BRADLEY!!!
Here’s my story: My sister was an unwed mother. I was her labor coach in 2001. We took Lamaze. It was a nice and informative class. I learned a lot about the birth process and the drugs used. We learned some breathing techniques. When my sister went into labor it was all useless. She had wanted a drug free labor, but ended up taking narcotics.
When I became pregnant, my husband and I took a Bradley class. It was amazing. Not only did we learn alot about the birth process, we also learned very useful relaxation and pain management techiniques. We were taught many different birthing positions and labor techniques. We also learned about breastfeeding and pregnancy diet and exercise. Not only how to have a healthy and safe birth, but also a healthy and safe and full term pregnancy. Also my husband felt VERY involved. The method is from the Institute of Husband-coached child birth. There is a very strong emphasis on the father being involved in the pregnancy, birth and after birth. Unfortunatly, my water broke without any contractions, after five hours they had to give me a fast drip pitocin to induce my labor. My doctor kept offering me narcotics and an epidural because she said NO one can have an induced labor with out medication. Well, I DID! My son was born very alert and ready to breastfeed. His apgar was an 8/9 (that’s very high) even though there was merconium in my fluid. And one of the best parts is I remember having my son. I wasn’t grogy or “out-of-it”.
I believe that my son was so alret and healthy and that our breastfeeding had such a great start because I had a drug free labor and a healthy pregnancy. And I thank Bradley method and God for both. (And again, my husband loved it because he got to be an important part of the whole process.) And if you are looking for a drug-free birth, Bradley has the highest success rate (it’s like 80%, I don’t remeber exactly).
Whatever method you chose, I pray you have a great birth experience. Congratulations on your baby.
Lilder
