| Midwifery Care Associates Simmonds and Simmonds, Chartered Phone: (240) 514-0140 Fax: (240) 514-0148 Email: cnm@midwiferycareassociates.com |
| 11301 Rockville Pike, 3rd Floor North Bethesda, MD 20895 (in the White Flint Mall) ~ 77 Thomas Johnson Drive, Suite H Frederick, MD 21702 |
| "Certified Nurse Midwives offering respectful, competent, gentle health care to women throughout their lives" |
| Homepage Meet the Midwives History of MCA Forms, Links, and Handouts Consulting Physicians Birth Stories Shady Grove Hospital |
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| Victoria was born at 6:32 p.m. to her very tired parents with the support of the phenomenal midwife. It was a fantastic birth and we are so grateful to the midwives for the wonderful care we all received prior to her delivery. We picked the name Victoria (during labor!) without really thinking about the meaning. Having since learned that her name means "victory," it is exactly how we felt about her birth and her presence in our family. Victoria is the baby that we never thought we would be so lucky to have. With our first child (now 4 years old), we had an easy and worry free pregnancy. His birth, however, was not what we desired. Under the care of a fairly controlling OB/GYN, his labor and delivery occurred in a tense and sometimes hostile environment. We knew that the next time around we wanted to give birth with the assistance of midwives. However, having a second child proved more challenging than we imagined. Two and a half years after our son's birth, I had my right ovary removed because of a precancerous tumor. Nearly three years after his birth, I became pregnant again, only to have the pregnancy end in a second trimester miscarriage. Just before we became pregnant with Victoria, doctors discovered a suspicious cyst on my left ovary. It was not exactly a worry-free start to the pregnancy. Throughout her pregnancy, I was routinely monitored and scanned for the possibility of having surgery to remove the cyst, as well as the fear that this pregnancy would also end in miscarriage. As I entered the third trimester, our worries about the viabiliy of the pregnancy subsided, but my blood pressure began to creep upward at each visit. At my final prenatal visit (one week overdue) my blood pressure reached a new and troubling high, so we proceeded to Shady Grove that night to be induced. At 9 a.m. the next morning, I began receiving pitocin to get labor kick-started. After 6 hours of laboring with the pitocin gradually being increased (and feeling minimal pain), I had finally dilated enough that my water could be broken. Once my water was broken, things happened quite quickly. I began to feel stronger contractions, but because of the support of the midwife and my husband, I was able to control the pain. Around 6:20 in the evening my contractions were quite strong and I was actually 7 cm at this point. We had no idea that only 3 or 4 strong contractions would deliver Victoria 12 minutes later. I am quite proud of the fact that I had pitocin during the whole labor and did not need pain medications. Overall, it was a beautiful birh. I was engaged and present in her arrival and felt loved and supported the whole time. I believe Victoria came into this world in the best possible environment and I am so proud that we were able to give her the gift of a beautiful arrival. Midwives are my heroes! |
| Victoria, 7/12/07 |