The line has turned double pink and you’re experiencing a myriad of emotions. Whether expected or not the events of pregnancy will be like a whirlwind and at the same time a time of frustration and impatience.

For many women they will encounter a system of care that they are unfamiliar with, for some it will be attention. In this system, a woman and her partner (not to say she needs one!) will come to know many people. The primary people will be either: a midwife, a family physician, and possible even an obstetrician. In the course of nine months (seven and a half actually as most women seek care in the 6^th week of pregnancy), the woman will have encountered as many as 50 different people by the time she holds her baby in her arms.

The people that can help guide a woman through her experiences during pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum is most often her primary care giver. Should that be a midwife, most of her needs for information will be satisfied at the 45 minute to 1.5-hour appointments. Should the care provider be a doctor, which is a different story, the woman will barely be able to pull the multitude of questions she has out in the short time span allowed doctors to see each patient. Most often, a woman seeks out the information she desires on-line, from her friends or from family. Generally, the information she seeks is about the events of birth and life beyond with baby. Here enters the childbirth educator.

Childbirth education is a class where a mother and her chosen birth partner learn about the workings of the body during birth, how to make choices about the care they are receiving, how to cope with the work of labor, and the basics of becoming a new family. There are multitudes of different attitudes regarding childbirth. Women come to birth as an individual with their life experiences. The education program they choose should reflect them as individuals and their desires for birth.

Most often a hospital-based class is all couples are aware of and they sign up for those, rarely are any other options investigated. The hospital-based classes will get parents the basic information they need, and possibly their instructor might have the same attitude they have in regards to childbirth (be it mainstream or more "natural" based). By choosing these classes, the couple "takes what it gets". Instructors have a variety of backgrounds and philosophies, these they bring to class. The personality of the instructor can be just as important as the philosophy they embrace. By doing some homework, a couple can discover not just the right class, but the right person to teach them.

If you are just pregnant then hurrah, you have time to consult and discover the best fit for you. If you are advanced in your pregnancy, and want more information, then call about or try these links to find the class or person best suited to your specific childbirth education needs.

Bradley Method®: This is also known as "Husband Coached Childbirth Education". The standard length of the classes is 12 weeks covering 12 units of instruction. Your local Bradley® teacher is an independent affiliated instructor. Some classes are video enriched and offer a Certificate of Congratulations.

HypnoBirthing® - The Mongan Method, is a unique method of relaxed, natural childbirth education, enhanced by hypnosis techniques, providing the missing link, that allows women to use their natural instincts to bring about a safer, easier, more comfortable birthing in a way that most mirrors nature. It is presented in five childbirth classes.

Lamaze International- Their philosophy: Birth is normal, natural, and healthy. The experience of birth profoundly affects women and their families. Women's inner wisdom guides them through birth. Women's confidence and ability to give birth is either enhanced or diminished by the care provider and place of birth. Women have the right to give birth free from routine medical interventions. Birth can safely take place in homes, birth centers and hospitals. Childbirth education empowers women to make informed choices in health care, to assume responsibility for their health and to trust their inner wisdom.

The prime emphasis of the program is for pregnant women to make active choices to create the best possible birth experience--whether it be in the hospital, at home or in a birth center.

Women are designed to give birth. We come from a long line of bodies that have developed into birthing machines. Far going physical injury or severe malnutrition our bodies will birth very well on their own. Discovering the best course of action to allow this to happen comes from educating ourselves. Placing ourselves people we trust and knowing they are telling us accurate information will ensure a better, safe birth for not only our babies, but ourselves.

Patricia Blomme has worked as a register nurse with pregnant and birthing women since 1994. Patricia is a childbirth educator and consumer advocate of birthing choices. She focusing her classes on the emotional aspects of birth, and has supported women through labor as a doula. She is a regular contributor of the Birth Unlimited magazine "Birthing" as well as a member and past executive of Birth Unlimited. She has been published in the national parenting magazine "Mothering".

As a mother of five (including twins!), she believes her most valuable training and education have come from the variety of experiences she has had gestating and birthing her own children.