Class 3 Supplement

This class focused on the more serious work of labor - when things intensify and both internal and external influences become more powerful.  What are the things you can do to work with labor instead of against it? What signs do you have that labor is progressing?  And, when to go to the hospital or call your care provider to come to you?

Positions for Relaxation

Remember to take time to continue to practice the stretches and relaxation we learned in class 1. And, work with your partner to try different positions and techniques, like that double hip squeeze.  It is a matter of you prioritizing time to relax together:
​http://www.babybumpservices.com/peek-inside/what-is-the-double-hip-squeeze-and-how-do-you-do-it/. 

More Birth Stories

Birth Stories from families that have taken this course
http://www.betterbeginningsms.com/birth-stories.html

http://birthwithoutfearblog.com/ (hover over BWF Topics to see the range of birth stories)

http://www.mamabirth.com/p/birth-stories.html

Videos

One of the "Lamaze Healthy Birth Practices" is to walk, move and change positions.  Labor is an active process that involved mom working with her body.

Labor Progress

We discussed the differences of early vs. active labor in terms of how to know when it's time to head to your birthplace.  Watch birth videos!  The more you see those noticeable shifts, the more you'll trust your intuition when they begin happening for you with this upcoming labor.  This is a long video, so you may will want to jump around to see the different phases. Because it is long, with little editing, you can get a truer sense of typical labor pregress.
http://theleakyboob.com/2012/06/ordinary-miracle-the-labor-and-home-birth-of-sugarbaby-april-19-2012/

Birth Plans

I do not dedicate much class time to writing birth plans.  Because every single thing we do is about birth plans.  And every meeting with your care provider involved conversations that help develop you birth plan. Here is a website that has fairly comprehensive list or possibilities.  Also, you have a list in your course notebook.  These are both starting points.
http://www.earthmamaangelbaby.com/free-birth-plan. 

Keep it simple.  Keep it short.  After you have decided on all your wishes, then edit it .  Perhaps a summary at the top would be helpful.  It could even be  3-4 bullet points.  Whatever succinctly and respectfully gets your preferences across.  I would recommend against a laundry list of "Do not's" and "I don't want's." 

Creative Birth Plans