A boon for would-be mothers

A boon for would-be mothers
Monday June 16 2008 11:33 IST Zubeda Hamid EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE

CHENNAI: Grandmothers apparently, no longer know it all. A generation ago, they would have done everything from predicting the sex of a baby to helping with labour pain. Today, young women go for childbirth classes.

A recent trend in the city, childbirth classes are becoming popular. And it's not just pregnant women who go for them, most are accompanied by nervous yet determined husbands, some by mothers and mothers-in-law.

Rekha Sudarsan, a psychologist and childbirth educator, who takes lessons on ante-natal and post-natal care at several city hospitals, said these days her classes are full. "I started six years ago with just one pregnant woman. Now my classes are full of expectant mothers, their husbands and in-laws."

Nithya Ranganathan, who delivered this February, swears by birth lessons, saying that the classes gave her both an objective perspective on pregnancy and prepared her mentally and physically for delivery.

Sriram, Nithya's husband, said the classes were extremely informative. "I had no clue what my wife would go through, but the class had helped," he said.

Rakhi Kapoor, who runs Dwi Maternity Studio, said working women have a stressful period, when it comes to pregnancy. This, coupled with the absence of a joint family, had led to the popularity of classes.

The childbirth classes offer guidance in every aspect of pregnancy, including diet, fitness, exercises and breast-feeding after the delivery.

"I see a lot of women who are terrified of labour. Then there are the google-confused-moms who have no one to guide them," said Sudarsan.

Though there seems to be only two centres at present – Progeny and Dwi Maternity Studio