31 August 2009

Beer + Bubs is coming to Canberra

| emd
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A friend of mine has just told me that Beer + Bubs is coming to Canberra, hopefully from November this year. Beer + Bubs is a childbirth preparation class that has been hugely successful in Sydney. Probably because it’s a one-night event rather than a multi-week course, and it’s held at the pub. It’s just for the expectant dads, and covers all the really important stuff.

What should you never say to a woman in labour? How can you actively help with pain relief in childbirth? How do you go in to bat for your partner if things get ugly with the midwife? Why shouldn’t you be texting your mother while you’re on the job? What can you do to make childbirth faster and easier for your partner?

It actually sounds pretty good – for $50 you get dinner (pay for your own drinks) and all your questions answered to prep for the arrival of your new baby. And I know that the Canberra facilitator has been attending births for many years, so I’m sure she’ll be able to answer whatever questions you might throw at her.

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j from the block3:11 pm 03 Sep 09

Alternately it would be a completely surreal experience. I was woken up at 2 am (she woke up and made me a coffee when her water broke) made the trip from Bookham to John James in 30 minutes, was told to straighten my park, theres no excuse for not parking straight apparently, into the delivery room, 20 minutes later, got to hold my daughter; before suggesting the midwifes not bother trying to catch me as I fell into a well placed bean bag.

Of course she might go completely silent from the start of labour to the finish (Apart from the odd bloodcurdling scream right at the end). So it might be good to have a few clues as to what would help her, without counting on instruction from her at the time – she might have her mind on other things apart from helping you know what to do.

vg said :

Want o support your wife through childbirth? I will only charge $20

1. Be there
2. Do exactly, and I mean exactly, as she asks

Please mark all cheques payable to ‘VG’s Childbirth Prep Inc’

Oh, and how do you know your wife is on labour? She is in labour when she tells you she is. Childbirth is not the time to be questioning things….trust me

TY, your cheque is in the mail.

j from the block9:41 am 03 Sep 09

My experience, learn from it if you can, and my task as described to me by my partner at the time, you drive (short labour, 130k’s from hospital), you let me squeeze your hand (you get over the pain), you take the abuse (I’ve been called worse). Then, when the adrenalin wears off, find a nice piece of floor.

Does any other guy find this slightly patronising?

nope. after being at the births of all 3 kids, there were many things that I wanted to ask prior, but felt that I would be treated as an idiot if I voiced them in a room filled with mums to be. and for the record, what I learnt to do for my wife during the first birth wasn’t of any use for the arrival of the twins. the only sage wisdom imparted on me prior to the arrivals was to sleep in when you can, once the kids are here, those long sleep in days are over.

vg, except maybe for the time my other half was driving me to hospital kneeling backwards on the passenger seat saying “I’m NOT in labour! I’m NOT in labour!” through gritted teeth… Apparently he was right. And let me assure you, it’s not fun to have to admit the man is right.

argh astrojax, I dunno how to contact you… once upon a time if you posted a story on RA, commenters email addresses would be in the emailed copy sent to the original story poster, but I don’t think that works anymore… or maybe I’m just so sleep deprived that I imagined it was ever that way in the first place… anyway, if you can contact me I would be happy to help!

Want o support your wife through childbirth? I will only charge $20

1. Be there
2. Do exactly, and I mean exactly, as she asks

Please mark all cheques payable to ‘VG’s Childbirth Prep Inc’

Oh, and how do you know your wife is on labour? She is in labour when she tells you she is. Childbirth is not the time to be questioning things….trust me

I think this is a great idea, but expectant dad’s should go to antenatal classes with their wives too. I found doing the classes with Mr. Feather at Canberra hospital was, well I know this sounds lame, but a bonding experience. A good way to try and prepare together. At the very least the tours of the wards gave us an idea of where to go and what facilities to expect. There were some couples in our class that took it all way too seriously though, so if Mr. Feather had beer while listening to them ask another question about ‘but how will we *know* when we are in labour?’ would have gone down a treat I’m sure.

i’d be interested too if it was soon – expecting later this month but everyone round me is going off early like hooligans with hargreaves’ crackers! and i can attest that doulas are the biscuit, but no substitute for a midwife and good antenatal class, like the one i did with significant other (aka demanding lover; from another forum i frequent) at qbyn hospital – also the biscuit for mine…

so, beerandbubs, i’d be keen to know if this night would be of any use to a new dad as opposed to those expecting ones..??

and emd, can you mebbe be in touch with me at as i have an off-topic query re your excellent business…

Ratsnest, In my correspondence with Beer n Bubs, they are aiming for October some time.
Email them your contact details and they will pass them onto the Canberra representative.

der igglepiggle. Any questions not specific to medical conditions. Does that fix it for you? Like I said, there’s a lot more to having a baby than what doctors and midwives deal with.

Clown Killer4:58 pm 01 Sep 09

mmmm I didn’t draw breath for the five minutes it took for the baby to come out on the video we had to watch at the classes at JJ.

The one we were shown included an uncontrolled tear of the perineum … a lot of women changed their views on pain killers after watching that one.

beerandbubs, are you able to give us a ballpark date for when you will be in Canberra?

“And I know that the Canberra facilitator has been attending births for many years, so I’m sure she’ll be able to answer whatever questions you might throw at her.”

This was the comment my original remark was in response to. Don’t get me wrong, I think doulas are generally great and provide a great service- however when they try and be midwives it can be downright dangerous. Fortunately this rarely happens in the ACT.

As for the knuckleheads who can’t work out “Why shouldn’t you be texting your mother while you’re on the job? ” I’m not sure they can be helped….. Saw a bloke bring a portable gaming machine to his wife’s labour once- unbelievable!

mmmm I didn’t draw breath for the five minutes it took for the baby to come out on the video we had to watch at the classes at JJ. And a mate went to a class in Sydney last night and the midwife proudly showed them all a placenta that was hours old. Too much info I reckon!

Being able to ask questions the blokes were too afraid to ask in the ‘formal’ setting of a hispital is a great idea.

This sounds great. My class at Calvary was memorable for all the wrong reasons.

eg – they held up the forceps and said ‘what do you think this is for?’
Bloke in front of us says ‘hittin the missus with’…. and that set the tone for the day really.

j from the block11:38 am 01 Sep 09

Having been an expectant father, I think this, plus a class with partner (midwife style would be great). Maybe for the questions like “I see that lady has cankles, will my wife get cankles?” best to be with guys, in pub. I know it didn’t go down well in the class I was in.

If you have concerns or want to know what’s going to happen from a medical perspective, the best person to talk to is your midwife or obstetrician. There is a vast range of standard procedures in Canberra, depending on what hospital you go to and who your care provider is. They all have different policies on waterbirth, managed third stage, breastfeeding immediately after the birth, when a caesarean is needed etc. A doula can give general advice on what is possible, but you really should talk to your care provider about the specifics. Even a hospital ante-natal class will only tell you what the standard policy is – they won’t tell you how it applies to your individual circumstances, taking into account the woman’s preferences, previous experiences, or pre-existing medical conditions.

However, there is a lot more to the birth experience and the transition to parenthood than choosing between gas, peth, and epidural. Men need to know what they can do to participate in what’s happening, and support their partner during a particularly vulnerable time in her life and the most powerful experience most women ever have. Doulas are experts in birth support and have to undergo professional training to do this work, which is why doulas run childbirth preparation classes.

j from the block11:11 am 01 Sep 09

Feel free to come into the pub and ask me if you want.
Point one, humour has no place during labour, or in prenatal classes with many emotional pregnant women. One of the many important lessons I can pass on, oh, well that and if you do the meeta cheetah thing, don’t tread on the cheetah’s tail.
I won’t charge, but tips are appreciated.

Clown Killer10:34 am 01 Sep 09

Getting all this touchy-feely sensitive new age guy nonsense over and done with on one night would have to be a big bonus.

The couple of antenatal classes I was dragged along to at the John James maternity centre we mind-numbing. In fact the only highlight was when we watched a video of a birth and a bloke dressed in a entirely in what appeared to be charcoal cashmere who’d previously used the term “we’re expecting” had to go and have a lie down …

Nah Igglepiggle, Beer + Bubs teaches dads how to support their partner through childbirth which is exactly what a doula does. Beer + Bubs is like Doula 101 for blokes. Nowhere in the content of the pub workshops is medical ADVICE given. It’s about the practical things a bloke should and shouldn’t do while his wife is in labour to support her well, no matter what. It’s all the stuff that isn’t covered in the hospital antenatal classes…and it’s fun.

What a great idea. Something less medical has been needed for a long time.

Interesting that they are run by doulas- technically they wouldn’t be able to answer any medical/procedure type questions as this isn’t their role, and they don’t have the training for it. A big difference from the midwife run antenatal classes.

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