Childbirth Classes: Week 3

We had our third class on Tuesday night. It went very well. We watched a video on the different stages of labor and saw a small part of an actual birth. She taught us different breathing techniques and taught our coaches what to do to make us relax. That is definitely my favorite part of the class. We get to sit on birthing balls and we make every part of our bodies relax and then use different breathing techniques while our coaches rub our arms, backs, legs, etc. It is so wonderful. She has us go through a "contraction" where she tells us when the contraction starts and we take a deep breath and then breathe slowly for about 45 seconds. She tells us about when the contraction would be peaking and then when it's over and we take another deep breath. Obviously, we don't have the pain associated with a contraction, but it's nice to feel the timing and about how long 45 seconds is and what it feels like to do relaxing breathing during that time.

We talked about some of our expectations for the labor and birth and some fears we may have. Ben and I discussed different options for him including actually watching the birth and cutting the cord. I was surprised that he was so open about them. I didn't think he would actually want to do either. He also said that another man in the group was talking about catching the baby. I think it would be really neat if he would be able to do that.

I really learned a lot this week. It was most interesting because not only did I learn a lot about labor and delivery, I also learned some things that Ben is thinking and some of his expectations. I feel more prepared every week.