Childbirth schools, if they are well organized and conducted, should provide the pregnant woman and her partner with appropriate theoretical and practical knowledge, enable them to undergo appropriate physical exercises, and finally enable contact with other pregnant women.
Theoretical knowledge is most often passed on by gynecologists – obstetricians and midwives. The news relates to the physiology of pregnancy, delivery and the postpartum period. During the classes, a pregnant woman can find out which symptoms naturally accompany her pregnancy and which should cause her anxiety and refer her to a hospital or attending physician for consultation. What happens in a woman’s body in each trimester of pregnancy, with particular emphasis on the third trimester due to the fact that it ends in childbirth. Your doctor explains what prenatal testing is and why you should do it. What does childbirth look like, what are the advantages and disadvantages of vaginal delivery, and what are cesarean sections, and what happens to the woman during the puerperium. The doctor also presents the development of the fetus, then the characteristics of the newborn, and finally the infant period. It should be done by a neonatologist, but in practice it is difficult to find classes conducted by him in childbirth classes.
Pregnant women are concerned about the course of delivery and its consequences for the child, hence it is necessary to explain the typical symptoms occurring in a newborn, which are temporary, such as bruising of the integuments that disappear after a few hours, jaundice appearing, hematomas on the head of the fetus, abrasions of the epidermis during childbirth, etc. All these are temporary symptoms that may be disturbing for a woman who is not aware of their causes. It should be remembered that the woman leaves the hospital on the 3rd day after childbirth via natural routes and on the 5th day after cesarean section. Then, if she has no background in her own environment, her literature, the Internet or conversations with friends remain. They may not know how to nurse their baby, what to do with the navel that hasn’t healed yet, and how to deal with breastfeeding if the baby has a poor suckling reflex. All of this may be asked during birth school meetings.
Classes with midwives mainly concern the delivery mechanism and everything that happens in the delivery room from the moment the patient is admitted to the emergency room until the patient is transported to the maternity ward. Most often, midwives and pregnant women visit the hospital emergency room, delivery room, and finally the maternity and neonatal wards. During meetings with the midwife, women learn about the possible positions to take during labor, both in the first stage of labor and during pushing. They discuss the signs of upcoming delivery with pregnant women and make them aware of when a woman should come to the hospital for delivery. They provide instructions on how a delivery bag should look like, and what tests are important at the time of admitting a pregnant woman in the emergency room.
The program of classes should also include meetings with a psychologist and legal advisor. The psychologist can provide women with information about mental disorders that may appear at any stage of pregnancy, which are its result and are part of the physiological changes in the woman’s body. Unfortunately, a pregnant woman is often unaware of the changes taking place in her, which causes fear, often a feeling of guilt, which may become a source of conflicts in her immediate surroundings. A psychologist is also necessary in the case of tragic events, miscarriage, loss of a child, or the birth of a child with a defect, and finally in such a specific condition as postpartum psychosis.
A lawyer can help you with the provisions on medical certificates, maternity leave, and mother or child care. Finally, the birthing school prepares a man for the role of a father, for active participation in childbirth, and for taking care of the woman in labor during this time.
Physical activities are adapted to the abilities of pregnant women, some birthing schools propose swimming classes in their program. Exercises are both general condition and typically intended for use during labor, such as learning to breathe, pain control, learning to relax, learning to push.
Thus, all patients in physiological pregnancy, who have no contraindications, should attend childbirth school, because a conscious patient cooperates better with the midwife and doctor in the delivery room.
Text: lek. med. Ewa Zarudzka