Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way by Susan McCutcheon

I first became aware of the Bradley Method of childbirth from Gus, who attended a Bradley class a few years before we were married (he lived with a couple who hosted the class). We were unable to take the class because of schedule conflicts, so the teacher recommended we pick up Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way.

According to the book, the Bradley Method is the most successful natural childbirth method, with over 90 percent of women giving birth drug-free. This was important to me because I wanted to make sure that I did what I could to prepare myself mentally to avoid drugs and unnecessary interventions in labor. I do believe I prepared myself mentally for the labor, mostly because of the information I learned in this book. But I did not follow the standards for exercise and eating in this book. I did more than I would have had I not read this book, but I do plan on trying harder next time to follow the guidelines in the book for high protein intake and daily squatting, pelvic rocking, and tailor sitting. (After some research, I believe that sitting in a recliner or in a reclining position 80 percent of my day throughout my pregnancy contributed to Nathan being posterior, which caused my back labor. I will definitely be doing more tailor sitting next time around.)

The Bradley Method is also called husband-coached childbirth. Many of the chapters in the book have sections specifically for the birth coach, and there are several practice scripts for the coach for different times during labor. This is was I liked most about the Bradley Method. Husband-coached childbirth is to me a really beautiful picture of a woman doing what she was created to do, yet still looking to her husband to lead and encourage her in it.  I believe Gus did more work than I did throughout that 26-hour labor. It was physically grueling for him, and he was with me emotionally throughout the whole thing, which may have been more grueling than the physical aspect. Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way more than prepared him for his work as coach. The nurse, doula, and midwife were all incredibly impressed by his knowledge and involvement throughout the labor and delivery.

I’m sure the Bradley class would be beneficial and would probably have made me more disciplined in doing the exercises and practicing for labor. But this book in itself did help me accomplish my objective of getting through labor drug-free, and I recommend it to anyone interested in having a natural childbirth but cannot take the Bradley class.