Mary Anne Richardson

This review has been a LONG time coming! I've been meaning to write this for a year now! Worked with Tender Beginnings from Feb 2022 until Sept 2022 during my first pregnancy. I was SO excited when Donise called me, as I sat in a cold, sterile OB's office that I absolutely hated. When she said a spot opened up, I jumped at the opportunity! From the initial visit when I met Mary Anne and grew acquainted with the team (including Howie <3) to my follow up 6 weeks after giving birth, Mary Anne took her time to educate, inform, listen, and understand. The care she takes with each patient is the opposite of what you get with an OBGYN, who tends to take the "one-size-fits-all" approach. Together, we planned the home water birth I always dreamed of. We talked game-plan, from who would be there, who would arrive later, care for me, what to buy/save, and what would happen after, and in my mind the birth of my dreams was destined to be. Around my 30-32 week follow up, I shared with her some anxiety/fear around the what-if it didn't go as planned? What if I had to give birth in my bed instead because my baby came too quick? What if XYZ? She gently & tenderly replied "Oh honey, there's a very high chance your birth won't go as planned. It may not be the birth you envisioned, but it will be the RIGHT birth for YOU." Those words echoed in my mind 10 weeks later, when due to illness/stress/lack of sleep, I went past 42 weeks & I had to be induced at St Thomas Midtown in Nashville. I remember the fear of hospitals (passed down from my mother, who delivered 6 by C-Section & had rough recovery) and feeling devastated and like my body had failed me. I was terrified of being induced, terrified of IVs/needles. I wanted a natural birth, no drugs, no interventions. But sometimes, God gives you exactly what you need. He knew me and my husband needed a whole team around us of trained professionals. He knew Mary Anne and Isabel would be the coaches/cheerleaders both of us needed to get through the long labor. They decorated my hospital room with some of the pictures/affirmations and twinkle lights I had set up in my birthing room at home. They were ANGELS sent from Heaven just in the nick of time. The nurses and anesthesiologists were the sweetest most caring people we could ask for. With everyone's help and support, I got through 22 hours of labor before I decided an epidural was the right call for my exhausted sleep-deprived body. There are NO TROPHIES for going through labor unmedicated (just bragging rights ;) ) and once I allowed my body to relax and rest, the rest of labor moved at a much quicker pace. 10 hours later, it was time to push! We had to hold off for a bit so that the attending OB could arrive, and once she made it, 3-4 quick pushes and my sweet son came into the world! And it all melted away. Nothing else mattered anymore, just that my baby was here, safe and sound, and I was safe and sound. I will never forget Mary Anne & team, and their kindness and compassion during the most intimate raw moments of my life. This birth wasn't the birth I had planned; but it was just the birth I needed. Bonus: I have had a lot of medical things done to me since having my son. Needles don't even phase me anymore, my fear of hospitals is gone. I still have such a heart for natural protocols and interventions, yet hold in my heart and mind a newfound respect for some of the things modern medicine has given us. Mary Anne will help you set out to have the birth you envisioned and do everything in her power to make it happen. Just know, if it doesn't happen, she will be by your side. She will grieve with you for a second, and when its time to adjust, she is already 2 steps ahead preparing the gameplan. You can't go wrong with her on your birthing team. Picture of my 1 Day old son <3

Ali C.