The Bradley Method: Up Close & Personal
By Tine Reese
February 10, 2010
Even though I’ve had two children myself, until this past week I had never attended a Bradley Method class. I title this post “Up Close & Personal” because I don’t think there’s another pregnancy or birth preparation class out there that provides such complete information on the physical and mental aspects of natural birth…and it doesn’t leave out one juicy detail. The idea is that with such intense preparation, couples will be prepared to achieve a natural birth and/or make knowledgeable decisions about medical interventions should they become necessary.
Pregnant women and their husbands/coaches attend a series of 12 classes, beginning around the 5th month of pregnancy. Class sizes are always small and couples are taught how they can work with their bodies to reduce pain and make their labors more efficient. I don’t think I can describe it any better than the Bradley website does: “When you take a class in the Bradley Method® you don’t need most “extra” classes that are commonly offered. Bradley® classes cover it all: nutrition, exercise, being more comfortable during pregnancy, the coaches role, introductory information about labor and birth, advanced techniques for labor and birth, complications, cesarean sections, postpartum care, breastfeeding (we do recommend La Leche League meetings) and caring for your new baby. Our classes cover a few topics that are rarely discussed in other classes like: how to reduce the need for an episiotomy and the likelihood of a tear, how to avoid needing a cesarean, how to make the best of it if a cesarean is necessary, and what the coach should do if the baby is accidentally born in the car.”
Melinda Mardon, a Bradley Method teacher in Spokane Valley, invited me to attend one of her “Week 5″ classes this past Monday evening which she teaches out of her home. Both Melinda and the classroom environment are warm and inviting. She is a wealth of knowledge on all aspects of pregnancy and birth and has props to illustrate so many of the complex concepts that are typically difficult to explain about the birth process.
The class begins with the couples sitting on nests of pillows, husbands giving hand massages to their wives. The nutrition topic of the week is grain—namely identifying the differences between whole grains and the refined, vitamin-deficient products that are largely available to us in stores. Even the snacks provided that evening were tied into the theme of whole grains to further illustrate the point. During the week, couples keep detailed food journals to ensure they are eating the proper foods to “build a baby.” The journals are shared with Melinda, who also encourages the couples to discuss them with their health care providers.
Next we move onto discussing the first stage of labor. Everything is covered, from what happens physically when labor begins to identifying mom’s emotional state and how that changes moving into active labor. We talked about Braxton-Hicks contractions, mucous plugs, the bag of waters and something I’d never heard of before…the Natural Alignment Plateau. Have you ever heard someone say, “My labor stalled and the doctor wanted to speed things up by giving me Pitocin?” Well, it turns out that this Plateau is often misunderstood to be “stalled labor” and what we should do is give women’s bodies the time they need to better position the baby, finish producing antibodies in breast milk or address any number of physical and emotional issues at play. Besides, most of the women who experience this Plateau (stuck at 5 or 6 cm for hours) will transition suddenly and rapidly without the use of drugs, reaching the final pushing stage very quickly. This is exactly what happened during the birth of my first child!
The class watched a video showing how unmedicated newborns, who are given immediately to their mothers, use the crawling reflex to reach the breast and begin suckling only moments after birth. Then we see how babies whose mothers received epidurals and spent time away from them right after birth often fail to suckle, even when placed directly on the nipple. This is an eye-opening video for many in the room and brings our attention back to one of the basic reasons many of us are preparing for natural birth—it is best for our babies.
Finally, we get to what is called Labor Rehearsal. The women start by doing pelvic rocking exercises, kegel exercises and squatting. These movements are known to help babies get into more ideal birthing positions and prepare the mom physically for the work she will do in labor and birth. Then the moms lie on their sides and prepare to use the techniques they’ve been taught to relax through pain, including abdominal breathing and visualization. In these “simulated contractions,” the husbands apply increasing pressure by squeezing or pinching the mom’s arm or leg over the course of one minute, while reminding them to relax and breathe, gently massaging another part of their body and giving words of encouragement. It sounds a little barbaric to the uninitiated, but I can tell you from first-hand experience that using these natural techniques to cope with pain is something that must be practiced to be effective in labor.
In part, it takes this many words to tell the story of the Bradley Method and the class I attended. And if you’re still reading at this point, then perhaps you are the kind of parent-to-be who will understand the value in devoting 12 weeks to learning how to fully prepare for the birth of your baby and beyond. It is intense. It requires that you take responsibility for the well-being of your baby and your family. You will feel like a fool at times and do things you’d never be caught doing in public, but there’s no better way to immerse yourself in the traditions of natural birth and be prepared for whatever happens!
When asked why he found the Bradley Method classes to be so valuable, one of the fathers in this class answered, “I like it because we are making the choices. We believe that our baby will be fine and are preparing for a natural birth. If there’s a complication in the hospital then we are educated enough to make good decisions and won’t let anyone take the control away from us.”
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Comments
What a beautiful article, Giving women a natural choice and the best choice for mother and baby at that! Tine captured the essence of a natural birth through the Bradley course, just being in one class I feel the value of her expression and the value of having a baby the natural way without pressure or drugs.
Its like the old saying “when the apple is ripe it will fall” there’s no need to rush the most important empowering experience a woman will have, that’s the beauty of being a woman, especially when you are properly trained, education is our most powerful ally, you can be in control, have a baby that is not drugged, at the exact moment you’re supposed to and not at the hand of someones schedule or time frame.
Beautiful simply beautiful!
I just wanted to thank you for putting up this website, in the past it has been very difficult to find all this information on my own and I appreciate you putting it all in one place. It’s so much easier to refer friends who are interested in natural child birth etc. to one good website.
I’m so glad that you find the site helpful and refer your friends here. My whole goal in creating Bloom was to give expectant families the opportunity to learn about natural birth and find local resources to guide them on that path. Thanks for posting your comment—it’s nice to hear that my hard work is making a difference!