Dani found Our Community Birth Center in 2022 for her first pregnancy. At the time, she was new to Oregon and the birth center felt like a place to make friends and build community. Dani quickly felt connected with her midwife and the birth center team as she prepared for birth. Dani was glad the birth center felt like a second home because it was a long labor, over 24 hours total, with 10 of those hours at the birth center. “As hard as it was, it was so rewarding at the same time. We were home six hours later with our sweet baby Luca,” says Dani.
In 2024, Dani returned to the birth center for her second pregnancy. Her goal was another natural and healthy birth in the comfort of the birth center, with the added hope of a water birth. This time Dani had a fast labor—baby Roman arrived (born in the birth pool) less than an hour after reaching the birth center! Dani says, “I felt supported and guided when necessary through both births.”
At birth, Roman had difficulty breathing. The midwives took action immediately to provide rescue breaths. He continued to work harder than usual to breathe so the midwives worked with local EMTs to transfer them to the hospital. Dani remembers that “the midwives were calm and made me feel like they had it under control which made it easier for me to focus on my baby.”
The transfer to the hospital went smoothly, says Dani. “I could trust my midwife to advocate for me and they did.” Dani and Roman recovered quickly, and because of the close follow up provided via home visits with the midwives, they were able to go home from the hospital just 12 hours later. “The newborn home visits are amazing. No car rides, just a friendly visit by the best midwives who really care!” 
Reflecting on her two births, Dani says: “I think my first birth felt more transformative, it really showed me what I was capable of if I just listened to my body. My second birth really showed me the meaning and benefit to having a team care for me as a person, as well as my family, and our long-term outcome. Not only do you get quality care for yourself but your entire growing family will also benefit from this wonderful community.”