2802
We went to our first childbirth class up at the hospital the other night. I was pleasantly surprised by the instructor, because I expected somebody employed by the hospital to want to talk about pain medications and all kinds of fancy medical things, and she said we’ll talk about medication options eventually, but her focus is on encouraging women to get through labor with as little intervention as possible, so she wants to talk about breathing and different labor positions, which makes me very happy. What did not make me happy though was when we started watching some of the videos of women in labor. The expressions on their faces made feel like throwing up, and I almost started crying. When the lights came back on and I sneaked a look around the room, I was somewhat relieved to see that I wasn’t the only woman looking like she was going to be sick, but I still can’t help feeling that I would have been better off not seeing some of that. I think once I get there, I won’t be able to think about it anymore and I’ll just find a way to put my head down and get through it, and I do think that talking about it beforehand is helpful, so I have some idea of what to expect in the different stages of labor, but I don’t need to see it. I have a graphic enough imagination already, thank you very much. The class isn’t just for me though, and I know Ryan has been watching birth videos on youtube on his own, so maybe it’ll help him get ready, which is also good and important. But if I’m going to have to experience childbirth, I think it’s too much to ask to expect me to watch it as well. The view from up here is bad enough already.