Class 1 — Labor Stage I Relaxation / Massage Comfort Measures Importance of various labor positions Physical / Emotional
needs of a laboring woman Realistic Expectations Variations of labor
For the most part, woman midwives were responsible for taking
care of laboring women throughout childbirth history.
(In Scripture the
image of a laboring woman is an emblem for weakness and helplessness, the opposite of the strength a soldier needs, as in Ps.
Culturally, we've placed Dads in the role of sole
supporter of a laboring woman, but this is Dad's birth, too, and even a Dad who's been at a birth before has usually only been at one or two births.
The vast
majority of laboring women get individual support from a midwife, are free to move about and birth in whatever position feels best, and are rarely induced, anesthetized, or cut.
We are trained in supporting the physical, educational and emotional
needs of the laboring woman and new parent after the baby is born.
So, by CDC estimates, we save the lives of two in 10,000 babies - 0.02 percent - by administering antibiotics during labor to one
third of all laboring women.
By pregnancy week 33, women should be aware of the various stages of labor so that they are well prepared for the actual deliveryr During the first
stage of labor the woman will experience slow dilation of the cervix and even a bloody showo As the labor progresses the cervix dilates even more and the woman is said to be in active laboro Finally as the labor progresses the cervix dilates to ten centimeters and the woman starts pushing till the baby is finally deliverede
The irony is that it's the people who want to earn money taking care
of laboring women who are complaining about the other people for making money taking care of laboring women.
The techniques involved in the Bradley method are based on what a Bradley instructor will refer to in class as the «six needs
of laboring women.»
We will practice relaxation techniques and visualizations for labor and birth and examine the universal needs
of laboring women.