Childbirth Education
Our
ancestors witnessed the natural cycle of life from birth to death in their
homes. During pregnancy and childbirth, mothers, grandmothers, aunts,
sisters, and cousins surrounded the mother-to-be, offering her their emotional
and physical support, information, and confidence in her abilities as
a laboring woman and new mother. Now we live with a cultural norm that
doesn't promote woman to woman sharing of experience. As a result, most
women go into their births with fear of the unknown. Without having witnessed
labor and birth, they don't know what to expect and are frightened by
media concepts of birth or by horror stories they have heard, often from
complete strangers.
The need for childbirth education has sprung from the medicalization of childbirth and from the cultural disconnect that occurred as a result of families no longer passing down vital information and support. Grantley Dick Reid, author of Childbirth Without Fear, was a pioneer in the field of natural childbirth, followed by such important figures as Fernand Lamaze, Fredrick Leboyer, and Robert Bradley, to name a few. All of these physicians believed in the innate ability of the woman to give birth naturally, and through their childbirth education "methods," they offered women coping techniques that could potentially help them through their labors.
Unfortunately, today's childbirth climate makes it nearly impossible to strictly utilize the knowledge gained through these methods. Although some women are able to breathe away the pain of labor, or to focus on a particular object while laboring, or to fully relax during contractions, there are many influences other than pain affecting the laboring woman. Because of the way most women are giving birth today, in hospital settings with obstetricians and tremendous amounts of technology, childbirth classes need to be much more comprehensive in nature than they were formerly.
Several childbirth education organizations, particularly Birth Works®, the new Lamaze, and the International Childbirth Education Association (ICEA) promote self-determination for couples, fostering the ability to make truly informed decisions regarding labor and birth. These components of the childbirth class have become at least as important as coping techniques.
When seeking a childbirth educator it is important that the consumer look for an instructor with certain specific characteristics. Ideally, no matter what method is chosen, the class should be taught by an independent instructor, one who is not employed by a hospital or a particular obstetrician. This is important because the independent instructor is autonomous. She is able to truly offer evidence-based information without being under the influence of hospital or doctor protocol. The instructor should also possess strong faith in the process of natural birth, offering both didactic and experiential components to her class. Ask what organization she is certified through and research the philosophy of not only the organization but the instructor herself, to see if you are in alignment.
The classes should cover a variety of topics including a discussion of personal belief systems and philosophies of childbirth, ways of keeping low risk through proper nutrition and exercise, how to choose a care-provider (including differences between the obstetric model of care and the midwifery model of care), anatomy and physiology of pregnancy, labor and birth, non-pharmacological methods of coping with the natural pain of labor, interventions and choices in childbirth (including the use of epidurals and other medications), unexpected outcomes, choices for the newborn, breastfeeding and postpartum issues. These topics are really just the tip of the iceberg. Others could include birth planning, effective ways of communicating with your care provider and place of birth, the value of doula support, and most importantly fostering faith in the process of birth and in the woman's ability to give birth naturally, dispelling fear and replacing it with self-determination and strength.