Lamaze vs Bradley - any advice?
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Anonymous
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I do want a natural, drug-free birth. I am athletic, in good health and have always had a very high tolerance for physical pain. We seem to have to decide fairly quickly between Lamaze and Bradley. We are in NYC and our birthing center is at St. Luke's Roosevelt and while they accommodate both techniques, they seem to favor Lamaze.
I'd really appreciate anyone with knowledge or experience in either. Thanks. |
Anonymous
| I've done both and I really preferred Bradley. The labor management techniques just seemed more intuitive to me, and in actual labor, I felt they were much more effective. I'm sure results vary for individuals, but for me, Bradley just worked better than Lamaze. |
Anonymous
| I loved Bradley. Our baby's birth was actually a great experience for both DH and me as we felt very prepared. I had a good labor and pretty easy birth all 100% drug-free. And the high after giving birth was FANTASTIC. Our Bradley classes were wonderful and we made dear friends in our class who we are still close to this day. |
Anonymous
| Bradley! It turned my husband into a fantastic man-doula! |
Anonymous
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Bradley's much more extensive, from what I understand. We did Lamaze, and I was less than thrilled with the instructor, but the breathing techniques were useful. From what I've heard, some Bradley instructors are better than others (true of all classes), but some are really anti-intervention, even when needed.
I was like you, OP: a lifelong athlete, high tolerance for pain, etc. For me, far and away the most important factor in delivering both my kids was having a provider who was on the same page re: birth preferences. The classes are fine and all, but if you have a provider who's not on board, that's usually a bigger issue. FWIW, I ended up with an epidural after laboring for 36 hours with my first, on my midwife's recommendation, and it was absolutely the right call. Vaginal delivery, no problems. No epidural the second time around, very straightforward. No amazing high afterwards, which I was bummed about. Anyway, good luck either way! |
Anonymous
+1 |