Are you pregnant? All the best for experiencing the motherhood….
If it is your first childbirth then you ought to be nervous and worried. Even if you have experienced the process of childbirth earlier, you still cannot throw away your worries. It is mandatory for any mother to be fit physically and psychologically to have healthy baby. Lamaze Method of Childbirth will keep you prepared so that you have fearless childbirth.
What is Lamaze Method?
What started as simple breathing techniques during childbirth is now got popularized as “Lamaze Method of Childbirth”. It has become the most widely used childbirth technique and has been into practice since late 50s. It was Dr. Ferdinand Lamaze, an obstetrician from France, who gets all the credit for discovering this method of child birth in the year 1951.
Lamaze Method is much more than few breathing techniques. Through this method, you can manage your labour pain and can respond better to the contraction process. You will get educated and prepared much better and can fearlessly go through the process of childbirth. But you must follow it only after seeking the approval of your obstetrician and learn from a certified expert.
The Six Practices of Lamaze Method
The Lamaz method is based on certain principles or practices. The six practices of Lamaze method aims at promoting your natural ability to give birth to a child. Lamaze method is based on the idea that education will help any women in getting rid of all types of fear and worries of childbirth. The six practices of Lamaze method are:
- The labour must start on its own,
- Labouring women must not have childbirth on the backs,
- The labouring women must be allowed to move around freely during her labour,
- During labour, there must be continuous support for the labouring woman,
- During labour and childbirth, no intervention should happen,
- Babies must be kept with their mothers immediately after birth and breastfeeding should be only way to feed the newborn.
What Can You Expect from Lamaze Method?
To get educated about Lamaze method of childbirth, you will have to go through the classes of minimum 12 hours. The topics that are covered during the class are:
- Normal process of labour and childbirth.
- Early post-partum period including breastfeeding and interactions with the new born.
- How to actively participate in the child birth process as informed parent.
- Use of breathing techniques during labour.
- Using massage techniques to increase relaxation and reduce labour pain.
- Use of relaxation methods during labour and after childbirth to get help in de-stressing.
- Encouragement and advices for the partner so that better support is there during childbirth.
- Better communication with the partner and the entire team of healthcare professional during labour.
- Complications of child-birth and medical interventions needed during the complications.
- Use of various techniques for relaxation e.g. heat, cold, hydrotherapy, walking, changing positions etc.
- Information about anaesthesia and other procedures during labour so that you can choose the best option.
- Information about healthy lifestyle during entire pregnancy period and also for post-partum period.
The classes are provided in the form of videos or through the sessions of real-birth.
Disadvantages of Lamaze Method
Though this natural method of child birth is popular among many women around the world still you should know about the cons of this method before you opt for getting educated about this method.
- Lamaze Method aims at the process of childbirth without pain but during labour pain is natural and in some cases women may not be able to combat this pain despite having being trained in this popular method of child birth.
- For Lamaze Method of Child Birth, presence of partner is must. The basic idea of this method is that parents must work as a team during the child process. For many women, presence of partner during childbirth may not be possible.
- Lamaze Method does not have provision of handling complicated situations that arise during labour.
- Lamaze Method of Childbirth involves patience and commitment. For many parents, it may not be possible to keep the patience and commitment levels same during the entire period of training.
- Lamaze method is quite costly. Classes are taken by certified and specialized professionals thereby the cost may by somewhere between $75 and $150 for a 6 week course.
Lamaze Method of Childbirth may have few disadvantages but the ultimate goal to help you to have positive responds towards labour pain is achieved to a great extent through these classes. If practiced regularly and sincerely under the supervision of certified trainer, you can have natural drug free child birth.
If you have any other views or information about Lamaze Method, you are welcome to share those with us.
