Raelle Van Maanen

Hear Raelle’s Story

Every child comes with a unique story of how they were born into the world. There is excitement and nervousness leading up to having a child of not knowing exactly when it will be born or how things will go. The process with our first two children went very well and were similar to each other and so we thought things would be similar with our third child as well. Our son Maddox was born on March 4, 2017 and his birth story ended up to be quite different than our other two.

My water broke unexpectedly in the middle of the night. I kept in touch with the hospital for several hours as they wanted to know if I was showing any other signs of labor, which I was not. Twelve hours later, still nothing was starting on its own. By this time I had been admitted to the hospital. The doctor came to talk to me about the importance of not waiting too long to deliver after the water breaks, and recommended using Pitocin to help the contractions start. She went over the risks and benefits, as I was a little nervous about having to use it. However, things went really well and Maddox was born within five hours without any complications.

I really appreciated the care I received from Sioux Center Health beginning with the first prenatal visit through postpartum care. Dr. Andersen did all of my prenatal care but she happened to be out of town the weekend Maddox was born so Dr. Rayborn helped with the delivery. We are thankful for the excellent care we received from both doctors.  Even though we dealt with two doctors the whole process felt so seamless and we always knew we were in good hands. Before delivery, the doctor and nurses answered all of our questions and helped calm our nerves about being induced and made us feel at ease during the process. We received wonderful care in the postpartum room as well. The nurses were very compassionate and caring and made our stay so comfortable. Our other two children had been born in the old hospital so we were excited to be able to enjoy the new hospital.

We are so thankful for Sioux Center Health and its wonderful staff as they are part of some of our most precious memories!