Nurses Make the Greatest Difference in the Birth Center [Emma Perkins]

My name is Emma Perkins. This is Nora Perkins. She has the hiccups. I am from west Fargo, North Dakota. I was actually born here. I have three kids. The oldest, Asher, just turned three at the beginning of April, Lewis will be two in July and Nora is almost three months. So, they're pretty close.

Why did you choose Brookings Health System for delivery?

Nora was born here in Brookings. We chose Brookings Hospital because it's where we had our first two as well, and we had great experiences, so we won't choose anywhere else.

How did Dr. Bennis help you feel comfortable?

All three of my deliveries were normal healthy deliveries, which I'm thankful for. But they were all three still different, and Dr. Bennis was great. We love that she was able and willing to come in to deliver Nora, even though she wasn't on call, so we felt really loved and cared for by that.

How did the staff support you during delivery?

The reason I was really excited to come do this video is because we just have had a phenomenal experience with the Brookings Hospital and especially with the nurses. They've just treated both my husband and I like family. You know, they're there for you through one of the most traumatic experiences in life, not just traumatic but exhilarating. They become like friends and family just in those however many hours. And so we just love the nurses especially. And, you know, they're providing you care and making sure you're comfortable and bringing you a snack in the middle of the night when you're nursing your baby, asking if you want some peanut butter toast and those things have all just really stood out to us.

How was your postpartum recovery?

Recovery for Nora was my best recovery yet. It felt like the next day, I was able to just be back to my normal self. Although when I tried to pick up one of my sons, I was reminded that I just had a baby. But recovery went really smooth for me and for Nora. I think part of just having a third baby that it gets a little bit easier with each one is what I'm told.

How did the staff support your decision to breastfeed?

I have been able to breastfeed all three of my babies. And especially with the first one, the nurses were super, super helpful. Just, yeah, right away, they taught me how to get a good latch, and how to position the baby, and how to position myself. And also the baby cafe has been a great resource as well. With my second, I was a little concerned with his weight gain, and it was wonderful having lactation consultants available without any extra cost, just able to go in and ask my questions and feel right at home with, you know, a room full of nursing mothers.

How has Baby Café provided breastfeeding support?

I loved it. It was sort of this surreal thing. You walk into the room, and there's a bunch of nursing women all just sitting in a circle. And you just fit right in, and you just start nursing. And just the, I don't know, the bond that happens that you can just talk with other moms and hear how it's going. They have a scale right there, which is super nice if you want to know exactly where your baby's at in growth, things like that.

What differences have you noticed after the birth center renovation?

Especially with the room we were in this time, we were able to fit a lot of visitors. Some people don't like a lot of visitors because they like to have a private time. But for me, I want everybody to come see my new baby. So it was great to have a lot of family and friends be able to fit into the room at one time. The only real difference that I noticed was a better view, at least in our room, and the waiting room area for our kids to visit and family was bigger. But other than that, the care was the same, the quality was the same, just a little bit of an upgrade.

What did you appreciate most about Brookings Health System?

With all three of my pregnancies, the nurses have gone above and beyond what I've thought that they would just with not giving me the information I need to be a mom and to take a baby home on my own but also to just making sure I'm comfortable and having what I need and bringing me food in the middle of the night, all of those kind of things.

Would you recommend Brookings Health System?

I would definitely recommend Brookings Health System to a friend. If God gives us a fourth baby, we will definitely come here again.