Bradley Class

We had our first Bradley class this week and it was very exciting. If you aren't aware of the Bradley method it's a birthing technique that teaches relaxation (and many many other things) in order to achieve an unmediated birth. See this website for more information.

This has been my desire for a long time... even before I got married. Steven heard about it through me and has been very supportive. I chose this method because I know women have been giving birth without medicine for a long time (some even in my family) and I want to see if I can do it too! I love how Bradley encourages the husband's involvement and educates you on the entire process. I feel like I'm going to be prepared... and I really like that.

There is always a chance that we will need medication or possibly a cesarean, so we are preparing our hearts for that if it happens. I'm not so set on an unmediated birth that I'm going to ignore the concerns of our doctor... however, we both really want this for our family and so we are doing everything we can to be successful.

Back to the class... we both really like the instructor. She has nine kids... two were adopted, but she birthed seven of them. All of her children are very well behaved and polite... we were very impressed. In addition to having a ton of personal experiences, she has taught the Bradley method for 17 years! Instructors are required to get and maintain a certification so there is some degree of accountability. Steven was very impressed with these things and quickly put his confidence in her.

The thing I most liked was that she works with what we want. For safety reasons we plan to give birth in a hospital and because we have insurance through Steven's work, it would be more expensive to have a mid wife. There are couples in the class that have chose to have a midwife and those who have not. I was very relieved... as silly as it sounds, I had fears that we would be sat in the center of the room and sternly instructed to get a midwife. There is a lot less pressure than I expected.... it's more like educating you so that YOU can make a decision.

We practiced some exercises and relaxation techniques during the first class. I have full confidence in Steven. Because I have had such a hard time sleeping he has become really good at helping me get comfortable. He sets ups and adjust up to seven pillows for me every night. I know, seven pillows sound ridiculous but some nights it is really hard to get comfortable... I can't just flip over like I used to be able to do. He also has had a TON of practice massaging my sore back. So the relaxation part of the class was very easy.

The exercising portion was a little more educational. Because a few of my friend have also done this method I had already begun some of the exercises. However, I was definitely doing one of them incorrectly... contributing to some lower back issues I was having. Some nights I could barely crawl into bed because of a dull pain in my back. The instructor helped me correct things and I've have almost no back pain since.

We are both excited and feel more bonded with our child than before. We need so much prayer, because a lot of things have to go well in order for this to happen the way we desire. Conception, pregnancy and birth are all such a miracle... I'm amazed anyone is able to have children.