A few years ago, a revolt was started in opposition to the perceived over-reliance of obstetrics on medicines and medical procedures, with its liberal use of pain relieving drugs and operative delivery. The alternative was “natural” childbirth and “psycho prophylaxis” and many programmes appeared with the aim to use psychological and non-pharmaceutical methods for pain relief in childbirth.
Advertisement
Randomised controlled studies have shown that in fact antenatal classes do result in the use of significantly less analgesic medication during labour.
Most classes today also attempt to accomplish other goals and knowing how to select the right childbirth education class can help give you the information you need to have a healthy and fulfilling childbirth experience. We recommend that you look for certain characteristics when choosing your antenatal class:
They aim to provide accurate and reliable information about pregnancy, birth and the experiences a woman will undergo, empowering the woman to make informed choices.
They include information on good eating habits, successful infant feeding, smooth post-partum adjustment and family planning.
They allow an opportunity to review the mechanisms of labour and birth in adequate detail and to explain medical and obstetrical terminology.
They impart skills for coping with the stress of labour and comfort positions.
They will cover stress management and a variety of relaxation techniques using specific breathing patterns to serve as a distraction for pain reduction.
They teach labour support skills to the partners of pregnant women.
Most antenatal classes involve the use of group sessions to establish a community of experience and all of the above are done with the aim of enhancing a woman’s sense of confidence as she approaches childbirth.
Bookmark with:
What are social bookmarks?