56 | Stay the Course - Gabrielle Burks

When we asked Gabrielle to describe her birth in 3-4 sentences, all we could focus on was the last line; "Our story is to remind ALL MOMS to stay the course, work your journey, and PUSH BACK when medical practitioners say "No." Her birth story is a testament to her unwavering faith and fight for justice.

From the beginning, Gabrielle and her fiance knew with the birth of their son; they were going to do things differently this time around. They hired a doula, hired a midwife, and began preparing for their homebirth. Yet seven months into their pregnancy, they were hit with the news that their midwife wouldn't be able to support them, and they had to go back to the drawing board. They visited different hospitals until they found one that felt right and enrolled in a nine-week intensive birth class. In this class, not only did they learn about childbirth but how to control their care, work with sand speak with their care providers to ensure that all decisions were based on and from informed consent. The lessons learned from this class would be vital in their advocacy and care during and after their son's birth.

Gabrielle went into spontaneous labor and, for the most part, was progressing well. However, during a cervical check, it was noticed that he was breech - her sons positioned was never checked during their last appointment or even upon their arrival to the hospital. The on-call midwife advised her that they would need to move forward with surgical birth. With hesitation, they sought a second opinion and, after talking through their options with family, decided to continue with the surgical birth. Her son was born, but not breathing - care providers eventually revived him, but due to the length of time he was without oxygen, they were unsure if he would make it through the night. Gabrielle made that doctor eat his words, pray with her and her family, and demanded that no stone go unturned in her son's care. Her experience highlights the dark parts of birth, the parts we hope never happen, and yet it brings forth what can happen when you have the pieces to be empowered and use them fully.