Many people take a Lamaze class when they are expecting in order to understand the process of giving birth. One of the benefits of Lamaze is the interactive and visual teaching strategies that help new parents understand the process of giving birth in a way that is empowering and personal.
The Educational Need
In today’s social climate, many women and men feel a lack of confidence in their ability to parent, and specifically in their ability to make it through the process of giving birth and successfully bring home a child. We are quite separated from the natural world in the modern world in which we live our day-to-day lives, and thus women in particular need to be empowered to trust their instincts and inner wisdom through the process of giving birth.
Doesn’t Technology Take Care of Giving Birth?
There is no doubt that technology and medical advances have made the process of giving birth far safer than it has ever been in the history of humankind. However, once the basics were established, maternal and infant outcomes in the developed world have not improved significantly despite increased use of technology. Technology can only go so far: education for expectant parents is important for going the rest of the way.
How Is Information Best Taught?
Adult education is not dramatically different from educating children. The goal is for students to retain information, and adult learning is most successful when that learning addresses a specific need, encourages responsibility from the learner, is integrated with the learner’s prior experiences, is in-line with the learner’s personal values, and shifts attention and focus approximately every eight to 10 minutes.
What Should Be Used to Teach About the Process of Giving Birth?
Experience has shown that the most effective teaching involves a combination of direct talks by experts and those with plenty of personal experience; visuals like fetal models, a dilation effacement chart, a prenatal development chart, or stages of labor video; and practical interactions that allow prospective parents to practice some of the things they will need to do before, during, and immediately after labor.
What Needs to Be Communicated Besides Information?
Of course, one of the main purposes of any prenatal class is to give important information that students will need about the process of giving birth. It also matters what kind of attitude is communicated to prospective parents. Both mothers and fathers need to build confidence in their own abilities, in the process of birth as it naturally falls out, and in the resilience of their newborn when they first take the child home. This kind of confidence comes from practice, understanding, and especially from the attitude of those who are teaching.
Every year there are approximately four million babies born in the United States. A lot goes into the process of giving birth, and one of the best ways to prepare for this amazing moment is with a proper birthing class dedicated to empowering mothers, informing and educating parents, and setting up everyone for success.
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