Midwives encourage women to tell their stories about childbirth.
A Celebrity's View, A Woman's Choice
Actress Cybill Shepherd drew from her own experience when she called nurse-midwives "absolutely the best choice for women."
"It's the best thing for you and the best thing for your baby," she says. "You always have the doctor right there and all the emergency things. You don't have to travel somewhere for backup, which you probably won't need. And you have less chance of needing it with a nurse-midwife."
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"I'm sure I would have had a cesarean had I not been with nurse-midwives ..." -Cybill Shepherd
Cybill chose nurse-midwives for her daughter Clementine's birth in the late 1970s, and again for the birth of her twins a few years later. With Clementine, Cybill does not hide the fact that her thirty-one-hour labor was painful, but says the nurse-midwives made an immeasurable difference. "I'm sure I would have had a cesarean had I not been with nurse-midwives," she said. "They worked with me so carefully."
The birth of her twins was also meaningful for Cybill. Both nurse-midwives, and her doctor worked together to help her have the birth experience she wanted. Cybill was extremely grateful to have such skilled professionals, who also took into account her desires. They helped her give birth in a way that left her feeling proud and satisfied.
Talk show host and actress Ricki Lake delivered her son, Owen Tyler, in a water birth in her Manhattan apartment attended by a certified nurse-midwife, two doulas, and husband Rob Sussman. Lake is a well-known and vocal advocate of midwifery since the birth of her son Milo in 1998.
"When I first wanted to use a midwife, I got a lot of flak from my gynecologist and a host of other people," she said. "I wanted to make the choice that was best for me because I trust my own instincts. I also respect the act of natural birth."
Testimonials
"My midwife was so supportive. She respected my wishes and my birth plan, and really made me feel that she had confidence in me. I felt that she trusted me, and trusted my body's instincts. I didn't feel like a patient, even though I was in a hospital-I felt like it was my birth."
- Tamara Ashley
"Throughout my pregnancy, I received wonderful care, learned tons about my body, and devoured books from the midwives' lending library. My husband attended all of my appointments, and was always made to feel that he was sharing in my pregnancy. My daughter was born in February of 1999 without medication and it was an empowering, incredible experience. When I became pregnant again, I returned to the birth center for care. When my new daughter was born in September of 2000, I realized then how much these women had affected my life."
- Cindy Meza
"It was my second delivery that made the care of my midwife even more meaningful. When the midwife turned her toward us we saw that she had a very wide unilateral cleft lip and palate. This is where the care of an exceptional midwife made an exceptional difference in our lives. Had we delivered her in the hospital she would have most likely been whisked away to where doctors and specialists could have analyzed her condition. But because we were at the birth center this did not happen. She was immediately placed at my breast and although the shock was a bit hard to handle, we still were afforded the bonding time that we needed. We look back with gratefulness that we were able to spend those first hours with her uninterrupted. That bonding time was essential to our ability to cope with her birth defect. Thank God for midwives."
- Jolienne Guthridge
Tell us your story!
These are but a few of the hundreds of stories we receive each year from parents, midwives, and doulas. Share yours! Email your story to rjacob@acnm.org.
