Product: Laugh and Learn About Childbirth - Lamaze and Beyond (2003)
Rating: 3.0
Laugh and Learn & Labor 101
Both DVDs have merit, but if you're planning to go natural buy Labor 101.Labor 101 approaches childbirth like you want to be an informed consumer and aware of all of your options. It shares secrets on pain relief, pressure discomfort, avoiding tearing, positions, and speeding up labor. It gives detailed info on how to cope with certain situations and have discussions with your doctor. There are modest birth scenarios to watch during discussion to help gain a visual understanding as well as some 3D digital animation on dilation, station, and uterine contractions. You'll get clear concise detail on how to breathe filling your diaphragm with slow controlled breaths. It treats you like an active participant in the process of childbirth. It promotes positive affirmations, progressive relaxations, and gives both a history and explanation on the history of childbirth education.Laugh & Learn is humorous and entertaining and gives a good basic overview for people who are curious about what to expect. It doesn't show any births but there are flip charts that show a few pictures on anatomy. You learn stages of labor and when to get an epidural. She recommends big breathy blows and that is the only information you receive on coping. You practice a few pushes by pulling back your legs and pretending to have a bowel movement. There are a lot of potty jokes as you view a staged class that can be somewhat over kill. Perhaps the intent is to reduce fear and make it funny, but this approach leaves you inadequately prepared. That is, it's funny until you get to cord blood banking and then suddenly you get a very serious info-mercial on why you should spend tens of thousands of dollars on all the bad things that will most likely happen to your baby (clearly a paid endorsement). I would recommend this dvd to people who are planning to get an epidural but not feeling like they need to practice or discuss techniques and options.