After Karina Bolger gave birth to her first child, she was most amazed by her overwhelming feelings of empowerment. Her positive initiation into motherhood inspired her to share her knowledge with other families. For almost a decade, Bolger has been guiding couples through the journey of childbirth both in the classroom as a certified childbirth educator teaching the Bradley Method and at the bedsides of laboring mothers as a DONA certified birth doula.
 
 
 

 

Q: As an expectant mother, why did you choose the Bradley method for yourself?
A: When I had my first child my midwife insisted that my husband and I took the Bradley classes. It made sense to me to go through weeks of preparation versus a class that lasted for just a couple of days. It gave me time to process the information.
 
Q: How long do the classes last?
A: Classes are generally twelve weeks long. They are usually held once a week for two hours a class.
 
Q: What is the basic underlying philosophy of the Bradley Method?
A: Most important is the belief in having a husband or a partner involved as a coach. They are important because they know you best in terms of how to help you relax and because you usually have been through life together. Ultimately, this helps with bonding as a couple and it helps with bonding with the child at birth. Bradley really focuses on the joint effort of working together, and this builds a foundation for parenting later on. Bradley also covers nutrition, exercise, and positive communication techniques between the couple and with medical staff. There’s also a lot of information on breastfeeding.
 
Q: Have you learned different things from the Bradley method from the vantage point of a teacher?
A: Yes. As a student I was so wrapped up in the emotional side of the birth. As a teacher, I’m more interested in the scientific evidence that supports natural birth. As a teacher, I can absorb more.
 
Q: How large are your classes?
A: My classes typically consist of four to eight couples. I try to keep it around six couples because that way there are better group dynamics and people feel very comfortable to talk and to ask questions.
 
Q: Can you speak to the consumerism aspect of Bradley classes?
A: Bradley believes that parents are consumers, which means that they’re responsible for every decision, things like who they hire to be on the birth team and where they give birth. You should take just as much care hiring a doctor or midwife as you would take to hire someone to add an addition to your home. You need to check references and do the same due diligence. My goal in teaching about the different health care providers and the continuum for labor management (expectant all the way to active management), is that the couple is sure that the care provider they choose matches their goals. Since most of us only have the opportunity to give birth a few times, I want each couple to be very careful in selecting a provider whose practices match the couples’ expectations. I really hate to hear couples say after a birth that they wish they had gone with someone else. You really don’t get the chance to do-over a birth.
 
Q: Do you feel it can be difficult for today’s consumer to question their physicians? Growing up in our culture, many of us are groomed not to interrogate doctors.
A: We’ve been told all along that doctors are almost god-like because they go through so much education and training, but the bottom line is that we still know ourselves best. I try to encourage parents to take an active role and question things.
 
Q: Do you feel that physicians in our area are generally supportive of the Bradley Method?
A: It depends on the health care professional. I’ve had some students who signed up for Bradley and told their doctor, and the doctor refused to keep them on as patients. But others really support it and highly recommend it. To me, this is indicative of whether or not the doctor views their patients as partners in birth.
 
Q: How do you guide your couples through choosing the right birth attendants?
A: I give them a list of questions. I suggest that they take the list and see what’s most important to them and to talk to people they know who have given birth, to find out if they got what they wanted out of it. If they ask for recommendations, I can give those to them, but I prefer that they do the research because I want them to be in charge of their own decisions.
 
Q: What about the relaxation and exercise components of the Bradley Method?
A: We try to teach a lot of different methods of relaxation so that it becomes a learned response. This is not something that we do very well in our culture. The relaxation techniques really help in labor, and it’s good to have lots of them because you never know what’s going to appeal to you in labor. We also teach the importance of exercise during pregnancy. Things like Kegels, squatting, and pelvic rocks. I always recommend that couples stay active and keep the blood moving. Labor is a very vigorous activity. Some of the other best exercises are walking, swimming and prenatal yoga.
 
Q: Is the Bradley Method appropriate for all couples?
A: Yes. Sometimes people are afraid that the Bradley Method is only for homebirth, but this is not true. The vast majority of my students are giving birth in the hospital. People birthing in hospitals need just as much education as people giving birth at home. I urge each couple to choose the birth location that makes them feel safest. Not only are Bradley classes good for couples giving birth at home, birth centers or hospitals, they are also useful for couples who aren’t sure if they want a natural birth. I have seen numerous couples take the classes where the mom was fairly sure she wanted an epidural. After they have their baby, they are often pleasantly surprised they were able to do it without medication.
 
Q: You also are a DONA certified birth doula and you sometimes accompany your students or other clients in childbirth. Tell me about that.
A: I absolutely love it. I think there’s nothing more magical and miraculous than to see a baby being born. With my students and my doula clients, I like to help them realize how powerful they are. I don’t ever want them to say that they couldn’t have done it without me. I’m so happy when students come back and share their stories, especially when they feel positive about their births, regardless of how the birth came about. The majority of my clients are Bradley students. It works because I know their level of commitment to what they want.
 
Q: Do you have plans to expand your skills or services in the future?
A: Yes, I’m taking the DONA postpartum doula training in June. I am seeing a need for that. I always do a class reunion three to four weeks after class and that’s usually one of the biggest comments I receive: why didn’t we talk more about postpartum?
 
Q: What is the value of a positive birth experience? Does it extend further than the birth itself?
A: I think it has a huge impact. And it doesn’t necessarily have to be a vaginal or an unmedicated birth, just a birth where the mother feels like she had control over making her own decisions.
 
Karina Bolger teaches and resides in Round Rock, Texas. To learn more call (512) 828-0514 or email kbolger@austin.rr.com.
 

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Julia Hockenberry is a writer and doula living in Marble Falls, TX. She studied vocal music at Florida State University and was a classical music announcer for WFDD radio in Winston Salem, NC before becoming a news anchor for WNAV radio in Annapolis, MD. Hockenberry has also written extensively for The Capital newspaper in Annapolis, MD, as well serving as a contributing writer to The River Cities Daily Tribune and The Highland Lakes Business Journal in Marble Falls. In addition to being a perpetual student in the dynamic fields of pregnancy and childbirth, Julia is married to husband, Jay, and has three children, Clara, Ben and Calvin.