May 21, 2008
By FERNANDO DEL VALLE/Valley Morning Star

In a big tub of water, Heather Garza gave birth to her daughter, the second child she's had at the birth center that she says feels like home.

In the Rio Grande Valley, the Holy Family Services Birth Center is the only place that offers birth in water, midwife Michelle Benfield said.

"It's usually an easier birth," she said. "It's just more gentle. The babies are usually gentler. They're in the womb and they're going from water into water."

In 2005, the center began offering water birth, Benfield said.

For more and more women, it's become a favorite, she said.

"The minute I stepped in, it was instant relief," said Garza, 24, a makeup artist from McAllen.

On May 5, she gave birth to her daughter Peyton in a big tub of water.

"I felt weightless," she said. "In the water, you're weightless so you can move anyway you want. In bed you're more tense. It was an amazing experience."

For Garza, giving birth at the Holy Family center is a family tradition.

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