Confidence & Comfort in the Delivery Room

My name is Lauren Cloud and I am originally from Chicago area, and moved here seven years ago with my husband. I currently work at Daktronics part-time, and then, I spend the rest of my days at home with my kids.

Why did you choose Brookings Health System?

My second daughter, we went into labor at home, and it was so quick that we had her in the elevator at the hospital in Sioux Falls.  
 
So, after talking through with my husband, after we found out we were pregnant again, we decided to deliver in Brookings because we wanted to make it to a hospital this time. And I was really nervous because we had...when you know something really well and have already had two kids somewhere, you feel comfortable and safe there. So, I was really nervous to deliver in Brookings, and it was an amazing experience.  
 
I feel like it was...we both knew that we needed to deliver here so that we didn't deliver her on the highway, and wanted it to be a safe place to have her, and didn't wanna have her at home. And so, we just...that's why we picked Brookings, is because it's close, we live five minutes away from here, and, kind of, knew that needed to be our option this time. And we definitely had a great experience here.  
 
How was your experience with Dr. Haarsma?

Dr. Haarsma was great. The first appointment we had, she kinda just talked me through the whole process of what her appointments would look like, and I, kind of, knew the expectations throughout the whole process. She was really great at answering any questions that I had.  
 
When it got closer to time of delivery with Indy, I had questions of, "What happens if I go into labor at home?" And, "I'm not going to make it," and she...every appointment, I feel like I left feeling confident and comfortable with where we were at in the pregnancy, and she was very clear at explaining everything that I needed to know and any concerns that I had. So, I always felt like I left feeling, "Okay, I can do this. And I feel very comfortable and confident about what we're doing." 
 
How did the nursing staff support you during delivery?

The nursing staff was wonderful. When I started going into labor, they were there in the beginning, they were super encouraging. I just remember the nurse that was in there when I started going into labor, she kept telling me, "You're doing a really good job." And I could tell that she...that I just had that playing over and over in my head, and I could tell that she really meant that I was doing a good job, which is so good to hear when you feel like everything is just so hard in the moment.  
 
And I just...she was just super encouraging to tell me, "You're doing a great job breathing through contractions," and I feel like she just kept me very calm. Sometimes, husbands don't always know what to do when you are in pain and having contractions, so she was, like, that calming voice in the back of my head to tell me just to stay calm and breathe through contractions. And, "You're doing awesome." 
 
How did the staff support you after delivery?

I just felt like through the whole process from my first appointment to after Indy was born, any questions I had were answered. People were very proactive to ask if I had any questions or concerns, and then, just to talk through anything that needed to be talked through. After Indy was born, they were really great with making sure that I was comfortable, and made sure I had anything, you know, water, pain medication. Anything that I needed, they were right there.  
 
They were also really great helping with Indy, just to change diapers and to, you know, hold her for a little while so that we can take a nap, or take a break. And they were really quick to just jump in and ask for help. And then afterwards, I had a really quick recovery, also, but one thing that I really appreciated was they have you come back, like, a week later, and check and make sure that breastfeeding is going well. And do a weight check before and after you feed her.  
 
And I just really appreciated that because it's nice to know. You take this baby home, and even if it's not your first, you really still feel like you don't know what you're doing. And then to come back and just get the reassurance that she's growing, she's thriving, everything is going well. Just to have that confidence in what you're doing is nice to have.  
 
What did you appreciate most about Brookings Health System?

I just really like how they were...gave me and my husband space to, like, do everything that we needed to do, and just be in the moment, but they were also so present at the same time. So, they just had a great balance of being with us, and then, giving us space. I think that's the thing that both my husband and I look back on and just think was so great about the care, is they let us make decisions and didn't question anything that we had asked for or wanted about our care, but they were very present also.  
 
Would you recommend Brookings Health System?

And I've already recommended to a lot of people in the last four months. Because I was so nervous going into it, I really had a...I almost feel like I went into it with a standoff-ish opinion about Brookings Health, and coming out on the other end of it, we had such a positive experience. We really loved it here, and are really thankful that we delivered here. It went really well.