Childbirth Classes: The Drama

Last night was our first of four - three hour Childbirth Preparation Classes. I was very excited that Richard was able to come (even though Molly would have been an awesome partner). It was something I really wanted us to do together.


Our instructor, Jane, is fun and down to earth. She made everyone feel very comfortable, even Richard who was terrified the instructor would be a hippie.
Our baby will be the youngest in the class. Most are due in May, with the exception of one other June baby.
Lots of talk about vaginas and placentas and bags of water and mucus plug and cervix. Complete with a 3D model, the instructor showed us how the baby moves down through the pelvis. Ouch! He turns! And his head pushes on your rectum (hence the pooing on the table) and that's how you know when to push. You feel like you have to take a big 'ol poo. Ack!


I was looking forward to the hospital tour the most. I was delighted to find out we would spend the last hour of class viewing the Labor & Delivery department of North Memorial!


Again, our instructor was great. She explained every step and detail from the moment we park in the ramp to our discharge. When you arrive at Labor & Delivery, you have to go to a Labor Assessment room. They decide if you should be admitted or should go home to wait it out. I don't want to be sent home. The hospital is over 20 miles from our house! (So we have to make sure, Molly! Pressure's on!)

One of the stops on the tour was the Birthing Room. The room little Baby FermaNels will arrive. It's not a huge room. We crammed 16 people in this room. I become very claustrophobic in small areas or areas with too many people and not a clear exit. The room was a stifling 75 degrees (our instructor couldn't figure out how to turn the heat down). About halfway through the instructor's explanation of the room, I became light headed. I took off my winter coat. My purse felt so heavy on my shoulder so I set it on the floor. Richard leaned in and asked if I was okay. I said yes. Then my hearing became muffled. I was no longer listening to the instructor, I just wanted to leave the room. When my vision started to get fuzzy, I turned to Richard and said, "I need air. I'm light headed." He put his arm around me, and ushered me out of the room. He asked me again if I was okay. I told him I needed to sit down. He grabbed the instructor and told her I was light headed. She immediately told me to slide down the floor. She had me take off my sweater and called for a nurse to get me some water. The nurse came with a wheel chair. "No, no, no, she doesn't need a wheel chair. Just water." The nurse returned with ice water and a little orange juice. As I sipped my juice, the instructor turned to the rest of the class. "Let's not stare at Kelly, but this is exactly what you need to do if you are in labor and you are feeling light headed or have a contraction. Just slide down the wall."
I immediately started feeling better once I sat down. Apparently, all the color had drained from my face and it started to come back as soon as I sat down.


At the end of the tour, I thanked the instructor again for helping me. It was a combination of over heating and claustrophobia. She recommended I write the claustrophobia on my birth plan so the nurses will be sensitive to it.
Hopefully next week will be less dramatic. And I hope I'm not know as the girl who almost fainted.