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February 06, 2006
Grab a Rosary, the Transition's Starting!
My wife and I attended childbirth classes this weekend. The hospital now offers them via two five-hour sessions. It was convenient, so we went with that option. The woman teaching the class was pleasant, the atmosphere was relaxed and we were in a room of friendly, funny people.
Overall, it was a good class. And yet so horrifying.
As a sort of shock therapy for parents-to-be, they show you a film of a labor and delivery. Actually, over the weekend, they show you a few films. The first was a normal labor and delivery and showed a few women going through the experience. As the women on-screen worked to bring a new life into the world, the women in the room were all staring at the screen, enraptured by the moment.
The guys? We were all giving one another nervous glances, wondering what on earth we had gotten ourselves into. A good portion of the class was spent showing the wives how to breathe and focus to minimize the amount of pain that childbirth would bring.
There were lots of instructions for the guys - give lots of encouraging words, back rubs and offers of support. Most importantly, we were told, do not focus on the heartbeat/contraction monitor. The focus should be on the wife, who does not want to hear about what's going to happen.
One guy raised his hand. "So, does this mean we shouldn't say 'holy sh** honey! Here comes a good one?'" We were assured that no matter how tempting it is to do so, warnings would not be welcomed. Anticipation does does heighten the experience, it seems.
We received a nice tour of the labor and delivery room, and even got a chance to hear the cries of a woman in active labor in the room next to the one we were touring. This time, it was the women in the room giving each other uncertain looks.
On the second day, there was another video. This one was just a collection of clips from home movies - all of women in the transitional stage of labor who chose not to use epidural medication. There was a lot of noise in this video, as you can imagine, but my wife came away from it more encouraged than nervous - because the video did show that breathing and focus could get a woman through the experience.
There was one woman on that video, however, who was making some seriously odd noises. These were grab Father Merrin and start chanting 'the power of Christ compels you' noises. That, and the video of a delivery of the 'afterbirth' were the most disturbing aspects to the weekend.
What came through more than anything, though, was how great an equalizer childbirth really is. There were people in that room who were from different cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds, yet we were all brought together by the life change we were all about to undergo.
Now I've got to go start thinking about what to pack in the labor and delivery bag...
Posted by at February 6, 2006 09:54 PM