Childbirth Education Classes Increase Women's Fear About Childbirth?

Can this be true? Surely not! Don't we encourage women to go to childbirth education classes to reduce their fears? So I thought that is until I attended a conference last week and was stunned by the findings of recent research that showed that women's fear levels in childbirth were actually increased in those women who attended childbirth education classes! Where have we gone wrong? As the guardians of normal birth have we forgotten what are role is? That is promote, encourage and support women to achieve their birth with unnecessary and minimal intervention. Are we emphasizing obstetric care not midwifery care in our classes? Have we gone overboard in giving women to much information to cover ourselves? I think there needs to be a major review of the information women receive in these classes, we need to give a more balanced view. Let us not forget we are midwives and as a profession in our own right we should be creating programs that are midwifery lead and focus on midwifery and not obstetrics and let the obstetricians conduct their own classes if they choose to.

I would love to hear what others think.

A Simple Technique to Eliminate Fear in Childbirth

A simple technique you can use to help eliminate fear in childbirth is to question your reality in the present moment. Fear can only get it's grip on you when you are focus on the past or the future. Ask yourself the question "what is my reality right now?" and the answer  is usually all is well. When you are able to put aside your fears you are able to make choices that are based in reality, you are able to do what needs to be done. 

Stay in the moment and fear has no chance of getting you in it's grip. In future blogs I will give you tools to help you stay in the moment.

Helping Woman Make Choices

What motivates women to make the choices they make about the the place they give birth? Would they make different choices if they know that where they give birth will have impact on their birth outcome? I have often wondered this and after speaking with many women on the Birth Beyond Fear program realize that as midwives we have a huge potential to influence women to in this choice. But do we? Women know very little about the differences in outcomes of their births in relation to caregiver or place of birth and as midwives we definitely know. Who hasn't had a friend ask "who is the best doctor to go to?" "Which is the best hospital?" We as midwives are there with women and we see what happens to them. How can we use this knowledge in a professional way to benefit women? By of course asking them them what they want, overcoming their fears regarding childbirth, as often their choices are based in fear and giving them  information to make an informed choice. Sound easy? It is! We must as caregivers eliminate our own and women's fear surrounding childbirth or we have very little chance of stemming the tide of unnecessary intervention. In my privileged position as both a midwife and Birth Beyond Fear practitioner I have assisted many woman make these choices that have been best for both themselves and their baby.