BABY BOO IS 23 WEEKS OLD, ABOUT THE SIZE OF A GRAPEFRUIT
EARS, FINGERNAILS, AND FINGERPRINTS ARE FULLY DEVELOPED
This past Sunday Tim and I began our Bradley classes with a local instructor. This is a method that helps us (me) cope with natural childbirth. The philosophy is simple - Our bodies are made to give birth and in low-risk situations the process doesn't need to be messed with. Inductions, C-sections, etc certainly have their place - they save lives. But the sad truth is interventions are used far more frequently then are medically necessary. In fact, sometimes the use of these interventions actually cause more risk and harm then if the mother had been allowed to progress with her labor naturally. Unfortunately now-a-days we cannot blindly rely on our doctors to give us the advice that is in our best interest. We have to do our own research and be our own advocates for our health care. This is why I found a group of midwives who I feel I can trust. Their reputation is amazing, and my experience with them so far has been great as well!
The Bradley Method involves the husband, or birth partner, as a coach for the mother. His main job is just to keep me relaxed through the contractions. It's a natural response to tense up against them, which causes them to be extremely painful. The idea is that by relaxing yourself fully you can cope with the pressure. So we have weekly exercises and practices that we do to basically train me to respond to Tim in a way that will relax me fully. He and my midwife will work together to help me have a calm, safe birth. Of course, there's no telling how labor will go so the important thing is to roll with the punches. We are doing what we can to prepare as much as possible, but when the time comes if our "plan" goes out the window, then so be it. My "plan" is to labor at home for as long as possible and then have a water birth at the hospital with intermittent fetal monitoring. So... hopefully that happens :) I'm not going to write out a detailed "Birth Plan" or anything like that. I want to keep my goals simple since I know they can change.
