Bradley Class 11

As you may recall, if you have been following my Bradley blogging, that this is really class 12 for me as I took the last class on breast feeding first due to my due date. I am not sure if we will go again next week - obviously the first reason not to go would be because Thriller has arrived (please please please please) and the second being that I have already taken the class. We would really like to come because it is a party and to end our "journey" with the 8 couples we have been taking the class with for the past several months

The intersection of people interested in the Bradley method creates a very unique class dynamic. There are those who are older, quiet and more reserved, younger liberal looking couples, couples where the husbands are just there because the wife wants to do natural birthing and others couples where the husband is just as engaged (maybe too engaged?) in the process as the wife and so forth. All and all a pretty socially awkward scene. By the end of 12 weeks, however, we might not know each other's last names but we have broken down a lot of barriers and formed a loose community of first time parents stepping out into the next, amazing phase of life.

Last night we had a couple who took the last series and currently have an adorable 11 week old baby boy come and share their birth experience. I was very moved by their story and dedication. Throughout the course of their pregnancy they did not believe they would be able to have a vaginal birth because the mom had a low placenta. But she was totally dedicated to the hope that the placenta would move and she would be able to give her baby a natural birth. She took all the classes and prepared herself and her husband with no rational reason to think she would be able to have a natural birth - just hope. And low and behold just weeks before her due date her placenta shifted simply 3 cn which enabled her to realize the joy of birthing.

In class last night she said she felt very blessed to be able to experience the process of giving birth to their child as her body was made, something that would have been robbed of her if she had been forced into a c-section for this birth and thus for any future children they might have.

Wow, right? What a statement - what a story - so much strength and faith is show in this woman and her husband that they did not give up on their birthing experience. I know I feel inspired.