I was trying to find the right class for us to attend because I didn't want to spend a lot of money, and I wanted it to be worth-while. I knew that the hospital where I will be delivering the baby was offering classes, but I also heard they were dry and boring. So, I branched out and did a little investigating on what else was out there that would be more fulfilling.
I found a class that was being offered at a Yoga (prenatal and postnatal) studio called Blooma. I had heard wonderful things about this place, that the yoga and instructors were great, so I looked into it. The owner is a doula so she offers a lot of educational workshops in a addition to her pre and post-natal yoga classes. There was one course that struck my eye and knew that it was going to be perfect for me and my husband. It was called Couple's Birthing Intensive. It was just 1 night, for 2 1/2 hours and it entailed everything we needed to know about each other during childbirth.
This worked for us for various reasons. I work in a prenatal clinic, so I know the ins and outs about pregnancy: what happens to your body, what's actually happening inside with your baby, how your body transforms. I didn't need a whole day of that. Secondly, my husband read the The Expectant Father, which I believe he really liked, b/c it gave him a view of what pregnancy is like, month to month, written by a man. I felt confident that he was aware of the changes, and I know it made him feel good to understand what was happening. We wanted a course that was going to be real, to the point, but also a bonding experience, as parents.
Oh, and my husband was a little leery of the yoga piece, (he's extraordinarily inflexible) but I assured him that the entire class was not about that. Thank goodness, it wasn't... We did do some breathing exercises facing each other, a little downward dog, a little stretching, but nothing any other person couldn't do. So it wasn't bad at all.
One of my favorite parts of the class was when the instructor had us sit and face each other. She had us put one hand on our hearts and the other hand on the baby, had us close our eyes, and told us to take deep breaths. She had us think about US, about the baby in between us, about the three of us. I cried and cried and it was hard to breathe, but it was such a sincere moment. It was the right way to be in the moment, to see that we were doing this together, and that for the 1st time I felt like a family. It was pretty cool.
Along with this, the instructor had us write about our fears, our unknowns, but also what it was we were excited about. She had us journal a little, but wanted us to share this with each other at different time. She said we should go on a date before the baby came, and to sit down and talk about these things. I thought this was great as well.
After we did a little yoga, a little crying (mainly the women), a little journaling, she told us to take a break, and gave us beer and oreo cookies! How awesome is that! The guys surely loved it and some of us women loved the fact that she had non-alcoholic beer for us. What a way to keep it real.
Meanwhile, she set up the video, which was 2 excerpts of women giving birth. Now, as you can imagine, they were about women naturally giving birth at home. She did say that this wasn't the way we "had" to give birth, by any means, but she wanted to show us how natural childbirth can be, and her main focus was to show us that we didn't have to be afraid. She talked about how our society has shaped our fears around childbirth and that it was all wrong. Women give birth, all the time, everywhere in the world, and it isn't something we need to be afraid of. We are very lucky to have all the medication and all the interventions b/c sometimes they will save lives, but that doesn't mean it's necessary for everyone. We don't need to go into it thinking, OMG this is going to be so painful and how am I going to get this baby out, and how am I going to do this! All this doubt and fear is what gets people in trouble. Believe me, I'm still convincing myself of all of this as I approach my 38th week of pregnancy, but it does give me a sense of relief when I think about it this way. I just think, our bodies are made to do this and I am doing it for the baby, not for me.
The teacher then gave a run-down of what early and active labor was, and what to do during this time. Told us to stay at home as long as we could - that it was better to labor in the comfort of your own home than in the hospital. She talked about what to eat and when to rest and not just for the women giving birth, but for the partners as well. It was great b/c again, it was to the point, she gave us handouts, it wasn't daunting, and we left feeling very confident.
So yeah, we walked out of there and thought, we're ready - let's do this. And we are ready. We have a couple of weeks left and I think we have done everything we can to prepare, mentally, for the birth of our baby. Now it's just praying that he will be born around his due-date, that it isn't a 30 hr labor, and that he's born straight into the water, gently and smoothly.
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