Childbirth Education and Childbirth Models: Parental Perspectives on Control, Anesthesia, and Technological Intervention in the Birth Process

Childbirth education classes represent a formal means of information transmission to prospective parents regarding the birth process. Assessment of the impact of medical messages communicated in two sets of childbirth classes suggests that the structure and orientation of the class affected the particular messages conveyed. Hospital‐based classes familiarized prospective patients with hospital procedures, while private classes encouraged self‐advocacy and parental participation. Yet childbirth classes were found to influence women's reactions to delivery less than preexisting beliefs, values, and expectations derived from people in their personal networks. Discussions regarding pain and anesthesia most clearly revealed kin and friends to be the main sources of influence on these matters. In contrast to feminist models of birth that advocate parental control of decision making and limited technological intervention, the overriding goal during delivery of the Dallas women we interviewed was to remain alert yet pain free.