It’s safe to say giving birth in South America was not among Sybil
Settlemyre’s original plans when she went to Peru in 2005 as a volunteer
at a Christian children’s home. However, she also had not planned
on meeting a handsome Peruvian law student with whom she found herself
performing a duet that sparked a 5-year long distance relationship. Fernando,
that law student, waited when Sybil returned to her hometown of Hickory
to attend Lenoir Rhyne University. True to plan, she used the master’s
degree she earned in Global Business to land a job with a multinational
company that took her back to Peru. Fernando and Sybil married in 2010
and relocated to Arequipa – Peru’s second largest city.
As many developing countries do, Peru has a high rate of unnecessary cesarean-sections
and substandard conditions in hospitals where women give birth. Sybil
said that when she and Fernando were chosen as Godparents to twin Peruvian
girls born prematurely, she was very concerned to see that mother/child
bonding was limited to an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon
with virtually no skin-to-skin time or breastfeeding for these premature babies.
When Sybil became pregnant in 2014, she grew even more determined to empower
herself with information. She downloaded an application called “The
Baby Center” which provided information in both Spanish and English.
The couple enjoyed learning about the best options for prenatal care,
nutrition, fitness and embarked upon making a choice about where they
would deliver their first child.
“My late mother was a career nurse who worked in the CVMC PACU”,
said Sybil, “Because she had four miscarriages, the fear of having
similar complications created even more anxiety for me and I was delighted
to find out that my employer’s insurance coverage allowed the option
of Fernando and I to return stateside when it came time to deliver our
baby.”
Although the couple had the option of choosing any birthing center, they
decided to preregister at the CVMC Birthing Center following a personal
tour of the modern facility and reviewed their birth plan with providers
at Catawba Women’s Center. That decision was reinforced the following
week as the media announced the hospital had earned a second annual Women’s
Choice Award for Obstetrics from the WomenCertified organization. Hospitals
that earn the Women’s Choice Award have demonstrated the importance
of delivering a level of patient satisfaction that can be trusted.
Although Sybil had very limited availability for having prenatal exams
in Hickory (she was seen in January and May), the team at Catawba Women’s
Center accepted the challenge of monitoring her from afar and collaborated
with Peruvian doctors and assured her by telephone consultations as her
due date grew closer. This Summer, Sybil and Fernando boarded a plane
to Hickory and checked into CVMC where Lucas Taylor Monrroy-Settlemyre
was born on July 9 weighing 10 lbs. 13 oz. and measuring 24 ½ inches
in length.
“We will most likely have more babies and, we certainly will plan
on having them at CVMC,” said Sybil. “Dr. Chatham and Sybilla,
our midwife, were both fantastic. We were extremely impressed with the
great effort the medical team made to help us honor our ideal birth plan.”