Marta's Birth Story

The Birth of Mariana

By Roots Community Birth Center client, Marta Zweber

I started my prenatal care with an OB, but I knew I didn’t want to give birth in a hospital. I also thought about home birth. However, my partner wasn’t super comfortable with that idea, so we compromised with a free-standing birth center. I had Roots on my list, but it was at the bottom because it was the farthest away. After contacting one birth center and realizing it was not the approach I was looking for, my cousin encouraged me to contact Roots next. She thought it would be a better fit for me.

From the first time I talked to the Roots team on the phone, I knew it was exactly what I was looking for. I had waited to have kids, so I spent years doing my own research. In college, I did an extensive research project on poor outcomes for Black birthing people in hospitals. As a light-skinned Chicana, I'm likely to fare better, but the information I gathered, coupled with my own research on unnecessary interventions leading to high C-section rates in U.S. hospitals, made me rethink the standard route. If it was medically necessary, I was fine having to transfer, but it wasn't my first choice. Roots’ commitment to improving Black maternal outcomes and supporting all families really spoke to me.

Roots was not doing tours at that time because of the pandemic, but I transferred my prenatal care at 12 weeks sight unseen. Right off the bat, every time I went into Roots, I felt calm and comfortable. Even the smell was nice — something that's very important during pregnancy! Every person throughout the whole experience was warm and welcoming. When I walked in the door, I was greeted like I would be at a friend’s house. It was so nice to have a warmer experience when doing it alone for my first pregnancy, since my partner couldn't join me at my appointments during the pandemic. 

At most OB offices, being 35 tipped me into the higher-risk category of “advanced maternal age.” But at Roots, my age didn't mean I was high-risk, which was a relief. We talked about things I could do to make sure I stayed low-risk during my pregnancy. I did acupuncture, had chiropractic care, took supplements, and ate a healthy diet. The amount of time that I spent with the midwives was substantial compared to an OB as well. It allowed me to get answers to my millions of questions, keeping my anxiety at bay.

The Roots team encouraged me to take a childbirth class and pick a doula to support my partner and me. Since I had been listening to and liking the Evidence-Based Birth (EBB) podcast, I decided to take an EBB childbirth class. Rhonda Fellows was one of the instructors of our class. We liked her so much that we chose her as our birth doula. (We also had a postpartum doula, Rochelle Vincent.) Rhonda had been at many births at Roots, which was a great comfort.

Waiting for Labor to Begin

My pregnancy was uneventful, and I was comfortable up until my due date of February 5, 2021. I had read that the majority of first-time parents give birth one week and two days past their due date. I would’ve been shocked if she had arrived before 40 weeks, and I was mentally prepared to go past that. My husband, Steve, and I were still getting the nursery ready too, so we were OK if she was a little late.

At 41 weeks, I had a non-stress test, and everything looked good. I was hoping I’d go into labor while at Roots for that appointment, but that day passed with no signs of labor. My acupuncturist had told me there were some herbal supplements and treatments we could try if I got close to 42 weeks

On the night of Saturday, February 13, I started leaking a little bit of fluid. I wasn’t sure if it was amniotic fluid, so I called Rhonda right away. She told me to put on a thick pad and call Roots to let the on-call midwife know. About five minutes later, my water had completely broken with a gush (good call on the pad), but I hadn’t felt any contractions or cramping. Up until that point, I had been worried that I wouldn’t know when labor started, so I was happy that my water broke when it did.

At about 10 p.m., I talked to one of the Roots midwives, who told me to sleep as much as possible. I went to bed and woke up to feeling contractions around 4 or 5 a.m. I drifted in and out of sleep for the next few hours, waking up about every 30 minutes. Finally, at about 10 a.m., I got up and began getting things ready for the birth center. 

I called the Roots midwife line, and they encouraged me to go to the chiropractor. It was a Sunday, but my chiropractor specializes in prenatal and postpartum care, so she was available. My husband drove me there to get adjusted at about noon. My contractions were still far apart and mild, but I noticed that my lower back was starting to bother me, so I let her know that. Shortly after getting adjusted, things ramped up, which I expected. I started to feel overwhelmed by the discomfort of the contractions and the pain in my lower back.

The midwife on call that day was Aly, who I hadn’t met before. With her own home midwifery practice, she doesn’t work at Roots anymore, but was filling in that day. I had had such a good experience with everyone else at Roots, so I wasn’t worried. For the next several hours, I kept Aly and Rhonda up to date. By early afternoon, I was feeling really uncomfortable, especially because of the back pain. I was trying different things at home, hoping to get the baby in a good position prior to her birth. While on the phone with Aly, she asked to listen to me during a contraction. Right at that moment, the surges got even more intense. They were still eight minutes apart, so we agreed to talk again in a half hour. Within 15 minutes, the contractions got closer together and more painful. I was having trouble speaking at that point, but I managed to communicate to my partner that we needed to head out to Roots.

We knew it was a 20-minute drive to the birth center, so Steve called Rhonda and Aly at about 5 p.m. and told them we were coming in. The car ride over was so uncomfortable and painful because I couldn’t find a good position. It was the only time I regretted not just having a home birth. 

Arriving at Roots

It was a Sunday during the pandemic, so there was no traffic. We arrived at Roots at 5:30. I had envisioned getting there, settling in, changing my outfit, putting on music, and using aromatherapy. But with my contractions blurring together, I couldn’t even pay attention to where we were or what was happening. I just started to take off my clothes, wanting to get into the tub, as the midwife, Ashley, used the Doppler to check on the baby. I really wanted to get into the water, but I was having a hard time getting off the floor in a hands-and-knees position. The only thing that seemed to bring relief was moaning in low tones (great advice from Rhonda!). Aly asked if I wanted her to check my cervix. I wanted to know, so I got on the bed, which proved to be really painful. I was only one centimeter! The whole group was surprised that I wasn't further along but settled in for what we thought would be a long night. Aly texted Rachel,the next midwife on call, to prepare her to come in the next day to take over for her.

I had expected a long labor, so it became vital that we try to eliminate the back pain. Rather than the comfort techniques we had practiced, Rhonda suggested we try Gilligan's Guide to get the baby into a more optimal position. She prepared me for the discomfort that might accompany the movements. I agreed and thought, “Whatever we can do to make this better.” One position that seemed to help was laying back in the tub, knees together but swaying them back and forth in a figure eight. It was very uncomfortable, but I could see the baby moving, which was motivating.

After I got out of the tub, I leaned over the sink, then sat on the toilet backward. Rhonda talked me through various positions, allowing me to focus on relaxing my body and tuning inward for strength. There wasn’t a lot of time between contractions, and the back pain was still present but manageable. As we moved from one spot to another in the birth suite, I remember looking at my husband. He had been worried about passing out because he doesn’t do well with anything medical. I could see he was in awe, captivated by what was happening. 

Pushing and Meeting My Baby

I kept moving and transitioning. Rhonda, Aly, and Ashley, the apprentice midwife, were all encouraging me to eat and stay hydrated. They were so encouraging. After about two hours, I started feeling a lot of pressure in my butt, like I wanted to push. I replayed Rhonda’s mantra in my head of, “I came here for the pressure in my butt!”, insinuating that things were progressing. I was hesitant that it was actually time to push since it had only been a short amount of time since Aly checked me. The sensation didn’t go away though, and I could feel the baby moving down. I got back on the bed, and when Aly checked again, everyone was surprised that I was 10 centimeters!

As I started pushing, I was hoping to feel relief. Unless I could steel myself appropriately for the contractions, they took my breath away. A little after 9 p.m., I got back in the tub, and that was the most comfortable I felt throughout the whole experience. I knew I didn’t have to resist the urge to push anymore. However, when I tried to push in the water, I felt pain in my hips and calves (issues that had been present throughout my pregnancy). It was too uncomfortable to be in the tub, so I went back to the toilet, facing forward this time. Someone made the comment that I was pushing really well, but they weren’t seeing or feeling much progress with the head descending. They guessed that the baby was having trouble getting under the pelvic bone.

I moved to the bed and was falling asleep between contractions, yet feeling like they were back to back. It was uncomfortable but still productive. The baby started to crown, and Aly asked me to flip to my hands and knees. I didn’t know it at the time, but a shoulder was coming out with the head. Rhonda helped me move one knee up, so I was in a runner’s lunge position. As Aly and Ashley worked to move the baby’s shoulder, Rhonda leaned down and calmly spoke into my ear, “You're going to push your baby out right now.” She realized things were not ideal, and it could get scary if the baby didn’t come fast, but was wise to not tell me that part in the moment. With Rhonda's directive in my head, on the next contraction, I was able to push my baby out. Mariana Clarabelle was born at 10:22 p.m. February 14, 2021, weighing 8 pounds, 11 ounces and measuring 22 inches.

Aly handed my daughter to me between my legs, and I remember thinking she was really slippery and wiggly. I thought, “Oh my god, I’m going to drop her.” The team helped me flip over and get repositioned. I got settled in and started admiring Mariana. Steve laid down next to me, and it felt really calm and normal, exactly how we felt it should be.

The placenta came about 10-15 minutes later. The three of us sat on the bed for the next couple of hours with the placenta still between us, so Mariana could get all the blood from the cord. Rhonda got a meal ready, and we ate. The birth team did all of the care Mariana needed and performed the newborn exam right there on the bed. They also stitched me up, so we were able to go home about four hours after the birth. Our postpartum doula, Rochelle, met us at home. It was great knowing there would be someone there who knew what they were doing to help us get settled in. 

Reflecting on My Birth Experience at Roots

The whole time we were at Roots, it was so nice – a comfortable feeling. We were the only ones there for the birth. The week following, I often overheard my husband talking with friends and family on the phone, saying how happy he was with the whole experience. He had been nervous about how it was going to go but was blown away by the comfortable, homey ambiance. We were in good hands with the entire care team. There was never a point when we were worried that if something went wrong we would be in trouble. We had the right people who knew what to do to keep things safe, even with the unexpected shoulder dystocia. That felt really good.

Another great thing about my Roots experience was the postpartum care. Every subsequent appointment, whether in-person or virtual, they always checked on how I was doing, something that isn’t always present with care in the U.S. Mariana had a little bit of jaundice, and we had some latch issues. The midwives and nurses were able to help us with all of that. Every time we went in or had a phone call with a midwife, whether to check on bilirubin levels or ask other questions, we always ended up walking away with really good information. Every interaction was worthwhile. While adjusting to life with a baby, I’ve felt really supported, like I have everyone I need.

Are you pregnant and feeling inspired by Marta’s story? We’d love to talk with you! Fill out our contact form to get started.