I thought I'd give you a rundown of what we covered in our last 2 classes as it's been incredibly informative and (this word is overused but there we are) empowering. 

Last week we looked at relaxation and breathing techniques, as well as light touch massage. We practiced positions that favour access to the back to allow birth partners to gently stroke a labouring mother, we practiced visualisation and did a lot of breathing. We also discussed how to create a relaxing or comfortable environment, one that is to the mother's taste and not necessarily candles, whale sounds or total silence; we watched a clip of a woman dancing through her contraction to Robin Thicke's Blurred Lines! 

This week was more about birth preferences (notice: not birth "plan" because you can't really "plan" it, if you do you're kinda setting yourself up for disappointment) from induction to post-delivery. 

Re. Induction: very important to know that you are NOT obligated in any way shape or form to be induced. Some babies take longer than 41 weeks and that's just fine. In the UK you can contact AIMS and request daily monitoring and scans until the baby comes. The language around induction is one of permission ("We'll allow you to" or "We have to book you in at such and such a date") but you have rights. 

We were taught the acronym B.R.A.I.N. to use when making decisions. Benefits (what are the benefits) Risks (what are the risks of doing nothing but also what are the risks of the procedure - they often skip that part!) Alternatives (what else could we try before we get to that point?) Intuition, and Nothing (what happens if we do nothing for another hour? Is this convenient for you or necessary right at this moment?)

Finally we talked about the vast array of choices we have as our labour progresses, even if for example your home birth turns into a hospital birth: no vaginal examinations, various labouring positions, skin to skin even for a c-section, delayed clamping, no K vitamin shot, letting you and your partner discover the baby's sex yourselves instead of doctors announcing it, waiting 1 hour for natural placental delivery, breastfeeding, etc. 

And finally we wrote our fears on paper and had a bonfire! 

Hope you're all doing well with your courses and CDs!