Bradley vs Birthing From Within

[Baby2inAugust]

Hi everyone! I am due August 5th and just found this board. I am also a part of the What to Expect August 2011 board, but a lot of moms on there don't support natural birth at all and we are having a home birth with this baby (#2, our first is 10 months old) so it's nice to find somewhere that it's supported!

My question is, has anyone taken a Bradley or Birthing From Within class? What did you think of it? I am trying to figure out which would be best for us. I still have a lot of fear from my last birth, and I have heard that Birthing From Within deals a lot with that. But I have heard good things about Bradley as well. Any advice would be appreciated!

[Italiamom]

For mamas dealing with fear and trauma from previous births, I think Birthing from Within can really, really be helpful.  But it's also a bit on the "wooey" side, as DH might call it.  If you're still feeling anxiety about your first birth, though, that would be my pick.  Birthing from within would deal with the fear and feelings from your first birth, as well as addressing strategies for this pregnancy and birth.  Just my two cents...

And welcome to MDC!  I think you'll find lots of support here for natural birth and parenting.  It's a pretty neat place!

[illumini]

I have the Birthing from Within book but haven't taken a class. I found the book to be very good at helping with the emotional side of being pregnant and giving birth.

It really seemed like it was great for women dealing with birth trauma so I would recommend the book at least.



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[copper.kettle]

I took BFW classes before my last birth because I wanted a completely different birth from my first birth.  I can't recommend it enough!  There were a few hokey parts, but I still loved it, and went on to have a beautiful natural birth :)

[Asheya]

Birthing from Within is a wonderful resource. We in North America tend to approach birth from a very 'thinking brain' place, which especially for a hospital birth can be important (so that you have all the information you need to make evidence-based choices), but birth is really about letting our 'instinctual brain' take over, and Birthing from Within really helps you to access that.

[Kokopelli-mana]

The BFW book was my lifeline and enabled me to have an unassisted birth.

[mommymcnair6]

I took the full 12-week Bradley class when I was pregnant with my third after two c-sections.  That class enabled me to trust my body and go through with my first homebirth.  It was awesome and I love Bradley!  I read the Birthing from Within book, but didn't find it as helpful as the actual Bradley classes.  Good luck deciding!  I am sure either class would be fine : )