As a doula and soon to be an ICEA certified childbirth educator I want to remind all that Lamaze is only one type of childbirth preparation. I used both Lamaze and Bradley when I gave birth to my 6 children. What is important is that both the woman and her labor support person be well prepared for the birth. I believe that childbirth is a natural event in a woman's life and she needs to be empowered and nurtured to believe that she is capable of giving birth. She needs to be assured that it is okay to accept that primitive self and work with those feelings.In my opinion too many epidurals occur because of the need to control the body instead of working with the body. Childbirth is painful, but it is more painful when the woman is feeling fear and is not recieving good physical and emotional support. Pat Gorman CLE ,Doula [log in to unmask]