Birthing classes - lamaze or Bradley?

[ladyzbyrd]

While I know I won't be able to afford birthing classes this pregnancy, I was wondering what others were doing and what their experiences were like?

I have read the difference between the two methods, and I feel Bradley would suit me better, and will probably get some books on it, at the very least.

[wildnewmamma]

I know nothing about either method- used hypnobabies for dd and am using it again with this lo

[Marissamom]

with my first, I got a couple of the Bradley books, and didn't really find it that helpful. my favorite book was actually the Birth Book, by Dr. Sears and his wife Martha. I had originally planned to do a class this time, but kind of decided not to. I guess I figure if I made it through without feeling like I needed pain meds in my hospital birth, where they wouldn't let me choose my labor or birth position, I'll be fine in my homebirth, where I get to have a lot more control over environment and position. 

[mylilmonkeys]

I took Bradley waaay back with #2.  Boy that seems forever ago.  This short little essay from Michel Odent has made the most difference in my births of anything I have read, and I have studied birth and midwifery for over 10 years: http://www.wombecology.com/fetusejection.html  Basically, don't even think about pushing until you can't not push.  Your body will push that baby out without you having to voluntarily do anything.

My second, at home and after taking Bradley, I pushed for 4 hours, and my third, for 7 hours (ended up a hospital transport, but vaginal birth), both because I was "complete" and should just push.  My fourth was three pushes, fifth was two, and the sixth was a totally unexpected one push, as the midwife barely pulled my underwear down, placed a chux, grabbed her gloves and broke my water, all at once.  

Oh, my other tip, use B-H contractions to practice relaxing.  Train your body that a contractions means letting go of all your muscles and breathe deeply.  

[MissBeth705]

We were going to go the Hypnobirthing route but our midwives recommended Birthing From Within and we've LOVED it so far. There's a book that is basically what the class teaches. You could probably get it from the library. Also, I think through the BFW site you can get some CDs that go along with the books.

[BeanyMama]

We took Lamaze with our first child and Bradley with our second. I really loved Bradley- we decided to take it after reading Husband Coached Childbirth. I think a lot depends on the teacher- we were lucky to get a great one. The Lamaze was helpful about breastfeeding, but I felt like Bradley covered birth and pp much better.

[monkey-lamb]

We used HynoBirthing with DD1 and will be using it with DD2.  We did take the class though, and I wouldn't recommend doing it by just reading the book.  It was a wonderful birth experience.  Good luck!

[philomom]

Bradley is the bomb. We had completely natural, intervention-free births using Bradley as our primary source through classes and reading. I did re-do the "husband coached" bit  because I don't respond well to that kind of coaching but dh was a marvelous support person.

I also highly recommend the Brewer diet that goes hand in hand with Bradley. I only gained 20 pounds with each baby and had no complications with either pregnancy.

[Virginia884]

We are doing Bradley, and I feel like it's doing a good job of preparing both DH and I for birth and life with babe. DH is also reading the accompanying book, "Husband coached childbirth" and I am reading about a million books, too. Our midwives recommend Bradley.

[Neuromancer]

We're taking a "homebirth" class that starts a week from Monday.  I'm interested to see what technique(s) it covers.

[Aliy]

never taken a childbirth class. saw no point.

i have skimmed through hynpo birthing ( eh) a bit through Bradely ( seemed redundant) watched some lamaze videos ( never really liked the controlled breathing idea) curently looking through hypnobabies not sure if i'll end up using it.

I have an awesome husband for supporting me, and I really turn into my body. I'm a pretty chill birther

[Mayfly]

We took a little homebirth class with DD. It was 4 classes and just was an overview of stages, possible laboring positions, etc..

I had read over bradley, lamaze, and other birth books but ended up using "Active Birth" and yoga breathing. That's what worked

for me and came naturally. I think it's a good idea to read a few things, get some ideas about different techniques and then listen to

your body. We won't be taking a class this time but I'll be looking over my books soon.

[dancingnancy97]

I took Hypnobirthing with my first baby and loved it.  In fact, what I learned in Hypnobirthing (and the subsequent failure thanks to a nurse in the hospital who wouldn't leave me alone and kept wanting me to do the whole open your eyes and focus thing) helped me decide that my next birth was most definitely not going to be a hospital birth.  I also took a very slacker approach to the Hypnobabies home course, but it was just too involved and didn't fit my style.  This time around, I'm just rereading the Hypnobirthing book and practicing with my relaxation CDs.  I'd love to take a Bradley Class just to check it out, but it's just not an option right now.

[SaRaiMelting]

Doing the hypnobirthing class and loving it!