Jeff and I wouldn't have survived our unique experience without the support of UW midwives and Meriter Emergency Room and Birthing Center staff.

I was pregnant with my third child. On the day my contractions started, my husband, Jeff, hurt his back while he was playing football with one of our other boys. I told him to go upstairs and rest. Later that night, when my contractions started to kick in, I went upstairs to tell him that I thought we needed to get to the hospital. It was then that I first realized what bad shape he was in. He couldn't get off the floor! 

We had to do some fast thinking and quick work. We called a friend over and she helped to get Jeff in the car. I drove us to Meriter and dropped him off at the ER. When I walked in to the ER, I think the staff just assumed I was in labor. I told them it was my husband who needed the immediate help. They then got him out of the car and in to one of the rooms. The staff gave him a heavy dose of muscle relaxant and painkillers. His severe pain finally subsided, but he was out cold.

Within a few hours, I found myself in the Birthing Center ready to deliver. The midwives and nurses stayed in contact with staff at the ER, to let my husband know how I was doing. The ER staff worked hard to stabilize Jeff's pain and wheel him up to my room, where we could at least be together for the birth of Rowan, our son. Unbelievably, this did happen. About a half hour before I delivered, they pushed Jeff into my room on a gurney. We were laying side-by-side, holding hands, when Rowan was born.

We laugh now about how many people there were in our room... midwives, nurses, ER staff. But thank goodness everyone was there to help, because we needed it. And everyone did a great job of supporting us.

Each and every delivery is unique, but this is one we will never forget. Thanks everybody!
Kim