Testimonial for Melanie Russell
We were pregnant with our second child and looking to have a very different labor with less medical interventions than with our first child. She listened to what occured with our first labor, asked questions, and listened to what we wanted with this birth. She conveyed her extensive knowledge on the different hospitals and staff and how they would best meet what we were looking for in our labor. She knew VBAC success rates and inducement and episiotomy rates of the area hospitals and directed me to websites to further my research (and I am a research junkie.) She seemed to be supportive of whatever type of birth we wanted and would not judge usl if we ended up not having a fully natural birth. She has such a great balance of strength and compassion, and since I tend to have a strong personality, I knew I needed a firm, knowledgable, and supportive person to support me in this huge endeavor to have a natural birth at age 42. I had mild contractions for about 20 minutes before my water broke. We ended up calling her quickly as the contractions started coming every 2 minutes. Since our first birth had been 2 days of multipe visits to the hospital, we were shocked at how quickly this was progressing. She listened to me work through two contractions and told us to meet her at the hospital. Melanie made it there in time as we were 9 cm wih a footling breech baby. I remember her putting her face right in front of my eyes and telling me I was doing a great job before I was rushed in for an emergency c-section. She did whatever was needed of her which included moving our car from the ambulance area. ;) She stayed with us to help with lactation, and she came to our home a few weeks later and helped with techniques for the baby's strong lower lip latch (very helpful!). Although our birth didn't turn out how we wanted it, we were very glad to have Melanie on the journey with us. We wouldn't have had it any other way.
-Mari Litz
May 09, 2016
Melanie Russell
A Brighter Birth
Birth Fee: $2000
