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From traditional to alternative, there's a world of choices in childbirth education.
By Gayle Sato StodderBradley
Let nature take its course
If Lamaze encourages women to pursue natural childbirth, the Bradley method makes a mission of it. Working in the late 1940s, obstetrician Robert Bradley drew inspiration from the way animals deliver their young — capably, instinctively and in solitude. No, Bradley graduates don’t build nests out of palm fronds and feathers, but 87 percent of them who deliver vaginally do so without drugs, according to Marjie Hathaway, executive director of the American Academy of Husband-Coached Childbirth (the formal name for the Bradley program).
Bradley is not for the lightly committed. Typical courses run 30 hours over 12 weeks. Students learn the benefits of prenatal nutrition and fitness, as well as muscle awareness and relaxation techniques for labor. Husbands take an active role, coaching their partners through everything from preparatory pelvic tilts to final-stage pushing. Parents become vigorous advocates for having a drug-free, intervention-free delivery.
This approach can be empowering. With the help of her husband, Dino, Pennie Gioia, 37, of La Crescenta, Calif., delivered her now 8-year-old son, Antonio, after 16 hours of labor. “There was no point where I thought ‘I can’t make it,’” says Gioia. “Taking Bradley classes was like training for a marathon; I really felt prepared. I learned how to focus within myself, to work with my body instead of fighting it.” The Gioias were so pleased with their experience that they returned to Bradley classes to prepare for the birth of their second child, Giovanni, who is now 3 months old.
Birthing From Within and Birth Works
The spiritual side of birth
Childbirth is an undeniably physical experience. But it’s no less an emotional and spiritual one. Two increasingly popular programs — Birthing From Within and Birth Works — approach pregnancy and birth as nothing less than a life transformation.
“Our classes aren’t about teaching women where the cervix is,” says Birthing From Within founder Pam England, C.N.M., M.A., a midwife for 22 years who had an epiphany following the birth of her now 18-year-old son. “I realized that attending a birth as a midwife was nothing like giving birth as a mom. I knew a lot about the external experience of childbirth — the technical and scientific aspects — but very little about the internal experience: what it feels like to give birth.”
In a typical eight-week Birthing From Within course (two of the classes are postpartum), couples explore their hopes and fears about labor. They learn the physical processes but also delve into murkier territory: How do they feel about the impending delivery? How will they respond to the stress? In one exercise called “Taming Your Birth Tigers,” students visualize themselves facing an unwished-for surprise, such as an unplanned Cesarean section. They plan ways of dealing with the outcome, then replay the “tape” with their resolution in place. “Once women can visualize themselves coping,” says England, “they experience not only greater physical relaxation [at the prospect of labor] but also emotional relaxation.”
This type of experiential learning looks and feels different from traditional coursework. In Birth Works classes, which typically run 10 weeks, students learn about the baby’s descent through the mother’s pelvis by feeling and identifying their own pelvic bones (clothing stays on). They explore their attitudes about childbirth through expression of feelings, multisensory visualization and art. They also learn about the risks and benefits of medical procedures and drugs in pregnancy and labor so they can make informed decisions.
