How To Select The Right Delivery Option For Your Baby

There are plenty of women who wish that babies were really delivered by storks! Having carried their baby for the whole nine months, they are now eager to get the whole business of delivery over with! The change in the body that pregnancy wreaks is disconcerting, to say the least, and many women just want their original body back! However, the race for the healthy baby will only be won with the use of Lamaze, Bradley as well as some other options that will create a healthy body for the birth of the baby.

Women have been giving birth since time immemorial, and this practice will continue on for thousands of years! However, with the advent of modern science and technology, childbirth is now a process that is easier on the mother than it previously was, due to the options it provides.

In the mid 1800s, medical knowledge had reached a point where women could be given certain drugs for pain reduction. And by the mid 1900s, the process of childbirth became a technicality that had more to do with pain medication than the mother and baby! But as medical science grows, it is seen that the modern medical know-how can enable an expectant mother to take more control over the process of childbirth to maximize the odds of having a healthy baby.

Any drugs that a mother takes during delivery are also passed on to her baby in smaller doses. This can be harmful, which is why, in the year 1940, Dr. Robert Bradley came up with the Bradley method of natural childbirth without the use of drugs.

This method relied on breathing techniques as well as relaxation techniques to help the mother through birth. Thus, going for Bradley classes is an advantage that the pregnant mother gains to help her during delivery. However, the drugs used for pain medication today are produced with ingredients that have very low odds of harming the baby. This issue depends entirely on the mother, of course!

Lamaze, another childbirth facilitator course for expectant mothers, also has its own advantages and disadvantages. Lamaze was initially developed to facilitate vaginal childbirth by a French physician and became popular in the 60s. It is a birthing technique which encourages the use of proper breathing techniques, hot and cold packs, and proper body positioning, whilst discouraging any form of pain medication.

Similar to Bradley, the Lamaze uses breathing techniques during the final stages of the delivery to help oxygenate the muscle cells as well as to control pain. The focus on the in-out-in breathing pattern helps the mother to block out the pain and concentrate on pushing at the essential moments.

Bradley and Lamaze techniques stress the necessity of having a close person beside to aid in childbirth. A friend, a life partner, a midwife: anyone you are comfortable with! These people will be a source of comfort because they are either having a medical background or because they have been to the Bradley and Lamaze classes with you and so, have an understanding of what childbirth is all about. They will assist you in performing your breathing techniques, get you slivers of ice, help change your position for your comfort, and in general, be there for you for all the different stages of delivery!

Pregnant mothers must explore all the options available to them. There is no real call to rule out pain medication if you have all the information available and can calmly make a rational decision beforehand. Modern technology has a lot to say for it, and many women these days do indeed go for the modern methods of childbirth. What matters at the end of the day is making an informed decision and having your baby as healthy as possible!