“It’s party time!” may not be a common phrase expectant parents use when referring to giving birth, but Stephanie and Jonathan Ginder used it throughout pregnancy to refer to their upcoming daughter’s birth.
With their baby’s induction scheduled, the Ginders packed the necessary party supplies, including dinosaur-themed party hats and brownies for the nurses and doctor. As they checked into Decatur County Memorial Hospital wearing the hats, they received more than a few odd looks, but the parents were not deterred. This was their ‘party time’—the day had finally arrived!
The hats were not only used to mark an exciting moment in their lives, calling it ‘party time’; but they also helped Ginder cope with the anxiety she was experiencing around the birth of their daughter. The Ginders received concerning information about their daughter’s health in the third trimester from OB/GYN Dr. Jamie Cooper. Dr. Cooper shared that their daughter’s condition may impact the parents’ birth plan to have their daughter close to home at DCMH.
The Ginders had chosen Dr. Cooper and DCMH for the hometown feel they experienced in every interaction with Dr. Cooper, her Medical Assistants, and nurses. “It’s not that we’ve had a bad experience in other, larger hospitals. We haven’t! But we really like the way we were treated here. We felt that this team actually cared about us and our child. This isn’t just a job to them, there’s a warmth here and our experience meant something,” said Ginder.
Ginder had frequent appointments with Dr. Cooper and was even admitted for monitoring prior to her induction. When the birth date finally arrived, the family experienced a sudden change of plans. Within moments of arriving at the OB/Maternity department, weather alerts began urging the community to take shelter. The Ginders were ushered into the tornado shelter to wait out the storm alongside their nurses safely. Through discussion with Dr. Cooper, the Ginders postponed ‘party time’ until the storms passed, a slight delay the Ginders believe was meant to happen.
Once the storms cleared, the Ginders, nurses, and Dr. Cooper put on their dinosaur-themed party hats and delivered a healthy baby girl! Pictured here are the Ginders and nurses wearing their party attire just prior to her birth.
“This was such a fun way to bring their daughter into the world. I am lucky enough to have helped many parents deliver their babies, and grateful to continue to,” said Cooper after the delivery, “But I don’t think I’ll forget the time we got to wear party hats!”
The Ginders, thrilled with the birth of their healthy daughter, wouldn’t change a thing about their pregnancy journey or birthing experience. “We are so thankful to Dr. Cooper and the nurses of OB/Maternity. Without her, her birth day may have looked very different. We got to have her here and we wouldn’t have changed a thing about it,” said Ginder.
The DCMH team is happy to have been part of this joyous moment and glad to have shared memories of this special ‘party time’ with the family.