Bradley Birth - Class #1

Last night we had the first class of our Bradley Birth classes, which is a 12 week series (www.bradleybirth.com). The class was from 7:00-9:30, but it went by quickly and was really interesting. Class one was for introducing the Bradley Method to us, meeting the other class members, and introducing the first topic to help us during birth - relaxation.

We learned that Dr. Robert Bradley was an OB in the '50s. He grew up on a farm and saw many farm animals give birth, so he was shocked when he first witnessed a human birth. At that time husbands were not allowed into the delivery room and the mother's were very sedated. He eventually introduced the concept of letting your instincts guide you through labor (relaxation, being in tune with your body, etc), and he also led the transition that eventually allowed husbands into the delivery rooms.

The class is taught by a mother of 3, who is certified in the Bradley Method. There are 8 other couples in our class. Most of them are like us....delivering at a hospital with their first baby. One couple plans to deliver at home.

The relaxation technique that she introduced was exactly like a meditation class that I took this summer. You simply sit quietly and concentrate on being mindful and relaxing every part of your body. The husbands role in this exercise is to massage your back to aid in the relaxation, if you want. Poor Jeff, I am going to take advantage of all the "free" massages during this class.

We did see a birth video at the end of class, but it was meant to ease us into the birth videos. There was a warning after the birth that said that the next video shows much more detail. Guess we have that to look forward to...