Welcome to your very FIRST session of Lamaze Healthy Birth Class.

Before you view this class session, be sure to check out the Pre-Class Information page. Here you’ll find some downloads that will be helpful as you follow along in class - a few short video clips to familiarize yourself with some of the terminology, anatomy & physiology of how your body goes in to labor.

The Lamaze Approach to Birth

If you and I were in the live class together, this is the information shared in the exact same order. Follow along each video and keep notes on subjects that pique your interest!

Remember to refer back to the pre-class page to get additional information on each subject.

Throughout this series, I’m going to introduce you to Troy and some of his buds, to give the partner’s perspective on some of these topics:

The Simplest Birth Plan Ever - “Lamaze Six Healthy Birth Practices”

The Lamaze Healthy Birth Practices are the foundation of Lamaze. These practices are designed based on years of research to simplify your birth process with an informed approach that helps alleviate your fears and manage pain.

With the United States being one of the most dangerous places to live if you are a pregnant person or a fetus, Lamaze International, the CIMS Initiative and the Mother-Friendly Childbirth Initiative created the six steps that every family could strive for to decrease risks and improve birth outcomes for both the birth giver and the baby!

The Lamaze Six Healthy Birth Practices are also available in eleven languages: English, Mandarin, Russian, Spanish, Portuguese, Czech, Polish, Romanian, Greek, Arabic, and Hebrew.

Common Discomforts of Pregnancy and How to Alleviate Them

Anatomy & Physiology

How things work in there

“Birth As We Know It”

Elena Tonetti-Vladimirova

This is the story of Russian women who at one time referred to their birth experiences as “traumatic”. Subsequently many of them, during their pregnancy, moved to “Birth Camp” at the Black Sea during warm months of the year. They brought in some supplies, but also planted gardens, lived communally with other expectant families. During their pregnancy, they swam in the ocean, accompanied by dolphins, who became protective of them when time came for labor.

The babies are born into the tide pools, warmed by the sun to bathtub temperatures, surrounded by love and Spiritual Midwives. They spend their early days sunbathing and soaking in the salt water. The baby’s cords fall of quickly due to the sun and air. They are immediate swimmers due to the glottis reflex that stays intact during the first six months of life. These babies begin life with incredible community, love and acceptance. I hope you can see that, when no interventions are offered or available, the pregnant persons are BORN into parenthood as the babies are born in to the world as strong individuals!

Now that you’re done, it’s time to really solidify the information with more research (to check me on my claims!) and tools to use as you visit with your doctor or midwife. Some class attendees want ALL the stuff, and some of you may want just the nuts & bolts. Visit the homework page to pick and choose how much information you want.

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