Product: Laugh and Learn About Childbirth - Lamaze and Beyond (2003)
Rating: 2.0
the info is all there but the presentation needs MUCH improvement
The instructor is one of the most annoying people we've ever forced ourselves to sit through - my husband and I had a tough time not just turning it off and getting the info elsewhere. She really seems to think she's funny but is instead really just patronizing and sometimes seems rather insulting of the basic intelligence of the people in the class. It really is hard to sit through.After reading Ina May Gaskin's "Guide to Childbirth" and really internalizing the value of having positive messages surrounding you while in labor, I was so annoyed & disappointed (actually threw a few pillows at the tv) when Sheri kept harping on how painful birth has to be, and how she as a nurse sends people home from the hospital in early labor "because they're not in enough obvious pain yet" (rather than the more positive way of saying they would be better off laboring at home for the time being in a more comfortable setting.) The camera would then of course cut to one of the women in the group who had a deer-in-the-headlights look (again), and we all see that Sheri has once again successfully freaked out a woman who should instead be entering labor with an empowering "I can do this" attitude. I have to wonder how a couple of these women made it through their labors - they seemed very overwhelmed by the negative messages by the end of all the classes. It's a shame, and I found myself freaked out needlessly during the video, and am back to Ina May's book for my last 2 weeks of pregnancy to try to get Sheri's unfortunate messages out of my head. I'm also having my husband and mother read that book before my labor so that they understand what a huge impact your surroundings and the messages conveyed by the people there have on the progression of a labor. If Sheri was my nurse I would likely end up with all of the medical interventions she listed just due to her abrupt manner.I have to admit that it is helpful to view an informational video in addition to all the reading one does in preparation for labor- I just wish I knew about a better one somewhere.