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Online Chilbirth Education Class
(Originally posted on About Anesthesiology)
----> SKIP THIS INTRODUCTION AND GO DIRECTLY TO THE CLASS
WHY ANESTHESIOLOGISTS AND CHILDBIRTH EDUCATION?
Anesthesiologists are often called upon to assist in the teaching of childbirth education classes. I think that this is an extremely important and appropriate role - not only because anesthesiologists are the most knowledgeable about the techniques, possible complications, etc. that might be used for labor analgesia - but also because it gives the anesthesiologists an opportunity to interact with patients during a non-stressful time and really begin to understand the needs, desires and concerns of women as they enter into the labor and delivery time period. In addition, I think that approaching the topic from an educational perspective, and from the perspective of allowing true informed consent, forces the anesthesiologist to look more critically at the issues, benefits and risks of labor analgesia. Lastly, participation in, or at least some involvement in planning of, your local childbirth class ensures the highest quality of information and functions as an important public service/public relations activity.
WHY CHILDBIRTH EDUCATION AT ALL?
Childbirth education does not only involve discussion of epidurals, although many women mistakenly think that this is the case. As an anesthesiologist, I find great value in childbirth education - and this is true even for those women that are "sure" they are going to have an epidural for labor and delivery. I hear many women say that they do not need childbirth education because they have already made decisions about their care plan - but I always caution about the unexpected (What if you can't have an epidural? What if you need a cesarean section?), reiterate the value of a thorough education (How do you know if you know everything if you haven't taken the class yet?) and encourage them to look at additional options (People who have gone thorugh the thought process are better able to handle the stress of making decisions DURING labor). For a more detailed discussion of this issue, be sure to look at my article "Labor Epidurals and Childbirth Education" that is published elsewhere on this site.
ORIGINS OF THE ONLINE CLASS
The portion of the Online Childbirth Education Class presented here does indeed focus on the anesthesia related issues of labor, delivery, cesarean section, etc. However, you should be aware that the intial publication of this material was as part of a larger and more complete class. This class, the idea of Robin Weiss at the About Pregnancy site, has evolved a bit and is still available over at her site. If you have an interest, please go take a look - and tell Robin that I sent you!
TAKE ME TO THE CLASS!
Otherwise, go straight to the index for the anesthesia portions of the original class. There you will learn about intrathecals, spinals, epidurals, anesthesia for cesarean section and other topics that might be of interest.
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