I must admit my ignorance of the Bradley Method.  Once I partnered up with a Bradley teacher in my studio, but that didn’t turn out well and ended in an angry mother to be feeling abandoned and confused by a teacher who decided not show up or return calls, and a refund of money on my part for something I made little on.

Other than that one experience, my training as a childbirth coach (or doula) was fraught in opinions against Bradley Method because of its methodology and narrowness of path.  After reading this book I actually have changed my mind.  Bradley uses the scientific method to make his case for his steps in childbirth, granted they are very linear, narrow and demanding, but wrapped coyly in the phrase "try it the other way and see".  Honestly, I don’t know a woman out there who in the throngs of labor is going to say "Honey, I’m in pain and can’t move too easily, can we try six different things to see if this gets worse??"

That being said, many  of Bradley’s points made logical sense, but I believe in evolution and I believe that humans are mammals belonging to the Animal Kingdom.  If these thoughts are not in line with your own beliefs, you may find digesting this material difficult. It’s also amazing that a connection is made yet again in a book  to India, and medicine there. Bradley meets a young doctor who (his words not mine, not sure when you would see this) places his feet on the edge of the toilet bowl and squats over it to empty his bowels, while basically stating "I had to come to the East to find out what hemorrhoids are, we are not afflicted with them in India because we do not rest of luxuries, " and the young Indian doctor explains further to Bradley that his commode is simply a hole that the family squats over, not sure if I believe that Bradley asked the man to have his mother send a photo of the facilities, and that she did.

This experience, along with unrelated experiences watching animals birth both in the wild and in captivity, help to form Bradley’s idea of how birth should be.  Much of this book also has a meditative quality, the idea that your surroundings should be clean, quite, low lit.  The mother should relax her eyes and try not to focus them, relax her facial muscles and all body muscles.

After reading this book I feel bad about having been swayed to shy away from it by others. Though I do see where they are coming from with their feelings, the book is very dogmatic, with the Bradley way being the only correct way, that I have trouble standing behind.  My husband even read the book and had used a few of the tips when dealing with my body pains lately.

I give this book 5 out of 7 stars.

October 22nd, 2008 | Tags: Birth, Book Review, Doula, Health, Labor, Meditation | Category: books, Daily Post | Subscribe to comments | Both comments and pings are currently closed