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Forsyth natural birthing center delivers first baby since opening

At 30 weeks pregnant, Emory Maddox decided she wanted to bring Noelani Brown into this world the old-fashioned way--by having a natural child birth

FORSYTH, Ga. — Forsyth hasn't seen a baby born in town in almost 30 years, but now that's changed.

Meet Noelani Brown. She is only about 2-weeks-old. 

"She's just like me, she is just chill," said her mom, Ebony Maddox. 

At 30 weeks pregnant, Maddox decided she wanted to bring Noelani into this world the old-fashioned way.

"Not hooked up to any machines, no IV's, and you're just walking around laboring," said Maddox.

She did it without any epidural or any pain medications--100% natural childbirth at the OBGYNE Birthing Center for Natural Deliveries in Forsyth. Noelani was the first baby born at the center since their opening in December.

RELATED: New birthing center opens in Forsyth

So how did it go? 

"Really all I can think about is how painful the contractions were," said Maddox.

In her three to four hours of labor, Maddox says she almost gave up. 

"I asked for an epidural like three times. I wanted to get shipped to the hospital, but that was around the time I was eight centimeters dilated. Ashley was like, 'you got it, you got it. You're almost there.' I was like, 'no I need an epidural,'" said Maddox.

She stuck it out and made it through the pain.

"I closed my eyes and opened them, and she was right there in my face," said Maddox.

Why go through all that? Maddox says she delivered her first daughter at a hospital, with the help of pain medication. 

"Getting induced and having an epidural, it makes your labor longer. It's a longer process, but once you're going natural, I feel like it's easier, and just healthier for you and your baby," said Maddox.

Maddox says her first go-round was almost a full day of labor, but the shorter labor with Noelani wasn't what made the experience.

"They came in, they checked on me, they rubbed my back, gave me the support a person needed going through something like that," said Maddox. 

She's talking about the midwives at the center, and the connection she developed with her care providers through her delivery, and her entire pregnancy. 

Maddox believes that's rare to find at hospitals. 

"You don't really get that support. They come in, and do what they are supposed to, and they leave. But they stayed, and they talked to me, and helped me breathe through contractions, and all that stuff. It was better support," said Maddox. 

Maddox says that support made having another baby a breeze. 

"Little sleep, but it's good, it's great," she said.

Well, almost a breeze.

The natural birthing center is the third of its kind, after Savannah and Atlanta, and is located on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in Forsyth.

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