by Amy Dillon

Created on: February 03, 2009   Last Updated: February 04, 2009

I sat in the familiar surroundings of my doctor's office while listening to the rapid heartbeat of my little angel who rested, curled up in my swelling stomach. I was a dutiful first time mother; no soda, no caffeine, prenatal vitamins every morning, etc. The doctor stepped away from me and casually asked if I had scheduled my childbirth class yet. The truth was that not only had I not scheduled it, but I was avoiding it altogether. I did, however, want to check all the boxes on the "Good Pregnant Woman" checklist that existed only in my head so I emphatically responded that I planned to schedule it soon.

So the next day I made the phone call and chose to pack the whole course into two Saturday intensives. Seventy five dollars later I was officially registered for my childbirth course. My husband was very encouraging and happily attended the course with me the following Saturday. With pillow in hand we entered the the sterile environment of the conference room and grazed on the "free" continental breakfast that was included with our registration fee. The first order of business was an ice breaker game that involved finding out what total strangers planned to do with their babies: everything from breastfeeding to pacifiers. After that bit of awkwardness the nurse who was leading the session began the descrpition of the whole messy process of labor and delivery. We discussed potential complications and what to do if this or that happened. She led us through the various phases of labor with corresponding pain management strategies. Then came the video. This was the video of various unmedicated women going through labor and delivery. It was graphic. It was scary. It was the dealbreaker. We did not return to the following Saturday's session.

I stayed away partly out of fear, but mostly out of the sense that it was unnecessary to continue. The internet is full of wonderful resources that can guide a woman through the stages of labor and delivery should she choose to educate herself. Most importantly, this can be done without the discouragement concerning pain medication that I received at the birthing class. The video I was exposed to did not, in any way, resemble the experience I had bringing my sweet girl into the world because I opted for an epidural. Mothers receive enough pressure to do the right thing for their children. The last thing I needed was pressure to not deliver my daughter in my chosen way.

The class did little more than unnecessarily frighten me during a vulnerable time in my life. My advice is educate yourself, choose what is right for you, and listen to your new mommy intuition.

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