Lamaze or Bradley?

landonandsarai · October 2012

I'm interested in doing natural child birth classes to help prepare for our first little one (coming in March!), but I can't decide what kind of classes to do. Both the Lamaze and the Bradley websites sound like it would be a worthwhile class to take, but I'm wondering if anyone has anyone personal experience with one of both of them? Please share! I know there is no one right way to do birth, but I would really appreciate any suggestions from personal experiences. Thank you!

Ps- If anyone is in the North Carolina Triangle area and has a recommendation for a specific local class or instructor, I would love to hear from you!

abell77 · October 2012

No personal experience with Lamaze, but my husband and I took Bradley classes and both of my births have been pain med free. The book, Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way by Susan McCutcheon has a good description of the key differences between Bradley and Lamaze.

landonandsarai · October 2012

Thanks! I've been leaning towards the Bradley myself, but without any really great reasons to articulate why to hubby. It just sounds like a really helpful method to learn.

RockyMtnMama · October 2012

We did Bradley (along with 3 other couples/friends we know). I know others who did Birthing from Within, Hypnobabies, and Hypnobirthing and had natural births. I've had two natural births and hope to have my 3rd any day now.

I don't have any IRL friends who have done Lamaze, but I know a few 45+ women who did.

aylafsu88 · October 2012

We did the Bradley method and loved it! I was able to have a med free birth. The classes are long (12 weeks) but DH and I liked that. It made us focus on our birth every week and we got to spend some quality time together. The only thing I did not like was how much they focused on side lying during contractions. When I was in labor I wanted to be up and moving or on hands and knees in the tub. We thought the information provided in the class was very useful and our instructor was great! We also liked that the class was limited to 4 couples, so we got to know other parents to be. I keep in touch with one of the couples from our class.

Nechie122 · October 2012

jfresh:
We took Lamaze couldn't fit in the 12 weeks of Bradley and found it useful and effective. We focused a lot on massage and the birthing ball and partners/coaches were very involved. I would definitely recommend it!

I took Lamaze too, for the same reason. One of the criticisms of it is that it's more medically focused, meaning it's not necessarily about changing the birth culture but working with the hospital. I've also heard that the breathing is outdated, which doesn't surprise me, but my class didn't really focus on breathing that much, and Lamaze on the whole has incorporated many Bradley elements.

But the bottom line is that Lamaze is good enough in a pinch and I'd combine it with something like prenatal yoga which I found immensely helpful during labor.

BLPL101 · October 2012

I was reading Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way (I'm taking the Bradley Classes, obviously) and it discusses the difference between Lamaze and Bradley. They really are night and day. I didn't even know they offered Lamaze anymore.

JJ_13 · October 2012

We are on Class 12 of Bradley this week. We really like it and I think, if you're really wanting to do natural childbirth, it's a good, information-based preparation for it. Based on what I've heard of Lamaze, I'm not sure it would have - at least for me - really prepared me (I still don't know, I suppose, if I'm really prepared since I haven't delivered yet!!).

Susan Rotman is a good Bradley instructor in the NC triangle area. She's in Raleigh, five points area. There are a couple of others too in the area. I'd recommend you interview a couple to find a good personal match, especially if you're considering using your instructor as a doula as well (as we are).

Mrs.AmyDylan · October 2012

We are on week 5 of the 12 weeks of the Bradley classes. I was initially skeptical about the huge time commitment. However, I'm finding that I really enjoy the time I spending bonding with DH over the birth preparation, daily exercises, and weekly class. I also feel like I'm getting informed about the whole birth process. Since I haven't finished the classes or birthed the child, I'm not qualified to say that i couldnt have done it without Bradley, but I'm really pleased with it so far.

landonandsarai · October 2012

Thanks, everyone, for the advice! I think there's a lot of great classes around, and I wish I could do them all. However, I just heard back from the closest Bradley instructor in my area, and it's an hour drive each way to the class location. Also, the only class she has available in time before my due date is November-January. With all the holiday travelling we'll be doing, and the distance to the class, I'm thinking we may have to look at some other classes .

My mother in law had 3 natural births with Lamaze (several years ago, obviously), and I'm thinking that might be a good back up option since the Bradley seems a little complicated right now.

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