Prepared childbirth class / 生產課程

Today we had the childbirth class from morning 9am to 4pm. Geez…I haven’t woken up this early in a long time haha. Anyways before the class I thought this class might change my mind about NSD, Normal Spontaneous Delivery because I have been scared about the delivery for a couple of months. After taking this class, I know and understand whole processes more but I am also afraid of it even more. Haha…ouch!

In the class, the teacher said if you decided not to use any pain medication, please raise your hand. There were only two mommies raising their hands. Eddie and I had discussed this question before. I said I will use an epidural if I need it. Right now, I can’t tell,  however he said many times that my pain tolerance is very low. I guess I will probably need an epidural. However, the reason this teacher wanted to ask this question was because she played a NSD video which was without using any pain medication. I would say the mommy in the video was really good at controlling her emotions during the labor pain. This video was trying to teach us, if you can control your emotions, you would feel less pain. Most of the time she was doing inhale and exhale. But for me, that was suffering.

As I said, I thought this class might help us to not be afraid of childbirth as much. I was completely wrong because of this video. I already know I will not be happy during the process.  On the other hand, maybe it is better to let me know the reality than trying to make me feel good..

Here are the important things I learned from the class…

• Try to avoid the fear of pain. The fear might cause you to have less oxygen in your muscles. Your muscles will then become tense, causing increased pain. It is a cycle, fear > tension > pain.
• Breaking the fear-tension-pain cycle, practice the breathing techniques, and have supportive people to provide emotional support. I guess I’ll bring the digital photo player. I need A&B with me.
• Usual labor takes 19 hours from water break to childbirth.
• Labor includes three stages: early labor (0-6 cm), active labor (6-8 cm), transition (8-10 cm)
• The best time for an epidural is during active labor.
• Better not to spend your energy in the early stages. Try to keep the energy for pushing.
• Follow the doctor / midwife’s instructions. They know the best time to push. You can ask for a mirror on the foot area so you can see yourself. That will help you understand the situation more.

The class provided so much information. It’s hard to list all the detail here. But I really like this hospital because it provides these awesome classes. Another reason I love this hospital is their security system. It is not like some of the hospitals where you can walk around inside. Our room is totally private.  Only the person who has a code can enter. It will be quiet. Mom and baby can better rest. If we have friends wanting to visit, the nurse will call our room to ask for permission. If we don’t want any visitors, they will help us say no. lol…is it awesome?

After the baby is born, they will provide identification straps for mom, dad and the baby. The three straps have the same matching code. When they get a notice that the baby is close to the elevator, the security alarm will launch. No stranger can take the baby out of the hospital. Also, that is the only way to make sure she is our baby. The teacher reminded daddy not to take the strap off even in the shower. Until the the day we are ready leave the hospital, the nurse will cut those straps off. Most of the time the baby will stay in our room with us except during shower time. They will shower her and bring her back to us. Great! Also, I heard the meals are really delicious. Our friends delivered their babies in this hospital too. They said I will have a list of menu items to choose from. It is like hotel room service XD. So far everything is straightforward. Eddie seems to have made a good choice with this hospital. Right now I just need to pray for a comfortable labor.

今天我們從早上９點到下午４點要上生產的課程，天啊從來沒這麼早起床過哈哈。上課前我想說這堂課應該會讓我改變對自然生產的看法吧，因為自從知道要自然產後，我也是恐懼到現在，但是我只能說上完這堂課後，我學到很多東西但是哈哈我更害怕了！可惡！

課堂上老師問大家，有沒有人已經決定要自然生產而不用任何可以減輕疼痛的藥物？請舉手，課堂上有兩個媽媽舉了手，Eddie跟我有討論過這個問題，我說我會用無痛分娩如果我需要的話，現在我沒有辦法決定。他不知道說過多少次我的耐痛度很低 =  =! 所以我猜我應該到時候也會需要吧！老師之所以要問這個問題是因為她要播放一個媽咪不採用任何減痛方式自然產的影片給我們看，我只能說影片裡面的這個媽咪很懂的在陣痛時控制自己的情緒，這也是這個影片想要教我們的部分，如果能懂的控制自己的情緒，痛感相較之下會比較低，這個媽咪在影片中不斷的吸氣和吐氣，但是我看來這真的是一場折磨。

就像我一開始說的，我以為這堂課會讓我降低對生產的恐懼，但是看完影片後我就覺得我錯了，我已經可以預想到生產的過程我不會太開心，不過換個方向想，這也是讓我認清事實，因為生產的過程本來就不會太輕鬆。

下面是我從課堂上學到的重點…

• 嘗試降低對疼痛的恐懼，恐懼會讓你肌肉缺氧，你就會因為越來越緊繃，製造更多的疼痛，它是一個循環，恐懼>緊張>痛楚
• 抵抗恐懼-緊張-痛楚的循環，可以練習呼吸的技巧，再加上跟你待產時的夥伴給你心靈上的支持，或是想些可以讓你開心的事情，我應該會帶電子相框，我只要看到A-Rod和Bailey應該會開心一些
• 通常平均待產的時間是19個小時，從羊水破到生產
• 分娩有三個階段：初期 （開0-6公分），活躍期 （開6-8公分），過度期 （開8-10公分）
• 施打無痛分娩最佳的時機是活躍期
• 最好不要浪費太多的體力在初期，盡量保持體力在最後要用力的時候
• 聽從醫生/助產士的指令，它們知道什麼時機用力是最好的，媽咪可以要求要有鏡子在下面，可以看到自己的過程，會比較能了解情況

這堂課的內容好豐富，很難全部分享，不過我覺得這個醫院還挺不錯的，不只提供很棒的課程，另外他們的安全系統我也很讚賞，它不像一般的醫院任何人都可以在裡面走來走去，我們病房的區域整個都是私人區域，只有有密碼的人可以進入，所以大部分的時間都是很安靜的，媽媽和寶寶也可以充分的休息，如果我們有朋友要來探視，護士會跟我們通知，看我們同不同意，如果我們不想要被探視，她們也會幫我們婉轉地回絕，這服務是不是太優了?

寶寶出生後，他們會提供一個可追蹤的手環給媽媽、爸爸、跟寶寶，這些手環有可配對的號碼在裡面，只要寶寶靠近電梯，她們就會接收到通知，警報器就會啟動，避免任何陌生人把寶寶帶離開醫院，這也是唯一的方式確認她是我們的寶寶，老師就提醒爸爸就算洗澡也別忘記不要拿掉手環，直到我們要出院的那天，護士才會幫我們剪掉。大部分的時間寶寶都會跟我們在我們的病房，除非她需要洗澡，不過洗完後她還是會回到我們的房間，真好! 另外，我們也有朋友在那邊生產，他們就說醫院提供的餐點很好吃，他們會提供一整個菜單讓你選擇，好像飯店的服務 XD，大致上一切好像都很清楚明瞭，Eddie似乎選了一間不錯的醫院，現在我只祈禱生產時不要太過痛苦了!