It seems as though when you are pregnant you wear a sign that says “All birthing horror stories welcome,” and complete strangers feel it is their duty to share their story with you, sparing no details.
I was 19 when I found out I was pregnant with our first child, not knowing anything about pregnancy, labor, or the birthing process. As the pregnancy progressed, I found that more and more people wanted to “save” me from the horrors of giving birth. This is when I decided to take matters into my own hands and research the different options that I had. It was suggested by several friends and family members that my husband and I attend Bradley Classes, of which I hadn’t heard of until that point in my life.
My husband, Scott, had even less knowledge than I did about these classes, but was very willing to go along with me. We had no idea how much that simple decision would impact our lives.
From the very first class, everything just made sense: trust that your body was created to give birth, the natural process works, and everything within that process happens for a reason. In these classes we learned how to eat well to maintain an optimum level of health, different exercises to strengthen and stretch the muscles that would be needed for labor and the birth of our child, relaxation, and natural abdominal breathing. We also learned how to avoid unnecessary and costly interventions, and how to have positive and effective communications with our birth team so that our desires were known and achieved. The classes brought us closer together as a couple, and has strengthened our relationship. When it came time to bring our son into the world, we were ready physically, mentally, and emotionally. We knew what lay ahead, and how to face the task before us. That day was one of the most invigorating, empowering, and joyous days of our lives. I never could have done it without the loving support and help from my coach – Scott, and what better a gift to give to our son than the healthiest possible start in life.