“We planned an unmedicated hospital VBAC, after a scheduled cesarean with my first child. Mona met us in triage at the hospital. At that point I had labored at home for a long time, and she carefully respected my laboring space and the routine that was working for my husband and me.
Any time we needed something, she was there, usually before I even anticipated the need (water, towels, a shoulder to lean on, vocalization tips).
She even reminded me that I was “beautiful” when I was particularly frustrated by all the “icky” parts of labor. As an aside, I should have asked her to come to the house for the last couple hours, rather than insisting she wait and meet us at the hospital… she could have talked me out of re-installing car seats and chasing my toddler in active labor!
Where Mona’s role was particularly invaluable for me was during pushing. I was still in triage when the undeniable urge to push came, and I went immediately from working with my contractions to being completely overwhelmed.
Mona was right next to me, offering the solutions I needed when nobody else seemed to understand.
When I finally reached a delivery room, all the staff was new to me and it felt like a million people were hollering different things — too much for me to take it. But Mona stood calmly right at the foot of the bed and provided the clear focal point and direction that I needed to complete the hard work of pushing out my 9 pound son.
For me and my husband, Mona was a great addition to our team and a huge help in our unmedicated, Bradley birth.
She provided the experienced insight that I needed to keep going every time things got tough, and she helped my husband help me without taking anything away from his valuable role. Thank you, Mona!”
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