OKLAHOMA CITY – Chassidy Howard’s dream birth experience recently came true when she delivered her first child, Josephina Marie, at Mercy Hospital Oklahoma City – the first birth to take place in the hospital’s low-intervention birth unit at the new Love Family Women’s Center.
A low-intervention birth, sometimes called a natural birth, is a delivery with little or no pain medicine. At Mercy’s Midwifery Birthing Center – part of the Love Family Women’s Center – a low-intervention birth involves a team of nurses and a midwife. The program is Oklahoma’s first hospital-based, low-intervention birthing center.
“I wanted a natural birth with a midwife because I was confident that my body could do what it was biologically made to do, and I wanted to have an empowering and positive birth,” said Howard, of Oklahoma City. “I also wanted a comfortable atmosphere with dim lighting, a smaller team, less medical equipment and an intimate, private birthing suite. If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn’t change a thing.”
About low-intervention births
Births at Mercy’s Midwifery Birthing Center are designed for low-risk pregnancies. This is determined based on the expectant parent’s health and the health of the baby during the pregnancy. Patients see the team at Mercy Clinic Midwifery – Love Family Women’s Center throughout their pregnancy, typically beginning at eight to 12 weeks.
In most cases, the expectant parent will see a midwife instead of an obstetrician/gynecologist (OB/GYN) unless there are potential complications during the pregnancy. Like any other pregnancy, the patient has regular checkups with the midwife, lab work and an ultrasound midway through the pregnancy.
Mercy’s certified nurse midwives, Carrie Culbertson and Rachel Sloan, hold advanced degrees, are certified by the American Midwifery Certification Board (AMCB) and have extensive labor and delivery experience. Like obstetricians, their care includes prenatal, childbirth, postpartum and newborn health services.
Three additional midwives are expected to join the clinic by the end of 2024.
A calm and empowering birth experience
Once labor begins, the patient will have access to one of four large labor and delivery suites at the Midwifery Birthing Center, each with a full-size bed and labor tub. If parent and baby are healthy after delivery, they can often go home the same day.
Howard appreciated having the comforts of home during her labor. She used many of the room’s amenities, including the shower, tub, birthing ball and large adjustable bed. When she arrived to the unit, she asked to dim the lights and change the color to pink in honor of her baby girl.
She opted for hypnobirthing to manage pain during her delivery using relaxation, deep breathing and visualization techniques.
Howard said her birth experience was the perfect scenario – the delivery involved midwife Rachel Sloan in a home-like atmosphere just steps away from a higher level of care at the hospital in case of an emergency.
“Rachel and the team of nurses were extraordinary,” Howard said. “I was allowed to give birth the way I wanted to at my own pace. The team was helpful, patient, understanding and composed. For any other parents choosing a low-intervention birth with a midwife at Mercy, they are in caring and knowledgeable hands.”
Sloan was thrilled to care for Howard and baby Josephina. She’s been a midwife for nearly five years and says the excitement of delivering a baby never gets old.
“I enjoy seeing women turn into mothers right before my eyes,” Sloan said. “I like getting to know them and going on the journey with them. And it’s incredible to see the babies after they are born. They were just little peanuts on a screen when we started.”
Inside Mercy’s Love Family Women’s Center
In addition to the Midwifery Birthing Center, the Love Family Women’s Center features 15 large labor and delivery rooms, seven antepartum rooms, 47 postpartum rooms and three cesarean section rooms with pre- and post-operative recovery rooms.
There is also an obstetrics emergency department staffed by obstetricians who address urgent pregnancy-related concerns 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It is the first-of-its-kind obstetrics emergency department in Oklahoma City.
Learn more about the Mercy Clinic Midwifery – Love Family Women’s Center by clicking here or calling 405-752-3091. For more information about the Love Family Women’s Center at Mercy Hospital Oklahoma City, click here or call 405-755-1515.
Contact your insurance company to determine if midwife services are covered and if you need a referral to begin treatment.
