Coming back to update. I had a baby at WMH with Pat attending just 2 days ago. I cannot say enough about Pat and Sheela and the nursing staff both at the office and in the hospital. My birth experience was exceptional even though my actual labor was way outside the norm. I arrived with ruptured membranes and at 8cms but with irregular but strong contractions. My daughter wasn't born for another 5.5 hours, but there was no pressure for any augmentation or any interventions at all. I was encouraged to try different positions in order to help my baby to drop, but everything was just a suggestion, if I was not comfortable trying a particular position that was no problem. I was allowed to push in the position I wanted and was only told to lay down on my side when my daughter came out with the cord tightly around her neck. I was asked to go on my side so Pat could better see what was going on. She tried her best to get the cord off, but in the end had to clamp and cut before my daughter came out. It definitely was the best decision and I am so pleased everything turned out well. The nursing staff was outstanding during our stay in the hospital. They never came in and demanded to do anything. Every request of theirs was with "you let me know when this will be good for you." There was never any attempt to take the baby to the nursery, in fact it was never even mentioned. When it seemed my daughter might not be warm after her bath I suggested that we do skin to skin in order to warm her up and the nurse declared that that was the best way to warm her (of course, we all know this, but it seems that often HCP don't understand this). After my daughter was born she had to get a little oxygen and once they got her in good shape she came right to me and no one attempted to take her away while she nursed even though she hadn't been weighed or measured. All my wishes with regards to eye ointment, etc, were honored with no problem or comments.
In short, I wholeheartedly recommend the midwives at WMH. I think that about covers everything. If you have specific questions about any aspect of my experience please feel free to contact me.
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