Everyone loves a good redemption story, and for Abby Shaub, that’s exactly how she described the birth of her second child at Aultman Hospital last summer.

Abby and her husband, Tom, previously had a rough delivery experience with their 4-year-old son, Dietrich. “I had a healthy, uneventful pregnancy and planned for a normal delivery at the hospital,” she recalled. However, during the delivery, the baby had shoulder dystocia, which is when one or both shoulders get stuck in the birth canal. This may lead to problems if the baby is stuck for too long.

Luckily, the care team was able to intervene, and Dietrich was born healthy. But, they told Abby and her husband to anticipate having a cesarean section for any future deliveries.

When she became pregnant with her second child, Abby had to mentally and emotionally prepare for a very different childbirth experience. “I had never had major surgery,” she said. “Having a C-section was not my plan A.” She had uncertainties about how skin-to-skin, breastfeeding and other bonding moments would work in the operation room (OR) environment. But she “made peace,” as she put it, with having a C-section and planned for the big day.

This time, the family chose to deliver at Aultman Hospital. When Abby was 39 weeks along, they came in for the scheduled procedure. From the moment they arrived, things felt different in the best kind of way.

“The nurses, residents and everyone in the OR was so kind and incredibly warm,” she said. “It made those nerves really dissipate because the people caring for us helped to put us at ease.” The C-section went well, and soon Abby was holding baby Annie-Jean, or AJ, and breastfeeding. One of the care team members even took the first photo of mom, dad and baby together in the OR.

The wonderful experience continued once Abby and her family were in their patient room on the Birth Center floor. “The nurses wouldn’t come in and flip on all the lights during the night. They were whispering and quiet, working on their computers in the dark and checking to make sure we were comfortable. They genuinely want to treat you with respect, care and compassion.”

Abby also praised the lactation consultants. “There was a moment when I was sitting in the recliner trying to nurse. It’s really hard at first, and I was crying, especially with the hormone changes and everything. The consultant came over and put a hand on my shoulder and said, ‘You’re doing a good job.’ They were very sweet and tender-hearted.”

Abby and baby AJ were discharged a day early, and even after a C-section, Abby recalled feeling so much better when she got home this time versus with her son. She credits the pelvic floor physical therapy team at Aultman North, specifically her physical therapist Darla Schwab, for helping her to strengthen her core and other muscles throughout her pregnancy and post-partum experience. “Even for a visit that can be so personal – vulnerable even – Darla made me feel at ease and comfortable being there.”

When AJ was about 6 weeks old, the family received another example of the different level of caring they experienced at Aultman. “I didn’t realize until we got home from the hospital that I forgot AJ’s bassinet card,” Abby said. “Then, I got a handwritten envelope in the mail from the Birth Center. They mailed me the card. I thought, ‘Oh my gosh! They recognized I left it behind, and they went through the trouble to send that to me.’”

Now seven months later, Abby and Tom still smile when remembering AJ’s birth. “I think of it as a redemption story; it’s possible to have a great experience with a C-section,” she said. “The care I received was everything I was looking for. I want to give others hope and ease their fears going into that day.” As an employee with The Aultman Foundation, Abby added, “There’s something to be said when you yourself are a patient, and they don’t know that you work there. It made me proud to work at Aultman that I had an experience like that.”