Katie and I are in the midst of a whirlwind of pregnancy and baby-related education!
We had our second prenatal class at Kaiser today. In the previous class (Breastfeeding Basics), we were shown a video where we got to see random women’s boobs. Today, we were shown a video where we got to see a baby’s head coming out of a random woman’s vagina! If it weren’t for the babies in these videos, they’d be totally inappropriate.
Regardless, I like learning about all of this stuff, even if it will probably only apply to a very short amount of time in our lifetimes – after all, today’s class was focused primarily on the labor and delivery process. I like that our instructor compared labor to both a marathon and a train. I like the Powerpoint slides that show what it looks like when they have to use a vacuum to suck the baby out. I like the cheesy videos that, while informative, remind me of the driver’s education class I took when I was 15.
Overall, though, I think these classes are doing their job. We come out of them armed with knowledge and more confidence, a little less scared and a little less intimidated by the biological miracle and wonder of a woman’s body popping out a baby.
As a support person, I think the biggest hurdle I’ll face is the feeling of helplessness once labor actually begins. My body won’t need to do anything and there will be little I can do to relieve or lessen the pain that Katie will feel; it’ll just be part of the necessary process to delivering our child. I think, once I can get over that mental hurdle and feel confident in what I can do to help (emotionally and mentally), I’ll feel even better when labor begins.
Here’s today’s fun baby fact: did you know that babies should face the mother’s back when they’re ready for delivery? Because of the shape of the skull and the pelvis, this makes delivery much easier than if they’re facing forward. This is even the baby’s “favored” position just before delivery, meaning most babies instinctively know to turn the correct way to emerge from the uterus. Amazing!