Birthing class take 2.... ouch! -Ryan

We made it out Tuesday night to birthing class once again. As I expected they started the class out with a few videos. Mrs. Manning told us that is would not be as graphic as the videos from class one... Mrs. Manning was a liar.
Yes, the videos were computer animated and maybe I can see why that might factor into her poor judgment, but computer animated or not, watching an episiotomy is awful. Much worse then watching real people give child birth. We also watched a caesarean in a 3-d animation, not fun either, but I did have an idea on what I was about to see before that. I know that we have come so far in technology in so many areas, but I'm still really surprised to see how primal child birth is. Man has yet to figure out a smooth way to get a cantaloupe through a .... ah, I dunno, I just sat here for 5 minutes trying to think of a inanimate object to compare a woohoo to. Any how, mad respect to all the mothers out there for putting your bodies on the line to make life happen, I learned something.

After the videos we went on a tour of the Baptist hospital delivery rooms. There were only two women in labor when we got there and no one had delivered at that point, so unfortunately we didn't get to spy on any new life through the viewing window. Instead, we found out that Wednesday is the busy day in the maternity ward. "How is this possible?" I wondered. How do you know what day your going to be busy in a labor room? It turns out that many of the doctors around town have so many patients that they prefer to schedule and induce all of their expectant mothers on one day in order to stream line their productivity, the American way. I don't find anything wrong with inducing if its the mother's decision, but I have learned that when induced, your body has less time to prepare for labor, which means that you will be much more likely to take more damage during the birthing process. I refuse to force my wife into any more pain then necessary, so that my very well paid doctor can catch his Sunday morning golf game.

After our tour we went back to our class and Katherine got to practice her breathing technique. As she laid on the floor trying to relax, I knelt beside her and stroked her hair. I thought to myself how blessed I am to have a woman like this in my life, giving me meaning, and taking on challenges I am certain I couldn't face alone. This life I have been given, is a gift from God.