Natural Child Birth Class

I’m re-reading “Husband Coached Childbirth” by Dr. Bradley in preparation for our upcoming class which will start January 19th… and every word of it is re-inspiring me! I wanted to share just a few passages…

“[Dr. Bradley] considered himself a medical lifeguard, watching, waiting, and staying out of the way when things were going well. He said he was there to manage any abnormality or complication while the parents were expected to know how to manage normality and birth. His philosophy was the opposite from many doctors today, who will tell you they pratice ‘active management.’” (Preface, pg. xiii)

“We have seen many childbirth methods come and go. Dr. Bradley simply told couples about the natural process that has worked for centuries. He advocated nutrition, exercise, education, relaxation, coaching, and feeling safe with someone who you want to be with you and protect you. What he taught is not complicated, just the simple truths, generation after generation. Through the years science has proved that Dr. Bradley observed (as a child on the farm): perspiring mammals giving birth.” (Preface, pg. xv)

“Many years ago, Thomas A. Edison stated: ‘The doctor of the future will give no drugs but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet, and in the cause and prevention of human disease.’ This happy future has arrived, and today we have a new awakening of what is referred to as ‘holistic’ medicine. Natural childbirth, with its humanistic, undrugged approach to parenthood, is the epitome of holistic medicine.” (Dr. Bradley’s preface, pg. xvii).

“What Dr. Bradley is interested in is making the birth of a baby an experience that mother and father can look forward to with pleasure, experience with joy, and make the foundation of an ever-firmer bond between them. [...] This is a beautifully piratical book that potential parents can use as the compass by which to steer their way into the safe harbor of happily born children in a happy family where everyone is given the opportunity to inherit his birthright, which is development - without the obfuscating and damaging effects of outmoded and wrongheaded traditional obstetrics.” (Ashley Montagu, Ph.D., Forward, p. xxi)