The Bradley Childbirth Method is a 12-week program that prepares women for natural childbirth, avoiding medical interventions and pain medications. It includes prenatal education, relaxation techniques, and partner coaching. The program aims to educate couples on common medical interventions and pain medications, and postnatal care. While proponents claim a 90% success rate, couples should consider multiple delivery methods to create their birth plan.
The Bradley Childbirth Method was developed by Robert Bradley, an American obstetrician, in the late 1940s. Bradley’s belief is that childbirth is a natural process and that women can prepare themselves mentally, physically and emotionally to avoid routine medical interventions and pain medications during labor and delivery. The duration of the Bradley Childbirth Method program is 12 weeks, making it longer and more intensive than most other childbirth education programs. It is a comprehensive program including instruction on pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum issues. One of the other primary goals of the Bradley Childbirth Method program is to educate partners to be supportive and effective job coaches.
Lessons are generally limited to eight pairs in order to provide a more intimate and interactive learning experience. Topics covered include prenatal nutrition and its impact on a healthy pregnancy, exercise during pregnancy, pregnancy symptoms and complaints and how to cope with them, and relaxation techniques during labor and delivery. Relaxed and natural breathing methods are emphasized as a coping mechanism for dealing with the intense pain of labor. Mothers are taught to “tune in” and manage the pain, instead of distracting themselves from it as other methods teach. The Bradley Childbirth Method class also trains partners in effective job coaching. Couples also learn about the different stages of labor and how to deal with the transitions between them.
Couples who take the Bradley Childbirth Method course will come away with knowledge of common medical interventions and pain medications and how to avoid them, especially C-sections or C-sections. The belief is that some medical interventions, such as the administration of pitocin and pain-relieving drugs such as epidurals, can slow down labor, increasing the chances of a C-section. Postnatal care and breastfeeding are other important topics covered in the Bradley Childbirth Method. For those interested in the Bradley Childbirth Method, Dr. Bradley founded the American Academy of Husband-Coached Childbirth as a resource for finding certified teachers and classes in your area.
Although proponents of the Bradley Childbirth Method claim a 90% success rate, meaning that 90% of mothers give birth without the use of pain medication, there are other birthing methods a couple can consider when deciding how to coping with the birth of your child. Some mothers feel that the use of pain medication shouldn’t be stigmatized and choose to leave that option open throughout the labor and delivery process. Every labor and delivery is unique, and some couples benefit from investigating more than one delivery method to come up with their birth plan.
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