When my husband and I found out we were pregnant (with our first child), we decided from day one that we would be doing a natural birth using a birthing center because neither of us were fans of hospitals and like so many people, were warned about the dangers of hospital interventions and how the statistics for Cesarean births were high. When my water broke at one in the morning, three days before the due date, we were on the clock because the birth center would only let us labor for 36 hours before sending us to the hospital. We did everything we could from castor oil to herb concoctions to breast pumping on and off every 20 minutes. The stress was mounting as I approached the 30-hour mark. At only 3 cm dilated a hospital birth was quickly becoming our reality. My husband and I went for a walk and had a hard look at what really mattered in the moment. After lots of tears, we came to terms with the fact that we needed to do what was best for the baby and me. We decided to leave the birth center and go to the hospital.
When we arrived at the maternity level of the parking garage one of the staff members offered her assistance to help us get to check-in where we were greeted pleasantly by the front office employees. As we were admitted and placed in triage my contractions had begun chaining together leaving me all but frozen in pain. The nursing staff worked quickly and kindly allowing me time to collect myself between contractions to answer questions and be assessed. Within the hour, we made our way to the delivery room where we met Blakely.
Blakely (AKA Nurse Cold Hands) greeted us with a calm and confident demeanor while taking control of the situation. She made us feel this was as important to her as it was to us, never diminishing the unique experience we were about to share. She listened to everything we had been through and understood our fears of having a hospital birth. She was such a breath of fresh air. Not only did she answer all our questions but she took the time to involve us in her process and explained to us, in ways we understood, what she was doing, looking for and why. We were never treated as "just a patient" and the fact that she took the time to build our trust speaks volumes. Blakely made sure my comfort was top priority while keeping us well-informed. She ended up being our best advocate, so much so we sent the birth center doula home.
The time of delivery caught everyone off guard as we thought we would be laboring into the night but ended up being just a few hours later. With every push, she became our biggest cheerleader and you could feel the excitement in the room. Our little guy was out within the hour and all of our wishes had been honored. I was able to have immediate skin-to-skin contact, my husband was able to cut the umbilical cord, and we were given ample time before they began his weights and measurements.
It was Blakely's attention to detail and patient care that turned this into one of the best experiences that we never thought imaginable. Even when her shift was over, she stayed with us for a little bit to make sure our needs were met and to introduce us to the night shift. Even though all of the staff members displayed quality care, we cannot thank Blakely enough for making this such a positive and memorable experience.