The Birth of Sage

By Roots Community Birth Center client, Gaal Levine

I chose to work with Roots really early in my pregnancy, not just because of what they could offer me, but because of what they do for their community. I was excited to be a part of that once I found them. I was looking for an experience that was both supportive but could be on my own terms with a birth center birth.

This was my second pregnancy, but my first birth was during the very beginning of the pandemic before any vaccines or variants had arisen. Having a small toddler at home and being pregnant again, I was looking for a birth center that was still taking COVID seriously, practiced in evidence-based science, and also felt warm and welcoming. I was a bit worried I wouldn’t be able to find that, but after one phone call to the Roots front desk, I was sure I had. I loved that each visit at Roots felt really homey and warm, and I was given a lot of time and attention from the midwives.

We worked with an amazing doula named Landon for the first birth, and I wanted her support again no matter what, so we also had hired her as soon as I found out I was pregnant. Between Roots and Landon, I felt like I had found the perfect team, and I was confident and happy with my care.

With my first birth of my daughter, things went really fast, and I only made it to the birth center with about an hour to spare before she was born. For this birth, I was really hoping to understand the sensations of labor and have a calmer experience without being so far along in labor during my drive to the birth center. Other than things going fast, I did trust my body. I had a totally unmedicated birth with my first and wanted a similar, though maybe less frantic, experience.

Experiencing a Quick Labor and Wild Birth

When I felt some light cramping starting at 39 weeks, I figured this was most likely labor starting, but at the same time, I could not believe it was time to give birth and my pregnancy was coming to an end. I let Roots and Landon know what I was feeling, but it was so light I continued about my day, as they both recommended I do. Neither was really sure it was labor, given how sporadic what I was feeling was. I continued with my workday, had some virtual meetings from home, ate normal meals, and tried to stay comfortable. Early that afternoon, I had one much more intense contraction and texted everyone again, still unsure if it was really labor or not. At that point, I finally stopped going about a normal day and laid on a yoga mat to relax before things got intense.

That’s when I felt a little pop in my stomach and some water gush. It was so little that I wasn’t even sure it was my water breaking, but after texting with Landon, we figured it most likely was. From there, things moved so fast I could hardly talk through what I was feeling next. I somehow let my husband know we needed to leave, and he went to go pack the car and get childcare set up. I tried to text but couldn’t anymore; I had gotten really shaky and remembered that this meant I was transitioning. I called Roots to say we were heading over, and I got myself downstairs and walked towards the car. I found my husband on his computer putting up an out-of-office message. I can’t remember what I said, but I somehow let him know I was not happy we were still at home, and he got up, grabbed the rest of our things, and got into the car.

Just a few feet from the garage, I felt a huge shift. The baby was dropping, and I knew if I stopped moving, I would be having this baby wherever I sat down next. I got into the car and we drove off. Somehow our birth team knew how to assemble, though I am not sure how well we communicated what was happening since within 30 minutes I went from contractions that were 15 to 20 minutes apart to feeling like I needed to push. We only live 15 minutes from Roots, but about halfway there, I told my husband the baby was crowning. I was kind of tapping my leg to stay calm and talking to my husband in a really measured way. I knew I just wanted to make it to Roots and see Landon, and once we got there, it would all be OK.

My poor husband was driving as fast as he could, and I remember telling him not to speed, that it would all be OK. As we screeched into the Roots parking lot, Rachel and Landon were standing outside waiting for us. My husband rolled down the window and shouted that the baby was coming right now. Rachel and her assistant ran over to my passenger side door, grabbed my legs, pulled down my pants, and Sage was born right there in the passenger seat of our Prius. It was 3:50 p.m. on August 9, 2022.

My husband had run around the car, but he ran back to be with me in the car and was right behind me when Sage was placed on my chest. There we were, all together outside in the car with a new baby! With him still in my arms, I was helped up and walked right into the Roots, my doula holding a towel around us.

Finally Going Inside the Birth Center

Once we got inside, I was given a nice big bed to relax in, and they helped me finish birthing the placenta. Adrenalin was running high, and I had a pretty high blood pressure reading that made everyone nervous. I did not want to be transferred to a hospital, and Rachel was really wonderful explaining why this could be serious, but that we had time until they needed to make that call. So Landon got me some water, and we all talked and listened to music to try and bring the energy down in the room. Luckily, my next few readings came down steadily, and I was OK.

I was so relieved, and after baby Sage got all his newborn tests, we learned during the newborn exam that Sage weighed 7 pounds, 11 ounces, and measured 19 inches long. Then, we took a nice bath together to get cleaned up. It felt so good knowing all of that excitement was behind us. Sage was perfect, and we could get ready to go home!

Reflecting on my Roots Experience

It was all still a bit of a dream, a rush of a day, and it still feels that way now. But I am so happy I got to work with such a caring, intuitive team that was there right when I needed them most.

I was lucky enough to get to see Rachel for all my postpartum home visits. I loved having her there to see Sage after catching him herself. It was also so nice not having to get out of bed, having her come in, check on Sage and me, and reminisce about how wild my birth story was, even just a day later. It felt good having someone coming down off the high of the event with us and following Sage and his growth so closely.

Roots provided all of Sage’s care for the first six weeks, along with my follow-up care, and I could not have asked for more personalized and compassionate care. Every member of the Roots team I got to work with was just so warm.

Sage joined us in a very exciting and also shocking way. If I think about it too much, there are a lot of ways this birth could have been really scary or traumatic. I got lucky enough that we made it to Roots just in time, and it was actually really empowering. I credit that to the calm hands that held me and caught him in the Roots parking lot. I am really thankful for Roots, my doula, and my husband’s driving.

Sage is the happiest, goofiest little baby boy, and his wild birth really kicked off this wild, two-child stage of life for us.