Amanda P.'s Story

While most of the time Amanda Peetz spends at Sauk Prairie Healthcare is as an employee, she was busy doing an altogether different type of work at the hospital one day in August 2022: giving birth to her son, Beckett.

Dr. Todd Schad was on-hand to help Amanda and her husband Casey bring Beckett into the world that day. Dr. Schad is part of a team of seven providers from Prairie Clinic who deliver babies and work tirelessly at giving their patients the very best care during their pregnancies and beyond. The team includes a certified nurse midwife, family medicine physicians, and obstetric and gynecological surgeons.

Amanda describes her delivery as “fairly easy.” She chose to be induced due to Beckett measuring a little big on his last ultrasound. She and Casey went in at 6 a.m. and he was born before noon.

Dr. Schad had been Amanda’s obstetrician while delivering her oldest son Delvin, so she felt it made sense to stick with him. After all, his calm demeanor and light-hearted attitude during Delvin’s birth made for a positive overall experience, and that’s exactly what she hoped for this time as well.

“He is always wonderful,” Amanda said. “He is super calm and very positive and makes jokes at appropriate times, so it is nice to have that, too.”

Amanda and Casey first met as students attending the same high school. Their best friends were siblings, so they would occasionally see one another in passing. But it wasn’t until the fateful day they both attended the Badger Football game in 2015 that the two reconnected — and the rest as they say, is history.

Delvin came first, having been born at Sauk Prairie Hospital in 2020. He was born with ankyloglossia, (AKA tongue-tie, as it is commonly referred to), a condition that restricts the range of motion of the tongue. A short, tight band tethers the tongue to the floor of the mouth, making it problematic for the infant to breastfeed, eat and speak. Typically, the condition resolves on its own, but in Delvin’s case, it lasted well into Amanda’s post-partum time.

Armed with that knowledge, Amanda informed her delivery team of Delvin’s experience so they could watch out for it in case Beckett showed similar signs of the condition. “All of the nurses told the rounding physicians about it, and took my needs seriously,” Amanda recalls. “And when Beckett needed a little extra attention at birth our nurse, Sarah Jorgenson, was wonderful. She really paid attention to him and worked with him calmly and quickly.”

Amanda said she also notified Sarah that she had experienced post-partum depression with Delvin. “With Beckett they knew this and could watch out for him and advocate for me,” she said.

Amanda recalled her entire experience in the Birth Center as calm, efficient, and empowering. What’s more, the large, open feel of the birthing suite with a sweeping view of the prairie, combined with the in-room bathroom and beautiful outdoor walking path were also appreciated, Amanda said.

“I cannot say enough good things about the Birth Center staff members; everyone was super attentive, calm, and very respectful of my decisions as far as how I wanted Beckett’s birth to go,” Amanda said. “They really advocated for me, supported me and helped me work toward my end goal with Beckett.”