The first (and only) antenatal class I ever attended was fine, I guess, in terms of getting some factual and practical information ahead of actually arriving into the hospital to give birth.
I remember the kind and clearly very experienced midwife (who looked like she was about 90) talking me and about seven other mums-to-be though the birthing process and what we could expect upon arriving at the delivery ward.
(I also remember being made watch a a very graphic video on childbirth that looks like it was made in the 70s- or 80s, where Brazilian waxes (or any waxes, for that matter) had clearly not yet been invented.)
However, the whole session, while informative, also left me with a sneaking suspicion that we were, to an extent, being kept in the dark a little. Maybe this was for our own good, and the midwife, keen not to frighten or make anyone more nervous than they already were, deliberatly left out some anekdotes on how crazy and unpredictable pushing a baby out through your vagina really can be.
However, mamas, if you are the direct type, and would prefer a more – ahem – accurate account of what giving birth is actually like – then you should check out Momsplaining – a new web series actress Kristen Bell has created with Ellen DeGeneres.
I mean; just check this out:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TW9CWWKBdXE
"Mommying is my favourite topic," says Bell. "And I want to share what I know."
And boy does she share.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8wpKcTyeOY
In this episode Kristen sits down with a group of kids to ask some hard-hitting questions while their moms sit on the other side of a two-way mirror listening in. The results are hilarious:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DugkA9y4Nrw
