The Greenhouse Birth Center ~ Where families are born, gently.

Max's Birth Story
written by his mother, Catherine

Mike and I had spent months preparing for the birth of our first-born son. We had participated in many types of classes, including Bradley, Hypnobirthing, and Birthing from Within. I had spent countless hours practicing relaxation techniques and self-hypnosis, and felt confident that my dream of a natural, drug-free and intervention-free birth would occur.

My baby was due in mid-January. The “nesting instinct” was in high gear during the week as I cleaned the house, my office and most miraculously my entire email “in” box. For the weekend, Mike and I decided to see movies and go out to eat both Friday and Saturday, knowing we would not be doing these things for a while. That Saturday, I went to the peace rally, ate spicy food, walked all over the mall, and it was the full moon. Maybe my baby would be arriving soon?

Sunday morning I was delighted to find that my mucus plug had broke. Finally some indication that the big event might be starting! In the afternoon I started having pains in my low abdomen and on my sacrum, was not sure if this was really it. For some reason, I had expected contractions to be felt in my whole belly, not just low. By the evening we started timing the surges, and called the midwives. Their advice was to go to bed and try to get as much rest as possible for the big event. They also encouraged me to eat. Throughout the night, I was able to sleep about an hour at a time, and then I would get up, have a contraction, go to the bathroom, and go back to bed. We were very well rested in the morning. I spent the day on the couch in Bradley relaxation pose, and every time I felt a contraction coming on, I would call to Mike or my friends Gidget or Christina to come over and stroke my hand and arm as a part of the “glove anesthesia” Hypnobirthing technique. This was incredibly effective, as it allowed me to visualize a numbing sensation starting with my hand and flowing through my arm to any part of my body where I needed it. In between contractions, I was able to eat, talk, and play scrabble.

By 4:00 pm, I decided it was time to call the birth center and go in. Mike was so loving to me on the drive over. I was lying on my side in the front seat, as I could not lie directly on my back due to my sacrum spasms with every contraction. Along the way, he told me about one of the beautiful islands we had visited in Palau. It was wonderful to relive that experience with him. We arrived at the birth center around 5:00 pm, and the beautiful green room that I had pre-selected was ready and waiting for us. I was delighted to find after an initial exam that I was already 6 centimeters dilated. I also felt so blessed to be at a place that had no routine exams for me, only ones that I requested. The baby was monitored periodically with a very unobtrusive Doppler that worked underwater.

Then, I spent some time on the birthing ball and walking around a bit. I was greatly challenged by back labor, and it was hard to get comfortable. When Gera, one of the midwives, suggested maybe it was a good time to go in the tub, I was thrilled. Once the tub was filled and I got in, I immediately relaxed. We had brought jets and bubblers for the tub, and I was able to direct one of them directly on my sacrum. The water offered so much relief that Gidget and I were able to play a few more rounds on our scrabble game! Once I was in the water, there was no getting me out. I love water, have a hot tub at home, and am also a scuba diver. So, the water was such a natural place for me to be, to be able to move freely into whatever position was best at the moment, to feel that soothing weightlessness, to breathe in the steam. Who needs an epidural when you can have abundant water without being strapped down and with no side effects?

After a bit, I could feel things changing. Transition had begun. I wanted Mike at my side every moment now. He was incredibly tender holding my hand, holding my face, reminding me to relax every part of my body one at a time. “Relax your jaw, relax your shoulders, relax your arms…” he would say, and I just melted. I was able to keep releasing any tension that crept up. Nausea came over me and the midwives quickly and very effectively held up a bucket for me. I was so glad that I had only eaten very friendly foods, such as bananas, cream of wheat and easy mac!

The water brigade was incredibly effective. All hands were on deck to help me: Mike, Gidget, Christina, and the midwives Nancy and Gera. Mike held my hand, while others put a cool cloth over my eyes and forehead, and others constantly poured water over my sacrum. As long as that steady stream of water remained, I could handle the intensity of the back spasms.

As the pushing picked up, the “ring of fire” began. How could I have missed the chapter on this? It was very unexpectedly intense. Gera applied pressure to my perineum, which greatly helped me to focus my pushing in that direction, and to relieve some of the burning sensation. I was also quite surprised at how vocal I became. Everyone did a great job at reminding me to keep the pitch of my noises low instead of high. The low groans really helped to facilitate my pushing.

I was in the narrow end of the tub on my knees with my legs cramped against the sides. I needed more room, but did not know what to do. The midwives suggested, “do you want to move or get out of the tub?” All I heard was, “do you want to get out?” My prompt answer was “no, no, no”. I was never getting out of that tub! Finally, Mike and Gera dragged me around in the tub so that I had my hands on the long end of the tub. This allowed me to instinctively be on my knees and spread my legs open into a very wide squat, making my pushing much more effective. When he was still about an inch from the opening, Gera said, “you can feel the head!” I reached my fingers in and felt his head full of hair. He was really in there! He was really coming!

Not too long afterwards, during one very long and effective contraction, I gave a big push and felt the head move out. One more push during the same contraction, and the rest of his body came out. Our son had been born! Mike felt him go by his leg in the tub. My thought was, did someone catch him? Gera had indeed caught the baby before he hit the bottom of the tub. Gera and Nancy flipped Mike and I over into sitting position in the tub and plopped our son on my belly.

He’s so beautiful! Hello, little one! Look at all that hair! Those big blue eyes! The ultrasound was right; he really is a boy! There were no loud cries from him the whole time we were at the birth center. He let out only light squeaks.

What a peaceful, spiritual way to be brought into this world, and on Martin Luther King’s birthday. Gera asked if he had a name, and I decided on Maximilian Stanley. Our son had been born! It was 10:21 pm, Monday, January 20, 2003.

Nancy and Gera busily dealt with collecting cord blood while Max, Mike and I got to know each other. We tried to get Max interested in nursing, but he was not quite ready yet. After a bit, I was ready to push out the placenta. Then, I was finally ready to get out of the tub, and Mike and I were tucked into bed with Max for our “babymoon”, wonderful alone time for the three of us to bond. What a beautiful peaceful time for the three of us. Such a great miracle had occurred.

Then, back to logistics. Max needed his full check up, weighing, and measuring. He was 7 pounds, 2 ounces, and 21 inches long. I needed quite a few stitches. He shot out so fast at the end that I had level two tears. Nancy and Gera called in Clarise, another midwife who lives nearby and is the stitching expert. She was gracious enough to come in and did a wonderful job. It took a really long time since the tear was extensive. I was sad to be missing Max’s exam as I was being stitched, but I knew he was in good hands with the midwives, Mike, and Gidget. Christina was with me the whole time I was being stitched and helped to keep me relaxed. After Max’s exam, Gidget joined us and stroked my forehead and cheek to keep me soothed. Meanwhile, Mike held his son, the first baby he had ever held!

By 3:00 am, we were ready to bring our little bundle of sweetness home, our new family. What a joyous celebration of life this had been.

I feel incredibly blessed to have had the wonderful space of the birth center to do this important work. This type of experience simply would not have been possible in a hospital with constant routines, florescent lights, random strangers and no tub. I cannot imagine having to be in a bed with the type of back labor I had! I am so very happy for my birth experience.


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Max's Birth Story written by his mother, Catherine Mike and I had spent months preparing for the birth of our first-born son. We had participated in many types of classes, including Bradley, Hypnobirthing, and Birthing from Within. I had spent countless hours practicing relaxation techniques and self-hypnosis, and felt confident that my dream of a natural, drug-free and intervention-free birth would occur. My baby was due in mid-January. The “nesting instinct” was in high gear during the week as I cleaned the house, my office and most miraculously my entire email “in” box. For the weekend, Mike and I decided to see movies and go out to eat both Friday and Saturday, knowing we would not be doing these things for a while. That Saturday, I went to the peace rally, ate spicy food, walked all over the mall, and it was the full moon. Maybe my baby would be arriving soon? Sunday morning I was delighted to find that my mucus plug had broke. Finally some indication that the big event might be starting! In the afternoon I started having pains in my low abdomen and on my sacrum, was not sure if this was really it. For some reason, I had expected contractions to be felt in my whole belly, not just low. By the evening we started timing the surges, and called the midwives. Their advice was to go to bed and try to get as much rest as possible for the big event. They also encouraged me to eat. Throughout the night, I was able to sleep about an hour at a time, and then I would get up, have a contraction, go to the bathroom, and go back to bed. We were very well rested in the morning. I spent the day on the couch in Bradley relaxation pose, and every time I felt a contraction coming on, I would call to Mike or my friends Gidget or Christina to come over and stroke my hand and arm as a part of the “glove anesthesia” Hypnobirthing technique. This was incredibly effective, as it allowed me to visualize a numbing sensation starting with my hand and flowing through my arm to any part of my body where I needed it. In between contractions, I was able to eat, talk, and play scrabble. By 4:00 pm, I decided it was time to call the birth center and go in. Mike was so loving to me on the drive over. I was lying on my side in the front seat, as I could not lie directly on my back due to my sacrum spasms with every contraction. Along the way, he told me about one of the beautiful islands we had visited in Palau. It was wonderful to relive that experience with him. We arrived at the birth center around 5:00 pm, and the beautiful green room that I had pre-selected was ready and waiting for us. I was delighted to find after an initial exam that I was already 6 centimeters dilated. I also felt so blessed to be at a place that had no routine exams for me, only ones that I requested. The baby was monitored periodically with a very unobtrusive Doppler that worked underwater. Then, I spent some time on the birthing ball and walking around a bit. I was greatly challenged by back labor, and it was hard to get comfortable. When Gera, one of the midwives, suggested maybe it was a good time to go in the tub, I was thrilled. Once the tub was filled and I got in, I immediately relaxed. We had brought jets and bubblers for the tub, and I was able to direct one of them directly on my sacrum. The water offered so much relief that Gidget and I were able to play a few more rounds on our scrabble game! Once I was in the water, there was no getting me out. I love water, have a hot tub at home, and am also a scuba diver. So, the water was such a natural place for me to be, to be able to move freely into whatever position was best at the moment, to feel that soothing weightlessness, to breathe in the steam. Who needs an epidural when you can have abundant water without being strapped down and with no side effects? After a bit, I could feel things changing. Transition had begun. I wanted Mike at my side every moment now. He was incredibly tender holding my hand, holding my face, reminding me to relax every part of my body one at a time. “Relax your jaw, relax your shoulders, relax your arms…” he would say, and I just melted. I was able to keep releasing any tension that crept up. Nausea came over me and the midwives quickly and very effectively held up a bucket for me. I was so glad that I had only eaten very friendly foods, such as bananas, cream of wheat and easy mac! The water brigade was incredibly effective. All hands were on deck to help me: Mike, Gidget, Christina, and the midwives Nancy and Gera. Mike held my hand, while others put a cool cloth over my eyes and forehead, and others constantly poured water over my sacrum. As long as that steady stream of water remained, I could handle the intensity of the back spasms. As the pushing picked up, the “ring of fire” began. How could I have missed the chapter on this? It was very unexpectedly intense. Gera applied pressure to my perineum, which greatly helped me to focus my pushing in that direction, and to relieve some of the burning sensation. I was also quite surprised at how vocal I became. Everyone did a great job at reminding me to keep the pitch of my noises low instead of high. The low groans really helped to facilitate my pushing. I was in the narrow end of the tub on my knees with my legs cramped against the sides. I needed more room, but did not know what to do. The midwives suggested, “do you want to move or get out of the tub?” All I heard was, “do you want to get out?” My prompt answer was “no, no, no”. I was never getting out of that tub! Finally, Mike and Gera dragged me around in the tub so that I had my hands on the long end of the tub. This allowed me to instinctively be on my knees and spread my legs open into a very wide squat, making my pushing much more effective. When he was still about an inch from the opening, Gera said, “you can feel the head!” I reached my fingers in and felt his head full of hair. He was really in there! He was really coming! Not too long afterwards, during one very long and effective contraction, I gave a big push and felt the head move out. One more push during the same contraction, and the rest of his body came out. Our son had been born! Mike felt him go by his leg in the tub. My thought was, did someone catch him? Gera had indeed caught the baby before he hit the bottom of the tub. Gera and Nancy flipped Mike and I over into sitting position in the tub and plopped our son on my belly. He’s so beautiful! Hello, little one! Look at all that hair! Those big blue eyes! The ultrasound was right; he really is a boy! There were no loud cries from him the whole time we were at the birth center. He let out only light squeaks. What a peaceful, spiritual way to be brought into this world, and on Martin Luther King’s birthday. Gera asked if he had a name, and I decided on Maximilian Stanley. Our son had been born! It was 10:21 pm, Monday, January 20, 2003. Nancy and Gera busily dealt with collecting cord blood while Max, Mike and I got to know each other. We tried to get Max interested in nursing, but he was not quite ready yet. After a bit, I was ready to push out the placenta. Then, I was finally ready to get out of the tub, and Mike and I were tucked into bed with Max for our “babymoon”, wonderful alone time for the three of us to bond. What a beautiful peaceful time for the three of us. Such a great miracle had occurred. Then, back to logistics. Max needed his full check up, weighing, and measuring. He was 7 pounds, 2 ounces, and 21 inches long. I needed quite a few stitches. He shot out so fast at the end that I had level two tears. Nancy and Gera called in Clarise, another midwife who lives nearby and is the stitching expert. She was gracious enough to come in and did a wonderful job. It took a really long time since the tear was extensive. I was sad to be missing Max’s exam as I was being stitched, but I knew he was in good hands with the midwives, Mike, and Gidget. Christina was with me the whole time I was being stitched and helped to keep me relaxed. After Max’s exam, Gidget joined us and stroked my forehead and cheek to keep me soothed. Meanwhile, Mike held his son, the first baby he had ever held! By 3:00 am, we were ready to bring our little bundle of sweetness home, our new family. What a joyous celebration of life this had been. I feel incredibly blessed to have had the wonderful space of the birth center to do this important work. This type of experience simply would not have been possible in a hospital with constant routines, florescent lights, random strangers and no tub. I cannot imagine having to be in a bed with the type of back labor I had! I am so very happy for my birth experience.
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