Our Bradley class experience

As mentioned before, Kevin and I had 4 weeks of Bradley classes.  When I tell people we did Bradley courses, I tend to get two questions: "what's Bradley method?" and "how is it different from Lamaze?"  So to answer the first and somewhat answer the second, the Bradley method is focused on helping couples achieve a natural, unmedicated childbirth.  You learn what happens during the stages of labor and how to relax through the contractions.  In effect, you learn that your body knows what it's doing and the best thing to do is to stay out of your own way.  As I understand Lamaze, having not looked into it in any detail, that method teaches the woman to concentrate on a focal point and to use artificial breathing patterns to get through contractions and while open to natural birth, is not specifically tailored towards it.  So, different routes to the same goal, a healthy baby.

In a nutshell, Bradley says to look at how a dog, a cat, a cow, or other mammal gives birth, and follow their lead.  What they do instinctively, women can learn to do to minimize the pain or discomfort of labor.  A woman in labor needs complete relaxation (or as close as possible), achieved through the use of deep abdominal breathing, a quiet, dark room, and lying in a comfortable sleep-like position until it's time to push.  While the mother is no doubt the star of the show, the father plays a very big role as the labor coach helping mom along through encouragement, massage, and helping her to be as relaxed as possible.

During the classes we learned about the stages of labor and exercises to practice beforehand, some to help stretch the muscles and some to practice relaxation.  One relaxation exercise we did at the end of classes was for me and the other two moms to lie on the floor on our sides using a yoga mat and pillows to be comfortable.  Robin, our instructor, turned off the lights and would read something to help us to relax, for example, asking us to imagine ourselves lying on a beach.  During this time we'd close our eyes and try to consciously relax every part of the body.  After a few minutes Robin would tell the guys to simulate a contraction by squeezing our arms or ankles, not enough to be painful but enough to be an uncomfortable distraction.  The ladies were then to relax and take deep breaths to tune it out while the guys would offer massage and encouragement.  Sometimes she would have us try tensing up, moving, or opening our eyes to see that yes, it actually does feel a lot better when you relax, take deep breaths, and try to focus on a happy thought instead of the discomfort.

The idea of practicing relaxation might sound silly, but anyone who practices yoga knows that releasing tension can actually be quite challenging and does get easier with practice.  When we are doing the relaxation practice I'll often think about the end of yoga class when you lie on your back in relaxation pose focusing on one happy thought.  Of course the setting will be quite different in labor but I think putting myself in that mindset will help me to relax and the flexibility, breathing technique, and discipline of conscious relaxation that yoga teaches will all come in very handy.

Talking about what to expect physically and emotionally during the different stages of labor in class gave us a good idea what to expect.  For example, Robin talked about the transition stage, when you are almost fully dilated and ready to push but not quite.  The contractions are apparently quite intense at this point and for many women this is the most difficult part of the whole process.  This is, using the Bradley mountain-climbing analogy, the steep part of the trek  when you are near the mountain peak but can't see it yet.  You're frustrated and maybe ready to give up.  Yet, the big moment is almost there, and just recognizing these physical and emotional signposts as encouragement that the end is in sight may be enough to make this time much easier.  This is also where the husband-coach can play a big role lending encouragement and a good massage and reminding the mother that the baby will be here very soon.

I suppose most birth classes show a video of an actual birth and ours was no exception.  The video in question was from the late 70s/early 80s timeframe, reminding me that I was born during a time of truly unfortunate fashion trends.  The mom and dad in the video were both wearing haircuts and clothes representative of the time, with dad even sporting the cheesy mustache, aka "pornstache" or "molestache."  Vintage nostalgia/humor aside, it was helpful to see how she managed contractions and he supported her through them.  At one point as we got to the pushing stage, the video showed a close-up of mom's face as she breathed through a push.  The next shot, with no segueway, zoom-out, or panning downward whatsoever, was a close-up of the head crowning.  It was funny, it took all of us in the room a second to realize what we were seeing, then everyone jumped back a bit in their seats!  That scary visual notwithstanding, we did note that throughout the process, the mom didn't seem to be in overwhelming pain.  It looked like hard work, but doable.

All in all I came away from these classes thinking, labor will be challenging but I know I can do it.  The class that freaked me out a little was the very last one, when we talked about what happens after the birth and how to take care of this new little person.  Long story short, what I took from that is, you're going to be pretty sore and tired and for the first few days you will barely want to get out of bed.  Alas, resting will be a little tough to do what with this new tiny little person with lots of needs to meet. 

While dad can do quite a few things, including diaper changes, baths, and soothing baby back to sleep, for those of us who opt to nurse, feedings are a job only mom can do in the early going.  I definitely believe the benefits of breastfeeding are worth it, but the thought of round-the-clock feedings every 2 hours for the first weeks is pretty intimidating.  I know Kevin will be a wonderfully hands-on father and will do all he can to help, and once we can introduce bottle feedings after a few weeks that'll let us share the feeding duties and let me sleep for longer periods of time.  Hopefully those first few weeks will go quickly!

So, that's our Bradley class experience.  Overall I think we both learned a lot and came out of it feeling pretty prepared and confident.  Hopefully when the big day comes it will all pay off!