the glory and the horror

From the Lamaze magazine we got at our childbirth class:

Women’s inner wisdom guides them through birth.

Kathleen pointed out that this statement is true, especially if “inner wisdom” = “uterus.”

All in all, though, we did enjoy our childbirth class. Reminded us of a few things we’ve since forgotten in the last few years, as well as teaching us some quite practical things about breathing techniques, what to pack to bring to the hospital, and so on.

I think we (the wife and myself) forget how medicalized we are. Sitting in that class, we were chuckling to ourselves about things that I don’t think anyone else thought was funny. But some of the videos were just hilarious! Probably filmed in the late 70s/early 80s, judging by the hair, there were people who were willing to be filmed in all sorts of interesting states, including a meconium-stained delivery, and mom who was delivering entirely naked. Not all of it was funny ha-ha, but some of it just seemed absurd in an amusing sort of way. Just thinking back about parts of that class makes me smile.

But for all of you who are expecting, a childbirth class is worth the time and money, especially if it’s a class at the hospital where you will deliver, as it will give you specific information about what to expect at that hospital.