Childbirth Class

Greg and I attended Hoag Hospital's Childbirth Class this last weekend...7 hours of information about all the stages of birth, and I have to say...wow! There's a ton of information to know. We learned about some great relaxation and breathing techniques (thus, the floor mats in the photo above). Greg kept me laughing with visualizations of all kinds of crazy things, and we agreed it was good to get it all out now since we probably won't have the luxury when we're really in labor. We actually saw plenty of videos of women in labor, which confirmed that to be true. I'm now preparing myself for how hard this is going to be!

Our instructor was great, although she was a little hazy when it came to talking about the hospital's cesaerean percentages, which are around 50%, and I found that some of her responses to questions about risks for some procedures were pretty guarded, but generally, we learned that the hospital takes a very family-centric approach that promotes active birth techniques in an attempt to get through as much of the delivery as naturally as possible. Personally, I like that.

One interesting fact that our teacher shared, however, is that over 90% of women who deliver at Hoag get epidurals..."not too surprising in an Orange County hospital" (our teacher's thoughts, not mine, although probably true.) I'm probably on the realistic side of that equation and expect that I will get an epidural before it's over, but I'd like to stay active for as long as possible, simply because it helps speed the delivery time. Once they numb your lower half, you're confined to bed, and you can't walk (for the simple fact that you can't feel your legs!), which can unfortunately, slow the baby's movement out. We want to avoid that for as long as possible.

One of the great points that the instructor made was that women who are informed about delivery typically have better delivery experiences. We've found that our thoughts about delivery have become more refined as we learn more, but at the same time, we're more flexible because you just never know how it's going to go. I'm sure that's what she was referring to. We've also had some great conversations recently with friends who delivered in the last few weeks, and their insights have been invaluable. The basic premise of it all is that every situation will be different, so be ready for anything! In the end, the goal is to have a healthy baby and healthy mom!