can someone whose done Bradley explain it to me?

meg1974

I've been reading a lot online about lamaze vs. bradley birthing methods. It looks like a lot of people on the board are going with bradley. I'm having a hard time figuring out exactly what bradley entails though.

I know it focuses on controlling the pain, but how exactly does it to that? Is it physical exercises? Meditation? Backrubs? Positive affirmations? Mind over matter?

This will make a big difference in which method I choose because I know which things do and don't work for me. 

Thanks!

IselaCid

I didn't do Bradley, but I just wanted to throw another wrench into your research

I did Hypnobabies....it's a combination of Bradley and Hypnobirthing.  It provides the Hypnosis aspect to deal with the pain management along with all the tons of information you learn about pregnancy, birth and postpartum that you normally get through Bradley.  

Just thought you might want to know of another method that is known to work pretty well!  My birth story is in my siggy if you're interested

IselaCid

PS.  JCM is taking a Bradley class and I'm sure she can answer this question if you page her if she doesn't see this thread.

JCM083009

I'm here

Our Bradley classes are a bit different b/c they're by our doula who has "been there, done that" so she adds a lot of her own info as well, so I can't say it's "pure" Bradley. But basically the gist of it is deep abdominal breathing (the opposite of Lamaze), keeping yourself calm and comfortable, being coached by your partner, massage, using stories, music, etc. 

They also get into things like perineaum massage, being in water during labor, etc. 

IselaCid

JCM083009:

I'm here

Our Bradley classes are a bit different b/c they're by our doula who has "been there, done that" so she adds a lot of her own info as well, so I can't say it's "pure" Bradley. But basically the gist of it is deep abdominal breathing (the opposite of Lamaze), keeping yourself calm and comfortable, being coached by your partner, massage, using stories, music, etc. 

They also get into things like perineaum massage, being in water during labor, etc. 

We did all of the above along with the Hypnosis in Hypnobabies...so you've got a lot of options out there!  Good luck!

meg1974

Thanks!

I'm actually looking for more specific details. When you say "keeping yourself calm and comfortable," how is that done? And, what exactly does your partner do to coach you? Is it just telling you "you can do it" (which is what they do in lamaze) or is there more to it?

I'm not sure if I'm a good candidate for hypnobabies b/c when I've tried similar things to control anxiety before it hasn't worked so well. But, I'll look into it. 

JCM083009

We've only had 3 classes so far, so I really don't even know all the details yet, but basically he's learning different massage techniques, different laboring positions we can use, foods and drinks to have and when, how to labor mostly at home, etc.

Bride7-7-07

I start my Bradley classes on Wednesday.  If you want to email me, I will send you a detailed description/brochure from my instructor of what we will be covering each class.  This should give you an idea of at least what it entails.

ms.stearns@yahoo.com

 

tiggernorton04

Like IselaSid, I'm doing HypnoBabies.  I haven't started studying it yet but that is my plan.  If I were to choose between Bradley and Lamaze though I would choose Bradley.  I have a couple Bradley books that I found to be informative.