Just in case you’re not aware, I am not a naturally “calm” person. I’m not hyperactive or anything, but I don’t regularly engage in meditation, yoga or any of that “get in touch with your inner soul” kinda shit. So when friends of ours encouraged us to do Calm Birth Classes I was somewhat sceptical. But hey, “why not?” I thought, and so I enrolled my husband & I in a weekend intensive.
Going into that specific weekend I knew next to nothing about labour & birth. To be honest, it was only a few years ago that I learnt that the placenta actually has to come out post labour…that was a fun fact I’d never heard before! I didn’t really want to know much about it, everything I’d seen, everything I’d heard, it was just a really painful shit experience but you know, you got your kid at the end of it so yay for you! I didn’t really know what to expect out of these classes, I didn’t know if we’d just sit in a circle on the floor doing different breathing exercises whilst our partners would sit behind us and encourage – or if we were just going to watch videos of women giving birth from different angles and had to take notes. Thank FUCK it was NOTHING like what I thought.
On the Saturday, I actually went with my Mum because my husband was playing cricket…yep…cricket…bastard…ANYWAY – every other pregnant woman was there with her husband or partner, I could feel people looking at me with my Mum, possibly thinking I was the young pregnant girl who’s baby Daddy didn’t want anything to do with the baby and who’d obviously left me to raise this child on my own (I can get a little dramatic at times). When we went round & introduced ourselves, I was quick to point out that Brad was playing cricket, this was met with mixed reactions, most of the men laughed & one even turned to his pregnant wife & said “see? I told you I could have just played & come tomorrow!” the look she gave him shut him down. Hard.
I won’t go into detail about what we learnt because I am not a professional, nor do I have any experience in giving birth BUT I will say this; It was an amazing weekend! Seriously, I have come out of it with SO much information & such a new perspective on labour. Yes, we did meditate, yes we did breathing exercises but you know what? The best part was that our teacher also taught us WHY meditation was important, WHY staying calm was important, WHY breathing was important. She was able to back up all these things with not only medical facts but also anecdotes from her career as a midwife, which directly related to each new thing we learnt. Knowledge really is power, and fuck me this woman was powerful.
The whole weekend calmed me. I seriously thought the only way to get through labour was through gritted teeth & howling in pain. I am now excited for it! I’m excited for the challenge, I’m excited to meet my baby at the end of it, I’m excited to try and implement what we learnt & I also trust that the midwives & Obstetricians that will surround me will help me through. I am also a lot more aware of problematic situations that could arise & know a little about what may happen with a few scenarios so I’m not going in there with my eyes shut. I know, I know – its still gunna hurt like hell & it might not go at all to “plan” but wouldn’t it be better for me (or anyone) to go in with a positive attitude than go in already feeling scared & anxious?
The other awesome thing about that weekend was that Brad got SO much out of it as well. He loved it, he loved learning about it all & he loved learning about what he could do for me. Again, this was OUR experience & everyone’s experience may differ but for us, it was incredible & I am so thankful for it.
So – if anyone is thinking of doing Calm Birth Classes, personally, I would HIGHLY recommend them. Also, if you live near the Mornington Peninsula & you’re interested in who we went to, get in contact & I can share her website with you.
Love,
The Peninsula Mumma xo
The Peninsula Mumma 