Testimonial for Suzanne DeSelms
My husband and I would have truly felt lost through our birth journey without Suzanne's amazing support, presence, and calming (yet rational) influence. I planned to have my son naturally, intervention-free, and at a freestanding Birth Center. He was 9 days past his due date when early labor started, and Suzanne was so quick to respond with advice it blew me away. As the night went on, and contractions normalized and intensified, we left home to head to the hotel (I moved 1.5 hours away from the Birth Center). Labor stalled that next day, and she came to the hotel and was up with me that whole next night to cope and to help labor progress until we were ready for the Birth Center. Due to the baby's position (OP, Asynclitic), and my exhaustion after 2.5 days of labor that was stalled again, she supported me in transferring to a hospital. We had still planned to proceed with a vaginal birth with the addition of Pitocin. She helped me find positions to manage the contractions as the epidurals kept failing, and to encourage me to push. He ultimately was stuck on my tail bone. I was exhausted, disappointed, scared, and overwhelmed when the mention of a C-Section came up. She helped me find the strength to push one last time, knowing that if it works, I'd still have a vaginal birth, and if it didn't work, she let me know that I had left nothing on the table. Almost exactly 72 hours after my first noticeable contraction in Early Labor, baby Troy was born via C-section. She was in the recovery room immediately after, helped me get him to latch and breastfeed, and reaffirmed that I did everything I could to make sure he was delivered safely. Even though nothing went as planned in labor, I honestly still feel that I got a lot of the same experiences as if I had my intended natural birth. Without Suzanne's help, we truly would have felt so lost and discouraged, that I don't think I could possibly have viewed my roller coaster labor as positive.
-Heather Valek
June 11, 2015
Suzanne DeSelms
Waiting With You
Birth Fee: $2400 to $3400
