Walking into the farmers market yesterday sun shining, Lady Babies hand in mine a woman stopped me to hand me a flyer. The farmers market is one place I do stop and listen to what someone is trying to solicit. Most of the time it is for some kind of “new age” thing I am into. Save the Bees, get Bernie on the Ballot, however never did I expect her to say “We are trying to save the birthing center at Memorial Hospital from being shut down.” I grabbed the flyer and scanned it quickly. How could this even be a possibility!?!?
Babies are supposed to be born in Pawtucket!!!!
Rhode Island is a small state, and most people would never even think of having a baby anywhere but Woman and Infants, but for a girl who was raised in the Pawtucket Catholic schools having a baby anywhere but Memorial Hospital sounds like bad citizenship. I feel blessed to of brought my babies into the world in the same place my Mom brought me. The same place my Grandfater left us in. A secular flow of life and death generation after generation sitting in the heart of Pawtucket.
Now, I could go into some long heartfelt reason why you should help save the birthing center. I could relay tales of amazing care, but I fear that so could anyone else who has had a baby at any hospital.
I am going to appeal to your practical side, because there are things that Memorial Hospital offers that no other hospital can, and not just the very cool nurse mannequin in the hall way by the elevators.
The parking situation alone is a reason to choose it over any capital city hospital.
No parking tickets to validate, Parking seventeen blocks away in the snow,or Providence traffic to deal with.
Not to mention it is a hidden gem so while everyone else is in the tiny, hot with no ability to control the thermostat without a nurse coming to help you rooms at Woman and Infants you are sitting pretty in a room the same size as the one you have at home with a thermostat that you can control, and a rocking chair!
Don’t get me wrong I have love for Woman and Infants.
Last Baby spent a few days there under the lights to bring his Billie Rubin number to acceptable levels,and everyone was great, but I still wouldn’t choose to have my babies there.
I would easily park my car, and head back to Memorial without hesitation. I would feel aided by staff in having the birthing experience that I want, I would not feel wicked strange when I tell my nurse I need my placenta, I would joke with my Doctor (Who happens to be the best Doctor ever, and if he could just be my Doctor for everything that would make me a very happy person) I would carry my small baby from the postpartum floor,through the doors of the birthing center, take a sharpie and add his name to the yellow tree leaves filled with the other little souls who walked out of the same doors.
I have had all three of my babies in the birthing center. I would love for my children to one day have the option to do the same.
Pawtucket.
Once an important, industrious part of our State has been in neglect for years, and despite revival efforts keeps getting hit with reasons to abandon all hope and let the city perish.
The ball park where most of us had our first baseball game experience, and celebrated the Pawtucket national holiday of July third with the best fire works display in the state threatened to be moved to Providence, on tax payer dollars no less, and now they come for our birthing center.
Instead of building up the city to it’s former glory they just keep finding beautiful things to take away from it.
Lets all say a prayer of relief that Uncle Tonys is technically in East providence, or some for profit monster would probably come and drive them out!
I find it very suspicious that not even two months ago Rhode Island Hospital proposed a 20 million dollar addition to add obstetrics to their own hospital.
I encourage all of you to spread the word,and do what you can to save this birthing center! We deserve more options than Providence.
