Overview of Childbirth Classes
Prepared Childbirth
Childbirth is pain with a purpose. We will emphasize breathing, relaxation and visualization techniques to help prepare you for a natural childbirth, but will cover pain medications that can be used if you choose to go that route. Realize that you must be prepared for some pain, even if you are going to get an epidural.
Importance of Support People
It is very important to have someone that you trust to help you and take care of you at your birth. Support people can help in so many ways and this class will give you lots of ideas for doing that. Moms and support people will need to PRACTICE the techniques learned as well as communicate with each other. Support people will need to become good listeners and practice doing massage techniques and relaxation methods with Mom.
The Actual Birth Process
We will spend a lot of time talking about the actual birth process. We will watch a series of films covering interventions and pain management as well as a Cesarean birth. We will do a tour of the Labor & Delivery floor and tour of the Postpartum floor.
Fears and Concerns
We will try to encourage everyone to talk about their fears or concerns as well as how to approach parenting and the uncertainties that becoming new parents can bring.
Stages of Labor
We will go over the stages of labor and learn and practice the breathing techniques that can be helpful in each stage. You will want to practice the breathing at home to get used to it and also to practice working together as a team on this.
Remember: Pain >>> Fear >>> Tension >>> Increased Pain.
Massage Techniques
We will talk about and practice, massage techniques as a relaxation and pain management technique.
Postpartum Care
We will talk about postpartum care for both Moms and Babies. We will also go over those early weeks at home with your baby so that you can have an idea of what to expect.
Feeding Your Infant
We will cover infant feeding with an emphasis on breastfeeding.
Pain Medications During Childbirth
We will cover the medications used for pain management for both a vaginal and Caesarean birth.
Questions?
Feel free to call Women's Specialists with any questions.