Joe and I have now attended 2 out of 5 of our hypnobirthing classes. The classes are located in Seoul, so we have to take the subway and then walk about 40 minutes after that. There is actually a closer subway stop, but it requires 3 transfers and I prefer the walk, especially when the weather is nice. The class consists of two instructors: Lisa (our doula) and Stacey (her back-up doula). There are four different couples including Joe and myself- 3 people from the US, 1 man from Morocco, 3 people from the Netherlands, and 1 woman from England. Everyone speaks English very well, and the variety of perspectives is fascinating.
The first session of the class primarily focused on what the body and baby are doing during childbirth, and the second session of class focused on relaxation techniques. During both classes we watched several birth videos, but these were nothing like how childbirth is typically depicted on TV or in movies. In fact, the births were all so relaxed that I am worried Joe is going to be frustrated with me if I am not that calm- hopefully I won’t let him down! We practiced 3 different breathing strategies, but they were all very calm and slow, similar to the kind of breathing I have practiced in yoga. Hypnobirthing advocates “breathing your baby down” rather than forced pushing. It is similar to pushing, but it is a lot more fluid. You take a quick, deep breath, and then a strong, directed breath out. We tried a few visualization strategies, but they weren’t as effective for me as breathing. Perhaps it is the years of dance classes I have taken that made rhythmic breathing the easiest way for me to relax. The best part was the massage techniques they had us practice on one another. The first was called light touch massage and it consisted of lightly running the back of your hand up and down the back, arms, and neck. This was very relaxing for me, but Joe didn’t get much out of it (I doubt I will be giving Joe a massage during the birth anyway). The second massage technique we practiced was deep touch massage. We used the palms of our hands firmly along the back and arms. I also found this to be very relaxing, unlike many massage techniques that cause me to tense up.
We spent a lot of time during both classes discussing the different birth options available in Korea. Joe and I are strongly considering having our baby at home with a midwife, an option that less than 1% of women in the US select. 3 of the 4 couples (including us) in our birthing class are leaning towards homebirth, while the other couple is going to have their baby at Mediflower (where I am doing my prenatal care now). The homebirth discussion began with a warning from Lisa about sharing this information with friends and family. She said that usually the idea of homebirth, or even birth with a midwife, is not positively received. When Lisa finished giving her warning she asked, “Have any of you experienced this?” She received an affirmative from the Americans, but everyone else was looking at one another with surprise. The three individuals from the Netherlands had a completely different perspective- their families were thrilled that they were birthing outside of hospitals, with midwives rather than obstetricians. In Europe and Japan, midwives attend over 70% of the births, and homebirth is widely utilized. In the US, less than 8% of women give birth with a midwife, and 99% of births take place in a hospital. The fact that the US has the highest infant mortality rate and one of the highest mother mortality rates of all industrialized countries, while spending 3 times as much as any other industrialized country per birth, was shocking to hear. Immediately apparent, however, was the difference in how childbirth is viewed in Europe and the United States. In the US, childbirth is viewed as an inherently dangerous medical event, whereas the Europeans in our class have been encouraged to pursue the least medical options possible.
For me, I am happy that I will have the option of having a c-section if I need one. I will not be disappointed if this is the route I have to take because I know that I will have done everything possible to have my baby naturally. However, I don’t want to bring about a c-section by unnecessary interventions such as pitocin or an epidural considering they both greatly increase your chances of having to have a c-section.
After our first class, Joe and I went home and watched “The Business of Being Born.” I highly recommend it if you are interested in learning more about the problems with childbirth in the United States.
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