Childbirth Education

Last Tuesday marked Class #1 of the 4 part series that we are taking called "Childbirth Education" at Delnor (the hospital where Boogie will make his debut).

This class is offered to everyone who will deliver at Delnor (for a fee of course), but is not required.

We walked in last Tuesday not really knowing what to expect (my mind immediately went to one of my favorite people of all time, Bill Cosby and his discussions of their natural childbirth classes).

We were seated in a half circle with about 8 other couples around a screen and a labor & delivery nurse who was going to be our instructor. We were told (via powerpoint of course) that we would be learning about what to expect in early labor, relaxation techniques, touring the hospital, learning about pain relief, and watching VIDEOS over the next 4 sessions. Of course, the videos weren't supposed to start until week 2 - - but that was not necessarily the case.

I had seen a vaginal birth and a c-section video in high school - in Child Development class. Dain, however, had not. We were to be watching a "Stages of Labor" video that night - but it was just going to "lead up" to the birth but not go there yet. We watched women breathing through contractions and getting backrubs and doing squats and walks to help them cope. We saw what the baby was doing during all those stages, and how he makes that glorious trip down the birth canal. And then it happened....a STARK NAKED woman lying on the delivery table pushing out her child - which we watched for the duration. WHAT? Why was she naked? That was my concern. Dain's was different... We walked out of class for the break, and Dain literally apologized to me for how Boogie has to get out of me. I'm hoping to milk that for the next 2 months until I have to be that woman in the video - - though there's no way in hell that I'm giving birth in my birthday suit.