Author: Chanille Campbell

A lovely BBC mama agreed to share her birth story in honor of her son’s first birthday! Happy birthday, Ellis! 

As this was my second child, I kind of already knew what I was in for, and hopefully that also included a faster delivery this time around. My first baby, Maddie, took a whopping 23 hours to arrive, including 3 hours of active, exhausting pushing.

I was excited and calm once the contractions started. Being so far along, at some point you just want the birth to happen already. I spent the early contractions in the tub, trying to relax as much as possible. Then when they started getting serious, my husband called our birthing doula Nicole— always a calming force— to check in and update her on my process.

My contractions eventually started picking up the pace late in the evening and Nicole said it was time. So my husband called my mother-in-law to come stay with our toddler Maddie, already long asleep in her room, none-the-wiser to what was about to happen and how her world was about to be flipped upside down by the cutest bundle on its way.

From Nicole’s calculations, I was pretty far into active labor and needed to get to the Birthing Center ASAP. The plan was: she would take me in the Uber she had waiting outside and my husband would wait for his mother to arrive before meeting us there. Dressed in nothing but pajama pants and a pale blue cotton robe, I made my way to the waiting Uber with Nicole steadying me to the curb, stopping and breathing with me through each contraction, now coming down faster and more intense.

There wasn’t much traffic on the way, but there were POTHOLES, EVERYWHERE. And the driver seemed to unintentionally hit ALL of them on the way. Between the contractions and the potholes I was pretty certain this baby was going to fall out of me in the car. Nicole was in the backseat with me, her eyes reassuring me that NO, we would NOT birth this baby in the back of this car, not on her watch, as her voice said calmly, “that’s right, find your breathhhhh…”

About 17 excruciatingly long minutes later, we arrived at the Birthing Center and after an initial intake exam by the midwife on duty, we settled into the birthing room. They got the tub ready for me, after knowing I liked working through the contractions in the water the last time around. Finally my husband arrived and greeted me. I was in the tub facing down another set of contractions. Someone asked me if I wanted to BIRTH in the tub as well. I couldn’t focus on anyone’s words at that point as I another contraction washed over me.

At one point one of the midwives said, “if she’s going to give birth in there, there are some things we need to do first…” At that point between the pain of the contractions and feeling of something BIG about to happen I screamed out to no one in particular, “I DON’T CARE WHERE I BIRTH!!” Looking back on it now, that was definitely one of those Hollywood, screaming birthing lady moments. At that point I’m pretty sure my water broke. I felt a HUGE pressure, then a burst. Then a bit of relief. No one noticed because I was still in the tub.

After they helped me out of the water and onto the bed, they were all concerned that my water hadn’t broke yet. I told them about the pressure and burst and then everyone realized it had happened in the tub. Then within 10 mins (which for me felt more like like an hour), I had a few more contractions and then the urge to push and then, he was here. My son, Ellis Lightman, born 4am, April 6, 2015.

On October 28th, we hosted a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony to celebrate the opening of our breast milk donation depot for Mothers’ Milk Bank Northeast (MMBNE)! We were joined by local obstetricians, midwives, doulas, La Leche League leaders, lactation consultants, a NICU nurse at Maimonides Medical Center (our transfer hospital and a recipient of donor milk from Mothers’ Milk Bank Northeast), and Borough President Eric Adams!

For more information about our partnership with Mothers’ Milk Bank Northeast, please see our  June press release. For photos from our Ribbon Cutting Ceremony, please see below!

Dr. Guirguis, Dr. Veridiano, Borough President Eric Adams, NYC MMBNE Outreach Coordinator Amber Star-Merkens, and Director of Midwifery Linda Gaglioti in one of our birthing suites.

Amber Star-Merkens of Mothers’ Milk Bank Northeast, speaking about the need for donor milk for preterm and medically fragile infants.

Dara Barnett, RN, IBCLC, on the role of donor milk in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Maimonides Medical Center.

Borough President Eric Adams, a generous milk donor, and members of the BBC and MMBNE team cutting our ribbon.

Brooklyn Birthing Center and Mothers’ Milk Bank Northeast (MMBNE) are pleased to announce the opening of a new human milk bank depot, located at Brooklyn Birthing Center in Brooklyn, New York.

A milk bank collects milk from mothers who have more milk than their babies need, then screens, pasteurizes, and tests the milk, and dispenses it primarily to premature and sick babies whose mothers do not have enough milk. The new milk depot, a donor milk collection site, is located at Brooklyn Birthing Center (2183 Ocean Avenue, Brooklyn, NY). Mothers from Brooklyn and beyond will now be able to drop off their milk at the depot for shipment to Mothers’ Milk Bank Northeast.

“We are so honored to be part of this amazing program. Donor milk saves the lives of the most fragile of humans, and we applaud all of the wonderful women who so generously donate,” commented Adina Lerer, RN, IBCLC, Director of Lactation Services at Brooklyn Birthing Center. “We are thrilled that we have the opportunity to collect milk from the women of Brooklyn and pass it along to protect our babies. Thank you, Mothers’ Milk Bank Northeast, for allowing us to be part of this process.”

Naomi Bar-Yam, Ph.D., Executive Director of MMBNE, remarked, “We encourage mothers who have milk to share to consider donating it. The presence of a milk depot in Brooklyn will increase awareness of the importance of breastfeeding and donating milk. Donor mothers find the experience of donating very special, and we hope that the depot will provide an opportunity for mothers to network with one another about this unique, lifesaving gift.”

Milk donor screening, modeled after blood donor screening, includes health history, physician approval, and blood test. These are some of the many measures taken to assure the safety of milk for the fragile premature and sick babies served by MMBNE and the hospitals who use the milk. Breast milk from mothers who pass the screening is also pasteurized and tested by an independent lab to ensure safety before being dispensed to hospitals or families.

Donor milk can be lifesaving for preterm infants. It is especially protective against a life-threatening condition called necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), which affects one in ten of the smallest preterm infants. Donor breast milk is estimated to lower the risk of this condition by 79%. It also lowers hospital costs by reducing costs for care and shortening hospital stays.

Donor milk is rapidly becoming the standard supplement to mothers’ milk for preterm infants in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). This has led to greater demand for safe pasteurized donor human milk from nonprofit milk banks like MMBNE that are certified by the Human Milk Banking Association of North America (HMBANA). MMBNE has been screening donors, pasteurizing milk, and dispensing to over 40 hospitals in 10 states plus the District of Columbia, and to families throughout the Northeastern United States, since 2011.

In New York alone, MMBNE provides milk to 12 hospitals, including three in New York City that have started offering donor milk within the past month— Maimonides Infants and Children’s Hospital in Brooklyn and NYU Langone Medical Center and Bellevue Hospital Center in Manhattan. Since 2012, 326 New York mothers have donated milk to MMBNE, including 35 from Brooklyn alone. The new depot will make it easier than ever for Brooklyn mothers to provide the lifesaving gift of donor milk.

Mothers who wish to donate milk can review guidelines on the Milk Bank website, www.milkbankne.org/donate, then contact a Donor Intake Coordinator for screening at 212-993-1566 or [email protected]. Approved donors can then arrange to drop off milk at the new depot by e-mailing Rachel Anne Libon at [email protected].

Here at Brooklyn Birthing Center, we have been working with other advocates to improve legislation for freestanding birthing centers in New York state. For more information and action alerts, please see our most recent e-newsletter!

When we asked the experts- our fabulous mamas- to weigh in on why New York state needs more freestanding birthing centers, we received this AMAZING testimonial from a new mom. Thanks for sharing your story, Anne!

“To say that I am grateful for the birthing experience that I had at the Brooklyn Birthing Center does not adequately describe my feelings. When my husband and I found out we were expecting we immediately began searching for the kind of care provider and facility that would allow us to have the natural birth experience that we were looking for. We were not quite ready for a home birth but knew that we preferred to not be in a hospital setting. After some research, I was so excited to find the Brooklyn Birthing Center, and was, honestly, quite surprised that it was really the only option available. 

Thank you, BBC!” -Anne Klar

The following is an excerpt from our most recent e-newsletter. To sign up for monthly e-mail updates, click here.

Dear Friends of the Brooklyn Midwifery Group and Brooklyn Birthing Center,

It looks like all those April (and May) showers are paying off- spring is in full bloom! We just hope the sun decides to peek out during this holiday weekend. We are also hoping you will take a moment to spring into action (see what we did there?) for birthing centers in New York!

A new piece of legislation called the Midwifery Birth Center Bill is on the table. This bill endeavors to support midwife-led birthing centers, but does not address the many unique legal obstacles to opening freestanding birthing facilities in New York state. We need to let the decision-makers know that we need a more comprehensive bill if we want birthing centers to flourish in New York! Please sign this petition, and follow the New York State Alliance for Birth Centers on Facebook and Twitter for updates!