“We’re not unhappy with the hospital,” Margi says. “But, I am under the impression a hospital is where you go when you are sick. Births have nothing to do with being sick. “I would feel safe and comfortable at a hospital. I just don’t want to start there.” If there is evidence of a problem, Margi trusts Angel and Lois in making the decision to get her to the hospital quickly. The center collaborates with doctors at both the Hutchinson Regional Healthcare System and Rice County District Hospital in Lyons. Lois and Angel believe pregnancy and birth are a natural part of a woman’s life. They provide education for the parents, let them make decisions and support them in those decisions. Seven weeks since her birth, Ruby Sue was back at the center for a follow-up visit. Passed between Angel and Lois, the two women admired the happy infant. Ruby Sue is the first child of Clinton and Jamie Snyder. Jamie is a registered nurse and knew enough about hospital deliveries to know she and Clinton wanted a different kind of experience. “It’s an amazing thing, a godly experience,” Jamie says. “It makes you a believer. I went out walking and looked at the moon. It helped my contraction.” Jamie relished the freedom to walk outside despite being in labor. Plus, Jamie felt she and Clinton had input in everything that happened. When she was far enough along she relaxed between contractions in the deep Jacuzzi bathtub as the labor slowly progressed. “They made you feel like you were in safe hands,” Jamie says. “I would recommend this to anybody who doesn’t have a high-risk pregnancy.” Heartwarming experience A tradition at the center is to bake a cake when the mother is in labor or soon after the baby is born. Lois Yoder opened a cupboard door in the center’s kitchen and pointed to a supply of yellow and chocolate cake mixes. The families have a choice of the two flavors for the special first birthday cake of their newborn’s life. “It is so homey,” says Margi. “You walk in and hear a baby cry and smell cake. It does have a small-town feel. Angel and Lois are not there just to do their job—it’s a community. It’s about creating families and supporting families. “And, it’s not a party without cake.”
Winter 2016
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