Learning about your baby’s journey earth side will give you the comfort you need as you approach your due date.
Alison Herman, Founder of The Nesting Place
Finding out you're pregnant can be both exciting and overwhelming. There is so much to prepare for when it comes to bringing your baby home. And there is so much confusing information out there if you start Googling. Your birthing experience is something that should be at the top of your priority list when you start to prepare. What is the best way to get your thoughts together, learn about the journey of birth, and feel educated and confident before the first contraction starts?
The Nesting Place and its team of doulas, birth professionals and alumni moms firmly believe that Childbirth Education/Holistic Lamaze is the best and most informative class to feel calm and ready for when labor begins. Not only does it teach you about how labor works and the journey your baby will take to get here, but it gives moms confidence to make sound decisions, learn how and when to apply comfort measures and try to enjoy the entire experience. You are bringing a new life into the world which can be truly beautiful and incredibly empowering so you want to be able to revel in all its glory.
Here are the top 5 reasons experienced moms believe Childbirth Education is the class you should take in 2023.
1. There are so many sites, blogs, social accounts and groups available for consumption, Childbirth Education and Holistic Lamaze class will help to streamline your information and stop the overwhelming feeling of trying to find it all. By taking a class, you will be taught by a highly trained and educated professional who has real life experience at hundreds of births with moms of all varieties. A credible source is imperative for asking questions and learning about the process from a clinical point of view. This way, you'll know what is happening to your body and how your baby is progressing so you'll be able to enter each stage of labor calmly.
2. The goal of learning about each stage of labor is different and by understanding each one you'll know when to head to the hospital, and you can make educated, rational decisions based on your own preferences. Participating in Childbirth Education and knowing each stage of labor will help to decrease your possibility of induction, and it can also decrease your risk of a C-Section. In 2020, New Jersey ranked in the top 20 states, for highest number of C - Sections performed.
3. While many women want to have a strict birth plan, realistically we prefer to look at them as birth preferences. Your birthing preferences are better followed when you know exactly what is going on within your labor. There are many times that physicians rely heavily on ultrasounds to promote an induction or a C-Section, because of the baby's size. But they are not the most accurate measurements and should not necessitate urgency unless there is risk to the baby or mom. A big baby, a holiday or a providers vacation is not a medically sound reason to induce. Many early inductions become C-sections when baby and moms' body just aren’t quite ready or prepared for labor. With Childbirth Education, you can better understand birth preferences and how you'd like your birth to go.
4. While this is the fourth reason to take Childbirth Education/ Holistic Lamaze, it has been seasoned throughout each statement above. Empowerment. Educating yourself on labor and birth will hopefully give you the confidence you need to take this on like the warrior you are. The goal is for you to have a sense of calm knowing what comes next and you will exude that confidence in your birthing atmosphere.
5. A well - educated partner and more confident partner, is a highly effective and supportive partner and makes for an invaluable member of your birthing team. Attending Childbirth Education together can promote intimacy, closeness and can also give your partner additional confidence to guide you through your experience. Sharing in preparing for a baby is so important before the baby comes, during birth, and appreciating each other after the baby is earth side.
All in all, we are huge supporters of Childbirth Education as is the data. It should be one of the first steps in preparing to become a mom and parent. Before you sign up for a registry, sign up for Childbirth Education. Before you request one more onesie or snuggly stuffed animal, put Childbirth Education on that registry. The optimal time to take Childbirth Education is between 20 and 25 weeks. You can call to speak with our team before that for more information about the optimal timing for you. Sign yourself and your partner up, give it as a gift this holiday season, or any time for any mom to be. It is the gift that keeps on giving as it can prepare any soon - to - be - mom for the experience of a lifetime that they will always remember.