Unwavering Support During Unexpected Moments [Amanda Hyett-Ringgenberg]

So my name is Amanda Hyett-Ringgenberg, and I'm from Brookings, South Dakota. My husband and I live here with our three kids, a three, a two, and a three-month-old. And I am an environmental health and safety specialist for the University of Minnesota Morris.

Did you consider a vaginal birth after your previous c-sections?

So, with the third one, we just decided the knowledge, the comfort, I knew what to expect going in, and that was reassuring for me, and I think my husband, too. He's been part of these conversations as well. We knew what to expect, and we knew that recovery would look a specific way as well.

What was August's birth like?

Yeah. So, August's birth, you know, everything was, I would say, as expected. Everything was going to plan, I would say. And then whenever they went to actually deliver him, so they had entered my uterus, then he was so high up in my abdomen. Likely just because of the three successive births, they couldn't get him out. And so they actually had to use the vacuum device to position his head correctly and get him out. I had both doctor...both doctors were pushing on the upper part of my abdomen to try and position him, and he just wouldn't come out. And so they had to use that device. I didn't know that was a thing during a C-section. That was a surprise to me. And so, not following the script that I had in my brain of what a C-section is from my past, too, that was a little nerve-wracking for me.

How did the staff help you stay calm?

They were just reassuring faces. Brian was our anesthesiologist who was there for our second delivery as well. And so just to know him, he was in the room. Morgan, she was so knowledgeable and just so...such a calming resource for me and my husband. The minute that I noticed a change in kind of the procedure, I guess you could say, I looked to her and she just had the most reassuring eyes. I could tell that she was...she told me a number of times, "Everything's good. Everything's fine. You're good, baby's good." And Brian did the same thing. He went and actually, after he was born, after August was born, he explained, you know, we like the baby to be out in a certain amount of time. August was still happy, healthy. Nothing was wrong with him. And he still was delivered within that time frame. So, all was well.

How did the team support your birth plan?

I told every nurse and every person in the OR room that I wanted skin-to-skin as soon as possible, and they were really understanding of that desire. I explained why. In my second birth, I didn't get that quite to the degree I wanted. And so as soon as he was delivered, he was only taken to the warmer for seconds, it felt like, and then they quickly got him back on...got him on my chest. Just a blanket. I don't even think he got a diaper on. And it just really solidified, like they listened to what I wanted and helped in a way distract me from everything else that's happening. But then I got to have that moment with him, and it was just him and I, it felt like in that room. And my care staff did everything in their power to make that happen. We did weight, and we did all the vitals later, which was exactly what I wanted.

How did recovering in your OB room after a c-section improve your experience?

Yeah. It was so nice. You just don't have that intermediate step. And so you can come right back to your room, you know, all of your space in that for a temporary portion of time. It's just yours again. And you're not kind of in this limbo of having a ton of people come into a curtained off room, you're it back in your room. And I know it was nice for my husband too, like he got to come right back and be able to hold baby, and him and I could exchange that role back in that space. And then it just made the rest of the transition of our stay that much smoother. It wasn't so choppy.

How did the team help you breastfeed shortly after birth?

Just a solidification that you can do it, I guess. Even with having two successful breastfeeding journeys prior, there's still a bit of yourself that questions whether that's going to happen and whether baby's going to know what to do and your body's going to know what to do. And for it all to come together, even before we left the operating room, that was really reassuring for our future in that journey.

How did the team support your breastfeeding journey?

Yeah. So, the benefit of August latching in the OR is that that started that process really quickly, but positioning wasn't the most ideal. Lying flat on your back, that's not my preferred position. And so we did end up having a little bit of latching difficulties and a little bit of nipple trauma that came from that. But having nurses and staff that are right outside your room and helping maybe another mom can come right and help you. You're not having to make an appointment with somebody, you're not having to figure out insurance problems, anything like that. Having that resource right whenever you're delivering gets you on a better journey. They are hands-on in the best way. They will help you find the right position. They will involve your spouse or your partner to ensure that they're able to help you with that process too. It's a learning curve for both you and baby. Even going through the journey twice before, there are differences between my curls and now August. So again, having that resource that's right there and available and can help you in the moment and not trying to have you struggle through things first.

How did the New Beginnings Baby Café support you after discharge?

We went for a weight check. Was kind of our initial reason why we went, just to make sure that in between those first appointments with our primary care provider for August that he was still gaining. That was really nice. You could just pop in, weigh baby, nurse, weigh baby again, and see, "Okay. I am transferring." Wet diapers, that's great, but you still have that in your brain, especially the scientist in me wants a number, wants a value. And with breastfeeding, nursing directly at the breast can be difficult. So, having that was awesome. And then later in our journey, a couple of weeks later, just kind of once you figure out one thing, something else popped up, and so we visited again just to kind of discuss flange sizing for a little bit of pumping journey that was going to be started, and ensuring that we were utilizing a nipple shield correctly. Just kind of covered the gambit of some of the nursing challenges that you could see. Again, things I didn't experience with my girls and worked through with August.

What did you appreciate most about your delivery experience?

I would say the biggest thing for me was being close to home. You know, it's a 15-minute drive for us that morning, and a 5 a.m., you know, being at the hospital at 5 a.m., that's an early morning. Not that you sleep regardless of what that drive would be like or that night before would be like. But I would say being close to home, you know, we could have family visit us, and that wasn't something we had with our first, with the addition that that was a COVID baby too. So, there were extra, you know, things we couldn't do then. But we could have family visit, we could have friends that could stop by and bring us meals or whatever it was that we needed in that moment. My husband was able to still take care of our other two children, and with family help, have their involvement. So, for me, I would say it's just being close to home.

Why did you recommend delivery at Brookings Health System?

I think that it's just such a vital resource for us to have here. We are so blessed to have a great medical community in Sioux Falls, an hour away. But to have the same level of high-quality care here in Brookings that we don't even have to make that drive for, that is invaluable, and I want to make sure that we can keep that resource here.

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.