Natural childbirth classes offer no advantage

Jun 4, 2009 10:55 AM

There's no shortage of controversial questions when it comes to childbirth. Home birth or hospital? A natural birth or all the pain-relief you can get? A quick read of a popular message board for moms gives a flavor of the conflicting views. "Why doesn't everyone go for an epidural?" writes one woman. Another recommends a drug-free birth, because "Women's bodies are designed for labor."

Attitudes to childbirth have changed over time. In the 1940s, when the antenatal classes were first being introduced, women learned exercises to help them keep fit during pregnancy. By the 1970s, breathing techniques were the fashion, the theory being that they reduced labor pain. As obstetric care developed, there was more emphasis on using medical treatments to help with pain.

Although antenatal classes are a routine experience for many moms-to-be, there hadn't been much actual research to tell us the best way of helping women prepare for childbirth. Now, a new study has looked at more than 1,000 women and their partners, putting two different approaches to the test.

Half the women in the study had antenatal classes that prepared them for natural childbirth. They learned breathing and relaxation techniques, but weren't given information about drugs. The other half were given information about pain relief, and also got advice about caring for a newborn baby, but they didn't practice relaxation or breathing techniques.

And the result? No difference at all. When asked to rate their pain and experience of childbirth, both groups gave similar answers. Both groups had similar levels of stress when it came to being new parents. There was also no difference in the proportion of women who had an epidural, which was 52 percent in both groups.

What you need to know. There's no scientific proof that any one method of preparing for childbirth is superior to another. Since the research hasn't found any measurable advantage to particular types of childbirth training, it probably makes sense to concentrate on whichever approach appeals to you personally.

—Philip Wilson, patient editor, BMJ Group

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Read our report on safer childbirth, and test your knowledge of childbirth procedures with our maternity quiz.

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