Comfort Measures

Last night, I attended a class offered at the hospital called Comfort Measures. Since Dean was busy working on the house, my aunt Phyllis went with me as my support person. We think its good to have her prepared too, just in case I need two support people during labor!

This class is all about methods of relaxation. It was taught by a nurse from the hospital, who is also expecting! The first thing we did were introductions. There were about 10-12 couples of parents-to-be there and most of them were having girls! Then we divided up into groups of moms and support people. We made lists of things that the support person should do and shouldn't do. This was really a lot of fun. We listed things like, Don't pass out, and Do be encouraging. My poor aunt was over in the support people group, with only one other girl! She said the guys came up with Don't check out the nurses! I think that's a good one!

After the groups all came back together, we learned some breathing techniques and about the stages of labor. It seemed to me that the breathing is there for two reasons, to remind you to breathe and to distract you from pain. We also went over several different positions that can help relieve pressure and decrease pain. The instructor even suggested mom and dad slow dancing! Though it seems odd, it would encourage gravity to help with contractions and relax pelvic and back pain.

The nurse also offered some information about medications. (Good news for Sam!) It was good to learn about the effects of the IV medication and also about epidurals. I didn't know that these medications can also help decrease blood pressure as well as provide pain relief.

All in all, it was a good class. My aunt and I had a lot of fun and it was nice to hang out for awhile. I plan to take all of the applicable classes the hospital offers, including Great Expectations (an overview of labor and delivery at Central Baptist), Little fingers, Little toes (the basics of infant care), and the Art of Breastfeeding (um, self-explanatory).