Laboring With Lamaze Childbirth on Your Own Terms

By Shel Franco

Jana McCarthy, of southern California, could never forget her Lamaze birth. She felt prepared and empowered. She coped with her discomfort using support from her husband, patterned breathing and concentration on focal points. As a result, McCarthy had the birth she planned for – one that happened on her own terms without the use of any drugs.

The History
In the early 1950s, a French obstetrician, Dr. Ferdinand Lamaze, developed his own system of painless childbirth after watching women give birth in Russia. Later that same decade, Marjorie Karmel was instructed in the Lamaze method and used the techniques to give birth. Her resulting book introduced the Lamaze method of childbirth to the United States in 1957.

At its conception, the Lamaze organization was known as the American Society of Psychoprophylaxis in Obstetrics. The word "psychoprophylaxis" referred to the laboring woman using the power of her mind to decrease the discomfort of childbirth. Eventually, the name was shortened to ASPO/Lamaze, which it is sometimes called today, although the organization is now formally known as Lamaze International, Inc.

The Philosophy
According to organizational literature, the Lamaze childbirth philosophy maintains:

• Birth is normal.
• The experience of birth profoundly affects women and their families.
• 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 birth centers and homes.
• Childbirth education empowers women to make informed choices in health care, to assume responsibility for their health and to trust their inner wisdom.

The Classes
Deena Scintilla, a Lamaze certified childbirth educator in Suffolk, Va., teaches a six-week series of classes that require about two hours of small-group meeting time per week.

"Lamaze prefers small classes to increase knowledge and practice of skills, no more than 10 to 12 couples," Scintilla says.

A common misconception is that the Lamaze method of childbirth preparation is nothing more than patterned breathing. But Scintilla says Lamaze classes include instruction on normal birth, labor and postpartum care, birth planning, common medical procedures, patient-doctor communication skills, labor support techniques, doulas, positioning, anesthesia, comfort measures and Cesarean section.

The Strengths
When asked how her Lamaze birth turned out, Bea Sheftel of Manchester, Conn., says, "Exceptional." She often recommends Lamaze to her friends.

A few positives about the Lamaze method stood out in Sheftel's mind. The information that was available to her gave her more control, and the class gave her and her husband the opportunity to work through labor as a team. "I felt relief instead of fear," she says.

Nancy Aaron, a Lamaze certified childbirth educator in Monroeville, Pa., also stresses the important role that information and education play in childbirth. "I believe that the more that is known about a matter, the better the coping skills to deal with the situation," she says.

The strength of Lamaze lies in what is covered during those small group meetings. And according to Aaron, "A true Lamaze education is very inclusive and extensive."

The Weaknesses
But what about an education that is not "truly" Lamaze? Many professionals teaching childbirth education claim to use Lamaze philosophies, when in reality, they are not offering the extensive education that Aaron refers to.

McCarthy remembers quite a few positives about her experience with Lamaze childbirth education. "I felt empowered to give birth," she says. "It set me up with a positive attitude for the other births that came after that. It gave me the tools that I still use today for pain relief and stress reduction."

Even so, McCarthy questions the amount of material covered in her hospital-based classes, such as the absence of information about episiotomies and in-depth discussions of Cesareans and drugs. "[The instructor] may have been unable to say certain things," McCarthy says. "Now that I'm a teacher, I'm aware of some hospitals that operate this way."

Another criticism of Lamaze revolves around the famous breathing techniques. Certain opponents point out that not everyone is able to remember or follow through with the breathing techniques once hard labor starts. While there may be some validity to this statement, proponents for Lamaze are quick to point out that couples who attend true Lamaze classes walk away knowing much more than how to breathe.

A true Lamaze education covers all points of normal birth, labor and the early postpartum period.

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