Consistency and Autonomy Creates a Comfortable Pregnancy Experience [Ellie Arndt]

I'm Ellie Arndt. I grew up in Norfolk, Nebraska, but I live in Brookings now, and have since 2019. I'm married to my husband. We've been married for almost seven years, and we have a dog, and two babies, both of which were born here in Brookings. Samantha is almost two, she'll be two in July, and Amelia is about six months old.

Why did you choose Brookings Health System?

Really, I chose Brookings because it was in town. I didn't want to travel an hour-plus for care. I chose Brookings at first...I needed, first of all, gynecological care. There was the women's clinic here, and again it was just in town. I kind of got randomly assigned to Dr. Abele, and just didn't have a second thought about it. Location was the primary reason.

How was the care during your pregnancies?

It was great. I have no regrets about having my care through Brookings Health System. Dr. Abele was there with me when we were having trouble conceiving, she was there when we went through a miscarriage, and then she was there to celebrate with me when we finally had successful pregnancies as well. It's just been a great support. I like the familiarity of the people we've been able to work with.

Why did you have additional ultrasounds?

Everything was feeling pretty normal through my first pregnancy with Samantha, and about...after the 20-week ultrasound to see all of her anatomy, everything came back normal except she was small. And so with that intrauterine growth restriction, the IUGR, they wanted to monitor, make sure everything was okay, and so we came back in. When she wasn't staying on her curve, she was measuring below the 10th percentile, we just wanted to keep an eye on that and make sure everything was okay. And it was, thank goodness.

When I got pregnant with Amelia, because it was a shorter time span between pregnancies as well, they knew there was a higher chance of IUGR again, and so we continued to come in for extra growth ultrasounds. And she was still measuring small, but healthy overall. So every time we came in, we got not necessarily measurements, but always checked the umbilical cord, checked to make sure fluids were all okay, everything else was looking normal. And we kind of got into a habit of coming in and seeing our ultrasound techs, and knowing the drill, and then walking away feeling comfortable. Even though baby was small, she was healthy.

What is Spinning Babies?

So spinning babies, I guess from my understanding, is doing exercises and stretches that communicate to the baby which position they need to be in, and to help them to get into the right position for birth.

Why did Dr. Abele recommend performing exercises from Spinning Babies?

With Amelia, she was being just kind of stubborn. She was in that breech position for a while, and we needed her to flip. So she gave me some handouts, some suggestions for what to do with spinning babies, particularly the forward leaning inversion one to get her to flip, and she did. So that was the really big one that she gave me to do at home, and she said to do it, you know, every few days, and then once I felt a big movement to stop, because we didn't want her to flip back if she flipped the way we wanted her to. And I felt that big movement, and then the next time we came in for that extra ultrasound, she was head down, and in the right position.

Were the Spinning Babies exercises easy to understand?

Yep, she demonstrated them for me in the office, and I was able to go home and do them on my couch, or downstairs on a folding chair or whatever, or on an ottoman. Yeah, and then because my husband came with me to my appointments, he was able to help me, and do all of that, too.

What did the Spinning Babies techniques mean to you?

It was really empowering to know that I could communicate with my baby before she was even born, really, and say, hey, we need to get you in this position to do this right. And any time, for me personally, any time I can avoid intervention, that would be kind of the goal for me. So it felt good to not have to take any additional risk, and able to do that myself felt again very empowering.

How did the staff support you during labor and delivery?

They supported us through the entire thing. I remember specifically during the birth of Samantha, my first daughter, that Taylor, my husband, was very nervous, right? Neither one of us had been through anything like this before, and he was kind of pacing around the room, and didn't really know what to do. Just kind of being there to verbally support me, but didn't know where to be, or how to make himself useful.

And I know one of the nurses came in and directed him to sit in the chair, and hold my hand, and you know, be a support for me, and I think being direct for him was what he needed at that time, and to say, hey, dad, everything is going to be okay. We're going to get through this. She's going to start pushing soon. But there's going to be a lot of people coming in... To just kind of set up his expectations for what's going to happen, but to also not be in their way, I guess. And I think he really appreciated that very direct communication with him through that process.

As for me, both times, I so much appreciated that they let me know what options were available for me. So I used the jacuzzi in the birthing suite both times, a couple times both times, and I wouldn't have even known that that was an option had they not communicated that to me. The second time we did some spinning babies, some stretches, some side lunges, walking around. They supported me in letting me know what birthing positions were available, what I could do, and really let me choose my path, and like, lead with my intuition about what felt best for me at that time. And so again, I just felt very empowered to do what would make my birthing experience the best for me.

Why did you choose nitrous oxide instead of an epidural?

I'm not against epidurals by any means, but I just didn't want one for myself. I really appreciated that I had some form of pain control that would leave my body quickly, and it wouldn't transfer over to baby, and there was no...not no risk, but there wasn't a whole lot of risk, and I was again, just able to move around, really, really helped with that process. I was able to start it and stop it when I wanted to, and it helped me get through some of the really, really bad contractions. And then by the time it came time to push, I could get rid of it, and focus all of my effort and energy where I needed to. That was a really big deal for me. And I didn't know that it was an option until I came to give birth with Samantha, and they said here's what we have. What sounds good, if anything? And so again, just that education piece that I got was really, really useful in making that decision.

How did movement help during labor and delivery?

It distracted me a little bit. But I also feel that moving through some of those contractions helped. From what I remember, you know? Because it's all kind of a blur. But from what I remember, there was some communication between Dr. Abele and Audra, my nurse, that baby, Amelia at the time, we didn't know boy or girl, but baby was coming in at kind of an angle. And so she said, hey, let's do some of these side lunges, and let's get baby in position for birth. And so again, just being able to do that, and not feeling like I needed extra intervention was really, really useful, and again, just very empowering. Being able to get in and out of the tub when I wanted to, or you know, just not feel like I was restrained or stuck in a bed made that a whole lot better. And it gave me a sense of autonomy during the birthing process, which I hear a lot of women don't get elsewhere, so I appreciated that.

How was your postpartum care?

One thing I appreciate about Brookings Health System in general, and my care here is that they follow up for things like postpartum depression and anxiety. A lot of times that goes unnoticed, and that's fortunately for me not something I've experienced, but every time I fill one out, I'm like, there's a reason that they're doing this, and it's really, really important.

Did you feel supported in your decision to breastfeed?

Absolutely, I felt supported in my decision to breastfeed. I know even when I was having my surgery, Dr. Abele made sure that medications I was being given would not interfere with that bond and that process that we are going through.

How did the New Beginnings Baby Café support your breastfeeding goals?

Knowing I had somewhere, and someone to support me every week, and check in and kind of form semi-relationships with the other moms that were going, and just to check in and say, hey, like, you know, babies are four weeks old now, what are we experiencing, felt really, really incredible. With Samantha, at first it was a really big deal to me to breastfeed, and I really wanted to do that. And then it turned out with Samantha that I just wasn't producing enough and she wasn't getting enough, and I don't think I would have known that if it weren't for Baby Café.

And so it was really reassuring for me to get those extra weights, and that extra support to say, hey, this isn't quite working maybe how plan A was planned, but here are some options for you. And then once we started supplementing with formula, I continued to come to Baby Café, get those updated weights and see that growth, and that was really, really helpful for my mental health, and to know that she was healthy and growing the way she needed to be. And so knowing what to do a little bit better the second time around made it work better with Amelia.

What did you appreciate most about your care?

It's really hard to pinpoint one thing that I appreciated, but I would say I appreciated the familiarity, the honesty of, and the open communication with my care team. I felt empowered to make my decisions, I felt supported in those decisions, and even when I had questions, they answered them, you know? They didn't make me feel like I was not prepared, for having questions. And so I appreciated the level of empowerment and autonomy I had with their support and guidance along the whole way, and the fact that I could have the same doctor through both my pregnancies, through both deliveries, and know who was on my care team.

What would you tell someone considering delivery at Brookings Health System?

I would say the OB team at Brookings Health System is great. They're very supportive. The one time I didn't have an appointment with Dr. Abele, that doctor was just as supportive and helpful in that part of my pregnancy. I liked that I was able to see Dr. Abele the whole way through, and have her deliver both of my babies. It was a very comforting process. I also liked not having to drive an hour home with a newborn baby. Being local, being close to home made that anxiety much, much lower. And when I came in for my second delivery, my first baby was home, five minutes away, and it didn't feel like, we were really distant. And so being home, being close to home, having a quick drive home when we were all done was the right decision for us.

Why do you recommend delivery at Brookings Health System?

It's here. They're professional, they're supportive. They empower you to make the decisions that you think are right for you and your family, and they support you in those decisions, and I can't express my gratitude enough for that.

Are you one of Brookings Health System's grateful patients who would like to give back to us? Learn more about how you can give back at brookingshealth.org/MyThanks.