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2nd Trimester
Lamaze v Bradley
the Childbirth Class at my hospital (NYU) offers Lamaze as their teaching method.
I have read a lot about Bradley too...
I don't know about either that much. I like the idea of natural childbirth but am not committed to it.
It's VERY expensive to take these classes and I can't do both. I was thinking take the hospital class and read the Bradley books.
thoughts?
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Re: Lamaze v Bradley
Once you are in labor, you will not be concentrating on your breathing patterns. You'll just do what you gotta do. At least that was my experience.
This was true for me until DH reminded me to breath and focus on breathing. It really helped calm me down.
found this should anyone else be interested:
https://www.parenting-journals.com/21/the-101-on-the-bradley-vs-lamaze-childbirth-techniques/
I don't really have the time to take classes this pregnancy so I plan on doing my own reading and kind of putting together my own plan.
Looking at your link I'm more in the distraction camp. I do better just zoning out and am looking at Hypnobabies in addition to Bradley.
I told DH that we could go to a 4 week class, or he could read the Bradley method book "Husband Coached Childbirth." He chose to read the book.
I also read the book on hypnobirthing.
The things that helped me the most were the positions and techniques that he had read about in his book. He was great with everything he learned and was better, I think, than any class we could've taken.
I don't know anything about Lamaze, but I'm about halfway through my Bradley course, and I really like it. It is a time commitment - twelve, two-hour classes. However, you do learn a lot, you get nutrition advice, and you learn exercises to help prepare you body for labor. You also learn about the different common procedures in a hospital birth and how and when to deny them or be skeptical of them. Overall, I've found it to be useful and I feel like I'll be really well-informed before giving birth. Even if I end up with a c-section, I will have a better sense as to when a c-section is necessary/critical v/s when it's being suggested because of an unfounded hospital policy or convenience of the doctors/hosptial. I like having a class to be able to ask questions and meet other parents-to-be. Plus, I learn better by being in a class rather than just reading a book.
If you want to do a natural birth, I also recommend reading Ina May Gaskin's Guide to Natural Childbirth.
This reminded me of my mom's story about giving birth to my brother/her first baby. She had taken a Lamaze class and was confident she was all set, but when she was in labor, the doctor told her to pant?and she had a brain fade and just looked at him with a blank face. He had to demonstrate how to pant to get her mind back on track. LOL!
We took 3 of the 12 Bradley classes and then I ended up in the hospital with complications requiring an emergency c-section. We had really enjoyed the class up to that point but the relaxation and breathing techniques did come in handy to calm me down with the urgnecy of the situation and helped me through the c-section itself with breathing. The class was also a great bonding experience for my husband and I.
Good luck!