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News and Events
Newborn Makes a Splash at Hudson Hospital
From Hudson Star Observer, October 19, 2007, Randy Hanson, writer
Meah Schlotte went for a short underwater swim before arriving into the world at 1:02 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 26.
The birth of the healthy 8-pound, 5-ounce girl was a first for Hudson Hospital.
Instead of delivering her first child lying on her back in a hospital bed, Meah’s mother, 23-year-old Lindsay Schlotte of River Falls, opted to give birth in a pool of warm water.
“I don’t have anything to compare it with, but I thought it was pretty great for me, personally,” she said last week. “I didn’t feel any pain until, of course, she was coming out.”
Schlotte was able to finish taking Meah from her womb after the baby’s head and shoulders and most of her body had emerged.
“I actually got to pull her out of the water, which was really cool,” she said.
The water birth was suggested to Schlotte by her nurse midwife, Stephanie Johnson.
While it was the first water delivery of a baby at Hudson Hospital, Johnson said the practice is probably as old as the first midwives. Women in other countries have been delivering babies in water for centuries, she said, and the practice is quite common in Europe.
Water births have been gaining popularity in the United States, too, over the past 15 years, she said.
The main benefit of getting into a tub of warm water to give birth, according to Johnson, is the relaxation it promotes.
“As a woman relaxes deeply in water, her hormones kick in and she starts progressing faster and with rhythm. Labor becomes efficient,” she said. “The water helps to relax the pelvis floor muscles and minimizes pain so effectively that for some women other pain control methods aren’t needed.”
The promise of having her pain reduced without drugs was one of the things that sold Schlotte on the water delivery.
She didn’t want to have an epidural — a pain-killing injection near the spine — that many women receive during childbirth.
“I didn’t want to have to worry about that,” Schlotte said. “I did it naturally. I didn’t have any drugs at all.”
Schlotte checked into Hudson Hospital to have her water broken on the morning of Sept. 25 because Meah was overdue. She got into the birthing tub at close to midnight, with a little more than an hour of labor to go.
Her huband, Ben, mother, Kathy Sveivan, Johnson and a Hudson Hospital nurse were with Schlotte in the room.
Ben, a construction worker, sat on a chair outside the tub, helping to stabilize Lindsay as she floated in the water.
Schlotte said being in the water was relaxing and allowed her to change positions to make her more comfortable.
According to Johnson, when women are able to relax during childbirth, it allows their hormones to take over and speed up the labor.
Women are always interested in having their labor go more quickly, Johnson said, “especially the first-time moms whose anxiety is really, really high.”
Johnson said that being in the water also reduces tearing of the mother’s perineum and speeds postpartum recovery.
Remaining awake, un-medicated and in control enhances the birth experience for the mother, and it becomes a source of personal strength that enriches her life, Johnson added.
Schlotte will testify to that.
“It was just great,” she said.
Meah, her mother said, is “perfect.”
“She’s just wide awake and alert. That’s the way she was when she first came out of the water. She didn’t really cry. She was just happy to be out.”
Schlotte also had high praise for the staff and facilities at Hudson Hospital.
Prior to delivery, Johnson sees patients at St. Croix Obstetrics & Women’s Health clinic, located at 1610 Maxwell Drive in Hudson. The clinic is in a new building behind the WESTconsin Credit Union at the corner of Carmichael and Hanley Roads.
She said she has seven water deliveries of babies scheduled for Hudson Hospital in November.
“I think it is something that is going to take off when women understand the benefits of it,” she said. “People just don’t know that it is available.”
You can schedule an appointment with Johnson by calling St. Croix Obstetrics at (715) 381-9566.
To learn more about St. Croix Obstetrics, go online at www.stcroixob.com, and for information on Hudson Hospital’s maternity care, visit www.hudsonhospital.org.
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Hudson Hospital is a non-profit community hospital since 1953, and is located just off Interstate I-94 in Hudson, WI. The hospital campus is designed with the latest technology and amenities to support whole health and healing for patients and their families. Twenty-five private hospital rooms feature private bath, garden views, guest accommodations, room service for patients and guests, and spacious room to relax or visit with family, friends and even the family pet. Hudson Hospital recognizes the important role that family and friends can play in health and recovery, and personalizes a plan of care that works best for the patient and their family. Specialty services include inpatient and outpatient care in rehabilitation, emergency care, orthopaedic care, maternity and birth, surgery, cardiology, and treatment, rehabilitation and medical imaging.
(This article has been edited by Hudson Hospital Marketing and Communications.)
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