doula workshop

Last Friday and Saturday I attended a DONA birth doula workshop. It was amazing; I learned so much. If you ever want to take a doula workshop in Florida, let me know so I can put you in touch with this instructor. In other news, this Thursday is my last Bradley class. A longer update is coming soon!

birth plans and videos

Last week I was looking forward to my second Bradley class. When I decided to take the course, I was excited to learn more about childbirth, but I still feared that a weekly two-hour class would just become one more thing on my to-do list. To give you an idea of how busy I am: this semester I’m working two part-time jobs, writing my senior thesis, taking three college courses, applying to a teaching assistantship in Spain, participating in Hillel activities, and serving as a representative for student government. Enough about me—the point is that I couldn’t wait to go to the Bradley class last Thursday night. Like I mentioned before, it feels really special to observe someone’s pregnancy. But on top of that, I think the class is so pleasant because the instructor, in keeping with the Bradley Method philosophy, makes it really relaxing and positive.

The topic of the class was birth plans. The instructor strongly recommends creating a birth plan—a plan that you give to everyone on your birth team. You outline all of your wishes for the birth to ensure that your team knows what you want. We looked at a bunch of different examples, which I’m sure you can also find online. Aside from the content of the plan itself, the main question to consider is: “would somebody actually read all of this?” You may want to use a bright-colored sheet of paper, limit the plan to a single sheet, use bullet points, put some of your medical information at the top so it looks like an official medical form, or separate the points into different categories. Here you can select options from a checklist to create your own birth plan.

In the beginning of the class, we watched a video of a really beautiful natural homebirth. I will find out the title so I can share it with you. [ETA: It was called Birth Day.] The video itself was beautifully done—it featured music, artsy camerawork, and good editing, unlike the ones I’ve seen online. The mother, who happened to be a midwife herself, spoke poetically about birth as a creative process. I can’t remember what exactly she said, but it made me realize that not only do we ascribe religious meanings to birth, but also we constantly use birth metaphors to talk about religion. Just as birth can be a religious experience, religion is often described as a birth experience. I realized that nothing she said was explicitly religious, but I read religion into it. Creating life—that’s a pretty literal definition of birth, but it conjures up associations with creation stories, innocence, conversion, spiritual rebirth, renewal, and oneness with the universe. In Orthodox Judaism, women are considered closer to God because we have the ability to create and sustain life.

Bradley Method Course

Tonight I went to my childbirth education class for the first time! For the doula certification, I am required to observe 12 hours of an approved childbirth education class. The local hospital offers several approved classes, such as ICEA and Lamaze, for around $75. I found a local birth center, run by midwives and doulas, that offers a Bradley Method course. It costs $250 per couple, but I am observing it for free--I just had to purchase the workbook for $20. I am taking the class every Thursday evening for two hours, for the next six weeks. The instructor is really kind. Her class is relaxed, fun, and discussion-oriented. There were six couples in the class. It felt like a very different atmosphere than what I’m used to, being around all of those pregnant women—sort of like when I see elderly people or pet dogs on my college campus. Plus, I'm so used to attending classes that are ... not boring (my professor is reading), but mundane. This class is different. You can sense that these couples are going through some sort of rite of passage. It feels really special.

The Bradley Method focuses on teaching a "coach" to support the mother mentally, emotionally, and physically. The entire method is based on this partnership; someone else needs to be there throughout the pregnancy and birth to support her. The couple also learns about exercises, massage techniques, and nutrition. The goal is for the mother to be healthy, confident, and comfortable so that she can have a positive, safe birth experience without the use of medication. In our class, all of the coaches were the women's husbands. While I’m sure your coach could be your female significant other or a good friend, the Bradley Method seems to assume that the mother will have a committed, monogamous, male partner; it is based on a heterosexual family unit.

Living in a heterosexist world, it's hard to escape from essentialist language. I have found it's even harder to escape in the world of childbirth. If we acknowledge that gender is a social construction distinct from sex, then we have to acknowledge that not every woman is capable of giving birth and that some men do give birth. My inclination, which has been ingrained in my head since birth--is to refer to pregnant people as women. It sounds very strange to say "pregnant people." I think that the message of the natural birth movement is a feminist one. Women can be their own experts at childbirth; they don't need a [male] doctor to do it for them. They are strong enough to give birth without pain medication. They have been giving birth to humanity for millennia without it. However, to say that women's ultimate power and essence lies in their ability to create life, while beautiful, also runs the risk of reducing women to their bodies and biological functions. It also defines woman in a way that excludes many women. Is this tension reconcilable?