Niki's Growing a Birth Center Together Fundraiser

Thank you all for checking out this fundraiser and considering helping us grow a birth center in Southern Indiana. 

If you don't want to read the novel below, the short summary is this: birth centers are spaces outside of the hospital system where midwives work with birthing folks to bring new babies safely, respectfully, and with wholeness into the world. The midwifery model of care is based on seeing the whole birthing person instead of just statistics. A birth center gives women who want midwifery care but may be too far from a local hospital for comfort, an important and necessary option. 

If you aren't quite sure what a birth center is or why I'm so passionate about this cause, read on!

Trigger Warning: This story includes obstetric abuse and mention of sexual assault

MY BIRTH STORY AND MY MISSION

When I was pregnant with Sedona, I did a ton of work to try to stay in touch with my body (see all the yoga photos above!). As a survivor, I knew that birth might be triggering for me. I also knew that birth was more than just a one day event but a huge moment of change in my life. I armed myself with the latest research, moved my body to stay open, and tried to have conversations with my provider about what I needed to feel safe in labor. 

Unfortunately, my provider did not hear me or see me as a whole person with a complicated history. He just saw a uterus housing a baby. After 30 hours of unmedicated and quite honestly beautifully hard labor as I started pushing, my provider disregarded all my birth needs and my body's needs and forced me onto my back where he stretched me aggressively and without my permission. My body predictavely shut down and contractions stopped. Although neither me nor Sedona were in danger but my OB said a c-section was the only option. The rest of the experience was one of the cruelest and most inhumane experiences of my life. 

But it didn't have to be this way. Births, including births that end surgically, can happen with with dignity and respect. The difference is in how we approach birth, from a typical hospital-centric, top-down, policy-enforced perspective or from a midwifery-perspective which focuses on the birthing person as the expert in bringing their baby to this world. 

The more I learned about midwifery care the more I knew that birthing folks in Southern Indiana deserve more midwifery options. Then I connected with Tandem, a birth center in Bloomington hoping to open in 2022. Haddie Katz, Tandem's midwife, explains midwifery better than I ever could. She says, "The concepts behind the midwifery model of care are really basic, they are really simple. Midwifery seeks to offer people healthcare as they define their needs in a location that suits them, and prioritizes taking time with clients and shared decision making, fundamental understanding of informed consent, and respect for the autonomy of the individual."

A birth center provides midwifery care but in a setting outside the home, possibly closer to a local hospital in case of the need to transfer. Birth center have been shown to be as safe as hospital births for low-risk pregnancies with higher birth satisfactions outcomes and, most importantly to me, less traumatic experiences. 

I believe our community deserves more options for high-quality perinatal care. I can't wait to see more midwives practicing in our community and an option to birth in a birth center (complete with birth tubs!).  I want a care model that sees all of me, not just my uterus. I want opportunities to connect with other families and resources in my community.  Join me in supporting Tandem Community Birth Center and Postpartum House!