Dear Dr. Worth…….
I cannot thank you enough for everything you did to help me have as natural of labor & delivery as possible.
I am so thrilled that we moved with you from the old practice to your new venture, Village Obstetrics, with Dr. Mussalli. My pregnancy was fairly uneventful but, because I read a lot about natural childbirth, I decided to hire a doula and was very pleased to discover that the doulas I selected had actually worked with you before!
My labor, as it turned out, was very long and very tiring (36 hours from the start of serious contractions until the delivery), and, as promised, you allowed me to labor at home as long as possible without any unnecessary intervention. I was so thankful to not be fearful of the hospital experience because I so firmly trusted that you would help me follow my written birth plan as long as possible so long as the baby was fine. In the end, the doula/doctor interaction was so nurturing and supportive that I knew, once you began to suggest different options for the progression of labor, I should begin to feel open to re-evaluating my birth plan.
After about 24+ hours (and having seen you at the hospital twice during that period for monitoring), we settled into the labor & delivery room for a long night, during which you graciously hosted all of the questions and concerns from my family. The remainder of the labor continued to be quite tiring and challenging but you allowed me to carry on, despite so little progress. I am certain, had I been anywhere else with any other doctor, I would have ended my birth story with a c-section. However because my doula, Sarah, had worked with you many times in the past, I knew that when you were suggesting Pitocin/epidural/Stadol I should consider these options, at that point in the delivery, as helpful tools to further progress instead of fearing them. I was strongly against any drug/intervention but, in the end, because of fatigue and slllloooooow progress, I was given Stadol…(which, to my groggy recollection, only made me feel more tired). Next, several hours later, I was given an epidural but, alas, my girl still didn’t want to join us!
You were PATIENT and so supportive of my wishes and I cannot thank you enough. Your “bedside manner” is very gentle and trustworthy, which makes relaxing in a somewhat sterile environment possible. When I was finally fully dilated and ready to push, you encouraged my husband to experience the process with you which turned out to be something he was very thankful for — you explained everything that was happening so that I could, despite the discomfort, truly live in the details of the moment. I am very grateful.
When our daughter was finally born, we were so elated to have the whole labor process over with that we forgot to ask what “type” of baby we had…..until you finally asked us if we wanted to know the sex of the baby! It was a very funny moment! We are so blessed and grateful to have had you with us. We’ll be back!
Best and kind regards,
N & M
