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March 11, 2005
Birth Prep Class #2
Tuesday we went for our second birthing prep class. This week's class was one of two that would deal with pain management techniques.
First we got to watch some video that showed 3 different births, as well as pre- and post- birth interviews with the 3 couples whose births we saw, and with a bunch of other couples as well.
The video was informative, though I could have done without the really annoying background muzak it had which was just very distracting. The very 80s (the video looked late 80s) hairstyles were laughable, and the floral mumus that some of the women were wearing in their heavily pregnant state made me thankful that while much pregnancy fashion today is still pretty deplorable, it's nowhere near as bad as it was back then. Granted, fashion was pretty deplorable in the 80s period.
The video was also quite intimidating. Reading about labour and birthing and hearing about it from people is quite different to seeing an explicit video of it. And by explicit I mean that you could really see everything, it's not blurred out in strategic places or shot from an angle that really doesn't afford any kind of decent view of what's going on, as is customary on programs such as Maternity Ward/A Birth Story/etc. on TLC or other US tv stations. Actually seeing a baby's head with it's mother's perineum stretched around it like too tight plastic is kind of sobering. That said, the birthing center birth that that was most clear in, had the woman deliver without tearing or an episiotomy, so that was a reassurance at the same time.
The tape covered a homebirth with a midwife, a birthing center birth and a hospital birth. While I'm not sure if it's just personal preference, the hospital birth appealed the least to me. But PreZ picked up on it too, as did our educator and various other people in the class... the main problem with that birth was the OB and his attitude. He just didn't really seem to give much of a shit, and he was pressuring this woman into a c-section because she wasn't progressing as fast as he liked. However, all of a sudden she dialated another 1.5cms after being at a standstill for a couple of hours, and was actually able to have the vaginal birth she wanted instead of the c-section. A close call because at that point she'd already been shaved and was being prepped to be wheeled into the OR shortly after. I also got the impression that the OB just showed up every so often to check, which is something I've seen before on those birth tv shows... mostly you're in the hands of the labour and delivery nursing staff. This is another reason why I much prefer a midwife, I have her constant supervision and care, not just snippets of her attention every so often, and then get palmed off to some subordinates for the rest of the time. If I were to ever choose or need a hospital birth, I would so definitely consider having a doula present, just to have that constant support present which I feel is lacking from OB's. Support other than that of my partner that is. As it is, if I end up needing to be transferred to a hospital this time around, I'll be making sure my midwife stays with us, just to keep an eye on things too.
After the tape we discussed all kinds of methods we use to deal with emotional and physical pain that don't involve medication. A lot of things you already use in your daily life are things you're probably going to grasp once you're in pain again. It was interesting to see how many different things we could come up with, we all had to try and name 3 things we used, preferably stuff that wasn't already listed among the ever growing list on the board.
Then our educator, Bonu, showed us various positions and techniques that might come in handy, both to reduce or cope with the pain, as well as influence things like the position of the baby into the optimal birthing position before the whole labour/birthing thing starts. Lying on your back is the least condusive method to birthing, you end up working against your body and gravity that way. Upright or forward leaning positions are better... squats, being on all fours. Apparantly, if given complete freedom to move into their own positions that come naturally, only 2% of women will birth on their backs in a bed. Bonu had us practise various things with the support of partners. Partner supported squats of various kinds, using a chair or the wall for support. Several of them neither PreZ or I found particularly supportive, so those will probably never get used, but others seemed much more effective. I'm also contemplating getting a birthing/exercise ball, which has a whole variety of uses.
So that basically comprised the first of two classes on pain coping. Next week there'll be visualisation, vocalisation, massage, and a bunch of other related stuff. And it'll be our turn to be one of 2-3 couples providing snacks, so I'll have to give that a bit of thought. So far I think I'll bring a container of dry roasted peanuts we have (high protein), and I've been considering making a batch of the now famous vegan pumpkin cookies. Any of those that don't get eaten PreZ can take to his work and they'll be hoovered up there in no time at all ;) Other than that maybe a couple of pieces of fruit.
Posted on 04:10 PM to: Pregnancy