The Birth of Hooray

By Roots Community Birth Center client, Carrie Zirbes

My first two babies were born in hospitals. With my first, I was induced for high blood pressure, and I gave birth to my second baby, unmedicated in the water. When I learned I was pregnant with my third, I knew I didn’t need to go to a hospital. My sister had gone to Roots, and I live blocks away from the birth center. It’s the closest birthing location to my house, which was perfect because I knew I wanted to labor at home for as long as possible.

During my pregnancy, I mostly saw Willa. I usually had my appointments on the same day of the week, and that’s when she was there. Throughout pregnancy, I was comfortable with my body, and I knew that I could handle labor. I did ask about my concerns, such as high blood pressure and meconium in the amniotic fluid, which were things I had dealt with before. The Roots team reassured me that my body was completely capable, but they would let me know if there was a problem, and we could discuss going to the hospital.

We did genetic testing and found out that we could learn the sex of this baby. Both of our boys had come to the appointment with us, and Rachel asked, “What do you want it to be?” Then she announced, “It’s a girl!” We were in shock. My partner is one of four boys, and I had two boys. We immediately walked to my mom’s house to tell her. I wasn’t going to tell my mother-in-law until I had more proof. During the 20-week ultrasound, I asked the technician, “Is it still a girl?” (And it was.) We had planned to go to my mother-in-law’s house for a gender reveal. After the ultrasound, I texted her and said, “We’ll still come,” leading her to believe it was a boy. We had gone to Target and bought a “little sister” onesie. When she opened it, she started crying. We’re not hung up on gender, but it was very special because it was the first girl for two generations.

Hoping for a Pisces Baby

On March 20, 2023, I started feeling contractions. They were super mild, but I called Roots, and Willa said she was on call until 10 a.m. the following day. I really wanted to have a Pisces (and March 20 was my last chance!), but Willa encouraged me to listen to my body.

With my second baby, I had two weeks of contractions, so I thought the third birth would be similar. The contractions started out 10-20 minutes apart. I told my sister, who is a massage therapist, and she pushed on pressure points on my legs. I went to run an errand, and that’s when I had my first really painful contraction.

I continued to labor throughout the night, mostly standing in the bathroom, hanging onto the towel bar. I used some tools from Spinning Babies — moving and bending. During that time, I figured out that labor is kind of a cool experience. Instead of trying to get through contractions, I was listening and feeling what was a comfortable movement. I lifted a leg, rotated hips, squatted, and helped my baby navigate through the birth canal.

As morning approached, I let my birth team know what was going on and that my contractions were about five minutes apart. This included Willa and my doula, partner, mom, and sister. With my second birth, I remember I waited until my contractions were back-to-back with no break between them. Then it was a mad rush to the hospital. I was in triage puking and pooping. I knew that about myself, and I didn’t want that to happen again. At 7:05 a.m. on March 21, I texted Willa and told her I was on my way to Roots.

Meeting my HIP Baby

We got there quickly and got situated. There was no down time, no time to chill at all. I had two contractions and then with the third one, I moaned, “Uuuuuugh!” Everyone ran into the room because they knew what was happening. The only stressful thing was that I didn’t know where I wanted to give birth. I walked over to the bed and layed down on my side. It surprised me that I flopped down in that position. I didn’t know what I needed, but my body was like, “Here, now, down.” My brain didn’t know what to do, but my body did.

My doula, Katie, arrived soon after. Willa and Rebecca were there. They were totally hands-off and waited for consent every time they needed to touch me. They also asked if my partner wanted to catch the baby. He didn’t want to, but I said, “My mom will.” She replied, “If I can, I would be honored.” She’s a special lady.

As the baby was crowning, Rebecca lifted my leg. My mom caught the baby, who was viscous and slimy. My mom was in her total glory; it was a beautiful thing for her. She handed me the baby, and my doula lifted up my shirt. I took my baby and held her on my chest. It was so nice to have everyone I wanted in the room there with me. At a hospital, they would’ve had to stand in the hallway.

Hooray Indira Peterson was born just one hour after I decided it was time to go to the birth center. She entered the world at 8:05 a.m. on 3/21/23, which is a palindrome. Her initials are HIP, and her middle name is Indian for splendid.

Enjoying Post-Birth Snuggles

After the birth, my partner and I stayed in the bed with our baby. The placenta was even on the bed with us. That was one of my favorite moments. To be able to take that in and be chill was so beautiful. I did have some bleeding, but the Roots team gave me a shot that helped to get the placenta out. A little bit later, they cut the cord and did the newborn exam. Hooray weighed 7 pounds, 4 ounces, and measured 19.5 inches.

She latched immediately and was thriving on all the good milk. We were at Roots for about three hours and got home around 11 a.m. I spent most of the day in my own bed, with people bringing me food and drinks. Being in a hospital is just awful, but relaxing at home was wonderful. The Roots midwives were so amazing. They came to my house at 24 hours postpartum, 72 hours, and 7-10 days. They brought the scale and checked the baby’s weight each time.

I also have to give a shout-out to my doula, Katie, who is a wonderful human being in our life. She knows how to listen and understands my body language. If my mom or my partner would’ve tried to do the things she did, it would have been clunky and awkward. It would have made me uncomfortable. Later I realized that when Hooray was born, it was Katie who pulled up my shirt so the baby could be on my chest. If someone else had done that, it wouldn’t have been natural. She knew what I needed, and she did it without me even noticing.

Overall, I’m so grateful for my birth experience at Roots. For anyone wondering about the midwives’ care, I would say they’re there as much or as little as you need them. They ask for consent every single time. They’re never invasive. They’re perfect.