Birth Connections Stillwater's Grassroots Pregnancy, Birth & Parenting Resource Group

Birth Choices – Tori and Charles Caswell

Hello, this is our first baby.  It is very important to me to have an unmedicated birth.  I’ve had a previous traumatic hospital stay and would appreciate your patience with me.  I plan to have to have my husband (Charles) and my doula (Amy) with me.

Labor

• I would like a hep-lock, rather than an IV

• I want to stay mobile

• If I want pain medication I will ask for it, please don’t offer them to me

• I would like to choose my position while pushing

• I do not want an episiotomy

Postpartum

• Please wait to give pitocin until after cord is cut

• Please wait until cord stops pulsing to cut

• No Hep-B vaccine for baby

• Please wait to take baby for weighing, washing etc… until I’ve nursed and held him for about 30 minutes

• I want to breastfeed exclusively

Reverse side for in case of Cesarean

We greatly appreciate the hospital staff’s expertise and support.

-Tori and Charles

It is very important to write a birth plan.  Some women like the wording “BIRTH CHOICES” or “BIRTH GOALS”.

It is important to ask yourself the following questions and in turn include your answers on your birth plan because the following things are routinely done WITHOUT permission or consent from the mother or father at a hospital birth.

REMEMBER that you have the right to informed consent and informed refusal of all things, and even though most individuals in the hospital have your best interest in mind, the hospital as a business puts many practices in place that DO NOT have your best interest in mind, and it is up to you to make sure your choices are made clear and followed by the staff.  Sometimes it’s easy to forget that a hospital is a business and it’s goal is to make money.

This information is most useful to your nurses.  They have never met you before and don’t know anything about your personal needs and choices, and they are going to be your main caregivers during your stay at the hospital.

Things to think about when writing your birth plan:

LABOR and DELIVERY

1.) Who do you want with you?

2.) Do you want an IV? Do you want a heplock?

3.) Do you want to stay mobile?

4.) What kind of pain relief do you want access to?

5.) Do you want an episiotomy?

AFTER THE BABY ARRIVES- MOTHER

6.) Do you want the cord blood saved?  Do you want the cord to stop pulsating before it is cut?

7.) Do you want to be given pitocin to speed up delivery of the placenta?

8.) Do you want to breastfed right away?

AFTER THE BABY ARRIVES- BABY

9.) Do you want your baby washed?

10.) Do you want your baby vaccinated?

11.) Do you want your baby to be offered pacifiers and bottles?

IN CASE OF CESAREAN DELIVERY

12.) Who do you want with you?

13.) Do you want your arms restrained during the birth?

14.) Do you have a preference on how your uterus is stitched?  (This could affect your ability to have a VBAC.)

Here are some more great tips on writing a birth plan.

How can I get breastfeeding help over the phone?   You can call your local La Leche League Leader, Tori Caswell (405) 334-9638.

You can also call any LLL leader in Oklahoma- list of contacts.

You can also call the LLL Helpline 24 hours a day.

I live in Stillwater and want a midwife attended birth in my home, is this possible? YES.

There are no midwives living in Stillwater that offer homebirth services, however there are many in OKC and Tulsa that travel to Stillwater (for additional travel costs).

Do any of these midwives accept insurance of any kind? No.  Their prices are however between $1,900 and $3,200, while the price of a hospital attended birth is between $6,000 and $35,000.

Do any of these midwives attend vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) at home? Yes, there are certain factors that affect this including the type of incision you have if you have had more than one cesarean.

Do any of these midwives attend breech or twin births at home? Yes, this decision is up to the individual midwife, and it is worth asking her about it.

How does does the midwife handle my prenatal care? Typically a homebirth midwife has a clinic or does appointments in her home.   Then sometime in your last trimester she visits your home to know how to get there and what kind of space she will be working in when it’s time for you to give birth.

How are home birth midwives trained and regulated? Midwives that do not work in a hospital are called Direct Entry Midwives (DEM) or Certified Professional Midwives (CPM).  Usually these midwives have had a combination of schooling and apprenticeship to become a midwife and many have taken a standard test given by the North American Midwife Alliance (NARM) .  **It is important to keep in mind that Oklahoma has no laws governing the practice of midwifery outside the hospital, so it is up to the consumer (you) to check out what kind of training, experience and philosophy your prospective midwife has.**

There is an alliance of midwives in Oklahoma  OMA (Oklahoma Midwife Alliance) and many midwives are listed there, however not all of Oklahoma’s  midwives belong to this group.  I’ve also included a list of those independent midwives that service the Stillwater area.

Margarett Scott, CPM and Anne Coffee/ Heaven Sent Births/ OKC, OK/website/(405) 787-7730

Ruth Cobb CNM, CPM/Tulsa, OK/website/(918) 224-1605

I live in Stillwater and want a midwife attended birth in a birth center, is this possible? YES.

There is a birth center in Tulsa and one in OKC.

Heaven Sent Birth in OKC, is a midwifery practice with a birth center. The practice includes two midwives,  Margarett Scott, who is a certified professional midwife (CPM) and Anne Coffee, who is a traditional midwife.

Do they attend vaginal births after cesarean (VBAC)? Yes, there are certain factors that affect this including the type of incision you have if you have had more than one cesarean.

What is their fee and do they take any insurance? 2,300, which does not include labs, newborn screening or ultrasound.  They do not take any insurance at this time.

Do they offer waterbirth? unknown

Is it possible to give birth in a birth center one hour away? Yes, the “textbook”  length of labor for a first time mom is 12 hours, this goes down with subsequent births but there is a very great chance you will make it in plenty of time.

How do I contact them to learn more? phone (405) 787-7730, e mail OklahomaMidwife@yahoo.com, coffeemom32@sbcglobal.net, website

Renaissance Birth Center in Tulsa

The Renaissance Birth and Naturopathic Center (their website is currently broken, here is their blog), in Tulsa has 2 senior midwives and 2 junior midwives on staff and offers full service midwifery care in a birth center.

Do they attend vaginal births after cesarean (VBAC)? Yes, there are certain factors that affect this including the type of incision you have if you have had more than one cesarean.

What is their fee and do they take any insurance? unkonwn.  They do not take any insurance at this time.

Do they offer waterbirth? Yes.

Is it possible to give birth in a birth center one hour away? Yes, the “textbook”  length of labor for a first time mom is 12 hours, this goes down with subsequent births but there is a very great chance you will make it in plenty of time.

How do I contact them to learn more? (918) 895-8222, email unknown, website broken

I live in Stillwater and want a midwife attended birth in a hospital, is this possible? YES.

Certified Nurse Midwives (CNM’s), work in hospitals alongside doctors.  They attend women with low risk pregnancies and offer the midwifery model of care in a hospital setting.  Stillwater Medical Center does not have any CNM’s, however, OU Medical Center in Oklahoma City does and they take clients from Stillwater.

The practice has 3 Nurse Midwives within it.  You are able to choose a primary midwife that you want to be present when you deliver your baby, however during your prenatal visits you will get a chance to meet all the midwives, that way if your primary midwife is with another client, you are familiar with the other midwives as well.

Do they attend vaginal births after cesarean (VBAC)? Yes, there are certain factors that affect this including the type of incision you have if you have had more than one cesarean.

Do they take state health care (soonercare)? Yes.

Do they offer waterbirth? No, however special arrangements may be possible.

Is it possible to give birth in a hospital one hour away? Yes, the “textbook”  length of labor for a first time mom is 12 hours, this goes down with subsequent births but there is a very great chance you will make it in plenty of time.

How do I contact them to learn more? phone (405) 271-9494, website