t-15: there'll always be an England

We had our third birth class today. We talked about our fears and anxieties and possible interventions.

Previously, I was grumpy because I did not get to facilitate and thus we had to suffer less than superior facilitation. (I'm not the best, but I am quite good) This week I got the flip chart pen for my little group and WE had LOADS of fears, whereas the other group barely got a few down. I did add my fears and worries as a participant-facilitator - but the only time I questioned someone else's was when an expectant father said he was worried that they hadn't bought enough stuff for the baby. But I tried to do so in a reassuring way - and I still wrote it down.

The midwife when she saw that on the flip chart hooted, "Babies don't need all that stuff," she said directly to us as some kind of hoodwinked, consumerist couple. "They are simply trying to sell you things. Babies don't need gadgets." Now these were my thoughts exactly, but I owned that flip chart point as a good facilitator and let us be the brunt of the joke - I just nodded. The ViL commented afterwards on my excellent facilitation (as well he should) - and I said yes - they got a couple hundred pounds worth of facilitation right there in the birth class for free.

We talked about interventions. Vaccuum and forceps delivery. Caesarean-sections. That Ventouse vaccuum extractor thing is scary looking piece of equipment - it looks better for blocked drains. It looks like an inspiration to stay upright in labor and let gravity be my friend.

We talked about inductions.

In the US, it seems, lots of doctors are encouraging convenience indunctions for themselves (they want to go on vacation) or allowing it for the convenience of others. Ina May Gaskin, goddess of midwifery, is very down on inductions. Hormonal inductions do make labor contractions more painful, but there are likely to be other complications as well. You're more likely to want an epidural (because it does hurt more, contractions are more intense and tougher to deal with) and you're more likely to have an instrument assisted delivery, and more likely to end up with a c-section. It seems like a lot of women on my US birth discussion forum are choosing a slightly early induction - and I just shake my head. Except in one circumstance, when their husbands are about to be deployed to Iraq and might miss the birth of their child otherwise. My doula did not think this was a good reason - given all I've written above - but I think I can understand it.

At my hospital, they won't induce until you are 42 weeks along. They will not offer at 41 weeks. They certainly will not induce at 39 weeks (unless medically necessary). The ViL did establish that they would allow a little flexibility in light of personal circumstances. Since VolMom is arriving from Tennessee on what would be 42 weeks for me - she said they would offer me 41+6 or 42+1.

But we did talk about natural induction. Natural induction is basically giving nature a little, quite gentle helping hand in terms of stimulating the right hormones and getting baby in a good position. The midwife stood at the front of the room and asked what methods we'd heard of.

• Walking
• Eat a hot curry
• Eating fresh pineapple
• Sitting on a gym ball
• Warm bath (with clary sage)

And raspberry leaf tea - which was highly recommended by the midwife - and we discussed it quite a bit.

The ViL also suggested the eggplant parmesan - they'd never heard of it, but as apparently it's sent hundreds of Atlanta women into labor my classmates were willing to give it a try - so I promised to bring it in next week. (The recipe looks fab whether it works or not - HT to Lindsay Ferrier of Suburban Turmoil).

Anything else? The midwife asked. Anything?

Well, we all knew she had just one thing on her mind. It was merely a question of who was gonna say it.

SEX - someone said - from the back of the room.

"Sex!" the midwife said - "that should have been the first thing on the list." She elaborated on the cervix softening properties of semen - it's all in the prostaglandin apparently.

Someone conceeded that while sex might be effective, it took effort. "It's much easier to make a nice cup of tea."

Yes, there'll always be an England.

15 days and countless cups of tea til baby Cletus,