* A piece by Shannon Evans on Romper I was quoted in.
After a long conversation with your OB-GYN, you’ve decided together that this baby of yours will be born via C-section. Whether it took you a while to make your peace with it or was your preference all along, women who plan to give birth non-vaginally often wonder, “Should I take a childbirth class if I’m going to have a C-section? Or is it just a big waste of time?”
Childbirth preparation educator Bailey Gaddis says she often has moms planning C-sections in her classes, which she always strongly encourages. In an interview with Romper, Gaddis says, “These women say they enjoy the classes because although they won’t have use for birth positions, or understanding the common phases of a vaginal labor, they can utilize almost every other tool I teach to have a calmer experience during their surgical birth. For example, many of them say the breathing techniques, affirmations, relaxation recordings, and other techniques I offered them in class were incredibly useful before, during, and after surgery.”
Additionally, Gaddis explains that she has her C-section moms create cesarean birth preferences during class to help them feel more empowered during birth. According to her, some of the most frequent preferences she sees identified are choosing to not have your arms restrained, choosing the music to be played in the delivery room, and requesting that the medical staff limits their conversation to strictly be about mom and baby. These are simple enough, but a woman might not think of them ahead of time were she not in a childbirth class empowering her to do so.
Bailey Gaddis Blog 