Birthing Classes

Last weekend we attended birthing classes at Waterbury Hospital. I must admit that I am extremely impressed.

First of all, the staff is very caring and compassionate and it really shows. The staff is scheduled to minimize the number of shifts changes during labor and birth. In fact, a mid-wife will be assigned to each laboring mother when she comes in. They also have a very good system of re-staffing if, for any reason, the mother is uncomfortable with the people assigned to her. After meeting part of the staff, I doubt that this will be the case since they all are very nice people. They also have four lactation consultants on staff.

In addition to the staff, the facility itself is setup to make the birthing process the best it can be. Every mother labors, delivers and recovers in the same room (unless a cesarean is needed). In fact, all babies spend their stay at the hospital in the same room as the mother, unless the mother requests the baby spend the night in the well-baby nursery (between 11pm and 7am). These rooms are especially nice since every mother must stay at the hospital for 48 hours after giving birth, 96 if by cesarean. Each private room is equipped with special beds that can convert to a birthing chair to allow the mother to give birth in an upright position. This eases the birth process by allowing the mother to use gravity and be in an optimal position for the positioning of the baby in the birth canal. The birthing center is also setup very nicely for anxious family members waiting for a screaming new father to come running down the hallway. There are two private family rooms in the center itself, and an additional conference room. All three rooms are especially comfortable with all of life's necessities including cable TV and snacks galore.

Security was also very impressive. First of all, gone are the days that anyone can walk in off of the street to come look at the babies. To get into the birthing ward, you must be buzzed in. To get in, you need to ring a bell, on a video intercom, and prove your identity and the identity of the mother / father. If this is your first visit, a staff member will meet you and accompany you to the parents where they will identity you. If there is any doubt as to who you are, the father, or birthing coach, will be asked to identify you before entering. In addition to the tight security in getting in, babies have a hard time getting out. Every baby is fitted with a tracking device that interfaces with the security system, kind of like lo-jack for babies. If the device is removed from the baby, or the baby is removed from the secure zone of the birthing center, an audible alarm will sound, all of the perimeter doors at the center will automatically lock and will remain locked until every baby is accounted for. The device actually will tell the staff which is the offending baby as well as it's location. Essentially, the staff always knows which baby is where at all times. Also, whenever the Mother, Birthing Coach (yes, that would be me if you were curious) and / or Baby leave or enter a room, it is logged. All three of us will be tagged with hospital bands.

Of course, we did the Lamaze breathing thing. And, yes, it was hard to keep a straight face in a room full of people panting (especially with Sophia literally dancing while trying to do this). We also learned quit a bit about the labor phases as well as the actual anatomical changes that occur during labor. We also got to watch some fun videos as well. Let's just say that they we're very REAL and most of the expectant mothers reacted. This is not to say that they were bad, just a good primer as to what to expect. They were great since they lead of through the entire labor and birthing process of two births. They both took different approaches to the labor and birthing processes. It actually helped us make some important decisions. We also learned how to do the Labor Waltz, a funny looking walk to help the mother cope with labor.

The heaviest and most emotional part of the weekend was our V.I.P. tour to that Special Care Nursery. This is where premature and sick newborns, including jaundice, spend there days at the hospital. It was both difficult but nice to see how well setup they are as well as how well the babies, including a 32 week preemie, were doing. They are very definitely in good hands.

All in all, it was a very exciting and educational weekend. I'm now having an even harder tine sleeping at night due to my excitement about Sophia's arrival.

NOTE: Keep an eye out for out for posts that will include the big list of stuff that we will be taking to the hospital as well as our birthing plan (yes, I know, I'm a geek but it helps to have it written out) that will include labor pahses.