A Comfortable, Caring Birth Experience: Sarah Collins’ Story

For Sarah Collins, becoming a mother was something she once wasn’t sure would happen. Growing up, she never imagined herself having children and, after being diagnosed with PCOS, she wasn’t sure she would be able to become pregnant.

That changed when she met her husband and decided they would try.

Sarah began working with the team at Ozarks Healthcare Women’s Health, including women’s health nurse practitioner Mary Kate Brasier, who supported her through a year of trying to become pregnant. When Sarah finally received a positive pregnancy test, she began seeing Dr. Tony Lam for her prenatal care. Along the way, she also got to know Ozarks Healthcare certified nurse midwife Shelley Mitchell.

“I adore her,” Sarah said of Shelley. “She was amazing.”

Shelley had filled in for Dr. Lam during some of Sarah’s prenatal visits, giving Sarah the opportunity to become comfortable with her before delivery. That familiarity became especially meaningful when Sarah arrived at Ozarks Healthcare to give birth to her first child, Charlotte, on June 21.

Sarah had always been nervous about labor.

“I never thought I was strong enough to be pregnant, and I didn’t think I was strong enough for labor,” she said.

But when the time came, Sarah found the experience far less intimidating than she had imagined.
After being induced, Sarah’s labor progressed quickly. Her water broke during the process of getting started, and within 24 hours of being admitted, Charlotte was born.

“I had the most nonchalant birth ever,” Sarah said. “It was amazing.”

For Sarah, part of what made the experience so positive was the balance of comfort and confidence she found through Ozarks Healthcare’s midwifery care. The Women’s Health team creates a calm, comfortable, home-like environment where mothers can feel supported and involved in their birth experience, while having the reassurance of highly trained medical professionals, advanced technology and the equipment and resources of Ozarks Healthcare’s Women’s Center.

During labor, Shelley’s calm and conversational approach helped Sarah feel comfortable and informed. Even while Sarah was experiencing active labor, the two were able to carry on conversations.

“She was cool, calm and collected the entire time,” Sarah said. “She explained everything to me as it was happening.”

For Sarah, that communication made a significant difference.

“She was reassuring,” she said. “She just made me feel extremely, extremely comfortable.”

Shelley’s care didn’t end when Charlotte was born. Sarah said Shelley checked on her and her baby each day during their two-day hospital stay and has continued to see her for postpartum care.

“She is invested in my life, and I just adore her,” Sarah said.

Sarah also praised the entire Ozarks Healthcare Women’s Health team, saying her experience - from her fertility journey to pregnancy, delivery and postpartum care - was “top notch.”

Now, Sarah and her husband are settling into life with their first child. Charlotte, whom Sarah describes as “a ball of sunshine,” is already reaching new milestones and bringing plenty of joy to her parents.

“I just don’t have enough nice things to say about Shelley,” Sarah said. “She’s phenomenal.”

For Sarah, the experience she once feared became a beautiful beginning made even more meaningful by having a care team that made her feel comfortable, heard, and supported every step of the way.

At Ozarks Healthcare, that personalized, home-like approach to birth is paired with the high-level clinical skills, training, equipment and technology available within a hospital setting - giving mothers the comfort of a more intimate birth experience with the reassurance of advanced care close at hand.