Monday, July 27, 2009

Childbirth 101

Saturday, Nick and I attended childbirth class, interesting in its own right but it was made much more interesting by the other students, particularly one who seemed like she had something crawling in her pants all day. I first noticed this woman when she ran (literally) out of the room during our breathing exercises. Mind you, everyone was lying on the floor with pillows and blankets, there was spa-like music playing in the background, and the instructor was going over breathing patterns. This was supposed to be a calm environment, but I guess the babbling brook got to her, because this lady bee-lined out the door, presumably to the bathroom. Then on our way to the hospital for our tour, she pushed through about 3 of her fellow pregnant students and their husbands, again running frantically toward the bathroom. Poor lady. Well, as if this didn't bring her enough attention, she spent the whole tour doing awkward stretches and squatting while sighing and moaning. The final straw though was when she rounded the corner, reached under her blouse and took her bra off. She proceeded to look at the group, including the teacher and say, "I'm sorry I just had to do it." Then she carried the bra around for the rest of the tour. I guess pregnancy affects women differently, but man, this one brought on the drama.

Well, aside from my classmates funny behaviors, the class was very informative. They described what labor was like, how you know you are in labor, how to deal with the pain, and showed several videos, which were slightly traumatizing because the women were frowning and moaning a lot. Simply put, they were miserable. Well, then I realized that those were mostly women who didn't get any anesthesia. During the second half of the class, they showed videos of the women who did get anesthesia, and that appeared to be a much more pleasant experience for all involved.

So, all in all it was a great experience for Nick and me. I'm pretty sure I got some major sympathy points after he saw what I was going to be going through, but I am excited and I know it will all be worth it to see our baby's sweet little face!

1 comment:

  1. That lady sounds like she is not dealing well with pregnancy. Childbirth classes are so fun but I don't think that when the pain starts you remember anything except "when did you say I can get that epidural again?" Childbirth is so much more enjoyable after the epidural! Gramdma G.

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