Childbirthing Classes: 4

July 21:

This class covered an issue that I've actually been frightened of - epidurals and other forms of pain medication. Taking a narcotic like morphine as a systemic medicine is an option for early in labor before the active portion begins and, depending on your reaction, may or may not cause you to have to stay in bed. An epidural with "caine" drugs (like Lidocaine) is an option that definitly requires you stay in bed, as well as a "light and late" epidural that may use a mixture of caine drugs and narcotics. A spinal block, which sends a needle into the dura of the spinal cord and delivers a drug once to last the entire labor (as opposed to the epidural, which uses a spinal catheter to periodically deliver medicine), is usually given for Cesarean births. I would like to avoid an epidural and take only light doses of pain medicine around the worse contractions.
In the second half, we covered laboring positions, what it feels like to push and combined these skills with the breathing we've already been working on. I really liked using the birthing balls for sitting and kneeling positions. We practiced lying back and using a cloth for pushing leverage, supported standing, supported kneeling, squatting, supported squatting and side-lying. Kathleen encouraged us to keep appropriate positions for 20 minutes to an hour before shifting. Practicing these skills and learning more about my options in general is helping me feel more comfortable with going into labor.