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Taylin Holyoak had her third child in the Houston Methodist Willowbrook low-intervention birth suites.
Low-intervention birth suites at Houston Methodist Willowbrook provide comfort and care for mothers looking to give birth without medical intervention.
Low-intervention birth suites at Houston Methodist Willowbrook provide comfort and care for mothers looking to give birth without medical intervention.
Low-intervention birth suites at Houston Methodist Willowbrook provide comfort and care for mothers looking to give birth without medical intervention.
Low-intervention birth suites at Houston Methodist Willowbrook provide comfort and care for mothers looking to give birth without medical intervention.
Low-intervention birth suites at Houston Methodist Willowbrook provide comfort and care for mothers looking to give birth without medical intervention.
For some expecting mothers, natural physiologic birth may seem scary due to limited access to medical intervention.
Houston Methodist Willowbrook is looking to combine the natural with the medically safe, providing mothers a space to give natural birth in a home-like environment with hospital equipment right around the corner.
“I think most women assume it’s impossible to have low-intervention birthing experiences—I know I once did,” said Taylin Holyoak, a mother who has given birth in the Houston Methodist Willowbrook low-intervention birthing suites.
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“For me, I choose low-intervention to avoid the risks associated with epidurals. I like being in control and having mobility, and I think it’s helped aid my recoveries.”
The hospital recently opened two low-intervention birthing suites — rooms for mothers wanting to give natural birth without use of medicine or medical intervention. According to Houston Methodist Willowbrook, they are the most advanced suites of this kind in a Houston hospital. The rooms are equipped with a queen-sized bed instead of a hospital bed, a hydrotherapy bathtub, a refrigerator and other birthing equipment.
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The rooms are structured to create a sense of home and comfort according to certified Houston Methodist Willowbrook midwife Becky McKimmey.
McKimmey previously worked as an out-of-hospital midwife delivering babies in home or in birthing centers. Expecting mothers wanting to use the low-intervention spaces are not required to go through the midwifery program.
“I wanted to bring that model into the hospital so women who needed (to use) insurance or felt more comfortable having that safety net of the hospital around them could deliver their babies with a choice,” she said. “It’s about letting the mom’s body do what it does on its own with as little intervention as possible.”
Mothers of all kinds, first time or not, have used the suites and have their needs met through constant monitoring from staff. Although midwives are more hands-off during birth, doulas are also allowed to be in the suite during the birth. Mothers are told to come to the suites on the birth day as close to labor as possible.
Part of what makes the experience more accessible is Houston Methodist’s acceptance of insurance, which birthing centers and at-home providers usually do not take, McKimmey said.
“We don’t do water birth, but they can deliver in any position or any space in those low-intervention rooms. We have a lot of moms that deliver on their hands and knees or in a squat. We have a birthing stool that we utilize. There’s a lot more freedom of movement,” compared to a hospital bed, McKimmey said.
Equipment used to monitor the birth or manage pain are all natural and non-medical, with Novii monitors used to read the baby’s heartbeat through doppler technology and nitrous oxide — also known as laughing gas — available as a more natural form of pain relief. Mothers may choose which devices they would prefer used.
Another boon to having a natural birth in the suites is the quick access to medical equipment if needed, including epidurals and emergency equipment if necessary. Medical equipment is also available in the room, but hidden to preserve the calm, home feeling.
“Women that choose to have their babies at home will usually have qualified providers but here at the hospital we have the interventions quickly and immediately,” McKimmey said. “If I need a physician there’s one down the hall that will be in the room in three minutes. We have the ability to flex very easily for safety.”
Holyoak previously had two of her children in low-intervention situations. She said the experience was not only improved by the midwives, but that the experience was made easier overall because of the safety provided by the staff and environment. Holyoak was able to maneuver around the room while being helped by midwives, allowed to play her own music, dim the lights, or use aromatherapy during the birth.
“This was my third baby and the first time I had a birthing tub,” she said. “It was a good tool for helping me through contractions—it helped take the weight off. I literally mean that, like being in the warm water helped take the weight of the baby bump and my own body weight off so I could just focus on relaxing, breathing calmly, and letting my mind picture my body pulling open so I could meet my baby.”
While the midwife program is not required to use the suites, Holyoak commended the staff for the attention to detail and support provided before and after her third child’s birth in March. The Houston Methodist Willowbrook midwife team will meet with mothers from as early as conception to discuss the safety of their birth, give them aid during pregnancy and prepare for their birth date, whether in the low-intervention birthing suites or not.
McKimmey said the midwifery process is meant to give mothers a helping hand with their birth through scheduled calls, help during the actual labor and with postpartum care, including extensive care for postpartum depression.
“Once the baby is born, we will spend a little bit of time helping mom and baby transition,” she said, such as helping mothers with the first latch. “Then they stay in those low-intervention birth suites for two to three hours as they transition into stability and move to the post-partum rooms like everyone else.”
Whether a mother wants the full suite of midwifery care and the natural birth or just one of the services, both Holyoak and McKimmey recommend mothers do research about natural birth if they are interested. McKimmey said some of her natural birthing mothers switch gears mid-birth, which is acceptable in the hospital environment and easier to access with resources nearby compared to home births.
“We always encourage them to have a meet and greet with us,” McKimmey said. “Look for positive birth stories. As a community we like to look at train wrecks and share the bad outcomes, but I always encourage moms to look at the positive and what their ultimate ideal would be. Look for people who accomplished that and see how their experienced looked.”
Holyoak said she is satisfied and fulfilled with her natural birthing experiences with her midwives. She encourages mothers interested in the experience to push past their fear and research before they make their decision.
“It was a special experience being able to have a natural birthing experience where I felt comfortable, supported, and having the safety net of additional care if needed,” she said. “It was empowering being able to do what I once thought was impossible. The birthing suites and midwives gave me the care I needed and wanted in order to have such a beautiful, precious experience welcoming my baby.”
As for McKimmey, the middle ground of all-natural birth with a hospital as a safety net has given her a return to her origins.
“As a midwife and with a background in physiological labor and delivering at home and at birth centers, it really brought me back to my roots,” she said. “We really felt like we were doing it in her home.”
Chevall Pryce is a reporter for the northwest editions of the Houston Chronicle's community newspapers. Pryce covers regional news including education, business, local government, transportation and nonprofit organizations. He was previously a reporter for Community Impact Newspaper and graduated from Texas A&M University in 2017 with a degree in Journalism. He has been with the Houston Chronicle since September 2018 and is originally from Dallas, Texas.
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