"Heck no, I won't go" - Babymoon Inn Birth Center

After experiencing giving birth in both a hospital and a birth center setting, Tieska Jumbo sums up her thoughts about another hospital birth in five words: “Heck No, I Won’t Go!”

In an article for Jacksonville Moms Blog, Jumbo explains why she sought out midwives and a birth center for her second pregnancy.

“I’ve heard women say that giving birth is an amazingly beautiful experience and that they continue having babies because they forget the toil that is pregnancy and labor. After being traumatized by the hospital birth of our first son and going back to work after six weeks, those sentiments did not compute for me. So, when we found out we were pregnant again, I was determined not to give birth in another hospital, nor to return to work so soon. After thoroughly researching my options, I settled on a local birthing center.”

Jumbo listed the personalized approach to care, small staff, and the patience and flexibility demonstrated by her midwives as reasons she would choose birth center care over a hospital birth again. She also found the setting at the birth center to be more conducive to labor.

“Mostly, I enjoyed the privacy of the setting and the ability to create the atmosphere we desired. Our room was big and naturally lit with a with a full-sized bed, artwork on the walls, a chest of drawers, two chairs, a garden tub, and a thermostat. With my music on, I sat on my birthing ball and made figure eights while praying aloud. Before getting us lunch, my husband joined in and we created our peace. Although (midwife) Ashleigh entered periodically to check my vitals, she was very quiet, polite, and sensitive to the mood we’d created. In the hospital, it was virtually impossible to find peace with the noisy machines, different strangers constantly coming in and out, the awful lighting, being limited to eating ice chips and being held hostage by the bed.”

Notably, Jumbo’s first birth in the hospital had included an epidural, but she found her unmedicated birth in the birth center to be less painful.

“Without an epidural or any kind of medical intervention, my water birth was by far easier and less painful than my hospital birth with an epidural. Instead of being discharged feeling traumatized, I left feeling empowered, healthy and strong and like we’d made the best decision for our family.”

Have you experienced birth in both a hospital and a birth center? How did they compare?

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