Report on One Day Childbirth Prep Class

[Amy]

To recap - Amy (V., I think) and I were talking about the one-day
childbirth prep class, and I told her that I'd report on ours so that
she'd know whether or not she needed to do the longer class... We
don't live in the same area, though, so YMMV.

I must say that I've been very impressed with the classes we've been
offered here. We've taken Infant Care (which was about 2 hours),
Infant CPR (about 1 hour), and the Childbirth Prep Marathon (9 am -
3:30 pm yesterday), and I have the Breastfeeding class Tuesday.

I could have chosen to take 6 one hour classes in the evenings, instead
of one 6 hour class yesterday, but with our schedule it made a lot more
sense to cram it all into one day. It was a VERY long day, but I feel
like it was well worth it.

We did talk about breathing techniques, but briefly. I think we
practiced three (deep breathing, "panting," and patterned breathing).
I'd say that there was 20 - 30 minutes of direct instruction on
breathing, which was plenty for me. I've been breathing for about 30
years now, and I'm just not interested in learning how to do it again.
The fact is that it's all about distraction, and I'd rather let my
husband distract me than pretend to be distracted by a bunch of
"heeing" and "hooing." I knew this going in, though. If you're really
interested in learning Lamaze breathing, you should probably take a
longer class devoted to just that, or watch a video or read a book.
Chances are you won't have much time to cover it in a 6 - 8 hour class.

We focused more on other comfort techniques to use during labor - my
favorite being the "slow dance" position, where Mom has her arms around
Dad's neck, and Dad massages Mom's lower back while both sway back and
forth, to relieve back pain. We're going to be practicing that one a
LOT between now and birth - I found it very soothing and comforting.
Being able to look into my husband's eyes, feeling him breathe, hearing
his voice through his chest (he's nice and tall, so I was resting my
head on his chest), was all lovely and VERY soothing. Much better than
the stupid breathing, IMHO.

We also talked about massage, which I found helpful. They even gave us
a plastic massager, which reminded me to pack some of the ones we have
(we're big into backrubs in this family). One thing that she said that
totally made sense, that I never would've thought of, is that if Mom's
in the bed, Dad should raise it up to his level, so that he's not
stooping over to rub her back or whatever. I know that's really
intuitive, but not having spent much time in hospitals, it probably
would not have occurred to me until my husband had a serious backache.


We did some basic anatomy, talked about how the baby gets out (with
models), got to see what 10 cm is (yikes!), watched a video of a birth
(YIKES!), watched a video of a c-section (animated, but somehow worse
than the live video of the birth, but maybe that's just me). We talked
about the various indications for interventions, the various sorts of
meds that are available at our hospital, complications that can arise
from the meds, etc.

I didn't really learn anything that I didn't already know or have an
opinion on. The most valuable part of it all was the tour of the L&D
ward of the hospital, and finding out the hospital's policies (where to
go if you show up in the middle of the night, where to go if you show
up during "normal business hours", what "normal business hours" are at
the hospital, what visiting hours are, where the cafeteria is, where
the family waiting room is, whether or not kids are allowed to visit,
etc. etc. - the stuff that probably varies quite substantially from
hospital to hospital). The things that you can't learn from a book,
unless it happens to have been published by your hospital, were the
most valuable. I'd imagine that you're going to get that in either a
mulit-night class or the marathon day class. That was what I really
went for. The rest of it, while helpful, wasn't anything that a
regular reader of MKP wouldn't already know.

Not having taken a multi-night class, I can't compare the two, but I
can say that I'm very satisfied with the level of instruction we
received in our one-day class, and I feel more prepared for birth than
I did before. I wouldn't go back and take the multi-night class, at
this point. I think I made a good decision. I hope you're pleased
with yours, too.

Amy

[V.]

"Amy" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> To recap - Amy (V., I think) and I were talking about the one-day
> childbirth prep class, and I told her that I'd report on ours so that
> she'd know whether or not she needed to do the longer class... We
> don't live in the same area, though, so YMMV.
>
> I must say that I've been very impressed with the classes we've been
> offered here. We've taken Infant Care (which was about 2 hours),
> Infant CPR (about 1 hour), and the Childbirth Prep Marathon (9 am -
> 3:30 pm yesterday), and I have the Breastfeeding class Tuesday.
>
> I could have chosen to take 6 one hour classes in the evenings, instead
> of one 6 hour class yesterday, but with our schedule it made a lot more
> sense to cram it all into one day. It was a VERY long day, but I feel
> like it was well worth it.
>
> We did talk about breathing techniques, but briefly. I think we
> practiced three (deep breathing, "panting," and patterned breathing).
> I'd say that there was 20 - 30 minutes of direct instruction on
> breathing, which was plenty for me. I've been breathing for about 30
> years now, and I'm just not interested in learning how to do it again.
> The fact is that it's all about distraction, and I'd rather let my
> husband distract me than pretend to be distracted by a bunch of
> "heeing" and "hooing." I knew this going in, though. If you're really
> interested in learning Lamaze breathing, you should probably take a
> longer class devoted to just that, or watch a video or read a book.
> Chances are you won't have much time to cover it in a 6 - 8 hour class.
>
> We focused more on other comfort techniques to use during labor - my
> favorite being the "slow dance" position, where Mom has her arms around
> Dad's neck, and Dad massages Mom's lower back while both sway back and
> forth, to relieve back pain. We're going to be practicing that one a
> LOT between now and birth - I found it very soothing and comforting.
> Being able to look into my husband's eyes, feeling him breathe, hearing
> his voice through his chest (he's nice and tall, so I was resting my
> head on his chest), was all lovely and VERY soothing. Much better than
> the stupid breathing, IMHO.
>
> We also talked about massage, which I found helpful. They even gave us
> a plastic massager, which reminded me to pack some of the ones we have
> (we're big into backrubs in this family). One thing that she said that
> totally made sense, that I never would've thought of, is that if Mom's
> in the bed, Dad should raise it up to his level, so that he's not
> stooping over to rub her back or whatever. I know that's really
> intuitive, but not having spent much time in hospitals, it probably
> would not have occurred to me until my husband had a serious backache.
>
>
> We did some basic anatomy, talked about how the baby gets out (with
> models), got to see what 10 cm is (yikes!), watched a video of a birth
> (YIKES!), watched a video of a c-section (animated, but somehow worse
> than the live video of the birth, but maybe that's just me). We talked
> about the various indications for interventions, the various sorts of
> meds that are available at our hospital, complications that can arise
> from the meds, etc.
>
> I didn't really learn anything that I didn't already know or have an
> opinion on. The most valuable part of it all was the tour of the L&D
> ward of the hospital, and finding out the hospital's policies (where to
> go if you show up in the middle of the night, where to go if you show
> up during "normal business hours", what "normal business hours" are at
> the hospital, what visiting hours are, where the cafeteria is, where
> the family waiting room is, whether or not kids are allowed to visit,
> etc. etc. - the stuff that probably varies quite substantially from
> hospital to hospital). The things that you can't learn from a book,
> unless it happens to have been published by your hospital, were the
> most valuable. I'd imagine that you're going to get that in either a
> mulit-night class or the marathon day class. That was what I really
> went for. The rest of it, while helpful, wasn't anything that a
> regular reader of MKP wouldn't already know.
>
> Not having taken a multi-night class, I can't compare the two, but I
> can say that I'm very satisfied with the level of instruction we
> received in our one-day class, and I feel more prepared for birth than
> I did before. I wouldn't go back and take the multi-night class, at
> this point. I think I made a good decision. I hope you're pleased
> with yours, too.
>
> Amy
>

Thanks Amy, that's exactly what I wanted to know! We have the option of
doing the one day class in my own town, or at the hospital 30 min away we
are actually delivering at. Given your info, I think we'll definitely opt
for the hospital we are actually delivering at so we get all the hospital
specific info.

Thanks!
Amy

[Todd Gastaldo]

in article . com, Amy at
wrote on 7/24/05 1:05 PM:

> To recap - Amy (V., I think) and I were talking about the one-day
> childbirth prep class, and I told her that I'd report on ours so that
> she'd know whether or not she needed to do the longer class... We
> don't live in the same area, though, so YMMV.
>
> I must say that I've been very impressed with the classes we've been
> offered here. We've taken Infant Care (which was about 2 hours),
> Infant CPR (about 1 hour), and the Childbirth Prep Marathon (9 am -
> 3:30 pm yesterday), and I have the Breastfeeding class Tuesday.
>
> I could have chosen to take 6 one hour classes in the evenings, instead
> of one 6 hour class yesterday, but with our schedule it made a lot more
> sense to cram it all into one day. It was a VERY long day, but I feel
> like it was well worth it.
>
> We did talk about breathing techniques, but briefly. I think we
> practiced three (deep breathing, "panting," and patterned breathing).
> I'd say that there was 20 - 30 minutes of direct instruction on
> breathing, which was plenty for me. I've been breathing for about 30
> years now, and I'm just not interested in learning how to do it again.
> The fact is that it's all about distraction, and I'd rather let my
> husband distract me than pretend to be distracted by a bunch of
> "heeing" and "hooing." I knew this going in, though. If you're really
> interested in learning Lamaze breathing, you should probably take a
> longer class devoted to just that, or watch a video or read a book.

Lamaze may still promote semisitting delivery/closing the birth canal up to
30%.

The Bradley Method used to/may still call closing the birth the "extra" up
to 30%/semisiting "the Bradley Classic."

More below.


> Chances are you won't have much time to cover it in a 6 - 8 hour class.
>
> We focused more on other comfort techniques to use during labor - my
> favorite being the "slow dance" position, where Mom has her arms around
> Dad's neck, and Dad massages Mom's lower back while both sway back and
> forth, to relieve back pain. We're going to be practicing that one a
> LOT between now and birth - I found it very soothing and comforting.
> Being able to look into my husband's eyes, feeling him breathe, hearing
> his voice through his chest (he's nice and tall, so I was resting my
> head on his chest), was all lovely and VERY soothing. Much better than
> the stupid breathing, IMHO.
>
> We also talked about massage, which I found helpful. They even gave us
> a plastic massager, which reminded me to pack some of the ones we have
> (we're big into backrubs in this family). One thing that she said that
> totally made sense, that I never would've thought of, is that if Mom's
> in the bed, Dad should raise it up to his level, so that he's not
> stooping over to rub her back or whatever. I know that's really
> intuitive, but not having spent much time in hospitals, it probably
> would not have occurred to me until my husband had a serious backache.
>
>
> We did some basic anatomy, talked about how the baby gets out (with
> models), got to see what 10 cm is (yikes!), watched a video of a birth
> (YIKES!),

Amy (Austin),

May I know what position the mother was in in the video they showed?

FOR ANY NEW READERS:

Semisitting and dorsal, standard medical delivery positions close the birth
canal up to 30% - and when babies get stuck obstetricians KEEP women
semisitting and dorsal - keep birth canals closed the "extra" up to 30%.

It's easy to allow your birth canal to OPEN the "extra" up to 30%.

See See ACOG's 2005 edition: How NOT to birth
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/chiro-list/message/3606

See also: RNs: 'Stitches, episiotomy, and postpartum complications'
(Maternal care
learning needs)
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/chiro-list/message/3725

(Note: If the URLs don't work, make sure there are no spaces.)

ALSO: Obstetricians are IMMEDIATELY clamping/cutting umbilical cords,
thereby robbing babies of up to 50% of their blood volume.

Make sure you talk to your obstetrician about waiting until the umbilical
cord stops pulsating before clamping/cutting. It would not hurt to wait
until the placenta is born before clamping/cutting.

> watched a video of a c-section (animated, but somehow worse
> than the live video of the birth, but maybe that's just me).

Retired obstetrician George Malcolm Morley, MB ChB FACOG indicates that
EVERY CESAREAN BABY is immediately clamped/robbed of up to 50% of his/her
blood volume.

HERE IS DR. MORLEY RECOMMENDING (FOR "EDUCATION" PURPOSES) **TEMPORARY**
BABY STRANGLING ON THE WEB...

"[T]he umbilical cord immediately closed between finger and thumb...The
[fetal heart rate/FHR] will decelerate quickly to about 60 bpm...the color
will change from purple-pink (normal at birth) to pallid blue
(vaso-constriction and asphyxia.)...Few midwives or obstetricians will be
able to observe, without interference, a deep, prolonged FHR deceleration on
a non-breathing newborn for a period of 60 seconds.* Common sense will soon
release the finger and thumb."
http://www.cordclamping.com/acog-cp.htm

Dr. Morley MEANS well * but it is simply (obviously) illegal for him to
encourage obstetricians to commit ³lesser² child abuse in order to encourage
them to stop committing greater child abuse - robbing babies of up to 50% of
babies¹ blood volume.

See Michigan Baby Strangler George Malcolm Morley, MB ChB FACOG
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/chiro-list/message/3739

Todd

Dr. Gastaldo
Hillsboro, Oregon

[i]
> We talked
> about the various indications for interventions, the various sorts of
> meds that are available at our hospital, complications that can arise
> from the meds, etc.
>
> I didn't really learn anything that I didn't already know or have an
> opinion on. The most valuable part of it all was the tour of the L&D
> ward of the hospital, and finding out the hospital's policies (where to
> go if you show up in the middle of the night, where to go if you show
> up during "normal business hours", what "normal business hours" are at
> the hospital, what visiting hours are, where the cafeteria is, where
> the family waiting room is, whether or not kids are allowed to visit,
> etc. etc. - the stuff that probably varies quite substantially from
> hospital to hospital). The things that you can't learn from a book,
> unless it happens to have been published by your hospital, were the
> most valuable. I'd imagine that you're going to get that in either a
> mulit-night class or the marathon day class. That was what I really
> went for. The rest of it, while helpful, wasn't anything that a
> regular reader of MKP wouldn't already know.
>
> Not having taken a multi-night class, I can't compare the two, but I
> can say that I'm very satisfied with the level of instruction we
> received in our one-day class, and I feel more prepared for birth than
> I did before. I wouldn't go back and take the multi-night class, at
> this point. I think I made a good decision. I hope you're pleased
> with yours, too.
>
> Amy
>

[Cheryl]

I had the multi-night classes with my first child and they sound alot alike
just ours was broken up a bit. I decided not to do another class with this
baby since I've already had a class with my first. I'm pretty confindant
that I didnt forget anything that happened during that birth hehehe. We do
plan on taking a Tour of the Hospital which does include like a 30 minute
class about the hospital and their practices ect.

Cheryl

"Amy" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> To recap - Amy (V., I think) and I were talking about the one-day
> childbirth prep class, and I told her that I'd report on ours so that
> she'd know whether or not she needed to do the longer class... We
> don't live in the same area, though, so YMMV.
>
> I must say that I've been very impressed with the classes we've been
> offered here. We've taken Infant Care (which was about 2 hours),
> Infant CPR (about 1 hour), and the Childbirth Prep Marathon (9 am -
> 3:30 pm yesterday), and I have the Breastfeeding class Tuesday.
>
> I could have chosen to take 6 one hour classes in the evenings, instead
> of one 6 hour class yesterday, but with our schedule it made a lot more
> sense to cram it all into one day. It was a VERY long day, but I feel
> like it was well worth it.
>
> We did talk about breathing techniques, but briefly. I think we
> practiced three (deep breathing, "panting," and patterned breathing).
> I'd say that there was 20 - 30 minutes of direct instruction on
> breathing, which was plenty for me. I've been breathing for about 30
> years now, and I'm just not interested in learning how to do it again.
> The fact is that it's all about distraction, and I'd rather let my
> husband distract me than pretend to be distracted by a bunch of
> "heeing" and "hooing." I knew this going in, though. If you're really
> interested in learning Lamaze breathing, you should probably take a
> longer class devoted to just that, or watch a video or read a book.
> Chances are you won't have much time to cover it in a 6 - 8 hour class.
>
> We focused more on other comfort techniques to use during labor - my
> favorite being the "slow dance" position, where Mom has her arms around
> Dad's neck, and Dad massages Mom's lower back while both sway back and
> forth, to relieve back pain. We're going to be practicing that one a
> LOT between now and birth - I found it very soothing and comforting.
> Being able to look into my husband's eyes, feeling him breathe, hearing
> his voice through his chest (he's nice and tall, so I was resting my
> head on his chest), was all lovely and VERY soothing. Much better than
> the stupid breathing, IMHO.
>
> We also talked about massage, which I found helpful. They even gave us
> a plastic massager, which reminded me to pack some of the ones we have
> (we're big into backrubs in this family). One thing that she said that
> totally made sense, that I never would've thought of, is that if Mom's
> in the bed, Dad should raise it up to his level, so that he's not
> stooping over to rub her back or whatever. I know that's really
> intuitive, but not having spent much time in hospitals, it probably
> would not have occurred to me until my husband had a serious backache.
>
>
> We did some basic anatomy, talked about how the baby gets out (with
> models), got to see what 10 cm is (yikes!), watched a video of a birth
> (YIKES!), watched a video of a c-section (animated, but somehow worse
> than the live video of the birth, but maybe that's just me). We talked
> about the various indications for interventions, the various sorts of
> meds that are available at our hospital, complications that can arise
> from the meds, etc.
>
> I didn't really learn anything that I didn't already know or have an
> opinion on. The most valuable part of it all was the tour of the L&D
> ward of the hospital, and finding out the hospital's policies (where to
> go if you show up in the middle of the night, where to go if you show
> up during "normal business hours", what "normal business hours" are at
> the hospital, what visiting hours are, where the cafeteria is, where
> the family waiting room is, whether or not kids are allowed to visit,
> etc. etc. - the stuff that probably varies quite substantially from
> hospital to hospital). The things that you can't learn from a book,
> unless it happens to have been published by your hospital, were the
> most valuable. I'd imagine that you're going to get that in either a
> mulit-night class or the marathon day class. That was what I really
> went for. The rest of it, while helpful, wasn't anything that a
> regular reader of MKP wouldn't already know.
>
> Not having taken a multi-night class, I can't compare the two, but I
> can say that I'm very satisfied with the level of instruction we
> received in our one-day class, and I feel more prepared for birth than
> I did before. I wouldn't go back and take the multi-night class, at
> this point. I think I made a good decision. I hope you're pleased
> with yours, too.
>
> Amy
>
>

[Amy]

V. wrote:

> Thanks Amy, that's exactly what I wanted to know! We have the option of
> doing the one day class in my own town, or at the hospital 30 min away we
> are actually delivering at. Given your info, I think we'll definitely opt
> for the hospital we are actually delivering at so we get all the hospital
> specific info.

I think that's an excellent idea. That was really the most important
stuff. I even sent an e-mail to my family letting them know in advance
about the policies and stuff after the class - I didn't want them to
drive the 1-1/2 hours down here to visit, only to find that it was too
early or too late, or that their kids couldn't come in, etc.

It also gave me an opportunity to say, "Please call before you visit so
that we can be sure to be awake, and maybe even clean and wearing cute
outfits, when you arrive!" :)

Glad I could help!!

Amy

[Amy]

Todd Gastaldo wrote:

> Amy (Austin),
>
> May I know what position the mother was in in the video they showed?

Well, since you asked so nicely...

There were several videos that showed women in various phases of labor.
The mother who had the epidural in one video was semi-sitting. She
was in bed the whole time, actually. I kept thinking, "She might not
need so many drugs if she'd get out of bed and move around!" However,
they did show a variety of positions for labor, and encouraged women to
let "gravity help" - i.e. to be upright, or to try side-lying, as
changing positions frequently (every 2 - 3 contractions) can help keep
labor moving along. I think one of the women gave birth in the
side-lying position. I was too busy thinking "I can't believe that I'm
actually going to do that!!" to pay much attention! I should've known
that you would ask...

I was concerned, going in, that pushing in "alternative" positions
might not be encouraged at my hospital, but it seems that they
encourage "alternative" positions and a lot of moving during labor, and
suggest that alternative positions may help during delivery. The
videos made mention of it, as did the class facilitator. They didn't
send out 200 page e-mails about it <g>, but it was mentioned.

So, maybe someone in the Midwest is listening to you, Todd.

Amy

[Todd Gastaldo]

THEY'RE NOT LISTENING - not at the hospital where Amy E. Austin will
deliver.


See below.

in article . com, Amy at
wrote on 7/24/05 3:39 PM:

>
>
> Todd Gastaldo wrote:
>
>> Amy (Austin),
>>
>> May I know what position the mother was in in the video they showed?
>
> Well, since you asked so nicely...
>
> There were several videos that showed women in various phases of labor.
> The mother who had the epidural in one video was semi-sitting. She
> was in bed the whole time, actually. I kept thinking, "She might not
> need so many drugs if she'd get out of bed and move around!" However,
> they did show a variety of positions for labor, and encouraged women to
> let "gravity help" - i.e. to be upright, or to try side-lying, as
> changing positions frequently (every 2 - 3 contractions) can help keep
> labor moving along. I think one of the women gave birth in the
> side-lying position. I was too busy thinking "I can't believe that I'm
> actually going to do that!!" to pay much attention! I should've known
> that you would ask...
>
> I was concerned, going in, that pushing in "alternative" positions
> might not be encouraged at my hospital, but it seems that they
> encourage "alternative" positions and a lot of moving during labor, and
> suggest that alternative positions may help during delivery. The
> videos made mention of it, as did the class facilitator. They didn't
> send out 200 page e-mails about it <g>, but it was mentioned.
>
> So, maybe someone in the Midwest is listening to you, Todd.
>
> Amy
>

Amy,

If they showed a woman semisitting without mentioning that she was closing
her birth canal up to 30% - then they aren't listening.

Obstetricians and midwives have LONG been promoting "alternative" delivery
positions - right along with the delivery positions that close the birth
canal the "extra" up to 30% - without mentioning this latter crucial fact
(as apparently occurred in your class).

Worse, in NORMAL births, some obstetricians and midwives allow women to
labor in "alternative" delivery positions and then move them to semisitting
or dorsal - close the pelvic outlet the "extra" up to 30% - at the worse
possible time - as the mother pushes her baby out through her pelvic outlet.

Still worse, in ABNORMAL births, obstetricians routinely move women to
semisitting or dorsal (or keep them there) when babies get stuck and they
pull with hands, forceps and vacuums - sometimes pulling so hard they rip
spinal nerves out of tiny spinal cords.

Sorry for those "200 page e-mails" - but I think babies are worth it.

Mothers too.

Todd


Again...

FOR ANY NEW READERS:

Semisitting and dorsal, standard medical delivery positions close the birth
canal up to 30% - and when babies get stuck obstetricians KEEP women
semisitting and dorsal - keep birth canals closed the "extra" up to 30%.

It's easy to allow your birth canal to OPEN the "extra" up to 30%.

See See ACOG's 2005 edition: How NOT to birth
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/chiro-list/message/3606

See also: RNs: 'Stitches, episiotomy, and postpartum complications'
(Maternal care
learning needs)
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/chiro-list/message/3725

(Note: If the URLs don't work, make sure there are no spaces.)

ALSO: Obstetricians are IMMEDIATELY clamping/cutting umbilical cords,
thereby robbing babies of up to 50% of their blood volume.

Make sure you talk to your obstetrician about waiting until the umbilical
cord stops pulsating before clamping/cutting. It would not hurt to wait
until the placenta is born before clamping/cutting.

> watched a video of a c-section (animated, but somehow worse
> than the live video of the birth, but maybe that's just me).

Retired obstetrician George Malcolm Morley, MB ChB FACOG indicates that
EVERY CESAREAN BABY is immediately clamped/robbed of up to 50% of his/her
blood volume.

HERE IS DR. MORLEY RECOMMENDING (FOR "EDUCATION" PURPOSES) **TEMPORARY**
BABY STRANGLING ON THE WEB...

"[T]he umbilical cord [is] immediately closed between finger and thumb...The
[fetal heart rate/FHR] will decelerate quickly to about 60 bpm...the color
will change from purple-pink (normal at birth) to pallid blue
(vaso-constriction and asphyxia.)...Few midwives or obstetricians will be
able to observe, without interference, a deep, prolonged FHR deceleration on
a non-breathing newborn for a period of 60 seconds.* Common sense will soon
release the finger and thumb."
http://www.cordclamping.com/acog-cp.htm

Dr. Morley MEANS well * but it is simply (obviously) illegal for him to
encourage obstetricians to commit ³lesser² child abuse in order to encourage
them to stop committing greater child abuse - robbing babies of up to 50% of
babies¹ blood volume.

See Michigan Baby Strangler George Malcolm Morley, MB ChB FACOG
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/chiro-list/message/3739

Todd

Dr. Gastaldo
Hillsboro, Oregon

[emilymr]

I have to say, our multi-night childbirth class was not very useful -- I'd
already learned everything from this message board!! ;) The breathing
techniques also weren't that useful; IME, prenatal yoga was better in
terms of learning relaxation breathing and how to breathe through
exercise/pain. I used yoga breaths alot while in labor. And I agree --
the hospital tour (unfortunately) turned out to be the most useful; it was
stressful enough having to transport, but knowing where I was supposed to
go, how to get in after hours, and what the rooms would be like made it a
much less awful experience than it could have been.

Happy countdown, Amy! :)

Em
mama to Micah, 11/14/04

[Cuddlefish]

"Amy" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> To recap - Amy (V., I think) and I were talking about the one-day
> childbirth prep class, and I told her that I'd report on ours so that
> she'd know whether or not she needed to do the longer class... We
> don't live in the same area, though, so YMMV.

For me, even though I did already know most of the stuff I learned over the
weekend workshop I attended, DH did not. To me, attending these classes was
to bring DH 'up to speed' as it were. He is not big on childbirth books. ;-)
We didn't really focus on breathing as much as educationing ourselves on the
risks and benefits of various procedures during birth. Also we discussed the
various birthing positions.

The classes were run by our doula, in her home. We also toured the hospital
last week and found that their perspective [eg. labour at home as much as
possible; giving birth in positions other than on our backs etc.] matched
our doula's information. All in all I am glad we went.

--
Jacqueline
#1 Due late Jul/early Aug

[carl jones]

"Amy" > wrote in message
oups.com...
>>
> We did talk about breathing techniques, but briefly. I think we
> practiced three (deep breathing, "panting," and patterned breathing).
> I'd say that there was 20 - 30 minutes of direct instruction on
> breathing, which was plenty for me. I've been breathing for about 30
> years now, and I'm just not interested in learning how to do it again.
> The fact is that it's all about distraction, and I'd rather let my
> husband distract me than pretend to be distracted by a bunch of
> "heeing" and "hooing." I knew this going in, though. If you're really
> interested in learning Lamaze breathing, you should probably take a
> longer class devoted to just that, or watch a video or read a book.
> Chances are you won't have much time to cover it in a 6 - 8 hour class.
>
> We focused more on other comfort techniques to use during labor - my
> favorite being the "slow dance" position, where Mom has her arms around
> Dad's neck, and Dad massages Mom's lower back while both sway back and
> forth, to relieve back pain. We're going to be practicing that one a
> LOT between now and birth - I found it very soothing and comforting.
> Being able to look into my husband's eyes, feeling him breathe, hearing
> his voice through his chest (he's nice and tall, so I was resting my
> head on his chest), was all lovely and VERY soothing. Much better than
> the stupid breathing, IMHO.

The slow dance position will do wonders for you in late labor if you are
having back pain. It is a wonderful way for you and your birth partner to
relate.

I thoroughly agree with you about the breathing patterns. They are
exhausting and do nothing to relieve the fear and pain of labor. If your
childbirth instructor is any good, s/he will also teach guided imagery - a
much more effective way to relieve the fear and pain of labor, create a
shorter labor, and create a richly rewarding positive birth experience.

Good luck and keep me posted with your childbirth education progress.

((((((Hugs)))))))

Carl