The Birth of New Parents

We had our second birthing class tonight. Ten more to go. That's right. Twelve weeks. Two hours each week. It's us and about seven other couples. We meet in the back room of a storefront in our neighborhood (A church service is going on in the front part. Tonight, I got a glimpse of the church goers as I was making the first of several trips to the bathroom. I saw a woman holding a fiddle. Curious.)

One of the nicest things about this class is that what we learn is directed at the fathers as much as the mothers. Up until now, much of our preparation -- prenatal appointments, attention on my growing belly -- has focused on me, the pregnant woman. It's nice to see these other men lovingly rubbing their wives' backs or whispering in their ears as we sit in a circle on the carpet. It's so obvious how happy and excited they all are and how much they love their wives and their babies.

Tonight, we starting learning about the importance of proper nutrition. This class is a Bradley class, so a big focus is on getting enough protein. "Enough" is 80 to 100 grams each day. It seems like a lot! It is a lot! But, our instructor told us tonight that there is a theory that links a lack of sufficient protein to pre-eclampsia. The national average of pregnant women developing pre-eclampsia is about one in 10. Our instructor said of all of the about 120 students she has taught in the Bradley method, only one has developed this complication. She credits the diet that we Bradley birthers follow.

We also learned about the egg, the magical wonderfood. A little and inexpensive orb that contains at least 23 essential nutrients, including protein in one of its most perfect forms. It is second only to breast milk in terms of how perfect it is! Therefore, two eggs a day is the way to go.

After all that learning tonight, my favorite part of class was practicing our relaxation techniques. We are learning over the 12 weeks how to relax every muscle in our bodies. This will help later when we go into labor and the uterus is working hard. It will help by not wasting any energy on unnecessary muscles. And, it will help make labor go faster.

To do our practice tonight, we all sprawled out on the floor, women and men. The lights went down low. We closed our eyes. Breathed deeply. The instructor spoke to us softly and rhythmically, telling us to first tense and then relax our muscles, starting with our foreheads and moving gradually down to our feet, telling us we can always let go a little more, relax and sink and let go a little more. Breathe down low in our bellies, quietly and rhythmically. Ahhh. It made me happy. Like yoga. I almost fell asleep.

I know that labor will be much different, but just knowing that such a happy and relaxed place exists and is encouraged during labor makes me almost look forward to it! It certainly makes me more excited and less scared, little by little the more I learn. I envision this squirmy, slimy, wrinkled but alert baby will slide out into this world at just the moment he or she is supposed to, wailing and springy, and eventually relaxed and happy in our arms. ~ Nicole