Lamaze

We began our childbirth classes Wednesday night. We'll go every Wednesday night for five weeks. That sounded a little overwhelming at first, but I am so glad we decided to do the five week course. I really enjoyed the class last night (and Kevin actually did, too!). There are about 10 couples and the class encourages us to get to know eachother and share personal stories.

The class focuses on the Lamaze Philosophy. Here are a few of my favorite points:

• Pregnancy is a normal, natural life event.
• Women's bodies are perfectly designed to nourish and nurture their babies through pregnancy.
  
• A good support system, a healthy lifestyle and the ability to cope with the stresses of life promote a healthy pregnancy, a healthy birth and a healthy baby.
• The health-care system and care provider can increase or decrease a woman's confidence in the normality of pregnancy and her ability to have a healthy baby.
• Women’s inner wisdom guides them through birth.
• Women have a right to give birth free from routine medical interventions.

Our class instructor is actually a doula, as well. She is very open to each individuals opinions. With the Lamaze philosophy, women are able and encouraged to decide whether pain medication is right for them or not. Whichever is decided is ok! The next few weeks, we'll talk about things like relaxation techniques, how to stay confidant & strong during labor and ways our birth partner (aka Kevin) can help.

In addition to this class, I have also been reading The Official Lamaze Guide: Giving Birth with Confidence. This is a fabulous book! I was hooked after just reading the Preface which was so empowering and encouraging. The book focuses on encouraging mothers to trust their ability to give birth without needless medical intervention.

These two resources are exactly what I need right now. I am feeling more and more confidant every day and am learning to trust my body and it's own ability to know what needs to be done for myself and my baby.