Dear Sharon and all,
I am as passionate about natural birth as I am breastfeeding and I
felt the need to respond to your email.
There are many Bradley teachers that are not ³lay² people.
Yes I am a ³lay² person. Just these past months I have considered
going back to school to become an RN. The only reason ... to give
more credibility to my classes.
The childbirth education coordinator at one of the major hospitals in
our area is an RN , BUT she has never given birth or breastfed (she
has an adopted daughter)
So is she more qualified than I to teach just because she is an RN?
I am very careful not to lump all Lamaze based classes together and
say they are all bad. (I did take Lamaze with the first pregnancy and
was unhappy with the outcome)
Because each Lamaze class is individual , just as Bradley classes.
Although because Bradley teachers are independent we had the
advantage of teaching without restrictions.
From personal experience - The birth of our first child was not a
pleasant experience.
We take responsibility for not seeking out more information and
educating ourselves more.
We went to a trusted OB/GYN and assumed ( we all know what they say
about assuming!) That she had OUR best interest in mind and would
honor our wishes for a natural birth.
Needless to say, we did not have the tools, knowledge , or support we
needed to achieve a natural birth.
Thank God our child was healthy!
Through LLL , I discovered a family doctor who was not only very
knowledgeable and supportive about breastfeeding (Dr. William White-
son of Mary and Dr. Gregory White) but extremely supportive of
natural birth . He recommended we take The Bradley Method classes
with our second child.
We were EXTREMELY satisfied with the classes , even before the birth
of our daughter. Although we had already given birth to one child ,
we learned SO MUCH in these classes.
After the completely natural birth of our daughter I was convinced
that I needed to help spread the word ...so other parents who desired
a natural birth could find out about The Bradley Method. (btw, our
children were born in the same hospital 2 1/2 yrs apart and the birth
experiences were a world apart)
Also , since I was already a LLL leader I saw an opportunity to teach
families about the benefits of breastfeeding before the birth of
their child.
I became a Bradley teacher. In my classes students learn about
active participation of the coach, good nutrition (for a healthy
pregnancy) avoidance of drugs, natural breathing, working with your
body, immediate and continuous contact with your new baby,
breastfeeding beginning at birth, and preparing for unexpected
situations. In my classes students learn about their options (³If
you donıt know your options , you donıt have any² A GOOD BIRTH, A
SAFE BIRTH by Korte and Scaer) and achieve the best birth possible
for them. I also talk about the importance of your birth team.
I give my students information so they can make INFORMED choices for
themselves. I tell them to take responsibility for the birth of their
child and not to hand over the responsibility to others (dr. , nurses,
hospitals)
I donıt teach that hospital births are bad , but I do teach that home
birth is as safe as hospital birth , there are just different risks.
Unfortunately , there are probably Bradley teachers that are teaching
students to be ³difficult² , but ³informed² is not necessarily
difficult.
Maybe you can sit in on a Bradley series and see what information is
discussed and hopefully that will change your mind!
If you are ever in the La Crosse WI area I would be happy to have you
attend a series or class of mind!
Sincerely,
Angie Albert, AAHCC
LLL leader in Viroqua WI
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