The Bradley Childbirth Method

The Bradley Childbirth Method originated from the work of Dr. Robert Bradley circa 1965.  He believed birth to be a natural process that could be handled without routine drugs or interventions.  Dr. Bradley founded the American Academy of Husband-Coached Childbirth, which is now responsible for teaching his childbirth method.

Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way and  Husband-Coached Childbirth are the two main publications available for this method.

This method is presented over 12 weeks.  It covers pregnancy, birth and afterbirth issues.  It differs from other methods in that one of its primary goals is to train labor support persons to be effective and proactive coaches.

A typical class enrollment would be no more than eight couples to ensure appropriate access to the curriculum.  Prominent topics are nutrition, exercise, common pregnancy issues, and relaxation techniques.  

Bradley Method educators claim a 90% success rate for natural childbirth without anesthesia.

While this is an effective method of natural childbirth that works for the majority of families, couples are still taught that pain is part of childbirth.  Students are taught to manage pain rather than distracting themselves from it as is done in other methods.  Breathing is used as a way to manage pain.

Although I feel that overall this is an effective natural birth method, I take issue with the fact that pain is presented as a necessary part of labor.  A self-fulfilling prophecy comes into play when a woman expects to be in pain.

When expecting  pain, a woman will feel pain even though she may be able to use strategies to cope effectively.

Conversely, when we do not expect pain and stay relaxed, we are able to birth a child without pain.

For more information on the Bradley Method, visit www.bradleybirth.com.