My Experience Giving Birth at Haven Birthing Center in Cary, NC

I gave birth to my first baby at Haven Birthing Center on July 2nd, 2025.

I posted a quick Google review a couple months after and keep getting emails that my review has been seen 1,000 times, 5,000 times, and now 10,000 TIMES!!

So, it got me thinking that a lot of people in NC must be considering Haven Birthing Center in Cary and want to hear from someone who has actually given birth there.

This post is everything I could think you might want to know about using Haven Birth Center for your pregnancy and birth, that isn’t already listed on their website or in their FAQ page (which, has the answers to a lot).

A Little About My Medical History..

First off, I think it’s important to tell you about myself. I’m the kid who had 4 nurses have to hold her down to get a shot.

I have extreme anxiety around pap-smears and pretty much anything medical.

So, when I first told my family I was going to try an unmedicated birth, I’m pretty sure they thought I was crazy.

So, why did I want to try unmedicated?

For one thing, I was almost more terrified of an epidural needle than anything. But, I was absolutely terrified of birth in general, too.

Secondly, the past few years I have turned pretty “crunchy” and have seen a lot of people that I really admire talk about the benefits of an unmedicated birth.

I liked the thought of doing it without interventions and in a setting outside of the hospital.

Thirdly, I don’t know why, but I really just had a strong desire to prove to myself that I COULD do this.

The 9 Months of Prenatal Care – What Are Appointments Like?

My favorite thing about Haven Birth Center was the 9 months of care.

I’m not going to lie, an unmedicated birth is HARD and I’m still really undecided on if I’ll do it again when and if we get pregnant with baby #2!

But, I REALLY am considering going back to Haven simply because I just can’t imagine having my 9 months of care anywhere else.

It is AMAZING. Appointments don’t even feel like you are at the doctor. When you walk in, the front ladies are so welcoming and the lobby looks like your living room.

All of the midwives are GREAT and the appointments are thorough and not rushed at all.

Plus they don’t push anything on you, this is YOUR pregnancy and they truly honor that.

Coming from someone who has always HATED anything doctor related, it’s crazy that I actually looked forward to going to these appointments.

The Classes Available at Haven Birthing Center

As first time parents, we were eager to sign up for all the classes.

We took the Labor Prep Class (a must for first time parents), Breastfeeding Basics (also a must), and one other class that I can’t for the life of my remember the name of.

They were free for us as Haven patients and we were REALLY pleased with them.

Highly recommend doing these if you’re first time parents.

My Birth Timeline

Alright, let’s talk about the birth. The main event!

Here was my timeline as a first time Mom (obviously, everyone will be different here).

Tuesday 4pmish – first contractions that I wasn’t really sure were even contractions started to hit

Tuesday 10pm – pretty sure this was the real deal, but they were still so far apart and not painful at all that I was still confused if I was in labor or not, ha! Went to bed and fell asleep.

Wednesday 4am – woke up from pain. Ooof. Contractions are hitting me, now I know this is labor. We call Haven, spoke with midwife who was reassuring and suggested we stay home a while longer, but let us know we could come if wanted. I stayed home, took a shower, worked through the contractions.

Wednesday 10am – Yikes! I called Haven, I need to come in I said! The midwife said yes, sounds like labor has progressed, come on in. (looking back, I probably should have stayed home even longer, but I am a weenie when it comes to pain and wanted to go ahead in)

Wednesday 10:30am – arrive at Haven. Get in the water tub. Labor all day, REALLY thought the baby had to be close around 2pm, but I was wrong haha.

(a lot happens between these two times but I’ll chat more about that later)

Wednesday 9:30pm – Baby is born!!

Here’s How My Birth Experience went at Haven Birthing Center

Listen, if you want an unmedicated birth, my opinion is that going to Haven will give you a MUCH better experience than going anywhere else.

It’s like the benefits of a home birth with the luxury of not having to clean up anything, being right next door to the hospital (I liked knowing that if something happened, the hospital was literally right next door so I can get transferred quickly), and getting to use things like a giant birthing tub, walk-in shower, Japanese toilet, etc.

They helped me through EVERYTHING while I was in labor. There was always 1 midwife, and I believe 1-2 nurses in there with me.

They gave me counter pressure, used a shower head to run water on my back through contractions, gave me affirming comments, and suggested positions and things to do for comfort and to get baby moving.

I also used nitrous oxide and it helped me SO MUCH. Honestly, don’t know how I would of gotten through labor without it. Highly recommend trying it if you get to a point you need some relief.

I’ve heard from some people that it didn’t really help them, but for me it was the opposite. It helped SO much.

It helped me relax through contractions more than I was able to without it.

I labored in the tub for HOURS but nothing was happening. I was feeling really defeated.

I felt like I had been experiencing contractions forever!

They recommended moving to the bed. I was screaming and in SO much pain by this point (I think I was in “transition”) so I didn’t want to leave the tub.

But, they obviously know what they are doing and really insisted we needed to do something differently since baby was moving.

I got out, moved to the bed, and they had me move from left to right on my sides back and forth a few times.

This was really uncomfortable, but it was 9pm at this point and baby needed to come.

Well, sure enough baby started to move down and I felt the STRONGEST urge to push.

They verbally coached me through pushing and finally, baby girl came out!

Delivering the Placenta

Y’all I was really wondering about this because NONE of my friends who have given birth even remember this part or felt it.

That’s probably because they got an epidural, so I was feeling really in the dark about how it would be unmedicated.

It was about 5-7 minutes after my baby girl had come out and they mentioned I needed to push a little to help the placenta come out.

I guess for some people it just comes out naturally, but mine needed help.

To me, this was uncomfortable. I definitely felt it. But of course it was nothing like the baby coming out.

Did I Tear? Did It Hurt?

If you tear, yes they will stitch you up if needed. And yes, you will feel it. But they do have some numbing for this.

Luckily for me, I didn’t tear enough that I needed stitches although I was close.

Mine healed up naturally which I am SO thankful for.

The 12 Hours at Haven Post-Birth

I am BLOWN AWAY at how amazing the 12 hours we stayed post-birth were. I truly don’t think it would of been ANYTHING like what we experienced had we been at a hospital.

We were situated in the nice large queen size bed to spend time as a family after birth. My hubby was in the bed with us, and it was cozy.

No uncomfortable “hospital beds” there.

The midwife and nurses waited on us so well. They brought me snacks, checked on baby and did all of her wellness checks, checked me multiple times, and helped me to and from the toilet.

Through the night they checked on us many times and there was a button I could press in the room if I needed them to come.

They got my adult diaper (ha) ready with padding and helped me switch it when needed (real talk here).

I loved how calm and relaxed it was.

Altogether, just a very “homey” feel.

The Discharge/Going Home Process

When it was time to go home, the nurse gave us a very thorough chat (which we really needed) about things to watch for, what to expect this first week at home, etc.

They set me up with some essentials and checked baby over one last time.

We also scheduled our at home visit for 2 days later.

Of course, we had to ring the bell and celebrate being Haven baby #81!!

The “At Home” visit 2 days later..

Another thing I LOVED was them coming to my house 2 days later for a checkup. I would not have wanted to get in a car and load the baby up.

It was a nice 1-2 hour appointment that they checked me over and did a lot of checks on the baby (hearing check, her toe prick, etc.)

Conclusion

I HIGHLY recommend going to Haven if you want an unmedicated birth.

They will help you achieve it if it a goal you have and treat you SO well.

Also, if you have any questions about my experience, feel free to comment and I will be happy to answer them!