Childbirth is a monumental time in the life of a woman, but I was dreading mine. I wanted to have an all-natural birth and went into Kennestone prepared to have to fight tooth and nail for everything in our birth plan to be carried out. Connie Henry was assigned as my nurse when we arrived, and instantly brought a calming presence into the room, both by reassuring voice and the level of expertise she presented. She reviewed our birth plan, realistically telling us what things might not be negotiable, then she went to work advocating for us!

With the approval of my midwife Beth, she allowed us to have extra support in the room- the people that empowered me to deliver my baby. Even without the use of continuous fetal monitoring, Connie was adept at doing non-intrusive assessments of the baby and me, without being a nuisance in the moments of contractions. She seemed familiar with several natural methods of coping with pain and progressing labor. When it came time for delivery we were all especially glad to have Connie. Although standing deliveries are not the norm in hospitals, our nurse gave no vibe of being a novice. Without a ruptured bag of waters and only a 20 second pushing phase there was very little warning about this baby's arrival, but Connie was cool and prepared to welcome our baby on her own while waiting on help to arrive.

We are forever grateful for the birth experience we had at Kennestone due in large part to Connie Henry.