Do I need to take a childbirth prep class?
In the title of this article we asked a question -- Do I need to take a childbirth prep class?
But just for fun, let's ask it again in two ways. First let's ask it like this:
Do I NEED to take a childbirth prep class?
Well, nobody NEEDs to do anything. We are all in charge of our bodies, our own families, our own lives. You can absolutely birth a baby without receiving any childbirth education -- humans have been birthing babies since the beginning of time without sitting down at a desk and taking a class. There were no workbooks, no videos, no demonstration with dolls.
On the other hand, they didn't need to, because they had mothers, grandmothers, sisters, aunts... an infinite line of ancestry that passed on their cultural knowledge of pregnancy, birth, and postpartum healing to the generations that came after them. Stories were told, witnesses shared the experiences. Older kids watched their mothers labor and go on to lactate and raise babies. Younger siblings watched their older siblings start their own families. They saw it with their own eyes. They participated in the community of rearing children together. They witnessed the ups and downs, they learned what helped and what hindered the process. They had a village to rely on, to trust, to turn to. They didn't need a class.
But is that what we have today?
So let's ask the question again, but like this:
Do I need to take a childbirth prep class?
Well, who are you? What kind of life experiences have brought you here to this moment today? Have you ever seen birth in real life? Have you ever smelled a wet, newborn baby's head and heard that beautiful primordial cry? What are your fears about giving birth? You know, the kind that make you cringe when you think about them happening to you? What are your hopes for birth? When you envision being in labor, what does that space look like, what does your body feel like, who is there with you, how do you feel?
All of these questions have answers that are unique to each of us. We all have different needs, different circumstances, different fears, different hopes.
Our modern day culture around childbirth does not accommodate for those differences -- routine interventions anyone?!! -- but we also lack the personal experiences of learning from those who have gone before us. We have moms groups and blogs, but have we ever really witnessed birth as a normal human experience in real life?
The bottom line is that, today, most of us lack the cultural knowledge of childbirth that humans once had.
So do you need to take a childbirth class? We think so. Not because you HAVE to, but because we know that education is power and community is everything.
Silver Falls Family Support childbirth education classes are designed to teach you exactly what to expect during labor, birth, and postpartum and are specifically aimed at helping you create your own unique and realistic expectations, while also helping you to navigate all of your choices through a benefits and risks perspective, so that YOU can achieve the birth that YOU want.
Now, who DOESN'T need that?
Check out our class offerings and our calendar of upcoming events to see how we can help you achieve your own birth goals.