n the 1960s/70s the newly formed childbirth education/preparation classes were all centered on teaching Lamaze breathing and relaxation techniques. Then Bradley classes started. That all began to change in the late 1970s and was fully shifted by the 1980s. Classes basically were ‘informational’. Once the Choice-based childbirth trend became dominate the basis for making choices and creating a Birth Plan had to be based on gathering ‘information’ … all the pros/cons of medical ‘intervention’ then deciding what you wanted in your birth. Frankly birth and coaching skills didn’t seem to fit in. In fact, birth skills were pretty much laughed at. Did we, women, all know that birth was natural and we were born to know how-to do it? With that attitude it was pretty difficult for women to stand up and say: ‘I have no idea how to give birth and I’m afraid.’
The response to women’s fears was simple: ‘Just don’t be afraid, women have always given birth and you’ll know what to do on the day’. It has been really, really, really difficult for women to stand up and say ‘I am afraid of giving birth and I want some skills!’. Although the natural birth and midwifery movement have consistently blamed the medical profession, it is the covert and overt bullying of women to women that has been the bigger issue. We all know it exists. ‘I HAD a home birth, YOU had a hospital birth’ or ‘I TRUSTED birth and had a great one, YOU didn’t trust birth and ended up with a Caesarean’.
We know this goes on woman to woman (not individually so much as within the collective of the birth conversation), it goes on between midwives and between doulas. Women are incredibly harsh on themselves and each other and most often turn their anger toward systems (the medical one) and men (husbands/partners and male doctors).
In some ways, childbirth education/preparation classes acted as the refuge for expectant parents in the 1960s/70s. There were no choices yet a societal expectation that families become skilled. This means families went to classes, learned and practiced skills. There is no doubt this was the beginning of a skills-based approach to birth in the US … with its faults … but a start.
What were the faults of these early birth techniques?
- The techniques focused on increasing ‘natural’ birth. This means too many women not having a natural birth felt left out.
- The techniques didn’t adapt well or adjust well. Once they stopped working, women often felt they failed or the circumstances prevented them from working … such as an induction.
- The techniques really ignored how our human body really works. It’s impossible to continue using the type of breathing techniques taught without hyperventilating and adding that uncomfortable feeling to the natural occurring pain.
- The techniques could not be used in a non-laboring Caesarean nor an emergency one. This left women often feeling disconnected from their baby’s birth.
Times have changed. More families are busy and can’t seem to find the time to attend classes. Classes are now usually only available to some families and not in every community. The classes are full of information and women often feel ‘once labor started all the information went out the window and didn’t seem to apply’. That’s right! Information is not the same as skills and when you’re ‘doing’ your birth you need skills.
So where does this leave childbirth education/preparation? Childbirth educators are in a prime situation to help expectant families understand that there are two paths when approach The Birth. One path is for information. Families need to know what will happen to them and around them and be able to make some choices before hand and during The Birth. The other path is to become skilled.
This means childbirth education/preparation can teach the information and provide the skills-based resources. This means childbirth educators get to enthuse and educate all families about their need to take responsibility to learn, practice and use birth and coaching skills. Providing resources can also be an increase in income for childbirth educators. They can ‘rent’ or sell these resources to expectant families.
Childbirth educators should not try to ‘teach’ birth/coaching skills any longer. They don’t have the time and a short course on birth skills usually has little or no impact on families. They just believe they are another form of information instead of separating ‘information’ from becoming skilled. Childbirth educators are in an ideal situation to educate families as to the importance for creating a Birth Plan based on information and a Skills-based Birth Plan based on the skills they self-learn. Birth providers want to know what you’d like but they should also know what skills you are planning on using.
So childbirth educators please join the Movement for a Skills-based approach to all pregnancies and every birth. Carry multiple copies of the various skills-based resources and get them out to every single one of the families that attend your classes. Please consider The Pink Kit as one of those resources.