Bradley Birthing Method

christmasbaby2012

My Husband and I are considering using the Bradley Birthing Method. This will be our 3rd child. Our first ended in a c-section and our second was a VBAC. I did endure 12 hours of med free "hard labor" before finally getting an epi 2 hours before our daughter was born. (14 hours of labor total). I would LOVE to hear from fellow momma's on their Bradley Birthing experience. Thanks again!

 Classes begin the beginning of October....so we need to decide soon!

littlemaybaby

Loved, loved, loved our Bradley experience.  

Didn't exactly end up with the birth we planned, but it was so nice to know ahead of time exactly what we wanted and exactly why we would deviate (and as you likely know from a c-section and a VBAC - flexibility to deviate is critical).   

Bradley is not just about birth, it's also about pregnancy so a lot of the classes will focus on diet and exercise that you should start in pregnancy (as early as possible) for good nutrition and for helping to move the baby into proper positioning for birth.

It's also very partner focused - with techniques for your birthing partner (whoever that may be) to help you cope through labor.  My husband felt a lot more confident going into L&D with what he learned from Bradley.

Ultimately for us, 24 hours of hard active labor after my water broke + being a labor puker equalled serious dehydration.  I made it to 10cm in 24 hours, but then my contractions just stopped.  Like completely.  Given that I was on the clock because of my ruptured membranes, my only hope to avoid a c-section was pitocin and at that point, 24 hours of hard med free labor + 40 hours since I had gotten any sleep + dehydration, I just couldn't do the pitocin without the epidural.  But after 3 hours of pit and epidural, I was able to push my 9lb 10oz son out in under 30 minutes.

So while I didn't exactly have the med free birth I envisioned, I was able to avoid a c-section and I really believe all the exercises I did prior to labor and all of my moving around and positioning in early labor (not to mention allowing labor progress at it's own really super slow pace) really helped get my large son into a good position to make that final push (no pun intended) a whole lot easier than it would have been under some different circumstances.  

I can't say enough good things about Bradley! 

hmontty

We loved the classes. We did end up with a C-section though (DD was too big to fit through my pelvis). We chose the section over possible injury to me or the baby -- Bradley would probably have frowned on this, but screw 'em. It's a good method, but in the end, it can be unreasonably overzealous. For example, our teacher kept saying things like "This is the way women have birthed their children for thousands of years!" She never mentioned the nearly 50% mortality rate that went along with it...

In other words, I would do it again and use it, but if and when the sh!t hits the fan, don't Bradley-panic and make a silly decision.

2PuppiesHon

We just started Bradley last week!  Like anything, there are pros and cons.  I love how partner-focused it is, as PP's have said.  DH seems to thrive in his role as "coach."  I probably need the nutrition help too, and the exercises are very doable.  I told my midwife practice that I was doing Bradley and they said the classes are super informative (12 weeks x 2 hours is a lot of info!).

 By way of caution, she also warned me that the diet suggestion is more protein than anyone would ever need, and that sometimes they've had moms-to-be downing protein shakes at night just to meet the protein requirements.  I am takng the nutrition guide as just that and if I don't follow it to a tee, I'm not worried.  Her other warning was that sometimes Bradley moms put a lot of pressure on themselves to do everything totally naturally, and while that is our ultimate goal is for a drug-free birth, sometimes the plans go out the window and we are prepared to roll with that if necessary too.  

 Hope that helps! 

epona3

We loved our Bradley classes, too. I was a little afraid they would be too "hippy" or "out there" for DH (he is an engineer, so very pragmatic!) but we found our class to be very down to earth and practical. No orgasmic birth videos or "C-sections are the devil!" stuff at ours! So, it may be worth the time to shop around a little bit for instructors.

We both loved how thorough it was - covering everything from prenatal nutrition and exercise to how to identify the stages of labor, and how to deal with them. DH especially loved feeling informed, and having a defined role of birth coach. He said it made him feel a lot less helpless. Also, he didn't know as much as I did about the whole pg and birth thing, so it was good for us both to be on the same page by the end.

Our birth ended up going really smoothly, and DH was my rock - he walked with me in the early stages, and later he poured water over my belly while I labored in the tub, massaged my shoulders in between pushes, held my leg when I pushed on my back, and practically caught DD! I don't know if I could have done it without him!

He actually wants to take the full 12 week class again, where I am trying to convince him to do the shorter "refresher course." What a role reversal! Both of us strongly recommend Bradley courses!

Aa+C

We LOVED our Bradley class!!

Like may PP I didn't end up with the perfect natural birth I wanted (I was severely Pre-E). I loved knowing what was going on.

I felt the course was extremely educational, which made the whole process easier to digest. Also, we're still VERY good friends with one of the other couples!