room they’d make some kind of personal connection with the child or with me,” recalls Brenda. “They would notice little things – like the unique shape of my son’s pinkie fingers. They paid attention to those little details, like they were truly sharing in the joy of the situation, not simply delivering another baby.”

Waterbirth wasn’t an option for Brenda when her daughter Lauren was born in 1998. But when Charlie came along in 2001, Brenda found herself glad that the Maternity Care Center supported that birthing option. “I wasn’t actually planning on a waterbirth with Charlie. I thought it sounded a little too ‘out there’ for me,” she admits. Her first labor and delivery had been quite easy, so she didn’t think she would need it. But with Charlie she experienced back labor and the midwife suggested she try the tub. “Wow!” she remembers. “It was so peaceful. It took a lot of my pain away. I didn’t want any pain medication, so that was a big benefit.”

Brenda agrees that the model of care at St. Joseph’s seems to be one in which they truly try to honor your individual birth choices. She talks about the experience she had with her third child.

“My midwife and nurse knew that I had done two previous labors without pain medication, and that I really wanted to keep it that way,” she says. “When I started asking for it about halfway through with my third, they really worked with me to try to honor what they knew were my strong wishes about staying medication-free. We sort of negotiated, and I ended up getting half the dose. They really were trying to hold fast to what I said I wanted.”

When it came right down to it, it was the experience and compassion of the nurses that drew Brenda to St. Joseph’s for the births of all three of her children. “It just felt like the right place to be.”

Carly's Story

Carly lives in downtown St. Paul, so St. Joseph’s Hospital was an obvious choice for its convenient location. But for Carly, there was definitely more to the decision. She had been born by Cesarean section 27 years ago in southwestern Minnesota, and afterwards her mother worked hard to combat the lack of VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean) support at the time. She raised Carly’s awareness of midwife-assisted delivery, and when it came time for Carly herself to deliver her first baby in 2007, avoiding a C-section if at all possible was high on her priority list.

Carly knew that St. Joseph’s Hospital has the lowest rate of C-section delivery of any  metro area hospital (11.3 percent compared with a  national average of 30.2 percent*) and that mattered to her. “I chose a hospital that was known for its low Cesarean rate. That was the main consideration for me. Then we chose our midwife based on where we wanted to have the baby.”

Carly and her husband Matt took time to familiarize themselves with the maternity care center before the big day. “We took our birth classes at St. Joseph’s and also did the birth open house,” she recalls. “We really got comfortable with the staff. Everyone was so terrific. They really believed in the ability of a woman’s body to do this naturally, without intervention in most cases.”

Two weeks past her due date, labor started around midnight. By the time Carly got to the hospital at 2:00 am she was already six centimeters dilated and she labored in the waterbirthing tub for about an hour. “That was incredible,” she remembers. “I didn’t want an epidural, and the water was just incredibly comforting.”

She would have liked to deliver in the tub, but as the labor grew more prolonged and difficult she had to consider other options. “I pushed for five or six hours,” says Carly. “It was difficult but everyone was incredible, helping me to try different positions, letting me stick with it as long as I could. It was a great team. The nurse, the midwife and my doula all worked together really well and never left my side.”

Her son Calder is living proof that sometimes babies just do what they’re going to do, no matter what our plans are. In the end, Carly did have a C-section. But she felt so supported throughout the whole process that she wasn’t upset with that outcome.

“Even though that wasn’t how I wanted it to happen, it felt okay,” she says. “They really supported my choice for as long as possible. Knowing I had such good care at St. Joseph’s, I was at peace with how it turned out.”

* Source: Centers for Disease Control National Center for Health Statistics report Vol. 54, No. 4 and Nov. 2006 CDC Release

Sarah's Story

Sarah had high expectations for her maternity care at St. Joseph’s Hospital – and she wasn’t disappointed. “I like the less interventional approach the nurse midwife program uses,” shares Sarah. “Because I wanted to focus on a natural birth experience, I chose to begin my prenatal care with a certified nurse midwife at HealthEast Macalester/Groveland Clinic. And I also know how dedicated and experienced the entire Maternity Care nursing staff is at St. Joseph’s Hospital. I knew I would be in good hands.”

Her first son, Collin, was born at St. Joseph’s Hospital in January 2005. “I had planned to go through labor and delivery with as little pain medication as possible,” says Sarah. However, 10 hours into an induced labor, she had second thoughts. “My midwife and nurses had been following my birth plan, which stated my desire for a medication-free birth. But as my labor progressed, I changed my mind and was able to get the pain relief an epidural had to offer.”

Sarah’s water broke early in her labor with Colin and because of the amount of time that had elapsed, a Cesarean section was discussed. As it turned out, Sarah’s midwife guided her through the delivery without the need for a C-section. After a long labor, Collin arrived safely at 7 pounds, 13 ounces.

With pregnancy No. 2, Sarah found herself overdue by eight days in early October 2007. “I wanted to go into labor by myself and, preferably, have a waterbirth,” says Sarah. “Anne Johnson and Lisa Mattke, the midwives who cared for me during labor and birth, provided so much reassurance and comfort. They were both very calming and supportive.”

Sarah was able to labor for several hours in the waterbirthing tub, which helped to minimize her pain and relax her. Towards the end of a 14-hour labor, Sarah opted for an epidural, which prevented her from having a waterbirth. “Having options for managing my pain was important to me,” she says. “And even though I wasn’t able to have a waterbirth, when Levi finally arrived on October 7, 2007, weighing in at 8-1/2 pounds, I was most satisfied with the choice I had made. The births of my sons are two of the most important moments of my life and I am so thankful for the wonderful care I received!”

Barry, Sarah’s husband, couldn’t agree more. “Barry was so grateful for having midwives actively involved in the birth of both our sons,” says Sarah. “Partners benefit just as much – or more – from the reassurance nurse midwives bring to the birthing experience.” At first he had his doubts about traveling all the way to downtown St. Paul, she admits. “We live up in the north Metro, and the first time around he couldn’t believe we were going to drive so far to have this baby in the middle of winter. But I just felt really strongly that it was the right place for us. I don’t think I would feel as comfortable going anywhere else.”