Yesterday we went to our second ante-natal class at Stepping Hill hospital. This time the focus was on pain relief and what can go wrong during labour. Perhaps most importantly for us there was also a tour of the delivery suite.
The delivery rooms varied from dark, slightly cramped and depressing to bright, roomy and cheerful. Though the bright rooms were quite hot yesterday. That's one price of a summer birth I guess. The midwives seem very keen that the mother doesn't lie down much (or at all) during the labour, so although there is a bed in the room the expectation is that the mother won't use it much and delivery almost certainly won't be on it. The midwives had tales of women giving birth in all sorts of positions and places including in the shower and on the toilet. The use of large inflated balls (such as those used for pilates) also seems popular to get into a good position to speed up labour and delivery. We are hoping to use the birthing pool, but there was someone in it yesterday so we didn't get to see it.
The classes are also quite useful for meeting other soon-to-be mothers and fathers. Early on in the pregnancy we had considered whether to have the baby at St Mary's hospital in Manchester. After speaking to two mothers yesterday who gave birth there we are very glad we chose Stepping Hill. Neither mother was keen to go back there. One spoke of being treated like a number and even the midwives spoke of a reluctance to use the birthing pool under almost any circumstances.
The class concluded with a discussion of the different types of abnormal deliveries (ventouse, forceps, c-section) and the pain relief options (gas & air, pethidine, epidural, acupuncture!).
The next class is on Tuesday when we will cover breastfeeding.
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