One bloggers review of her Bradley birth experience

This blog is an attempt to be a place for my Bradley students to read articles I reference or find extra information. One of these days I will start writing my own articles about these things, but for now I'm so grateful others have already produced some great stuff!

I found this "Post Birth-Review of a Bradley Method classes". This mom answers questions about her experience and how the Bradley method helped her achieve the birth she wanted. Click the link above for the full article, but I wanted to highlight a few points she made.

http://www.healthytippingpoint.com
Some women have said to me, “I want a drug-free birth but if it gets really bad and I can’t handle it, I’ll just get the epidural.”  The women I know with that attitude ended up getting medication (I’m referring again, of course, only to women who had a choice, not ones who medically needed drugs).  The reason that I think this attitude doesn’t work as well as, “I will not get pain relief unless there is a serious medical reason to do so,” is that childbirth is REALLY FREAKING PAINFUL.  If you are open to drugs, you will probably get them during delivery.
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Lots and lots of readers expressed concerns over my birth plan, stating that I was too committed to a particular birth scenario and was destined to be disappointed.  While this objection to birth plans makes some sense, I’d argue that you must be committed to the idea of a drug-free birth to make it happen.  Did that mean that I was going to have a meltdown if I got pain relief?  Not at all!  During one of our Bradley classes, the instructor told us something that really stuck with me:  Even if you end up getting drugs to ease the pain or speed along contractions, the longer you ‘hold out,’ the longer the baby has had a drug-free birth experience.  
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What was most helpful for me was knowing what my body was doing and why.  I would’ve FREAKED OUT during transition if I didn’t know what was happening and that it would end soon.  I visualized what was physically happening to my cervix and uterus and pictured the baby moving down.  And I was nervous in the weeks leading up to labor, but again, I felt very well-prepared thanks to Bradley.  I think preparation is key.