Belle, September 2006, page 5 & 11

By ELAINE BUSCHMAN
Herald Journal Senior Reporter

While giving birth to a child may be a completely natural thing, it’s not easy by any stretch of the imagination. The mother of four children, Wendy Hinz, Buffalo, who has been married to her husband Kevin for five years, has plenty of firsthand birthing experience. 

Her first two children were natural vaginal births at a hospital and her last two children were at-home water births with a midwife attending. 

It was the birthing experience of her last two children that propelled Hinz’s interest in becoming a doula.

“When I had my home birth I knew that’s what I wanted to do,” she said. “It was calm, soothing. You learn to know and trust your body.”

The word “doula” comes from the ancient Greek word meaning “woman’s servant.” Today it describes a woman experienced in childbirth that provides continuous physical, emotional and informational support to the mother before, during and just after childbirth.

While pregnant with her first child, Hinz read Ina May’s “Spiritual Midwifery” and became interested in midwifery, birth and doulas.

It was the midwife for her third and fourth children that fueled Hinz’s interest in doulas, encouraging her to pursue training and certification.

Although not officially certified, Hinz is a DONA trained labor doula and is an active member of the Lafayette Area Doulas Information & Educational Services support group.

As a doula, Hinz said, she provides unbiased information to the couple and never pushes her own agenda onto the parents-to-be. She tailors care to meet each family’s unique needs in order to achieve the most positive and memorable birthing experience possible.

“There’s no right or wrong way to birth as long as she feels safe,” Hinz said. “It’s not about me — it’s about the couple.”

Services provided by doulas include prenatal and postpartum visits; lending library; phone and e-mail support; help the couple in preparing a birth plan; on-call 24 hours a day, starting two weeks before the due date; emotional, physical and educational support; comfort measure during labor; assistance with initial breastfeeding and taking pictures for new family (if requested).

Meetings between the expectant couple and the doula begin early on in the pregnancy and include childbirth classes and a better understanding of what will go on during the birthing process.

According to Hinz’s Web site, numerous studies have shown that the continuous support of a doula during childbirth has the following effects:

• Labors are shorter
• There are fewer complications and interventions
• Cesarean rates are reduced
• Women request less pain medication and epidurals
• Mothers experience less postpartum depression
• Greater satisfaction with childbirth
• Mothers feel more affectionate and bond more quickly with their babies
• Babies have shorter hospital stays
• Babies breastfeed more easily

Hinz points out items doulas DO NOT do as well.

Doulas do not provide medical advice, perform medical examinations, assess the mother or infant’s health, replace the father or birth partner, tell the mother what she should do or speak for the mother.

To date, Hinz has attended 11 births, two of which were in White County, and she is currently on call for five moms-to-be through the end of the year.

“A doula is becoming a very known and demanded resource,” Hinz said, adding that she’s had to turn down a few couples and refer them to another doula in the area.

And fathers benefit from the use of doula too, Hinz said.

“It’s hard for a lot of husbands to see their wives in pain,” she said, adding that the husband, boyfriend or birth partner are included in comfort measures and reassured about the process just like the moms are.

Speaking from experience

Christy Buschman’s first child, a boy, was born in a hospital and while on maternity leave she found herself watching a lot of episodes of “A Baby Story” on television. This got her thinking about a hospital water birth and when she found out she was pregnant with her second child — a little girl named Keira, now 14 months old — she sought out a doula for support.

“They say water births are so much more relaxing,” said Buschman, a Monticello resident.

Everything was OK with the hospital regarding the possibility of a water birth until eight days before she delivered when she found out this option had been denied. Despite the hiccup in the birth plan, Hinz’s support is what got her through the delivery process.

“The experience between the two (births) was night and day,” Buschman said. “The experience with my first…it was basically break your water and there you lay — lots of waiting.”

Buschman had her water broken with her second child as well and less than six hours later her daughter arrived.

“Wendy was a godsend,” she said. “She got me up walking, she had me singing to my baby. We would ride the waves.”

“And it worked,” Hinz said. “It got her concentrating.”

“The simple thing of ‘ride the waves’ and taking one contraction at a time — it wasn’t anything like (delivering) my son.”

“My husband was more at ease too,” Buschman said with a chuckle.

One area where Buschman was especially grateful for Hinz’s support was during the postpartum checkups when she had questions about breastfeeding, which were cleared up with one phone call to Hinz.

“Wendy was in contact before the birth calling me and afterwards calling and checking on me,” Buschman said.

Buschman was grateful the second time around to know she actually had options, as most people wouldn’t question what a doctor tells you.

“Educate yourself,” Hinz said. “Knowledge is power.”

Labor of love

Unlike Buschman’s six-hour labor, Mary Clark, Monon, went through 36 hours of labor before her firstborn child, a son named Everett Walters, was born.

“What she did for me was unreal,” said Clark, who as it happens has been best friends with Hinz for the last 10 years.

Hinz camped out with Clark at her home for eight hours before going to the hospital, which had sent Clark home once because her labor had not advanced enough.

But the two set a plan long before the 36-hour labor started. Clark said she worked with Hinz on nutrition, breastfeeding and a birth plan, which included putting off an epidural as long as possible.

Clark said she was thankful for the support during the process because, “She helped me with the breathing and walking and the birthing ball — once you check in you’re not getting a nurse 24/7.”

Along those lines, Clark knew there was a chance her OB-GYN might not be the actual doctor delivering the baby, and with a 36-hour labor several shifts of nurses came and went.

But the one absolute comfort was knowing Hinz would be there for her through the entire birthing process, no matter how long it took.

“It’s nice to know that no matter what happens your coach is going be there and she’s going to get you through it.

“If it had not been for Wendy…I wouldn’t have made it without her. She’s good at what she does,” Clark said.

After 20 hours of labor and still no baby, the birth plan set up months in advance became a blessing for Clark.

“I had done everything possible and wanted the epidural. She knew this was the plan and she really helped me stick up for myself (with the doctor).”

And even after the baby was born Clark knew she could count on Hinz’s support and advice.

“My baby was so upset for three days and I called Wendy and within 24 hours he was a happy baby.”

From the beginning to end and even through the follow-up visits, Clark said it was an all around great experience.

“I recommend everyone, especially is this is your first child, to have a coach or someone like Wendy,” Clark said. “It’s a natural and beautiful process — she gets you through it.”

And it’s just that reason that Hinz provides her services to expectant mothers and their partners.

“Seeing the couples say, ‘We did it,’ ‘We couldn’t have done this without you’ — that reward and seeing beautiful babies take their first breath makes me appreciate life all over again,” Hinz said.

Republished from the HJ.com with permission